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Chapter 8
“…Mmm.”
The first thing my wandering hand touched in my half-asleep state was a warm, fluffy pillow.
The moment I felt the morning sunlight slowly filling the room, a sudden thought struck me, and my eyes snapped open.
“He didn’t come?”
On the wide bed, only I was lying there alone.
Just like always.
Beside me, the bedding was perfectly neat, showing no sign that anyone had slept there, and I instinctively frowned.
The disappointment I had felt on the first night surfaced again, making me feel strangely awkward.
At first, I couldn’t help pouting, but worry soon replaced it.
Was he okay?
He had said he couldn’t sleep anywhere except beside me, so it wasn’t like he had simply gone to bed alone…
Could he be overwhelmed with work?
Had he been so busy that he stayed up all night?
If that was the case… was his health alright?
He had said that not sleeping made his body feel unbearably heavy… I couldn’t help worrying that something might be wrong with him.
As those thoughts swirled through my mind, Lily arrived.
“Good morning, Your Highness!”
“Good morning, Lily. By any chance… did His Highness the Crown Prince come here last night?”
“No? Wait… don’t tell me His Highness stood you up again?”
Lily’s bright, cheerful expression instantly twisted into one of furious outrage.
I hurriedly calmed the fuming Lily.
Was she my maid or my friend…?
Though, to me, Lily really was more like a friend.
“He said he might not be able to come if he got busy. That’s probably what happened.”
“Hmph. Really? When you were unconscious, he came every single day.”
“…Really? He visited every day?”
“Yes! He even insisted that the royal physician examine you with the utmost care.”
“The royal physician came too?”
“Of course! Even after the physician said you were simply sleeping, His Highness still looked completely dissatisfied.”
Apparently, Blake had visited me every day while I was unconscious.
Then why had he said he came to complain because of his strange condition, only to end up falling asleep beside me?
As I recalled my difficult husband’s words, a good idea suddenly crossed my mind.
“Lily, could you prepare a simple breakfast… and make one extra serving? I have somewhere to go.”
“Your Highness… don’t tell me…”
Lily narrowed her eyes.
Seeing my embarrassed expression, she winked knowingly before hurrying out of the room.
While she was gone, I washed up.
When Lily returned with a basket of food, she hummed happily as she began dressing me up.
Seeing her mischievous grin, I immediately became nervous and pleaded with her.
“Please keep it simple, okay? Could you put that backless dress away?”
“Well, I suppose dressing too extravagantly first thing in the morning would be a bit much. It’s a shame, but let’s save the seductive concept for tonight… Ah, what about this one?”
The dress Lily pulled out was a calm shade of green.
Decorated with emeralds, pearls, and elegant patterns, it looked luxurious without being too dark, so I nodded in approval.
Once the dress was chosen, getting ready didn’t take long.
With my hair braided on both sides and only a small pearl necklace around my neck, I picked up the basket Lily had prepared and quietly stepped outside.
To my husband’s office.
Did I dress up too much…?
I rarely went out, so making an effort with my appearance felt unfamiliar.
Was this really alright?
I hesitated, but I had already made up my mind.
As I walked toward my husband’s office for the very first time, I kept smoothing my hair in embarrassment.
I even looked around constantly, wondering if I was going the right way.
Perhaps because it was still early in the morning, there were hardly any court officials, aides, or nobles in sight.
The imperial palace was unusually quiet.
When I finally arrived at the door to my husband’s office, I took a small, steadying breath.
No sound came from inside.
After hesitating for a long moment, I finally knocked softly.
Knock. Knock.
“Come in.”
The reply came surprisingly quickly.
And it was my husband’s voice.
So he really had stayed up working without sleeping.
Carefully, I opened the door and stepped inside.
The spacious office was piled high with documents, and beside the large desk stood a long sofa.
Blake was lying on it, apparently taking a short rest.
He was so tall, with such long limbs, that his legs stuck awkwardly off the edge of the sofa.
Since he had answered me, he probably wasn’t asleep.
Maybe he was just resting his mind?
With one forearm covering his forehead and his eyes closed, it looked as though he thought the person knocking had been one of his aides.
“…”
Watching him, I found myself unsure of what to say.
When I stood there silently for quite some time, Blake finally opened his eyes.
As he turned toward me, the bored, weary expression on his face instantly changed into surprise.
“Um… Is it alright if I come in, Your Highness?”
“…”
Blake stared at me blankly without answering.
