🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 13
“You’re still not asleep…?”
While heading to his bedroom after finishing up work, Avalkin noticed a warm orange light glowing from a small window in the west tower. He stopped walking.
He instinctively checked his watch. It was 2 a.m.
It wasn’t normal for someone to be awake at this hour—especially in a room that had only a bed and no other furniture.
“Maybe she can’t sleep because of stress.”
It was a reasonable guess.
Thanks to the unicorn’s magic, all of Bellaxina’s travel fatigue should’ve already been healed.
So, if she was still uncomfortable, it was probably for emotional or mental reasons.
She probably needs something warm to drink.
Without overthinking it, Avalkin headed toward the kitchen to tell a maid to prepare something relaxing for Bellaxina.
“Hmm.”
Looking at the cold stove, Avalkin clicked his tongue in disappointment.
Unluckily, not a single kitchen maid was working at 2 a.m.
Well, this is a problem.
Still, it wasn’t too surprising.
Because Yeshken’s sun rose late, staff at the estate officially started work at 7 a.m.—even the early risers didn’t show up before 6.
At this point, Avalkin could’ve just given up.
After all, Bellaxina hadn’t even asked for anything.
“…”
But instead, he filled a kettle with water and placed it on the stove.
Soon, the kitchen warmed with the sound of boiling water.
He mixed a bit of nearly-empty rum, butter, and a sugar cube in a cup, blended it all together, and added hot water—creating a warm drink called hot buttered rum.
It was rich, sweet, and warm—just the kind of drink loved by Yeshken’s soldiers during the harsh winters.
Not sure if she’ll like this.
Now that it was made, he realized it might not be a drink southern women usually enjoy.
But he didn’t know how to make anything else, so this would have to do.
He cast a heat-preserving spell on the cup, then left the kitchen.
The warm red light was still shining from the west tower.
“Ugh, you’re disgusting. I’d rather die than walk into a wedding hall next to garbage like you.”
That slave-like woman—with no cooperation, a sharp tongue, and who claimed she’d rather die than marry him—why was he even bothering to make her a drink?
Avalkin sighed softly.
“…Still, I have no choice.”
If he wanted to prove to that clueless woman what a good man really looked like, he’d have to give her some hints.
****
Knock knock.
“Ah!”
Bellaxina was dozing off while hugging a small oil lamp, completely wrapped in blankets. The sudden knock snapped her awake.
Who is it?
Judging by how dark it still was, it couldn’t be Ingrid or the maids. They said they’d return after sunrise.
So, who was it?
Who had come to visit her in this lonely, freezing tower in the middle of the night?
Before she could think more, something happened—
She moved without thinking, and the oil lamp slipped from her hand, landing on the bed.
“KYAA!”
Hearing her sharp scream through the wall, Avalkin rushed in without hesitation.
And what he saw left him stunned.
“…Are you insane?!”
The lamp oil had spilled, the fire had spread to the mattress, and the flames were quickly growing.
Right in front of it, Bellaxina was wrapped in a flammable blanket and trying to beat the fire out with a pillow.
“Move! Now!”
At Avalkin’s loud command, Bellaxina quickly threw herself out of the way.
Avalkin gathered a ball of ice magic in his hand and hurled it into the center of the fire.
The mattress froze over with a crackling sound, and the fire was out in seconds.
“Haah… haah…”
Bellaxina sat frozen, trying to calm her racing heart.
“I locked you in a windowless room so you wouldn’t throw yourself out—and now you try to burn yourself instead? Seriously?”
Avalkin snapped in a voice full of anger, frustration, and just a bit of worry.
“That’s not it!”
“Then why bring a lamp into your bed?!”
It was a bit unfair, but Bellaxina felt guilty since it had caused a fire. She quietly answered,
“B-Because it was cold…”
Hearing that, Avalkin fell silent.
He finally noticed the soot on her face and the way she’d wrapped herself up like a grub.
Damn it. This was my fault.
Ingrid had warned him.
Yeshken nights—especially in a tower with no fireplace—were way too cold for someone from the south.
Because of his lack of care, this poor southern woman had spent the night shivering, hugging a tiny lamp for warmth.
“Thank you.”
Just as Avalkin was blaming himself, Bellaxina spoke.
“I don’t know how you showed up at just the right time… But if you hadn’t, I really would’ve died in that fire. I’ll pay you back for the burned stuff eventually. I don’t have money now, but—”
“Trying to kill me with guilt now?”
“Huh?”
Avalkin looked away, avoiding her eyes, and sighed.
“No need to repay me. Don’t worry about that. Also…”
He noticed the cup sitting on the table—
The hot buttered rum he’d made for her.
Picking it up, he handed it to Bellaxina and said,
“Take this, put on this coat, and follow me.”
She accepted the magically warm drink and threw his coat over her shoulders.
It was so big it felt like she was wearing armor.
“Where are we going?”
“You think you can sleep here?”
She looked around the room.
Half burned, half frozen. Definitely not sleepable.
“There’s no one working at this hour.”
Avalkin continued,
“So you’ll have to sleep in my room. It’s more comfortable.”
“Your room?”
Hearing the doubt in her voice, Avalkin replied, half annoyed.
“Relax. I won’t touch you before the wedding. Besides, you’re covered in soot—not exactly my type.”
“I wasn’t worried about that.”
She denied it, then lifted the drink to change the topic.
“What is this, anyway?”
“Liquor.”
“…Seriously?”
In her head, she wanted to ask:
Why did you bring alcohol to my room?
Why do I have to carry it?
Do you not have hands or what?
But she let it go.
He did put out the fire. She could carry one cup.
“I made it for you to drink.”
When she just held it awkwardly, Avalkin added,
“If you don’t want it, don’t drink it.”
“I didn’t say that!”
As he awkwardly tried to take it back, Bellaxina pulled the cup closer and took a sip.
A soft, white steam rose with the warm liquid.
The smell of butter and sugar mixed with the spicy rum, making her feel cozy.
Sip.
The warm alcohol slid down her throat, heating her from the inside.
It really warms you up…
Sip.
She took a bolder gulp, and the heat flowed through her body like warm fire, relaxing her tense nerves.
“Does it taste okay?”
Avalkin asked, his voice flat but with a hint of worry.
Bellaxina noticed the corners of her lips twitching up, so she quickly forced her mouth shut and coughed.
“Hmph. Not bad.”
“Good.”
They walked the rest of the way to his room in silence.
But there was a strange, tingly tension between them that was hard to ignore.
Still, Avalkin dismissed the warmth between them as nothing more than a misunderstanding—
A side effect of a warm drink, nothing more.
“You should change.”
Once in the room, Avalkin removed the coat from her shoulders.
It wasn’t right to lie in bed wearing half-burned, soot-covered clothes.
“I’ll lend you some of my pajamas. They’ll be a bit big.”
“They’re clean, right?”
“Don’t ask pointless questions. Just change.”
He handed her the clothes, ignoring her sass.
Given the size of the coat, the pajamas were definitely going to be huge.
Bellaxina took just the top and said,
“I don’t need the bottoms. The shirt alone probably goes down to my knees.”
“Good.”
What’s so good about that? she thought.
As Avalkin folded the pants, Bellaxina reluctantly stepped behind the partition.
There, she found a pitcher of clear, cold water and a clean towel—probably meant for Avalkin’s morning wash.
“I’m using the towel.”
“Go ahead.”
With that, she wiped the soot from her face and body, changed into his oversized pajama top, and came out from behind the screen.
That’s when she saw Avalkin, sitting by the bed.
And at that moment, she finally realized what he had meant by “That’s good.”
“…Why are you only wearing pants?!?”
