There was a commotion around her.
Lyla’s mind was blank. Everything felt like a blur.
‘What just happened…?’
Bit by bit, her thoughts started piecing themselves together.
‘I came to Eres with Aslan today…’
She retraced the events of the day, from the moment she woke up to now.
She had reached down to grab the music box.
She had fallen onto the road.
And then—
The sound of galloping hooves. The sight of the charging carriage, bearing down on her.
Her body, frozen.
The frantic whinny of a horse, hooves skidding against the wet pavement.
She had shut her eyes tight, bracing for the inevitable pain of being trampled—
But it never came.
Instead, she felt warmth.
An embrace, tight and secure, shielded her completely.
‘Someone caught me…’
The realization struck her at once.
‘Right before the carriage hit me… someone saved me.’
And now, she was being held so tightly it was almost crushing.
But she knew immediately who it was.
The familiar scent that surrounded her left no doubt in her mind.
“Aslan.”
Lyla jerked her head up. Her eyes met Aslan’s as he looked down at her.
“You’re not hurt, are you?” he asked first.
Lyla quickly shook her head before replying, “What about you? Are you okay?”
“I just got a little bruised,” he reassured her.
Before the carriage could trample her, he had wrapped his arms around her and rolled them both out of harm’s way. Thanks to that, he had escaped serious injury, but he was far from unscathed. His entire body was drenched, his hair damp and clinging to his forehead, his clothes smeared with mud from head to toe.
“I need to clean up soon,” he muttered, glancing down at his ruined attire.
Seeing him in such a state was strangely reassuring to Lyla. If he still had the presence of mind to care about his appearance, it meant he wasn’t seriously hurt. A wave of relief washed over her.
“I’m so glad… If anything had happened to you because of me…”
Before she could spiral into guilt, Aslan cut her off firmly.
“This is not your fault, Lyla. Don’t even think that way.”
Just as he was pushing himself up, his knees buckled. He wavered unsteadily before suddenly collapsing—right toward her.
Lyla barely managed to catch him, preventing him from hitting the ground headfirst.
But that wasn’t the biggest problem right now.
“Aslan!”
Her voice trembled.
“……”
No matter how desperately she called his name, all she could hear was the faint sound of Aslan’s breathing. He had lost consciousness.
Just moments ago, he had been speaking to her normally. But now, he had suddenly collapsed, his body completely limp.
Shocked, Lyla could do nothing but hold him tightly. Though their difference in size made it look more like she was the one being held, she was the one supporting his weight.
“Aah…”
Lyla’s whole body trembled.
Why had he passed out?
‘He said he was fine…!’
He had even smiled at her to reassure her.
But in truth, he hadn’t been fine at all. He had shielded her from the impact when they fell, taking the full force of the crash himself.
Just how badly was he hurt to have lost consciousness?
Fear tightened around her heart, making it race uncontrollably. Tears welled up in her eyes, but she bit down her lips hard, forcing them back.
There was no time to cry. She had to act immediately.
‘I need to get him to safety first. Then I have to call a skilled, trustworthy doctor to treat him as soon as possible…’
“Lord Aslan!”
A deep, urgent voice called out.
Lyla turned her head sharply.
A large, middle-aged man with a stern expression was running toward them.
Recognizing him, a flicker of relief crossed her face.
“Sir Murray!”
“My lady!”
Isaac Murray, Aslan’s knight and personal guard, pushed through the gathered crowd and reached them.
His gaze moved quickly between Lyla—pale and shaken—and Aslan, unmoving in her arms. His expression darkened.
“Aslan, he… he lost consciousness. I don’t know where or how badly he’s hurt.”
Isaac’s jaw clenched.
She instructed Isaac to carry Aslan to the carriage and ordered the coachman to drive quickly but smoothly to their destination.
The carriage carrying Aslan sped toward a nearby hotel—the same one where he had taken Lyla on the festival day when she had injured her foot.
“His body is currently recovering from exhaustion and lack of sleep.”
“What do you mean by that?”
