“No, that’s not…… What did you say?”

Surprised by the sudden statement, Aeli raised her head.

She tried to get up and approach Lutis to hear the details, but with the child in her arms, she could only lift her head while lying down.

Lutis remained silent for a while as Aeli asked back with wide eyes.

It was only when Aeli’s body started trembling from keeping her head raised that Lutis spoke.

“Didn’t I tell you before we headed to the capital? I expected this kind of talk since the child hasn’t been blessed yet.”

Lutis said this while looking at Aeli lying on the bed. Perhaps because Aeli was wearing a thin nightgown, his gaze was ambiguously wandering in the air.

‘……If I hadn’t known at all, it would be fine, but now that I’m aware, what should I do about this unsettling feeling.’

Aeli slightly averted her eyes and licked her lips.

It wasn’t that the clothes were dirty or smelly, but hadn’t she been wearing the same clothes for 4 years?

So she opened the dressing room connected to the bedroom, thinking she could at least change clothes. But……

[……Don’t tell me you restored this too when you fixed Adi’s room?]

The dressing room looked exactly the same as the last one she remembered, with no differences.

When she asked with her mouth slightly open and dumbfounded, the answer came back that only the damaged parts of the fabric or decorations of the clothes were fixed.

Aeli, who had no idea Lutis would pay such close attention to detail, thought it was amazing in many ways.

Of course, thanks to that, she could lie down on the bed feeling refreshed, so it was something Aeli should welcome.

[Then I’ll go wash up, so please play with Adi for a bit in the meantime.] [Alright.] [Mommy, aren’t you going to sleep?] [Well, Mommy has been wearing the same clothes for too long, so I’m a bit worried. Even if it looks clean on the outside, it might actually be dirty, you know?] [Oh……] [What if Adi gets sick from sleeping with Mommy like this? Adi was just hugging Mommy earlier, so should Adi also wash up in Adi’s room before meeting Mommy?] [……I, I’m perfectly clean and spotless, so it’s fine.]

When Aeli suggested the child should also wash up, the answer that came back was filled with laziness, and when she looked back, the child was clearly checking her reaction.

Since it was an issue that could be directly related to health, there was no exception and the child had to wash up and come out.

Anyway, after that, Aeli picked up a handy nightgown and went into the bathroom after seeing off the child being carried away in Lutis’ arms.

In this situation, she couldn’t call anyone to assist with bathing, so she washed and dried herself alone.

So why am I talking about this unimportant story for so long?

“…….”

“……What are you looking at.”

It just so happened that the nightgown she wore out was a bit problematic.

Aeli narrowed her eyes and asked as she pulled the shawl that had slipped off her shoulders back onto her shoulders from lying down.

“……Nothing.”

“…….”

“…….”

When Aeli’s eyes met Lutis’, he turned his head away, saying it was nothing.

The nape of his neck, briefly visible between his long hair, was flushed red.

‘……It’s my fault.’

Aeli let out a deep sigh.

The fabric in her hand felt light and thin, and it turned out to be a sleeveless slip that barely reached mid-thigh.

Moreover, upon closer inspection, it was made of a material that subtly revealed the skin underneath.

She had simply dismissed it as a summer piece without properly checking, but she was startled to see the embarrassing appearance when she wore it.

‘Why the hell is something like this prominently in the dressing room, so……’

She couldn’t go out naked, so she wore it for now, but as soon as she stepped out of the bathroom, the child returned, and she couldn’t even change clothes, let alone drape a shawl.

So in the end, it turned out like this……

The child, who knew nothing, happily burrowed into the blanket and nestled into Aeli’s arms before falling asleep.

On top of that, the child kicked off the blanket that Aeli was covering them with, saying it was hot.

Even though Lutis didn’t say much, Aeli coughed in vain and opened her mouth.

“So, um, finish what you were saying. ……What did the Emperor do?”

“……He said to have the child receive blessings at the temple next week.”

“……From the Pope.”

“Yes.”

Aeli’s face naturally turned sour. She had already forgotten about being awkward just a moment ago.

As Lutis said earlier, it was expected at the estate, so it wasn’t something to be very surprised about.

However, Aeli frowned as his intentions were still unknown.

Lutis closely observed Aeli like that, approached her, rubbed her furrowed brows to smooth them out, and said,

“He said that much should be done for the only heir of the Duke, a war hero. He even said he would prevent other children from coming to receive blessings on the same day.”

“……Is that even allowed? I thought God was equal to everyone.”

“That’s how it appears.”

“But the temple accepted that?”

“That’s just how it looks on the surface. In reality, it’s mostly maintained by donations received from nobles, so even if it wasn’t the Emperor’s order, it wouldn’t be that difficult to have the child receive blessings alone.”

Aeli couldn’t hide her absurdity at Lutis’ words.

Aeli wasn’t completely unaware of this fact. However, there’s a slight difference between vaguely knowing something and hearing it directly from someone, isn’t there?

“Wow, this is…… corrupted?!”

Aeli blurted out a rough word without realizing it, but her mouth was covered by Lutis.

It was because she had raised her voice when the child was not just nearby, but nestled in her arms, sleeping.

