* * *
Amy’s older sister only returned in the morning.
“Hmm, the fever hasn’t gone down.”
With a worried face, she touched my forehead. The cool trace of her hand made my eyes flutter shut.
“I can’t believe this. You, with a cold.”
Of course, Nox was perfectly fine now. The one who ended up sick was me. People say that after a big ordeal, you often collapse, and whether it was from catching a cold in the night air or my body going on strike from exhaustion, I had come down with a solid fever.
“Heh, you know I don’t recover quickly from fevers.”
Before my sister came back yesterday, I had desperately tried to hide any trace left in the garden. Maybe it had worked—she hadn’t said anything yet. She wasn’t great at pretending, and there’s no way she’d stay calm if she’d found the blood-stained soil.
She tapped my forehead gently.
“That’s what worries me. Even when you take a lot of Arphim herbs, it doesn’t help much.”
“Taking too much of those herbs isn’t good.”
Any medicine in excess becomes poison. I had told her this many times before.
“Too much is bad?”
“Of course. Cough, cough. Just because sugar tastes good doesn’t mean you dump it into everything—medicine’s the same.”
Maybe it was her knight background, but my sister had a bad habit of throwing huge amounts of ingredients into cooking, thinking more was better. But in medicine, correct dosage was everything. Even as an amateur, I knew that much.
“Were you okay?”
I looked at her worriedly, afraid she might have been hurt, but she just smiled brightly.
“Of course. I only wandered through the Night Forest. I know this area like the back of my hand.”
She didn’t stop at reassuring me—she even clenched and unclenched her hand in front of my face as if to show she was unharmed.
Good. I nodded, but then a thought came to me, and I grabbed her hand.
“Sis, you know how we deal with monsters in the backyard?”
“Yeah.”
“There’s a tied-up sack where we dealt with them. Can you take care of it later?”
She froze for a moment, her expression stiffening instantly.
“…Don’t tell me. There were more people than usual… They came here, didn’t they?”
“Yes. But don’t worry. They got caught in a trap while hiding.”
…Well, technically, I only threw the sack over them and tied it up.
This house, where only my sister and I lived, had traps we had secretly set up everywhere. Most of the time, we forgot they even existed, but over the past ten years, there had been occasional intruders, and the traps had proven useful.
Even though it wasn’t a trap this time, my sister believed me without question. Well, it would be strange if she suspected anything—she thought Nox was just a child.
As long as she didn’t open that sack, we could get away with this. She trusted my words implicitly.
“I’ll load it onto a cart later and leave it by a path. Monster hunters often pass by there—they’ll find it within hours. If not… well, bad luck for them.”
They were the ones who invaded, so I wasn’t expecting them to make it home safely anyway. My sister spoke softly, patting my head. Her expression was unusually serious for someone who usually smiled so brightly.
“Amy, should we move?”
“Move?”
“I thought the forest was the best place for us, but… now I’m not so sure.”
Though a few lost monster hunters had wandered here before, this was the first time a whole group had come. She was clearly shaken.
Looking at her unusually grave face, I thought… maybe this wasn’t a bad idea.
“Well… it doesn’t sound bad.”
“Really? Then let’s think about it.”
“Mm.”
If I had no intention of calmly watching her die, we had to leave this place.
That thought left me with a sudden uneasy feeling in my chest, but I shook it off.
But… wait. Did this kind of attack even happen in the original story?
In the book, it only said that the woman who saved Nox was killed by the Crown Prince’s men. Nothing about what happened in between. What a shame.
Was this how my sister originally decided to leave?
Watching the door my sister had just gone through, I felt a flicker of resentment. Thinking about how she was now suddenly talking about moving made me unexpectedly emotional.
“…When I begged to move before, you didn’t even listen.”
Just then, the door I was glaring at clicked open.
“…Amy?”
A small boy peeked in.
“Nox.”
He trotted quickly to the bed.
“Come here. What’s wrong?”
But instead of climbing onto the bed or tugging at my clothes like usual, Nox just held onto the sheets. His anxious face turned toward me.
“Diana said she shouldn’t touch you. She said it’s contagious.”
“Really? She must think I just have a cold.”
“If it’s contagious, will you get better?”
