Chapter 31

Episode 31

Even during the long silence that followed, Ilian couldn’t really find anything to say.

Fundamentally, there was nothing wrong with what Lydia had said.

Fiddling with the report without turning a single page, lost in thought, Ilian was quietly observed by Lydia, who then spoke.

“Honestly, I said the right thing, didn’t I?”

The only reason Ilian didn’t get angry at the teasing tone, as if she had read his mind, was precisely because the one saying such words was Lydia.

“You’re lucky. Someone you met only once understands your heart like this.”

Even as he said it, he thought the remark was more childish than his nephew.

Why was he trying to make such comparisons anyway?

But Lydia only gave a short laugh and said, as if it were the most natural thing in the world:

“It’s because I care about you. Who else in my life is as important as you are right now?”

As soon as Ilian heard those words, he turned his head and stared at her.

Lydia continued reading her book, unshaken.

Like someone who stirred up a giant wave and left Ilian in the middle of that emotional turmoil, acting like it was nothing.

“…Important person?”

So he ended up catching onto the end of her sentence and asking again for no reason.

But Lydia only answered as if it was obvious.

“The faster we end this marriage, the better it is for both of us. We’ll each go our own way. So right now, the only person I should be focused on is you.”

“…Right.”

“Don’t tell me you don’t want to give me the ring? It’s useless for you to keep it.”

It seemed Lydia had interpreted Ilian’s delayed response in a completely different way.

The truth was, Ilian had completely forgotten about the ring’s existence for a while.

“Of course not. Like you said, it’s no use to me.”

“Then that’s a relief.”

After that, Lydia waited for a moment, but since Ilian didn’t say anything else, she decided to focus on her book again.

Afterward, the soft rustle of turning pages was occasionally mixed with Lydia’s yawns.

She tried to fight it by rubbing her eyes, but it was no use.

Lydia tried to keep her eyes open despite her blinking slowing significantly, but by the time Ilian looked over at her, she was already asleep.

“Lydia.”

Ilian called out once to Lydia, who was clutching her open book while breathing evenly with her eyes closed. But there was no response from her.

“It’s about time she got tired.”

Glancing once at the night sky where the moon had begun to wane, Ilian carefully removed the book from Lydia’s arms.

She stirred once, curling up and breathing more deeply, but then became still again.

Looking at the mountain of cushions piled between them like a ridge, Ilian let out a small laugh and slowly leaned back against the bed.

He had said he couldn’t sleep well when someone was lying beside him, but Lydia’s breathing didn’t seem to bother him.

With such trivial thoughts, Ilian fell asleep without realizing it.

What woke him later was Lydia gently shaking his shoulder.

When he opened his eyes, he realized he was clenching his fist so tightly that it ached.

His breathing was slightly heavy, and cold sweat dotted his forehead. It seemed like once again, his subconscious had teamed up with his curse to torment him.

“You looked like you were having a nightmare.”

A drowsy, murmured voice faintly reached him.

Only then did Ilian turn his head to see Lydia.

Whether he had pushed them aside in his sleep or Lydia had moved them, about half of the cushions between them had been removed.

Lydia was lying on her side in an awkward position, as if she had reached out her hand and then stopped, her eyes half-closed as she looked at him.

“That’s why I said we should just sleep holding hands.”

Even in this situation, a small smile escaped Ilian’s lips.

Lydia’s outstretched hand lightly fell onto his. Ilian gladly took her hand.

At the moment when the fading nightmare tried to drag him down like a dark shadow, Lydia felt like someone pulling him back up again.

***

Lydia’s solution continued that way for a few days.

However, every morning when Lydia woke up disheveled, Ilian was always already gone, so this time, as she awoke sensing the presence of someone still beside her, she froze in place.

Even without opening her eyes, she could tell Ilian was holding her hand tightly.

So she slowly retraced what had happened during the night. She definitely remembered waking him up when he started tossing and sweating again, though he had been fine the previous night.

‘Did I… reach out my hand after that?’

She thought she probably did. But it was strange that even though she had woken up, he still showed no signs of waking.

Maybe exhaustion had built up, and he had fallen into a deeper sleep today.

As the morning sunlight tickled the corners of her eyes, Lydia finally opened them slowly—and was startled by how close Ilian’s face was.

Seeing him sleeping so peacefully, she vaguely imagined the gentle side of him described in his younger sibling’s diary.

‘I guess I should wake him up.’

No matter how peaceful the mood was, she couldn’t just lie there forever.

However, their hands were intertwined more tightly than she expected, making it hard to pull hers away.

“Just a little longer, like this.”

At that moment, Ilian, whom she thought was still asleep, murmured in a deeply husky voice.

Startled, Lydia sat up abruptly.

But Ilian remained lying down without even thinking about opening his eyes.

“Were you pretending to sleep?”

“Just woke up.”

Only then did he barely open his eyes, squint at the bright sunlight, and promptly close them again.

“It’s still early.”

“You usually get up at the crack of dawn. Are you seriously planning to sleep again?”

Though Lydia wasn’t one to sleep in, Ilian always began his day earlier than she did.

Once, she tried to get up early too, but upon seeing him already dressed neatly before the sun was even up, she had given up.

Even just yesterday, he was the one who got up first and left the room.

“But you’re here.”

As if telling her she didn’t need to bother getting up early, he tapped her pillow casually.

It was a sight unfamiliar and unlike his usual sharp demeanor.

But instead of responding to his behavior, Lydia took advantage of the loosened grip to pull her hand free, grabbed a ribbon from the nightstand, and tied her messy hair up.

“Didn’t we agree to go to the royal archive before the banquet today? We really can’t postpone it anymore.”

“Did I ever mention that my biggest regret is telling you about the royal archive?”

“Stop with the nonsense.”

“I’m serious.”

When Lydia crossed her arms and glared at him, Ilian finally sighed and slowly sat up.

As he reached out and tidied a loose end of the ribbon in her hair, he spoke with a still-drowsy expression.

“You don’t need to be so nervous about one banquet.”

“It’s an audience with Their Majesties the King and Queen. How can I not be nervous?”

“If you just have a proper conversation with them once, your opinion will change.”

“Still.”

Perhaps Ilian Esteban was the only one in the world who could respond to the king’s invitation so nonchalantly.

Lydia replied in a tone that suggested she had no choice.

Ilian gently pressed the space between Lydia’s brows that hadn’t relaxed once and said,

“…I’ll be with you, so don’t worry.”

Of course, Lydia didn’t doubt that he would make a great shield.

Being on the receiving end of his snarky remarks would be awful, but they were on the same side, after all.

“Will Princess Yulina be there too?”

“Why do you ask about Princess Yulina?”

When Ilian asked with a slight frown, Lydia shook her head and said it was nothing.

She didn’t even know why that question slipped out in the first place.