Though her eyelids stuck together as if glued, with great effort, she managed to open her eyes.

An unfamiliar ceiling came into view.

Well, she hadn’t woken up to a familiar ceiling in recent times anyway.

Where is this place?

Why can’t my body move?

Brody slowly turned her head.

Fortunately, her head turned easily.

“Brody!”

Sensing her stir, a giant man with jet-black hair approached.

His sharp features were marred by an expression of sorrow as he looked down at her.

“Your Majesty…….”

When she struggled to open her mouth, her voice cracked like a drought-stricken field.

Shocked by her own voice, she coughed, and Aiden quickly moved closer, stroking her forehead as he asked,

“Are you regaining consciousness? How does your body feel?”

Brody looked at him and tried hard to move her eyes.

Seeing Aiden meant she hadn’t been captured by the empress, which was a relief.

But if you ask how her body was feeling… things didn’t seem too good.

Her body wasn’t obeying her will.

‘Was there some kind of problem?’

Brody exerted all her strength to try to move her heavy body.

A deep vertical furrow appeared on her forehead.

‘But it doesn’t feel like before… I can move my head and speak… I’m not being controlled anymore.’

Noticing her struggle to move, Aiden slid his hands under her shoulders.

And then carefully, he slowly pulled her up from beneath the blankets.

“Haah.”

As she was propped up, she felt significantly better.

And then, suddenly, her arms started to move.

Her lower body was still as heavy as a rock, though….

“Hmm? ……What is this?”

And in the next moment, the mystery of why Brody couldn’t move was solved.

She widened her eyes at the sight of the thick pile of blankets covering her.

One blanket, two blankets, three blankets, four blankets…….

Wait, how many layers are there?
The blankets were far from thin; stacking them up would probably result in a thickness of at least one and a half palms.

“Why? What’s the issue, Brody? Speak up. What’s bothering you?”

“Yes, there was a problem. Until just now.”

“A problem? What problem? Wife! Mrs. Murphy!”

As soon as Brody mentioned a problem—technically, that there ‘had been’ a problem—Ian’s face turned contemplative and he called for Mrs. Murphy.

“Mrs. Murphy?”

Wasn’t Mrs. Murphy the woman responsible for the household in the duke’s military camp during the war?

Brody looked at Ian with puzzled eyes.

Before Ian could even respond, Mrs. Murphy opened the door and entered.

“Did you call for me?”

A woman who always wore a blunt and plump expression.

It was indeed the familiar face of Mrs. Murphy.

Brody felt somehow glad and called out to her.

“Wife!”

Mrs. Murphy was visibly startled to see Brody awake.

Her expressionless face revealed a mix of confusion and relief.

“Oh, my lady, you’re awake.”

As they exchanged pleasantries, Ian quickly interjected.

“I called you because Brody said there was a problem. Can you check?”

“What’s bothering you, my lady?”

Brody glanced alternately at the two people who were intensely staring at her.

Eventually, she spoke.

“Unfortunately, there was an issue.”

Both leaned in, focused intently on Brody.

“I felt like I was being crushed.”

“…….”

Ian blinked, and Mrs. Murphy’s eyes narrowed.

Seeing their reactions, Brody continued.

“When I came to, I couldn’t move at all. Ah, my legs still aren’t moving, so the problem remains.”

“…….”

At Brody’s words, Mrs. Murphy slowly straightened her hunched posture.

She then looked at Ian, her expression stern, and said,

“That’s why I told you, it’s too much.”

Though she didn’t actually slap him, it felt like Mrs. Murphy’s eyes had smacked Ian multiple times.

Understanding the situation, Ian awkwardly folded back the blankets.

“So, it was your doing.”

“I, I just thought… the patient should be warm…”

As the blanket was pulled back, revealing her legs, Brody drew her knees up.

Fortunately, her body moved without any issues.

Moreover, although slightly awkward, it was nothing compared to almost dying in the South.

No, of course, it was worse than a mosquito bite, but still.

It was like the feeling after recovering from the flu.

“Is there anything else that’s bothering you?”

Mrs. Murphy inquired.

Brody shook her head leisurely with a smile.

“No, I’m quite fine.”

“In that case, I’ll prepare your meal.”

Saying so, Mrs. Murphy left the room.

Seeing her familiar act of confirming Brody’s condition and then leaving without any unnecessary words, Brody involuntarily smiled.

“Are you really okay?”

However, Ian looked serious.

So, Brody responded even more lightly.

“Yes, surprisingly so. Maybe my body has improved. Perhaps I’ve built up some resistance after experiencing it once before?”

Indeed, that was the case. Even Brody was surprised that she was this okay.

When she felt the fluctuating power of both Ian and the princess inside her, she really thought she was on her way to the netherworld.

But in the next moment, negating her own statement of being okay,

The sensation of her body being torn from within resurfaced as she recalled that moment.

Yikes. Unknowingly, Brody shivered from a chill.

Ian saw her complexion worsen in real-time and paled himself.

He approached Brody and abruptly hugged her shoulders.

“You look far from okay.”

“Ah, why is this happening? I’m really fine…”
Seeing her hands tightly clasped together to stop the tremors, a corner of Aidan’s heart stung as if frozen in ice.

There were no external injuries, but still. Hadn’t her internal wounds, wrought by spiritual abilities, gone untreated?

Compelled by worry, he pulled her towards him, lifting her onto his lap, and held her tightly as if enveloping her in warmth. He couldn’t hide his sadness as he comforted her.

As they shared warmth for a brief moment, her trembling gradually ceased. Brody exhaled a sigh of relief with her now slow breaths and relaxed her head.

Then, she felt the strong body firmly supporting her.

“Ah…”

Only then did Brody realize where she was sitting.

They had been so close in the South that it didn’t seem like anything new, but…

“It’s been a while since we’ve been this close.”

She became aware of his body once more.

Her face, once pale and drained, began to flush brighter and brighter.