Riley stared intently at Givnen’s sleeping face and reached out her hand towards his face.

‘…Why are you making such a sad expression? Did Sack say something unpleasant?’

The expression on Givnen’s face, left alone in the room after Sack had left, was unlike anything she had ever seen before.

For the first time, he who had never shown any sign of pain or struggle before, wore a sad face. A face that looked like it might cry at any moment.

Seeing that expression, there was nothing she could do but embrace him. She couldn’t ask why he was making such a sad face. Because he looked like he might truly crumble if asked about it. So she simply held him until he calmed down.

After being held like that for a while, he fell asleep just like that. Fortunately, his sleeping face looked a bit more peaceful.

However, unlike the seemingly peaceful Givnen, the anxiety remained Riley’s burden. It was only after he fell asleep that she truly became anxious.

She thought something big must have happened to Givnen. Otherwise, how could he, who had always been so composed, make such a crumbling expression?

‘Is he perhaps dying? He seemed to be getting better, but did something go wrong?’

Riley was about to caress Givnen’s face but hastily pulled her hand back.

She had almost touched him unconsciously.

What was she doing in front of a sick person? While worrying about him, she had the foolish thought that his sleeping face looked angelic.

His skin, smooth like a peeled egg, made her want to touch it even in this situation. What an impure thought to have about a sick person.

Riley closed her eyes as she lay facing him.

She liked that his side of the bed wasn’t empty even though he was sick like this.

They had slept together in one bed several times before, but this was the first time they had just slept like this, so she realized this is what it feels like to have warmth remaining on the side of the bed when going to sleep. The feeling of experiencing the warmth she usually felt when waking up the next morning before going to sleep was very unfamiliar but nice.

It felt much better. She felt her body relaxing and becoming drowsy.

She felt like wanting to embrace him.

What would it feel like to fall asleep nestled in those broad arms? It would probably be much warmer, much nicer.

After hesitating for a moment, Riley slowly closed the distance between them. However, she couldn’t bring herself to nestle into his arms and just looked at his sleeping face from a bit closer.

Even as she felt self-loathing for what she was doing alone with a sleeping patient, she closed her eyes, not disliking the warmth felt at a nose-touching distance.

Givnen slowly opened his eyes that had been closed.

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

‘How silly.’

It was amusing to see her curled up asleep while maintaining a very precarious distance after fidgeting her way towards his arms and then stopping. If she was going to embrace him, she should have done so, or she should have slept completely apart.

Why was she deliberately making herself uncomfortable?

Givnen briefly clicked his tongue and reached out to wrap his arm around Riley’s waist, pulling her tightly. Her body, which seemed custom-made to fit his, was pulled in and settled into his arms. It felt quite stable.

Her breathing tickled his chest. The ticklish sensation wasn’t unpleasant at all.

Only then did Givnen close his eyes again, seemingly satisfied.

“Young master, excuse me for a moment.”

The head maid Sophia and Givnen’s personal physician opened the door and entered. However, they stopped in their tracks after just a few steps.

Givnen and Riley were lying on the bed, tightly embracing each other, with Givnen awake unlike the sleeping Riley.

“Why are you so surprised?”

At Givnen’s nonchalant question, Sophia rolled her eyes and asked.

“Should we come back a little later?”

Instead of answering, Givnen checked the clock and then shook his head.

“No, it’s fine. It’s time for elder sister to wake up anyway.”

Givnen detached Riley from his arms and shook her awake.

“Wake up.”

Riley, who had been tossing and turning, opened her eyes. She raised her upper body in a daze and just blinked blankly. Then Givnen gently patted her back and said.

“You need to wash up and get ready.”

“…Get ready?”

“Are you planning to be absent again today?”

“Ah…”

Riley blinked her eyes slowly and then raised her hand to stroke Givnen’s forehead.

“No fever.”

“It’s slightly elevated, but better than yesterday.”

“So stop nursing me and go. Too many absences are grounds for expulsion. I don’t want to be resented, so hurry.”

“…Really? Are you sure you’re alright?”

“I said I am.”

Riley hesitated for a moment before getting up.

She did feel like she couldn’t miss any more days at the academy. She had already been absent for two days. If she didn’t meet the attendance requirements, it would affect her grades, and expulsion would be troublesome. She was also worried about falling behind in lectures. She probably couldn’t afford to miss any more.

Fortunately, Givnen’s condition looked much better than yesterday. Although the lingering low-grade fever was bothersome, it wasn’t a high fever, so there was probably no need to worry too much, right?

“I’ll be back.”

As Riley left the room to prepare for school, the physician approached and checked Givnen’s pulse and physical condition.

“How is the pain?”

“Much better.”

“Are you able to move around?”

“I think I can stand up.”

“That’s good. Your recovery is certainly fast, so you should be able to return to work within four days at the latest. You must not skip taking your medicine and nutritional supplements for recuperation.”

“I will.”

“Then I’ll come back in the evening.”

After the physician left, Lady Sophia placed freshly baked bread, soup, and medicine on the shelf.

“Would you like to eat now?”

“No, I’ll eat on my own later, so just leave it there.”

“Understood.”

Sophia, who was about to leave the room, stopped and turned around. When Givnen looked at her as if to ask what it was, Lady Sophia gave a kind smile.

