The moment I was about to step forward, Nox pulled me into his arms, holding me tightly. Seeing him raise his arm, I panicked, thinking he might actually start a fight, and quickly grabbed him.
“Y-you can’t hit my sister!”
“……I won’t do anything.”
Trapped in his embrace, I reluctantly lifted my head and saw my sister drawing her sword. Nox pulled me back with him, and before we knew it, we were standing under the window where the moonlight poured in the most.
The instant my sister raised her sword again and saw us, her eyes widened.
“Wait, you……”
Her brows furrowed. Her eyesight wasn’t bad, so she must have seen clearly.
“……Nox?”
My sister looked at me, her face showing utter disbelief even though she was the one who had said it. Her eyes were screaming, No, right? No way?!
Rolling my eyes, I slowly nodded. Yes. That’s right, sister. The kid you picked up… the one you cared about so much.
“It’s hard to believe, but sister, it’s true. The Nox you know is right here……”
Before I could finish, my sister shouted.
“N-no way. You’re lying, right?”
She mumbled while hesitantly gripping her sword, as if begging me to deny it. The shock was so strong that she even staggered a little, adjusting her stance.
And then, she looked as if she’d just realized that the stray puppy she picked up was actually a wolf.
“N-Nox grew up……”
My sister covered her mouth with both hands, her expression overwhelmed.
“C-come to think of it, his eyes and face do look similar…… Did he suddenly grow up? What happened?”
“It’s not really growing up…… just… similar……”
“No!”
Startled, my sister grabbed my shoulders as if she’d just been given crucial medical test results and asked me seriously,
“Don’t tell me… he’s never going to turn back into little Nox again?”
“……Huh?”
“Our cute Nox! Give me back my Nox!”
I understood she was relieved because he wasn’t a complete stranger but the same Nox we knew. But… really? This is the reaction you have right now? That’s the problem for you, not your sister almost getting killed earlier?!
“……Sister, are you the same person who just threw a sword and yelled?”
“……That’s not what matters, Amy.”
“What does matter then?”
“Nox.”
My sister asked me with a deadly serious expression.
“……Does this mean I’ll never see him like that again?”
……Just how much did my sister love Nox?
She really liked little Nox—maybe too much. If I hadn’t stepped in between them before, it probably would have unfolded exactly like the novel. Now that she wasn’t destined to be his first love, she had stayed just a kind woman who doted on a child she picked up.
But right now… why did she look like some fangirl grieving over losing her favorite character, upset she couldn’t feed him snacks anymore?
I stared at my sister, who was covering her mouth, dumbfounded.
“……So during the day he’s a child, and at night he looks like this?”
“Yeah.”
I explained the situation on behalf of Nox, who stayed silent. Only after a long explanation did my sister finally show a look of understanding. She wasn’t slow-witted, but honestly, it was a ridiculous situation.
“I know it’s late to say this now, but can something like this even happen? ……I still can’t believe it.”
She glared at me, demanding an explanation, and, well… fair enough. If I hadn’t read the novel, I wouldn’t believe it either.
“Ow, sister! That hurts!”
……I get how you feel, I really do. But can you stop hitting me now? My shoulder hurts.
My sister, ever the former knight quick to adapt, calmed down sooner than I expected.
Once she finally settled, she looked at me with a strangely probing gaze.
“……So he’s been like that every night all this time?”
Her eyes flicked briefly toward Nox. I nodded. She tapped her lips and asked again,
“Is he still the same Nox I know, even in that form?”
“No. He doesn’t remember anything from when he’s a kid. But his personality… should be similar… probably.”
Well… he’s more mature at night. Whether that maturity is coldness or cruelty, I decided to leave unsaid—no need to make her wary.
A little later, my sister said something that echoed exactly what I’d felt when I first saw Nox like this.
“Looking at him now, it’s obvious. His hair and eyes are the same. ……Though his expression feels completely different.”
“R-right?”