“…There’s a saying like that, but no, it’s not really a cold.”
His little face clouded over like a dark sky. He pulled at my clothes insistently, his expression unusually urgent. I tilted my head at him.
“How can my sickness be contagious to you?”
“Sickness like this doesn’t spread, Nox.”
“Why?”
“What do you mean, why would it? Why would you even want to catch it?”
Then it hit me.
“Wait… you think if it spreads to you, I won’t be sick anymore, don’t you?”
…He nodded.
Oh. What am I supposed to do with this little creature? It was adorable but also troubling—he really believed he could take my illness away. Scratching my cheek awkwardly, I finally opened my mouth.
“Nox, this kind of sickness goes away on its own. What I need isn’t someone to catch it for me—I just need a warm drink. Can you bring me some water later?”
“…Water?”
“Yes. A little later. Are you okay, Nox? You’re not hurt anywhere, right?”
“…No. I’m fine.”
He said he was fine, but how could I believe someone whose favorite phrase was “I’m fine”? My eyes scanned him repeatedly.
The image of him as the Grand Duke, gasping for breath, still lingered in my chest, cold and heavy. Remembering how feverish he’d been last night still made me shiver.
“I’m glad you’re not hurt. I was really worried, you know.”
For the first time, I smiled genuinely at his words.
Really.
At the same time, I felt fear—a fear of the unknown.
What if something had gone wrong with the male lead?
The moments right after Nox collapsed kept replaying in my mind. Thankfully, an unbelievable miracle had happened, but I still didn’t know how to process what I’d seen yesterday.
First, Nox’s wounds had healed completely. Second, after sunrise, I had clearly seen his body revert to that of a child. Swallowing hard, I thought of the white light.
It definitely rose from the back of my hand, right?
That second part reminded me of the time we visited the abandoned house. Could it really be that as long as I held his hand, he wouldn’t revert to a child? The mix of fear and curiosity gnawed at me, but I couldn’t recklessly test it.
And how was I supposed to explain his wounds healing on their own? My head felt like it might explode from the confusion.
“…Amy?”
“Mm?”
Nox, looking worried, took my hand.
What am I going to do with you?
With a wry smile, I found myself stroking his hair.
“Wait. Should I… be asking permission for this too?”
“Permission?”
“Mm? Yeah. You know, like when I touch you here, or… poke you like this.”
I poked Nox’s head and cheeks playfully with a teasing grin.
“I never asked for your permission, did I?”
I was joking, but the thought had only just hit me. What if, later, Nox remembered everything and called me out for it? ‘You’re allowed to touch me, but I’m not allowed to touch you?’ …That wouldn’t happen, but still, it was a little worrying.
“Permission.”
Tilting his head, Nox looked at me intently.
“Do I really have to ask? Why?”
“Huh?”
“It’s fine with Amy. Your head, your shoulders, umm, here, here… and here…”
“Uh—wait, wait, how far are you going?”
I froze as his hand moved lower and lower, and before I could stop him, it rested right over his heart. Thump, thump, thump—the beating was just as I imagined it would be described.
Though Nox had grown closer to my sister, he still treated her like a wild animal guarding its own space. Even when he needed help washing up because the sink was too high, he would never let her touch him.
Sometimes he reminded me of a wary cat, but when he looked at me with those soft, trusting eyes, he felt more like a loyal puppy.
So how was I supposed to reject those eyes silently crying, “Please take me with you”?
Today again, staring into those clear eyes, I found myself with nowhere else to look.
“Nox, I’m really, really grateful, but…”
The only sound was our breathing in the stillness, and his little fingers tickled against mine.
“This—your heart—is the most important place for a person, you know? It’s something you only let someone very precious touch. So you shouldn’t just offer it to anyone.”
“Someone precious?”
“Mm. Someone precious.”
I tried to pull my hand away, but he held it so tightly it wouldn’t budge.
“Someone you might be with for a long, long time.”
Nox had always been cold and lonely. His life had been one of solitude, but now I wanted to tell him that happiness, warmth, and joy were waiting for him in the future. But… I had to keep that to myself.
“I just… I want you to be happy, Nox. I want you to meet lots of good people and be happy.”
I meant it.
His happiness.