Lyla looked down at Aslan, her lips dry and chapped from worry. He had yet to regain consciousness.
Aslan, who had been unconscious for hours, was just… asleep?
‘Still, that’s a relief…’
For a brief moment, she had been overwhelmed with a strange mix of emotions—relief, frustration, and guilt. The tension that had kept her body taut for hours slowly ebbed away.
Even after the doctor left, she continued to gaze at Aslan in silence.
‘Exhaustion and sleep deprivation, huh?’
Hearing the diagnosis, she finally noticed just how pale he had become. His face was drawn, his skin ashen. The dark circles beneath his eyes stood out starkly against his fair complexion, and his usually sharp features looked unusually weary. His cheeks seemed gaunter, and his breathing, though steady, was unnervingly shallow.
‘How did I not realize it sooner? He looks so exhausted.’
Lyla’s brows furrowed, guilt twisting inside her. She had assumed he was taking care of himself, that he was getting enough rest even while working. But now, seeing him like this, she realized just how wrong she had been.
“Overworked and sleep-deprived…” she murmured, her voice tinged with sadness.
As she sat beside him, watching over him with a worried gaze, a quiet muttering caught her attention.
“Sigh… I knew something like this was bound to happen.”
“What do you mean by that?”
Startled, Gus flinched at her sharp question. For a moment, he hesitated, realizing that he had spoken aloud without thinking. He had been so lost in his own thoughts that he had forgotten he wasn’t alone.
“Ah… well…”
“Please tell me. I want to know.”
Though he wavered for a second, the earnestness in Lyla’s eyes was impossible to ignore.
With a deep sigh, Gus finally relented.
“His Grace has been getting less than three hours of sleep a day lately. He barely eats, and on top of that, he’s been traveling back and forth to the capital every single day—spending six hours just on the road! How could his health not suffer? I kept begging him to either move back to the capital or at least cut down on his workload, but… he just wouldn’t listen.”
Now that he had started talking, it was as if he couldn’t stop. The frustration he had kept bottled up for so long came spilling out.
“His Grace is an extraordinary man, no doubt. But he isn’t made of steel. The problem is, he pushes himself as if he has no limits.”
“……..”
Gus sighed, his voice carrying a deep-seated frustration. Then, belatedly, he noticed Lyla’s expression. The moment his emotions settled, he realized he might have spoken too freely.
He cleared his throat awkwardly.
“I should step out for a while.”
With that, Gus left the room, leaving only Lyla and Aslan behind.
Lyla squeezed Aslan’s hand tightly and closed her eyes.
“Why didn’t I notice any of this?”
The things Gus had just told her mixed with Sophia’s words from the previous day, making her mind swirl with confusion.
“There’s so much I want to ask you… so much I want to say. So please… wake up soon.”
She whispered softly.
Time passed. The sky outside changed colors. Yet Aslan remained still, his eyes closed, his breath even.
At first, Lyla remained composed. But as the hours dragged on, anxiety crept in.
Was he really just asleep? What if the doctor had overlooked something serious?
“Please, God… let him wake up safely…!”
She prayed desperately. If Aslan woke up, she promised she would go to church every week without fail, listen to every sermon attentively, and give offerings generously.
Then, just as she kept her eyes shut in prayer—
“…Ugh…”
A faint groan.
Lyla’s head snapped up instantly.
“Aslan!”
She gasped. His eyes were open.
His unfocused gaze shifted slowly… until it landed on her.
“Aslan, can you hear me?”
Lyla hurried closer, her heart pounding.
He blinked. Slowly.
Lyla sucked in a breath, then asked, “Can you see me? If you can, blink twice.”
Blink. Blink.
He followed her words obediently. He was conscious. He could hear. He understood what she was saying.
“Oh, thank God… Thank you.”
Relief flooded through her, but she knew she couldn’t let her guard down yet.
“I’ll call the doctor just in case. Wait here—”
But before she could move, Aslan murmured something.
And the words froze her in place.
“…Who… are you?”