Meanwhile, Nox, who had been silent ever since my sister showed up, still hadn’t spoken.
I glanced at him. Sure, he was quiet by nature, but he usually talked to me quite a bit when we were alone……
“Oh my, my head. You’ve been sleeping with such a big man……”
“Hey, can you not phrase it like that? It sounds weird.”
Instead of drawing her sword again, my sister rubbed her forehead.
“Anyway, so on the outside he’s different, but he’s still Nox? Fine. I get it. I can’t deny what’s right in front of me. But Amy.”
Dropping all her previous teasing, she spoke seriously.
“Why didn’t you tell me sooner? Was it because you thought I’d worry?”
“Uh…… yeah……”
“If you really worried, you should have told me the truth. Do you even know how I feel finding out this way?”
“Sorry.”
I couldn’t meet her eyes and looked down.
It wasn’t only because I worried about her. I’d also wanted to avoid following the book’s storyline. For a while, I hadn’t wanted my sister and Nox to meet at all.
Swallowing the words I couldn’t say, I raised my head.
“So, what now?”
My sister gave me a wry but gentle smile.
“I still have my doubts, but what can we do now? It’s too late for that.”
She was always kind to the weak and strong against the strong. I already knew what her answer would be.
“He still turns into a child during the day, right? We can’t kick him out now.”
“So we’ll keep living together?”
“Yeah. Are you okay with that?”
My sister smiled, back to her usual self.
“Nox all grown up… this is really strange.”
For the first time, Nox lifted his head. He still didn’t seem interested in my sister like he was during the day, but he looked at her now, quietly. She seemed to notice his gaze.
But soon her face turned awkward, probably because she couldn’t see the little Nox she loved in him.
“Hm, I guess I need time too. I can’t get used to it right away. Anyway, Amy.”
“Yeah?”
Unexpectedly, her expression hardened as she spoke firmly.
“From now on, you can’t sleep in the same bed as Nox. You understand, right?”
“Uh? Ah…… yeah.”
That made sense. She had only let me sleep with him before because she thought he was a child. I sneaked a glance at Nox.
“Looks like even now he really likes and follows you.”
“Yeah.”
“Even though he’s bigger at night, it seems like he’s still the same inside. He really does like you.”
Judging by how she looked at Nox, who kept silently staring at me, she must have decided he wasn’t quite a full-grown adult in personality. Which was… lucky for me, I guess.
“Still, he looks close to an adult. You can’t sleep together anymore.”
“Yeah, right. It’d be tough now anyway. And, uh, the bed was small, too……”
I quickly turned my head, not daring to check his expression.
It felt weird. This was the right thing, the proper way things should be. So why did it feel like I was… disappointed for a second? No, that had to be my imagination.
“Then you’ll sleep with me from now on.”
“No.”
Nox cut me off, his expression displeased. He pulled me closer by the waist. I glanced at my sister nervously.
“Are you going somewhere?”
“Huh? Where?”
Nox gently grabbed my wrist.
“Don’t go.”
……Why did he make it sound like I was leaving for some faraway country just to go to my sister’s room?
“I’m not going far.”
I stared at the hand gripping my wrist, flustered.
My sister, watching us, let out an amused snort.
“Daytime Nox or nighttime Nox, you really like her, huh.”
“Ha ha. Didn’t you say he doesn’t remember? I wonder which one of you likes her more—daytime or nighttime?”
“……Don’t say useless things.”
This time, Nox frowned.
Why was he looking at me like that?
Anyway, I couldn’t just stay like this, so I tried to pull away from Nox. But his grip wouldn’t loosen, no matter how much I tugged. My sister, shaking her head firmly, said,
“I get the situation, but I can’t let you two be together anymore.”
Considering Nox at night was basically a grown Grand Duke, she wasn’t wrong. From her perspective, leaving me alone with him was unacceptable.
“It’s late. Let’s all get some sleep.”
“Okay.”
So, this was how our nights of sleeping together ended.
“Nox, let go. Okay?”