His narrowed eyes almost seemed to be checking whether I was real or some kind of illusion.
Then he suddenly shot to his feet.
“Ariel?”
He even called me by my name.
When he always insisted on calling me Master, what happened to that?
Hearing Blake say my name made my ears grow hot.
His gaze shifted from me to the basket I was holding with both hands, and the corners of his lips slowly curled upward.
The exhaustion and irritation that had been written all over his face vanished as though they had never existed.
He suddenly looked incredibly pleased.
“You came to check whether I showed up last night?”
“Yes.”
I nodded honestly at his teasing smile.
After all, I was his guardian now!
Since he hadn’t come last night, I came to make sure he was alright.
That was all I meant.
But although he had asked the question himself, my straightforward answer seemed to embarrass him.
He turned his head away and cleared his throat awkwardly.
His complexion also seemed a little healthier than yesterday.
Yesterday, he had looked frighteningly pale.
Wanting to examine him more closely, I took two or three steps forward.
Blake immediately stretched out a hand to stop me.
“Don’t come any closer.”
“Why…?”
“If you’re beside me, I’ll start getting sleepy. I have to go out later.”
He was going out?
Of course, the Crown Prince’s duties couldn’t possibly consist of sitting in his office reading documents all day…
Still, officially, it hadn’t been long since he had “come back from the dead.”
So why was he already so busy that he couldn’t even sleep?
After hesitating, I sat down in a nearby chair and placed the basket on top of the large desk.
Naturally, my eyes landed on the document lying on top of the pile beside it.
[Imperial Allocation of the Orion Territory]
I quickly looked away as though I hadn’t read it.
That document…
I remembered it from the original novel.
What was it about again…?
It had been one of the story’s important developments.
When I got back, I’d have to reread the notes I’d made about the original novel.
Thinking that, I spoke to Blake.
“By the way, didn’t you sleep? You said before that your body feels heavy if you don’t get any sleep… Are you alright?”
“…So you really did come just to check on me.”
Blake looked completely taken aback.
I had no idea what he thought of me.
Shaking my head, I took some food out of the basket.
It was a simple sandwich filled with lightly grilled ham, eggs, and fresh lettuce.
He had said he couldn’t taste anything.
But that didn’t mean he didn’t need to eat.
After hesitating for a moment, I held the sandwich out to him.
Blake looked once at me and once at the sandwich in my hand before finally accepting it.
“Tell me honestly. You didn’t eat a proper dinner last night either, did you?”
The Blake from the original novel had been exactly like that.
Whenever he was under stress, he often skipped meals.
And even when he did eat, he preferred quick food like sandwiches over elaborate banquets.
Prince Alec, Blake’s rival and the Empress’s son, had mocked him for it, sneering that someone of low birth naturally had low-class tastes.
But to me…
Blake had always seemed more like an overworked modern office worker.
That only made him easier to sympathize with.
“You’re treating me so well that it’s making me nervous. Did I do something wrong?”
“Nothing like that. Just try it. I have a hypothesis.”
“…”
Blake stared blankly at my face.
Unable to resist my urging, he finally took a bite of the sandwich.
Seeing someone with such a cold appearance chewing with such a bewildered expression was unexpectedly adorable.
A moment later, his eyes widened.
“I can taste it.”
“I knew it! It’s because I gave it to you. Because I touched it.”
I clapped my hands proudly.
If I was the only one capable of restoring Blake’s senses…
Then maybe any food I touched, even briefly, would allow him to taste it.
That had been my theory.
Seeing it proven right made me beam with delight.
But instead of taking another bite, Blake simply stared at my smiling face.
Could it be that he could taste it now…
But didn’t actually like the sandwich?
I tilted my head in confusion.
Just then, a loud commotion echoed from outside.
It sounded as though someone was kicking furniture over or throwing things around in a fit of rage.
Turning toward the noise, I barely had time to react before the office door burst open without so much as a knock.
And unfortunately, the person who walked in was…
“Hah. First thing in the morning, and I have to see filthy commoners clinging all over each other.”
Shimmering blond hair.
Blue eyes just like Blake’s.
His dazzling clothes clearly marked him as royalty.
Yet the face twisted with fury looked more suited to a thug from the back alleys than an imperial prince.
Alec Hal Escani.
The man who constantly challenged Blake for the imperial throne and picked fights with him at every opportunity was Blake’s half-brother…
The prince born to the Empress.
