It seems that not only does she swear, but she also has a habit of repeating the same words when drunk.

Reus, who had no interest in humoring a drunkard, chose not to respond.

Soon, the sensation of Roel’s round head resting against his shoulder with a thud was felt, as if she had given up. Just when he thought she had calmed down, her small hand began fumbling around his thick neck.

Her touch was like that of a child who had found a favorite toy.

“Warm…”

“Roel, stop that hand—”

“I want to take it to my room…”

Her soft hand tickling his bare skin was distracting. Even saying it out loud didn’t help. Roel seemed too drunk to even lift her eyelids in the stupor, let alone understand what she was fumbling with.

Sighing, Reus resumed walking.

“And I have to eat ice cream… and take this… warm thing…”

Ignoring Roel’s tiresome talk about ice cream, Reus intended to lay her down on the bed. However, Roel, who had been quietly nestled in his arms, suddenly hugged Reus tightly.

“Aah! I’m not going to sleep… I won’t sleep…”

Reus stiffened on the spot.

With her body pressed against Reus’s bare chest through the open gown, the contact felt more explicit due to the thinness of her slip.

Not only that, but the scent of flowers from her golden hair cascading over her neck and shoulders and the sweet smell of her body overwhelmed his senses, rendering his body and mind immobile.

Reus, usually stoic and unemotional, was unusually flustered and rigid.

A man over 190 cm tall, with no part of his arms or torso lacking in strength, found himself at a loss, unable to detach a woman clinging to him.

“…Roel, just for a moment—”

“No, I don’t want to. I said I’m not sleeping… I won’t sleep until I have melon ice cream…”

While he had more than enough strength to pull away, Reus couldn’t bring himself to do so.

He had thought before while treating her foot that she was excessively thin. Sometimes, her fragility was so apparent that even looking at her felt precarious.

His rough hands, accustomed to gripping metal, could only timidly touch her slender arms and then retreat in his own confusion.

Seeing the red marks his fingers left on her skin only made him more reluctant to touch her again.

His hands, capable of easily striking down beasts, seemed lost as they hovered around her body.

Eventually, Reus gave up on physically separating her and decided to coax her into bed with words.

“Just the arm…”

“No! I told you I won’t sleep… Not until I eat melon ice cream…”

“Roel, alright. I’ll ask the servants tomorrow—”

“No, now… I want to eat it now…”

Reus was genuinely at a loss.

The more he tried to separate her, the tighter Roel clung to him, making it impossible for him to move. Finally, after a long struggle, he chose to lie down on the bed with Roel still in his arms.

Resting his head carelessly against the bed’s headboard, Reus looked more tired than ever.

In his embrace, Roel mumbled sleepily.

“Don’t do anything silly and just go to sleep.”

“Mmm… I’m totally fine. Not drunk at all… I can eat ice cream…”

“…”

“Look. I’m speaking fine… I’m really not drunk at all.”

Roel, saying this, was apparently unaware that her eyes were closed.

“…Let’s stop holding on now.”

“Just a moment… Just a moment…”

“…What now?”

“You know, when I sleep…”

“Yes?”

“You’ll give me melon ice cream?”

That damned melon ice cream.
As Roel fidgeted in his arms, she demanded a response.

“Why aren’t you answering…?”

“Roel. It would be best if you stopped creating things you’ll regret tomorrow and just go to sleep.”

“I don’t want to… What are you to tell me…?”

Would it have been easier to handle if she had thrown a loud tantrum instead of desperately seeking ice cream with a face showing no threat while lying quietly?

Regardless, the answer was obvious. Reus owed her his life, so bearing with her unexpected drunken antics was ultimately his responsibility.

Hoping Roel would tire herself out and fall asleep, Reus closed his eyes and focused on clearing his mind.

However, the mumbling of her half-crushed lips against his neck made even that impossible.

“So… where’s my melon… ice cream…?”

“…”

“Hey… are you even listening to me…?”

Reus finally let out a deep sigh, as if surrendering. He then silently reevaluated Roel, changing his perception of her from a quiet woman to one who quietly causes trouble.

Waking up in the stuffy air, Roel felt as heavy as a waterlogged sponge. She had recklessly gulped down the strong alcohol…

Regretting it now was pointless, though she wished she hadn’t had that last drink.

As she lay there, blinking without moving, something strange loomed in her vision.

‘What is that…?’

She blankly observed the scene in her line of sight. A thin navy gown and the white, sculpted chest underneath…

‘…A chest?’

Realizing what she was murmuring in her mind, she opened her eyes wide.

It was indeed a man’s bare chest, broad and solid…

‘It can’t be, can it? It shouldn’t be.’

But it had to be.

Then, a low voice fell from above her head.

“Have you woken up?”

“……!”

Reflexively, she jerked her head up.

Though she thought the voice was close, she hadn’t realized she was resting on Reus’s arm.

‘How did I end up sleeping like this?’

She tried hard to remember, but her mind was blank.

Lying there, she cautiously observed Reus’s face.

‘He doesn’t look angry or upset…’

But she couldn’t move further back due to something solid behind her. Seeing Reus’s arm moving, she realized it was him blocking her.

Reus, gazing blankly into space, turned his head.

An intense silence hung between them.

Meanwhile, Reus looked unusually exhausted.

‘Why does he look so tired…?’

Reluctantly acknowledging that his haggard face suggested her mistake, she feared to ask what had happened. Her memory of last night was completely erased.

Fearing the answer, she hesitated to speak. But Reus’s unyielding gaze compelled her to confess.

“Your Grace… Did I, by any chance, make a mistake…?”

“Hey. You.”

“……Yes?”

“Why has your way of addressing me changed back? You were quite comfortable with it yesterday.”

“…….”

Hey, you?

‘Hey… you…?’

So he means I spoke to him that way?

‘Impossible.’

Absolutely impossible. I was rude to him?

She remembered her friends saying she just quietly slept when drunk…
[“You? You don’t cause trouble when drunk. No vomiting, no anger. You don’t insist on not going home, nor do you create a scene. Just quietly sleep beside us, no drunken antics.”

“Right. She calms down with just an ice cream in her hand.”]

That’s how it was, right…!

So, even if I was drunk, would I have really called Reus, ‘Hey, you…’?

“I don’t quite understand what you mean…”

But Reus’s next words left me with no choice but to despair.

“All night, you were searching for melon ice cream.”

“…….”

So, it’s not just about being calm with ice cream in hand, but needing it to be calm, right? Me…?

‘So it’s true that I called him, ‘Hey, you…’’

Realizing Reus wasn’t making up stories, I quietly closed my eyes.

If I had been free, I would have already fled the room. But trapped by Reus, who showed no intention of letting me go, I couldn’t escape.

In desperation, I hung my head low, but the shame only grew sharper over time. Heat rushed to my face, making my cheeks burn. Soon, even my ears felt the warmth.

“I’m sorry… Really sorry, Your Grace…”

“Why are you calling me ‘Your Grace’ again?”

“…That too, I’m sorry.”

‘But surely, I didn’t make any worse mistakes, right…?’

I cautiously opened my eyes to look at Reus.

“Do you want to hear more?”

“…….”

“If it were me, I’d choose not to.”

Should I just die of embarrassment?

It wasn’t the time for such thoughts, but I seriously considered it.

But then, a knock sounded at the door.

Startled by the sudden intrusion, I shivered, but Reus calmly turned his eyes towards the door.

And soon, it opened.