“……”
I really wanted to ask him more about the mark on his hand, but I couldn’t exactly say, Let’s keep sleeping together for research.
I slipped free from his grip, and this time, he didn’t hold me back.
Instead, he stared at me for a long time before looking down at his now-empty hand.
Feeling awkward, I waved at him.
“……Good night.”
For a brief second, his cold eyes looked… hollow.
Why did the short walk back to my room feel as lonely as a winter forest?
* * *
The next day passed uneventfully. But somehow, it felt strangely empty. Maybe because when I woke up in the morning, the bed felt too spacious.
Well, of course it did. Unlike with Nox, who always ended up pressed tightly against me, sharing a bed with my sister naturally left room to spare.
The daytime flew by quickly. Now that I was fully recovered, housework wasn’t difficult anymore, so I spent the day catching up on chores. I also tutored little Nox again and even prepared dinner for the first time in a while.
Before I knew it, night had fallen.
“These days, the monsters feel more restless.”
“Really?”
My sister, who had gone out to gather herbs, said she had a hard time after running into a lost monster. She was sleeping soundly now, unusually deeply for her.
But even so, if I moved, she’d wake up immediately.
I lay down straight, but I couldn’t fall asleep.
……Should I try hugging her?
Body warmth supposedly helped with sleep. In my previous life, I’d seen some TV program about a company that offered hugs before bedtime, and it really did seem to work.
Sharing that cramped bed with Nox had forced us to sleep practically glued together. I hadn’t had a choice then, but now that I thought about it, I had slept really well back then.
Wait, am I… missing that? After just one day?
……No way. I shook my head furiously. But I couldn’t stop myself from sitting up.
I quietly pushed the blanket aside and grabbed the doorknob.
“……Mm, where are you going?”
“B-bathroom.”
“……Ah… okay.”
Maybe it was the exhaustion from the monster encounter. Normally, she would have questioned me more, but she just mumbled and fell back asleep.
After confirming she was sound asleep, I opened the door.
By the time I reached the living room, I let out a long sigh and sat on the sofa.
“Whew……”
I’d sit here for just a moment before going back.
As I exhaled, someone suddenly picked me up.
“Amy.”
“Eek! Nox?”
When had he come up behind me? There had been no one here a moment ago!
Blinking in surprise as he easily lifted me, I darted my eyes around. My bedroom door was already open.
“Y-you weren’t asleep?”
“……I couldn’t sleep.”
But his eyes looked like someone who was forcing himself to stay awake. Carefully, I reached out and touched them. As my fingertips brushed his eyes, he quietly closed them.
“You look tired. You should sleep. Sleep isn’t something you should force yourself to fight.”
“If I sleep, you won’t be there.”
“……”
I sucked in a breath. There was nowhere to run, cradled in his arms like this, so I just lowered my head instead.
“……I can’t stay by your side forever. Just like we couldn’t sleep together anymore starting today, things might change later too.”
“What could change?”
“……A lot. No moment lasts forever.”
I was only supposed to be involved in the male lead’s life for now. Just long enough to save my sister. After that, I wouldn’t be part of his life.
All the words I didn’t say hovered on my tongue, but for some reason, I felt like I couldn’t say them out loud.
“Why do you always push me away?”
“……Push you away? I’m not—”
“From the moment I opened my eyes, I’ve been looking for you.”
“……”
“Look at me, Amy.”
Our breathing grew slightly uneven.
“My time exists only at night. If you’re not there…… none of it means anything.”
I felt his trembling eyelashes brush against my fingers. Startled, I grabbed his skin, then quickly let go.
“Amy.”
Catching my falling hand, he lifted it to his lips. Just like the day he licked my wounded palm, he pressed his lips firmly against it instead of his tongue.
His black eyelashes fluttered right in front of me.
He placed me gently down on the soft surface and planted his hands on either side of me. I could feel his breath brushing my nose.
“I want your permission for what I’m about to do. Will you allow it?”