“Mmm……”

As the child hugged Aeli with both arms, mumbling in sleep, she closed her mouth.

It was clear that if the child woke up in this situation, they wouldn’t be able to have a proper conversation.

Aeli slowly blinked her eyes while catching her breath, and the hand covering her mouth fell away.

Aeli asked. She asked when exactly the “next week” the Emperor mentioned was.

“…….”

“……?”

“……The day after tomorrow.”

No, since a day had already passed, it was tomorrow now. Lutis said.

“…….”

“…….”

The bedroom was engulfed in silence.

Aeli’s mind raced.

Wasn’t it too suspicious to simply regard this as goodwill?

If they refused, it was no different from an imperial order, and the only excuse to get out of it would be to say they had already received it, but……

Aeli turned her head while lying on the bed. She buried her face in the pillow and took a deep breath.

“Sigh……”

Exhaling the deep breath she had inhaled, Aeli soon let out a sob.

Even if she wanted to evade with a lie, there was a problem.

‘The priests can confirm whether the blessing was received or not.’

She knew this because she had once tried to receive blessings again, saying it was fun after mixing with commoner children and receiving blessings when she was young, only to get caught.

As with the Imperial Princess, if someone with holy power deliberately hid it, it might be possible, but it was the prevailing theory that those without holy power couldn’t even attempt it.

It was a different kind of coming and going, so if she was caught telling a lie, it would be no different from digging her own grave.

‘……Cancel what I just said.’

Feeling strange at the mention of digging a grave, Aeli slightly raised her head.

Her eyes met Lutis’, who also had a troubled face.

“For now…… Let’s go for now.”

“……But Aeli,”

“Didn’t I say? You watch closely by my side.”

“…….”

“Originally, it’s customary to receive blessings with the priest, child, and parents or equivalent guardians, right? If you just watch closely, you can sufficiently stop any mischief.”

This was the truth.

Even in the temple, unless they were crazy, they wouldn’t openly engage in mischief in the middle of the capital.

Even if they did, the Rattleif Knights or the Capital Guards would come to assess the situation, so punishment would be unavoidable.

Unless they were determined to die together, the Imperial Family, of course, and the temple had too much to lose, as far as Aeli knew.

‘They’ll be too busy looking after their own interests to go that far.’

At Aeli’s confident tone, Lutis moved his mouth a few times and wrinkled the bridge of his nose.

However, as always, Lutis had never ignored Aeli’s opinions.

Finally, as his head slowly nodded, Aeli reached out one hand and held Lutis’ hand across from her.

“It’s okay. I can’t say the blessing is entirely goodwill, but in fact, the probability of nothing happening is the highest.”

“…….”

“The day has dawned, but should we close the curtains and sleep for a bit? You didn’t sleep today at dawn…… Yeah, you couldn’t sleep.”

He looked fine on the outside, but upon closer inspection, the area under his eyes was dark.

He was never one to show it well, so he must be tired even if he didn’t say it.

When she gently coaxed him while holding his hand, Lutis was slowly pulled in and lay facing Aeli.

She moved her body back a little to make space for him and even covered him with the blanket.

But when Lutis still couldn’t fall asleep easily even after a long time, Aeli felt strange and asked, blinking her eyes quickly.

“Aren’t you tired?”

“……I don’t know.”

“I feel a bit tired now. If you’re not going to sleep, I’ll just sleep first.”

“…….”

“You’re not going to sleep?”

“……I’m not sure.”

Thinking he might not know if he’s tired, Aeli thought it would be better for her to sleep first, so she tried to close her eyes.

It would have been like that if it weren’t for what Lutis said next.

“If I sleep now…… I feel like you’ll disappear again.”

“…….”

“Or you won’t open your eyes again like this……”

“……That won’t happen.”

Probably. Aeli, who came to her senses as Lutis’ words made sense, answered without confidence.

Come to think of it, she didn’t even know how she got her body back, so was it okay to sleep like this?

If she couldn’t sleep after returning to her body, that would be no different from torture.

Aeli, now troubled, tightly closed her mouth.

Lutis continued.

“……The last time I saw you was like this. So……”

“…….”

“So I’m anxious……”

The hand holding Aeli’s against his forehead with his eyes tightly closed was trembling slightly.

It took a long time to accept the sudden death, and it was unbelievable to see Aeli turned into a ghost, but now she’s alive and moving again.

Aeli thought about how much more difficult it must have been for those left behind who had to endure the time she was gone, when even she, the person involved, was perplexed.

It was virtually impossible to fully understand Lutis’ damaged inner thoughts, so Aeli just kept her mouth shut.

After staying still like that for a long time, she felt the strength slowly loosening in their clasped hands.

Perhaps he couldn’t overcome his fatigue, or perhaps he was infected by the warmth of the held hand.

“Lutis.”

“…….”

“……Sleep well.”

Aeli gently pulled out her held hand, stroked Lutis’ cheek as he breathed evenly, and soon closed her eyes.

She didn’t know how many years it had been.

[This is the timeline separator]

“Oh, Mommy……! Wahhh!”

And how many hours had passed?

Aeli’s eyes snapped open at the sound of a wailing cry.