CBOM 56

chapter 56

“Then if you don’t want to collapse tomorrow, don’t do a thousand of them.”
“Then you shouldn’t have made me do a thousand in the first place.”
“The original goal is always better if it’s high. You should gradually increase toward the goal of a thousand…”

Riveau had done it, so Leto felt he absolutely had to do it too.

Ahin’s nagging and advice no longer reached Leto’s ears.

As a result, the next day, Leto was hit hard with a fever accompanied by muscle pain.

“Ugh…”

This kind of pain, as if his whole body had been shredded, was something he had never felt before.

It was different from being struck by Sophie, though; this pain was the result of something he had chosen to do himself, so strangely, he didn’t hate it.

“Young master, you really should rest today.”

Esi, having already heard from Ahin that Leto had overexerted himself yesterday, checked his forehead for a fever and frowned.

“…Mm.”

If Riveau hadn’t collapsed and had trained the next day, Leto would have crawled to go out too—but today, Riveau hadn’t gotten up either.

It was okay to rest.

Leto blinked his half-closed eyes and soon drifted back into sleep.

How long had he been asleep?

His eyelids were swollen, and opening his eyes felt like a great struggle.

When he finally lifted his eyelids, Leto widened his eyes in surprise.

“…What are you all doing here?”

Turning his head, he saw unexpected faces.

He had expected Esi, but he hadn’t anticipated seeing Riveau, Grace, and even Ahin.

“You’re awake. You’ve slept the whole morning.”
“…Ah. So you stayed all this time?”
“Of course. The little young master was sick, so naturally we had to be here. Riveau was very worried too.”

Grace spoke softly.

Hearing that everyone had worried for him made Leto feel embarrassed and awkward. He lay there blinking for a while before finally sitting up abruptly.

The wet towel on his forehead slipped off.

“Are you okay?”

Riveau approached, looking at Leto with concern.

“Yes, yes. I’m fine.”

Leto replied, his face flushed bright red.

He hurriedly straightened his disheveled clothes and hair.

“Sorry for showing such an embarrassing side of myself.”

Even as he said this, Leto had crusted eyes and a slight trace of saliva on his lips.

“It’s fine. More importantly, has your fever gone down?”

Riveau suddenly placed his hand on Leto’s forehead to check.

His small body was still warm like a child’s, but it seemed much better than before.

“Much better. But you know you still need to rest today, right?”
“Y-yes…”

Leto hadn’t expected anyone to come just because he was sick, but now that he was awake, he thought everyone would leave.

Yet no one left, and they prepared a meal for Leto, who hadn’t eaten all day while sleeping.

“Do you have an appetite?”
“Yes.”

Actually, he didn’t.

The soup they had carefully made looked smooth, but it felt gritty like sand in his mouth.

“Eat it all.”
“…Alright.”

Still, he didn’t want to waste the effort they put into preparing it, so he finished everything.

After taking his medicine, he lay back down, well cared for.

He had slept so much that he wasn’t tired anymore, but seeing everyone worried, he closed his eyes lightly, pretending to sleep.

“Zzzz…”

He even made a little sleeping sound.

He thought they’d leave after that, but that was a mistake.

“I’ll stay here for now.”
“Me too. I’m in charge of Leto, after all.”

Riveau said he’d stay, and Esi immediately followed suit.

Then suddenly, they began arguing over who would stay.

“Since when?”
“Not officially decided, but I’ve been taking care of him, so he’s my responsibility. Everyone tacitly agreed. No one else said they’d take charge.”
“…But I’m Riveau’s responsibility.”
“So I’ll be next to Leto.”
“But Riveau said he’ll stay here. Naturally, I should stay too.”
“Well, since you’re arguing about staying here, I’ll join in. I’ll stay too.”

Why were they suddenly fighting?

Should he open his eyes?

Leto, still not fully asleep, listened to everything, his eyelids trembling.

“Earlier, we agreed only one person would stay when Leto woke up.”

