Chapter 44

Episode 44

Ilian awoke from a light sleep to the sound of someone groaning in pain and turned to his side.

As his eyes gradually adjusted to the darkness, he saw Lydia, once again adorably curled up behind a pile of cushions she had stacked, lying in a tight fetal position.

In the midst of his slowly returning consciousness, Ilian noticed that Lydia’s body was trembling from time to time and he half-rose from his seat.

“Lydia.”

But it seemed Lydia couldn’t hear his voice at all. Ilian leaned forward, pushed aside the bothersome cushions, and grasped her shoulder.

“Lydia.”

Still, Lydia didn’t seem like she intended to get up.

She merely exhaled ragged breaths and let out occasional groans. When Ilian placed a hand on her forehead, he felt a lukewarm warmth.

“…Cold.”

Despite his actions, Lydia only curled up more and muttered about the cold as if talking in her sleep.

It suddenly struck him that it was always she who woke him from his nightmares, but this was the first time their roles were reversed.

Though he had seen her deeply asleep many times, this was the first time he’d seen her appear so fragile.

Ilian cast a glance toward the stove, which was nothing but ash now.

He had raised the room temperature on purpose, but as dawn deepened, the warmth seemed to fade and the cold crept in.

“Lydia.”

After some deliberation, Ilian shook Lydia again to try to wake her.

If she kept sleeping in this state and woke up in the morning, she would surely be worse rather than better.

Even if he didn’t summon the physician, he thought at least she should take some medicine and go back to sleep.

“I don’t want to get up…”

A smile, unfitting for the situation, formed on Ilian’s lips.

He knew she’d never act this way when awake, so he stopped trying to wake her and naturally tuned in to what she mumbled.

“I know you don’t want to get up, but you don’t seem to be doing well.”

Whether it was because his low voice finally reached her, Lydia slightly opened her eyes.

Her sleep-heavy gaze clearly showed she didn’t want to wake up at all.

“…Why.”

She stared blankly at Ilian who had come close to speak to her, then her eyes slowly blinked, almost shutting again.

Then, as if trying to cling to something for support, she grasped the hand Ilian had placed on her shoulder and lowered her head, resting her cheek against it.

As Lydia began to lean forward more, she instinctively moved closer to Ilian, as if seeking warmth.

“…Ha.”

And just like that, Lydia fell back asleep, leaving Ilian in a tangled mix of emotions—awkward, yet willing—and entirely wide awake.

Ilian considered waking her again but decided it might be better to let her rest fully and recover.

She had stopped groaning and now breathed evenly, sleeping peacefully.

‘Maybe this is just my selfish judgment.’

Thinking that rest was better than medicine was probably more about his desire to hold her close than any real medical reasoning.

Still, he was sure that if her condition had truly been critical, he would have woken her.

When he glanced down, Lydia, with her forehead resting quietly against his chest, looked so serene that he could only stare at her, wishing time would stop in that moment.

***

Naturally enough, Lydia realized the moment morning came that she had caught a cold.

More specifically, she woke up as soon as she realized she was nestled in someone’s embrace, feeling as if her entire body was being crushed by a heavy boulder.

‘Ah… I caught a cold.’

Even without speaking, she could tell her voice was completely hoarse.

At first, she thought of just closing her eyes again in this warmth, but the moment she realized who the warm presence behind her and the hand on her waist belonged to, her eyes flew open.

And the instant she turned her head, she locked eyes with someone watching her intently.

“…Why am I like this, I’m sorry…”

Her throat was so scratchy she could barely speak, and even to herself, her voice sounded terrible, mixed with a metallic rasp.

Ah, this wasn’t just a cold. She was clearly, thoroughly sick.

Realizing that made her body feel even heavier. A small cough burst out.

She couldn’t even remember the last time she’d realized so seriously upon waking that she had caught a cold.

“You kept muttering that you were cold and trying to cling to me, so I left you be.”

That was a very abridged explanation.

But not exactly inaccurate.

Lydia’s face flushed redder than he had ever seen before.

When she tried to get up in a hurry, her head throbbed and the world spun, causing her to falter—at which point Ilian pulled her back down, and they ended up lying face to face again.

Avoiding Ilian’s gaze as he brought a hand to her forehead, Lydia mumbled again.

“…I’m really sorry.”

The once-meaningful pile of cushions between them was now strewn far off on the floor.

Looking at that, Lydia thought she’d have to come up with a sturdier solution, but she couldn’t focus her mind through the hazy stream of thoughts.

Regardless, Ilian, with his hand resting on her head, made a soft, unidentifiable sound and withdrew his hand.

“Seems like you haven’t gotten worse since dawn. Eat breakfast and take your medicine.”

“…I don’t even want to get up, let alone take medicine.”

“That’s why I told you not to jump in.”

“You’re going to hold that over me forever, aren’t you?”

Lydia let out a long sigh and buried her face in the pillow, letting out a groan.

She didn’t notice Ilian pausing slightly at her use of the word “forever.”

“I know I have to get up… I know…”

But when people are sick, they want to whine.

And for Lydia, it had been ages since she had someone she could whine to.

So although she said that, she stayed perfectly still, unmoving.

Eventually, as Ilian stayed too quiet, she slowly lowered the pillow to peek at him, only to find him still looking at her, unchanged.

“If we stay close like this, you’ll catch my cold.”

Only then did Lydia finally say something.

After all, she was the only one who had to suffer for yesterday’s misguided act—effective, but with severe side effects.

Truthfully, she was a bit bitter that he, who had also jumped into the water and stayed in it for about the same time, looked perfectly fine.

“I’ll have breakfast brought here. You stay in bed.”

Ilian got up quickly and gently brushed away the strands of hair that were bothering her face.

His voice was kinder than expected, which caught Lydia off guard.

She thought for sure he would scold her, as usual.

While she blinked, her mind too sluggish to keep up, time passed, and Ilian eventually shook her awake again.

“Lydia, eat and sleep.”

She had no idea how she managed to lift her spoon in that drowsy state, but after taking the medicine placed on the tray, she fell asleep again.

Much later, when she awoke, the afternoon sunlight was already disappearing beyond the window.

As she tried to slowly lift her eyelids, she felt someone’s hand gently brushing across her forehead and stopped, staying still.

From the way the bed dipped heavily to one side again, it seemed Ilian was beside her.

But he wasn’t trying to wake her or saying anything—just lightly grazing the area near her forehead.

Feeling soothed by the soft sound of his breathing behind her, Lydia almost drifted back to sleep.

But the tickling at her ear was too much, and she ended up opening her eyes.

“You’re awake.”

Ilian, withdrawing his hand, acted nonchalantly, as if nothing had happened, making his earlier actions feel unreal.

As Lydia turned to face him and lay back properly, she saw the slight frown on his face.

It was a rare expression—one she wasn’t familiar with.

Though she had seen hints of it before, she had never seen such clear and sincere worry on his face.

Perhaps even he didn’t realize it himself.