Riley stared intently at Gibnen’s sleeping face, then reached out her hand toward his face.

‘…Why such a sad expression? Did Saki say something bad?’

After Saki left, the expression on Gibnen’s face, who was left alone in the room, was one he’d never shown before.

For the first time, he looked sad, as if he would cry at any moment.

At that moment, she could do nothing but embrace him. She couldn’t ask why he looked so sad. Because if she did, his face seemed like it would crumble completely. So she simply held him until he calmed down.

After embracing him for a while, he fell asleep as he was. Fortunately, his sleeping face looked somewhat at ease.

However, despite Gibnen appearing at ease, the unease was still Riley’s to bear. She became uneasy only after he had fallen asleep.

She wondered if something serious had happened to Gibnen. Otherwise, there was no reason for him, who was always so composed, to crumble like that.

‘Could he be dying? It seemed like he was recovering, but did something go wrong?’

Riley reached to caress Gibnen’s face but hastily pulled back her hand.

She’d almost touched him unconsciously.

What kind of action was this in front of someone who was ill? Despite her concern, she foolishly thought his sleeping face looked angelic.

His skin was as smooth as a peeled egg, and even now, she wanted to touch it. What impure thoughts to have while someone was sick.

Riley lay facing him and closed her eyes.

It felt good that even though he was sick, the spot next to him wasn’t empty.

They had shared a bed multiple times before, but this was the first time they’d only slept. Feeling the warmth next to her as she fell asleep made the experience very real. It felt incredibly new and nice to feel that warmth even before the next morning.

She felt much better. Her body felt relaxed and sleepy.

She wanted to hug him.

What would it feel like to fall asleep in his broad arms? It would be much warmer and much better.

After a moment’s hesitation, Riley reduced the distance between them. However, she didn’t dare to actually snuggle into his arms, instead choosing to look at his sleeping face from a closer distance.

Although she felt a sense of guilt for doing what she was doing in front of a sleeping patient, the warmth she felt at nose’s reach when she closed her eyes wasn’t unpleasant.

Gibnen slowly opened his eyes that he had kept closed.

Then he quietly lowered his gaze to look at the hair touching his neck.

‘What a fool.’

She’d started to snuggle into his arms but stopped, now maintaining a precariously close distance, her body curled into a ball as she slept. Why not either snuggle up completely or sleep farther away?

Why put oneself through such discomfort?

Gibnen, briefly clicking his tongue, reached out and pulled Riley’s waist toward him. Her body seemed tailor-made to fit into his arms. It felt quite stable.

The soft breath touching his chest wasn’t an uncomfortable sensation.

Finally, Gibnen closed his eyes as if satisfied.

“Master, I apologize for the interruption.”

Sophia, the housekeeper, and Gibnen’s attending physician opened the door and entered. However, they stopped dead in their tracks.

Gibnen and Riley lay on the bed, tightly embracing each other. Unlike the sleeping Riley, Gibnen was awake.

“What’s so surprising?”

At Gibnen’s nonchalant question, Sophia rolled her eyes.

“Should we come back later?”

Checking the time, Gibnen shook his head.

“No, it’s fine. She should wake up soon anyway.”
Gibnen shook Riley awake after separating her from his embrace.

“Wake up.”

Riley, who had been tossing and turning, opened her eyes. Still half-asleep, she sat up and blinked vacantly. Then Gibnen gently patted her back and spoke.

“Time to get washed up.”

“…Ready?”

“Planning on skipping school again today?”

“Ah…”

Slowly blinking, Riley lifted her hand and touched Gibnen’s forehead.

“No fever.”

“It’s a bit high, but it’s better than yesterday.”

“So stop worrying about me and go. Being absent too much will get you expelled. Hurry, if you don’t want to regret it.”

“…Really? You’re sure you’re okay?”

“I said so.”

Riley hesitated for a moment, then got up.

Indeed, missing the academy any more could lead to problems. She had been absent for two days. Missing more days would affect her grades, and getting expelled would be inconvenient. She was also concerned about falling behind in her studies. It was a situation where she couldn’t afford to miss more.

Luckily, Gibnen seemed much better than yesterday. Although it was still irritating that he had a slight fever, it wasn’t a high one, so there was no need for great concern.

“I’ll be back.”

As Riley left the room to get ready for school, the attending physician came up and checked Gibnen’s pulse and examined his condition.

“How’s the pain?”

“Much better.”

“How about moving around?”

“I think I can stand up.”