Grace reminded them to leave only one person, but Riveau stepped forward again.

“I’ll stay.”
“Riveau, you must like Leto a bit?”

At that, Leto’s body twitched noticeably.

He thought he heard a soft laugh, but he stiffened, curious about Riveau’s next words.

“…There’s no reason not to like him.”

A slightly disappointing answer.

He had liked Riveau, after all.

Still, relieved that it wasn’t dislike, Grace said:

“He said he likes you.”

As if for everyone to hear.

“I didn’t say that.”
“The opposite of not disliking is liking, right?”
“No.”
“Then what is it?”
“Just… indifferent.”

“Liar. If Esi were sick, would you stay by her side?”
“…”

Riveau couldn’t answer.

Esi, quietly listening, felt a bit hurt.

“What about Ahin if he were sick?”
“Whether sick or not.”

But when asked about Ahin, the answer was harsh, instantly healing Esi’s wounded pride.

Feeling somewhat relieved that he was better rated than Ahin, Ahin pouted, “Hey! Young master, you’re neglecting me!”

He tried to complain, but Riveau didn’t seem inclined to respond.

“…Hmph, too mean.”

And Leto, still pretending to sleep, felt his heart race.

Grace thought Riveau liked Leto so much that she hadn’t even considered winning, but being second among them was still something.

“Pfft.”

Then a raw laugh burst out again.

This time it was loud, but Leto, already in his flower-filled daydream, didn’t hear it, his cheeks turning crimson.

Everyone knew Leto wasn’t really asleep.

But they pretended not to know, exchanging glances.

‘Of course, Riveau should stay.’
‘Yeah… I feel so left out…’
‘Esi, my feelings are the same. Why would Riveau dislike me?’

The three whispered among themselves and eventually decided to let Riveau take care of him.

It seemed that’s what Leto would want.

Leto recovered as if he had never been sick.

Above all, his respect and devotion toward Riveau grew stronger, and he also opened up a little more to Grace, Esi, and Ahin.

It was the first time he’d experienced such a thing.

A situation where everyone argued over who would stay by his sick side.

“Good morning again, young master!”
“Mm. Good morning, Esi.”

It felt good.

He had often been sick, but he always endured it alone. He had thought this time would be no different.

But Leto didn’t know that even that thought mirrored Riveau.

“Would it be alright for you to have breakfast in the dining room from now on?”
“Dining room?”
“Yes. Riveau is worried about you and wants to eat together…”
“…Ah.”
“If you weren’t feeling well, it wouldn’t work, but your fever’s down and you seem fine. Or would you rather eat here? That’s fine too.”
“No. I’ll go down and eat.”

It was the first time they had all gathered for a meal.

“Shall we go, then?”

Although excited, he tried to walk gracefully, suppressing his feelings.

But he couldn’t hide the lightness in his steps, and when they reached the dining room, Riveau was already waiting.

Riveau smiled warmly.

“Hello, Leto.”
“Good morning!”

This time Leto’s reply was louder than usual.

Riveau patiently waited until Leto climbed onto the chair.

“Take your time.”

The small movements Leto made trying to climb up were incredibly cute.

In the end, Leto, with his short legs, couldn’t get onto the chair alone and had to be helped by Esi.

His flushed cheeks made him look shy and embarrassed.

“Are you feeling okay?”
“Yes. Thanks to your concern, I’m feeling much better.”

He soon answered Riveau’s worried questions bravely.

“Good. I checked your fever yesterday. That’s a relief.”
“Uh… how long were you here while I was asleep?”
“Not too long.”

After a brief conversation, Riveau began to eat, and Leto followed, lifting his spoon.

The soup that had tasted bad yesterday now seemed as sweet as honey.

“It’s delicious!”
“Eat a lot.”
“Yes. You eat a lot too!”

Leto busily ate the soup and finished the salad as well.

His energy was much higher than usual, though he probably didn’t realize it.