“You’ll be quite bored today.”

“…”

“If it weren’t for the academy, the young lady would have stayed by your side all day.”

“…It doesn’t really matter whether she’s here or not.”

“Is that so?”

Sophia smiled meaningfully and then bowed her head.

“Then I’ll take my leave, please rest comfortably.”

After Lady Sophia left, Givnen got up and looked out the window. It was true that Riley had been by his side all day until now. To the point of being annoying.

But now that she was gone, it did feel a bit strange.

The clock hands seemed to move a little slower than usual. As he kept looking out the window for a while, he saw Riley’s back as she left the mansion after changing clothes. Givnen watched until that figure disappeared and muttered in a small voice.

‘It might be a little boring after all…’

“Riley! What on earth happened?”

As soon as she entered the classroom, Hila ran up and hugged Riley tightly. Other students looked at them strangely, but Hila spoke in a very excited state.

“I thought something had happened again.”

“Just… a family member was a bit sick.”

“Really? Was it so serious that you couldn’t come to the academy?”

“Yeah, I thought it would be better if I nursed them directly by their side.”

“So are they okay now?”

“Much better.”

“Phew, that’s a relief. I thought something had happened to you again. Like last time…”

“I’m sorry for worrying you. I wasn’t in a situation to contact you.”

Only then did Hila let go of Riley with relief, and they both sat down, opened their books, and prepared to listen to the lecture.

“Did anything happen while I was gone?”

At Riley’s question, Hila thought for a moment and then answered as if remembering something.

“Some man was looking for you.”

“A man?”

“He was very handsome. He asked me where you were since you hadn’t been seen for a few days, but how would I know? I just said I didn’t know.”

At the mention of a handsome person, Riley immediately thought of one person.

There weren’t many handsome men in her life, and excluding Givnen who was at the mansion, if it was Sack, he would have come to the mansion rather than the academy. The master was also excluded.

Then there was only one left.

‘What was his name again…?’

They weren’t even on a first-name basis, were they?

She had forgotten about it for a while since she hadn’t encountered him since that day when she had a three-way meeting with Givnen, but what was the matter?

“Oh, and they’re going to have a welcome party.”

“A welcome party?”

“Yeah, they said they’re going to gather all the magic faculty students and have a social gathering…”

“Is this something they usually do?”

“No. For some reason, they announced they’re going to have a welcome party this time. Maybe they were stimulated by the general faculty?”

“The general faculty?”

“The magic faculty has always been cliquish and individualistic, so there hasn’t been much interaction between seniors and juniors… Those from Blestidge have been socializing consistently at social gatherings since childhood, so they didn’t feel the need to create such occasions, but it’s different for the general faculty. The general faculty has many departments under it, right? There are a lot of people too. Moreover, connections have a strong influence when it comes to employment, so they’ve been holding welcome parties to build friendships.”

“Ah…”

“The current magic faculty student council president is very enthusiastic, you know. He has a personality that really likes to mingle with people, so… He said he’s going to hold a welcome party for the magic faculty this year too, to create an opportunity for fellowship among faculty members.”

“It’s not mandatory participation, right?”

“It’s not mandatory, but they did notify that there would be many disadvantages for non-participation.”

“…Disadvantages.”

“But I like it. The general faculty welcome parties always went on trips to different cities. Won’t the magic faculty do the same? It feels like going on a trip. And all expenses are covered by the student council too.”

Unlike Riley, Hila seemed to be really looking forward to the welcome party.

“Riley, don’t you like such gatherings?”

“…It’s not that I don’t like them, it’s just a bit burdensome.”

“Why! You can just stick with me.”

She just found gatherings with many people burdensome. She didn’t know how to deal with people well, and if Hila hadn’t approached her first, she probably wouldn’t have had any friends even now. Especially a gathering with seniors, not just classmates? The thought alone made her uncomfortable and her throat felt tight.

It wasn’t just anything, but a gathering where Blestidge graduates would also be present. Given that she had already made a bad impression on them, there might even be a coordinated attack from seniors and juniors. They say Blestidge graduates stick together closely.

Moreover, if it involved going out to play outside the academy, it made her even more nervous.

“When is the welcome party?”

“The day after tomorrow!”

“…The day after tomorrow?!”

“Why? You’re coming, right? I can’t do without you. I was going to come find you personally to tell you if you didn’t come today too. Let’s go to the welcome party together.”

But Givnen still wasn’t fully recovered…

“It’s for one night and two days. The destination is Lurat! You’ve heard of it, right? The southernmost coastal city famous as a tourist destination!”

It was even the place she had visited once before with Givnen.

Where a bullet had flown at Givnen’s head…

“They say attendance points will be given for the welcome party as well, since it’s an extension of classes. If you don’t go, you’ll lose attendance points again.”

Riley fixed her gaze on her book, looking gloomy.

She didn’t feel like going out to play while leaving the sick Givnen at home, but it was also a problem not to participate in a schedule that affected attendance points. She had already accumulated minus points for missing two days, and if she added more minus points here, it would be disastrous.

“…Alright.”

Riley sighed secretly.

Why were they suddenly holding a welcome party, group life was really not easy.

Her head throbbed with complicated thoughts.