For example, there’s that beautiful, unbelievably talented mage heroine. Right now, she’s probably busy studying, but someday, she’ll be your hope, your reason to live.
For a brief moment, I glanced at the back of my hand and smiled awkwardly.
I gently pulled my hand from Nox’s grasp, bringing it to my chest, but his small hand caught mine mid-air.
“How do I become happy?”
“Eh? Uh… well…”
“I don’t really know.”
Ah. Was that too vague? Tilting my head along with him, I tried to think.
“Ah, happiness feels like… when your heart feels warm, when you’re happy, and when you wish time would just stop.”
“…Amy means, if someone can make you feel like that, that’s a good thing?”
“Right?”
Nox stared at me, still holding my hand. Slowly, his head tilted, and his small lips parted.
“…Then, it’s you, Amy.”
For a moment, I was struck speechless, like I’d swallowed my words. Was that desperate glimmer in his jewel-like eyes just my imagination? Turning my head away, I swallowed hard. It was all I could do.
After a long silence, I finally managed to speak.
“Mm, I see. Let’s eat, shall we? I’m hungry.”
“Okay.”
At my request to tell my sister, Nox dashed off obediently, like a well-trained puppy. Watching his small back disappear, I finally let out a long breath and rubbed my face.
…Why did it feel like a stray cat had chosen me? Was he flirting with me? No—he definitely was flirting.
I felt flustered. To be honest, my dilemma stemmed from the fact that he was too beautiful. What was I supposed to say to a doll-like boy looking at me so desperately, as if saying “Please pick me up”? “Don’t look at me”? “Stop staring at me like that”? Impossible.
Because of those very eyes, I had started seeing Nox’s night and day selves overlap. I used to think they were completely different people, but that belief was starting to crumble.
I couldn’t help wondering how my sister treated him. She probably grew attached to him too. Was it because she and I were just different?
Every time this boy took a step closer, I felt like I was standing in front of a dam about to burst on a day of torrential rain.
“Amy, let’s eat.”
“Ah, Sis.”
I stopped my thoughts as my sister peeked through the door. She helped me up as I swayed on my feet.
“Guess what? Nox actually talked to me! He said, ‘I want to help.’ It was so cute!”
“Really?”
…Come to think of it, I can’t hide his true identity forever. What would my sister think if she learned that the cute boy she adored was the same man who shared a bed with her younger sister every night?
“Nox is setting the table right now. Praise him when you see him. You know he loves your praise the most.”
“Mm…”
“I’m so jealous.”
“…Of me? Or of Nox?”
“Which do you think?”
I looked at her bright smile and nodded awkwardly.
“…I’m not answering that.”
Shaking my head, I glanced at the cookies stacked in her arms. So that’s why she had brought back so many new snacks—they were all for Nox.
Not that I cared much. I wasn’t fond of sweets anyway, so my sister’s bright grin didn’t bother me.
…Yes. I’d put this off for now.
We’re going to part ways eventually, right? Putting it off was a bad habit, but just for a little while… it felt okay.
* * *
When he opened his eyes, bright blue moonlight greeted Nox.
Night again.
Of course, it would be night, but sometimes it still felt strange, always waking to darkness.
How long would it be until he could wake up like this in daylight?
Nox looked down. The bandages that had wrapped his chest before he collapsed were gone.
The poison that had ravaged his body had stolen even his memories of last night. He clearly remembered collapsing, but the events right before were blurry.
Hadn’t there been intruders?
He turned his head—and saw a sleeping girl.
“…Amy?”
A small towel rested on her forehead—the same towel she had used to wipe him down. Staring at her like this felt strange; he was used to seeing her blink awake when he opened his eyes, not asleep like this, breathing softly.
He fiddled with the towel before setting it aside and sitting up.
Her breathing was uneven. She was definitely sick.
Why?
As he pieced together his hazy memories, the intruders came back to him. The way he had cut them down in an instant, and Amy staring at him with wide eyes.
“It’s not polite to feel fear toward someone who protects you.”
But the problem was, he couldn’t tell which parts were real.
He swallowed hard and closed his eyes. Flashes of last night flickered before him—but something felt strange.
A girl was crying, tears streaming down her face, shouting at him to get up.
“Lennox!”
That was odd. That… wasn’t his name.