“No.”

“Having a nightmare. Did you have a bad dream?”

Even though I don’t remember well, it seems that all sorts of strange things happened in my dream.

It felt like I attended a funeral, but….

‘A dream is just a dream.’

Still, I couldn’t help feeling dirty.

Feeling irritated, I reached out and grabbed Merem’s collar. Despite following me obediently, he skillfully avoided dropping the juice and croissant.

“Just stay like this for a moment.”

“Okay.”

Even with a brief and concise command without explanation, Merem readily complied.

With my nose buried in his chest, I took a deep breath.

Slowly, more slowly.

Until the strangely sharp feeling subsided.
“Ah, I feel alive now.”

“Because of my scent?”

“Yes. To you, it smells like flames.”

A fragrance that warms up my cooled self.

It’s a feeling as if my frozen and tense chest is melting and vitality is returning to my stiff muscles.

As long as Merem is nearby, both my mood and condition improve significantly, truly like a panacea.

“Yeah. With just Merem around, remedies sent by Enrique seem utterly useless.”

Look, the headache has already subsided.

“Plum juice.”

Merem, sitting on one side of the mattress, handed me a glass. Thankful, I took a sip, and the tangy taste stimulated my tongue, waking me up.

It was exactly what I needed right now.

“Eat a croissant too.”

“I don’t really want to eat.”

“Just a little. You have to endure the banquet.”

Merem coaxed me gently, tearing off a freshly baked croissant and tapping it against my lower lip.

As I resisted opening my mouth, he resorted to another method when I stubbornly refused.

“Like this?”

“Uh… What?”

Having torn off a piece, Merem brought it close to my lower lip, gripping my sides as he leaned in.

The scent of butter reached me distinctly.

As I tried to gently move back, there was no escape route, given that it was a bed.

‘Somehow, lately, I feel like I’m being led…’

It might be okay like this.

Even if I were told to fight with willpower or stubbornness, I was always the one who lost in front of Merem.

I didn’t have the desire to compete with him.

In the end, I closed my eyes, and Merem fed me the piece of bread with his lips.

Although it felt like our lips slightly, very slightly touched while I chewed the bread… it was probably just an illusion because the bread was soft.

I sighed like that.

“Nice.”

Chewing on the piece of bread, when I groaned, he offered the glass again.

After repeating this a few times, the small piece of bread quickly disappeared into my stomach.

“Good job eating. Well, it’s time to get ready. It’s the banquet today.”

“Haah. Yes, let’s go. I wonder what I’ve prepared for all this time.”

Finally, today, the assassin’s identity and the instigator behind will be revealed.

With strict security for over a week, the assassin should be quite anxious by now.

“Today, I don’t feel so good, so if caught, I’ll have to step on them very carefully.”

Supported by my efforts, I stood up, putting strength into my legs. Merem opened the window wide to let fresh air into the room.

“…….”.

As the cool air touched my skin, chills ran down my spine.

Whether it was because my body was weak or just because of the nightmare… it felt like an impure energy was swirling on the ground.

While Lady Bertholdt was vigorously tearing down the ceiling and wallpaper of the officials’ bedrooms, Lydia, who hadn’t returned yet, helped with the banquet preparations in place of Charlotte.
“Ta-da! There are so many newly made dresses this time! Which dress would you like to wear?”

In place of Charlotte, Lydia, who was excited to attend her first banquet, brought the dresses with an enthusiastic expression.

She had cleared out the entire maiden’s dressing room.

If it were Charlotte, she would have initially understood my preferences and narrowed down the choices to five dresses… Nevertheless, it wasn’t bad to see Lydia eagerly selecting dresses.

“Crimson would be nice. Since it’s autumn, you should wear a color symbolizing prosperity.”