Chapter 34
The Lips That Protruded So Much
Although the war had temporarily ceased, giving the impression that peace had returned, beneath the surface, fierce battles were still ongoing. It was a highly volatile situation, where anything could explode at any moment.
Thus, even the crown prince couldn’t predict how things would change, what his role would become, or what would happen next. Therefore, she couldn’t allow herself to think of the child as someone she would carry through life.
“There might come a time when we’ll have to kill the crown prince.”
“!”
At Rakalt’s cold remark, Adelen’s eyes froze.
“W-was that just a joke?”
“It’s not decided right now, but it’s something that could happen eventually.”
“When…?”
“Try to distance yourself a little emotionally. We didn’t bring the child to raise, we brought him to use.”
Adelen couldn’t respond right away.
Could she really do that?
This child was already her child. Affection couldn’t be given or withheld at will.
“Can the human heart really do that?”
“Even if it can’t, maybe with effort, it could one day.”
“…”
Adelen’s lips puffed out.
She rebelliously pouted adorably.
If only she had been more defiant, Rakalt would have scolded her sharply. But now, with her shrinking back like that, he couldn’t bring himself to scold her.
If she was going to shrink, at least she shouldn’t show signs of dissatisfaction. He wanted to pinch her puffed-up lips and scold her.
Rakalt clenched his fist tightly to suppress the sudden impulse and crossed his arms.
“Ah. If he sleeps on the floor for too long, it’ll be uncomfortable, so I’ll need to move him…”
“…”
Adelen, seemingly trying to change the subject, paused in the middle of speaking. Even the change of subject was for the child’s sake. She couldn’t help the habits she had ingrained.
It was then that Adelen glanced at Rakalt again, cautiously…
Suddenly, the baby’s eyes snapped open as if waiting.
“Koo?”
“…….”
Had the baby already recovered his energy?
Adelen realized that now was the time to heed the advice of her master. It was a mistake to think that she should give the baby whatever he wanted. She could end up in danger!
“Koooh!”
But now was not the time to be still.
If the baby caused a bigger ruckus, it would take double or triple the energy to calm him down.
Playing with the ball now was a choice for her own sake. Really.
Adelen slowly got up.
“Ugh, ahh! Baby!”
And then it happened.
Rakalt blocked the ball flying sharply toward her with one hand.
Bang!
The ball made a sound as if it were about to burst before bouncing away.
“Ugggh!”
The baby, who had thrown the ball at Rakalt, crawled toward the ball with gleaming eyes.
“No, baby, this way, over here!”
Ignoring Adelen’s call, the baby kept his gaze fixed on Rakalt.
Rakalt’s eyes, in turn, glinted sharply.
“…A tiger cub must be trained while young. It looks like that will be my job.”
The warm sunlight pierced her eyes.
“Umm….”
Adelen mumbled and squinted her eyes. Waking up to the sunlight was something she hadn’t experienced in a long time.
Like most households, the maid’s quarters were the most remote and shabby, so sunlight rarely entered. Waking up to the warm sunlight was a rare occurrence.
But why was there sunlight…?
Adelen, still half-asleep, struggled to think as she moved her body.
“Ugh, ugh….”
Just a slight movement made her feel as if her body was falling apart.
Every breath made her worry that bone dust might be falling from somewhere, as her entire body ached.
Adelen let herself relax again, groaning as she lay back down.
She didn’t want to open her eyes… she just wanted to sleep a little longer…
uh, isn’t it okay to sleep?
Right now, she wasn’t working as a regular maid but was dedicated to the baby. She didn’t need to get up until the baby woke her.
Having finished calculating even in her sleep, Adelen smiled softly and relaxed her body.
The warm sunlight, the cozy warmth clinging to her body. Even though her back was stiff, it felt good.
‘? My back is stiff…?’
Her thoughts abruptly stopped. A sudden brake was applied to the thoughts that had been flowing naturally.
The warm sunlight, the clingy warmth on her body, and the stiff back were all things that shouldn’t have been present in his current situation.
What was going on? What was happening?
The fog of sleep lifted.
Adelen quickly opened her eyes and turned to look beside her.
“Auuu…”
The baby had his nose buried in Adelen’s side, sleeping soundly. He was so deeply asleep that he was even talking in his sleep.
Sometimes, his arm would flap around like he was throwing something.
“Ah, ow…”
The baby had swung his arm in his sleep, but it still hurt. Adelen groaned and looked around more carefully.
As expected, she and the baby were lying on the floor.
The location was the living room. No matter how soft the rug was, it was still hard compared to a bed.
Was she really lying on the floor with the baby? Adelen pondered.
‘Ah, right. I was watching my master play with him yesterday…’
When had she fallen asleep?
Even after dinner, the baby had been full of energy and played until night.
Adelen couldn’t just stay still, so the three of them had played together.
But as midnight approached, Adelen’s energy started to plummet. It felt like she was throwing her soul rather than a ball.
Her mind was hazy, and she staggered, so her master told her to rest and let him handle things alone.
That was when the real one-on-one competition had started. It was so exciting that Adelen’s tired eyes regained some sparkle.
But even that had limits. As the night passed, and the early morning turned into deep dawn, Adelen had collapsed onto the floor at some point.
And here she was now.
Even after Adelen had passed out on the floor, the baby had continued playing before crawling over to Adelen’s side and falling asleep.
“Impressive, baby.”
Adelen mentally admired the baby’s stamina, who had stayed awake longer than she did.
Now that she had drained all his energy, would she sleep all day today?
she couldn’t keep sleeping on the floor, so she thought she should move to the bed. However, when she tried to lift one arm, the other arm wouldn’t move. It seemed to be stuck somewhere.
Thinking it might be caught under the furniture, Adelen casually turned her head, only to freeze.
“!”
Her master’s closed eyes filled his vision.
A scream that couldn’t escape echoed inside her mouth.
It was too close, too close. If she breathed, his lips would almost touch hers. So, Adelen couldn’t breathe and just blinked her eyes.
However, Adelen didn’t realize that even as her eyelashes fluttered, there could be a breeze.
“Mm…”
Rakalt opened his eyes.
Even he, being human, had heavy eyelids from exhaustion. However, the lack of focus wasn’t because he was tired, but because what was in front of him was too close.
His bright yellow eyes, sometimes resembling a honeycomb, wobbled relentlessly.
“…Ah.”
“…Oh…”
The two stared at each other for a while, unable to move.
When facing an unexpected accident, the body freezes. This was exactly that moment.
“…You’re awake.”
Unlike Adelen, who felt like she might faint from the shock, Rakalt seemed calm.
He slowly blinked his dry eyes, let out a long sigh instead of a yawn, and sat up.
Only then did Adelen realize where she had been resting her neck—on her master’s arm.
Since they had slept so close together, it was inevitable that their arms would be tangled.
Why had they slept so close, with his arm under her like this?
Could it be that her master had been kind, worried her neck would hurt?
Could it be that kind of kindness?
No way!
“Did you feel cold while sleeping? I noticed you clinging to me, but I was too tired and just let it be. How’s your body feeling?”
It seemed “just a guess” was indeed only that—a guess.
And no, it wasn’t cold at all.
The knights had rekindled the fire in the stove before leaving, so the room was filled with warm air. On top of that, being sandwiched between two warm-bodied men made Adelen sweat rather than shiver.
Adelen came to a new realization about her sleeping habits.
Apparently, when I sleep like the dead, I cling to whoever’s next to me…
