SPWHC 28

Chapter 28

“Ack!”

I flinched the moment I burst into Joachim’s room.

He was standing there half-naked, only a towel wrapped around his waist, staring right at me.

I almost staggered backward and shut the door on reflex.

But no—remember. I’m René Stadt.

René would never be startled by a naked man’s body. She’d admire it, if anything.

Though I absolutely cannot shamelessly admire it…

‘…His pelvic bones are insane.’

No—eyes up. No, down. Ugh, where am I supposed to look?

Anywhere I look, I feel like I’m seeing something I shouldn’t. I squeezed my eyes shut.

Forget René’s character setting—this is just wrong! I am a modern human with morals and intelligence!

“…Is it unsightly?”

Even with my eyes closed, I heard his voice, shaken with hurt. I cracked my eyes open—and saw his body closer than before—so I whipped my head away.

Ugh, this is bad. I’d already broken character, and I was scrambling to figure out how to fix it when he spoke again, sounding bewildered.

“Is it so… unbearable to look at me?”

“…What are you talking about?”

If he means his body—yes. Because it’s absolutely not fit for all-ages viewing.

“You’re turning away from me.”

His voice wavered in disbelief. I frowned.

Wait… don’t tell me he did this on purpose so I’d see him?

“No woman alive could turn away from you, Lord Rommel. I can’t claim to know every woman’s heart, but that much I can guarantee.”

“Your Highness is turning away right now.”

“…Well, my gaze might be… unpleasant for you.”

A scoff escaped him—like I’d said something absurd.

“Why do you think I’m here?”

And then Joachim—more precisely, his body—entered my field of vision again.

When I tried to turn away, he urgently followed my gaze, as if not wanting me to dodge him.

“Why do you think I fought so hard to come here? You think your gaze is unpleasant to me?”

He shook his head again, as though the idea was ridiculous.

“When I think about all the foolish things I did just to keep Your Highness’s eyes on me a little longer… I want to go back and beat my past self.”

He sank to one knee, right where my gaze would land—leaving me nowhere left to flee.

“Please don’t turn away from me.”

Honestly, there isn’t a woman in the world who could turn away from that face and body.

Friedrich may be the most beautiful man in the world, but Joachim is definitely among the top in this universe too.

Which meant… I felt kind of sorry. Turns out I’m a much kinder person than I thought.

“…If I wanted to avoid you, I wouldn’t have come here.”

When I brushed back my hair with a frown, Joachim’s eyes lit up.

‘Well, it’s the first night here, so it makes sense to drop by once.’

If I were truly René… she’d shove Joachim straight onto the bed right now.

“Whoa—wait!”

I’d only thought it, but Joachim was already reaching for his towel.

I quickly grabbed his hand to stop him. He blinked in realization… then took my hand and guided it to the knot of the towel.

With a sly smile, he murmured,

“My apologies. I almost robbed Your Highness of your pleasure.”

“No, no. Lord Rommel, how about we do something… calm and peaceful since it’s nighttime.”

He looked confused for a moment, then a dawning expression appeared on his face.

“Would that truly satisfy you?”

“Oh… Please don’t make assumptions. Just take my words literally.”

I didn’t know what he imagined, but I was certain I shouldn’t ask.

Between Joachim and Elsa, their ability to overinterpret things is neck-and-neck.

I gave him a bright smile and scanned the room. Fortunately, I spotted the bathrobe he had taken off.

I hurriedly grabbed it and draped it over his shoulders. Given his build, it was large enough that I could use it as a blanket.

‘He’s not a hulking giant, but he’s huge up close…’

I even tied the ribbon around his waist nicely. Joachim stared at me, baffled.

He was clearly trying to figure out my intentions, but he’d never guess why I was really here.

The most all-ages-appropriate, René-like nighttime activity I could think of—the quietest, calmest thing possible.

And that is…!

“Tada—let’s do some knitting.”

I smiled and pulled two sets of knitting needles from my pocket. Joachim’s face twisted into something bizarre—like he’d heard absolute nonsense.

Of course I knew how ridiculous this was… but I decided to brazen it out like René would.

“There’s nothing more fun than knitting at night. It works wonders for insomnia. Do you have insomnia?”

“…I do, but…”

He muttered, still looking stunned.

“Are you being serious? Literally serious? Not… some new euphemism?”

“Oh, no. Literal knitting. Don’t think weird things.”

I grabbed his hand and pulled him up. He lowered his gaze shyly, then rose as if he’d been waiting for it.

“Come here.”

I did lead him to the bed—but not for any inappropriate reason.

The bed was simply the biggest surface to set down yarn and needles.

But Joachim kept fidgeting with the robe, clearly convinced I was planning to do anything but knit.

“If the robe is uncomfortable, I can step out so you can get dressed.”

“…There’s no need, Your Highness.”

He did look a bit disappointed, but I picked up the needles and asked,

“Do you know how to knit?”

“I do not.”

Then he suddenly brightened with a mischievous smile.

“Teach me.”

…Dangerous! He’s definitely doing this on purpose—this is dangerous!

I forced an awkward laugh and demonstrated.

“First, hold the needles like this.”

“Like this?”

…Oh boy. He really had zero hand-eye coordination.

This was going to be a long journey; I braced myself.

“No, like this.”

I demonstrated again.

After fumbling several times, Joachim frowned in frustration.

I had no choice but to take his hands and position them myself.

“Like this, I said.”

“…Yes.”

He lowered his gaze shyly again and nodded. After that, it was exactly like with Friedrich.

Joachim couldn’t pick anything up by just watching, so I had to physically guide his hands through every step.

When we finally completed a single row together, I unraveled all of it in front of his proud face. His expression collapsed into despair.

“Your Highness…”

“Come on, try again.”

“…I don’t quite remember…”

He looked like he was about to cry.

It made me realize just how fast Friedrich had learned.

I picked up the needles again.

“All right, one more time.”

Joachim’s smile vanished; he nodded with a serious, determined expression.

…But Joachim, despite all his enthusiasm, had truly, truly terrible motor skills.

‘When did I fall asleep?’

I must’ve dozed off at some point; I remembered nothing.

When I slowly opened my eyes, I saw Joachim sleeping soundly beside me.

Then the robe had slipped in his sleep, exposing his chest…

‘…I should cover him.’

There was no one else who’d see, but he might catch a cold.

I gently pulled the blanket up to his chin.

‘He said he had insomnia.’

But he was sleeping beautifully—our knitting session must’ve helped him rest.

‘I’m glad I didn’t accidentally grope Joachim’s chest.’

Because if I repeated the same mistake I made with Friedrich… I’d be in trouble.

Friedrich let it slide because he’s a good person, but…

‘I wonder what he’s doing now.’

I couldn’t help but feel vaguely uneasy—what if he heard I’d gone to Joachim’s bedroom?