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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: A Cool Touch
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“Hmm. Alright, I’ll do it.”
“Of course, you can refuse… Are you serious?”
Enoch blinked, a beat too slow, as if he had expected her to refuse again.
“Yes. This ‘cure’ or whatever it is, I’ll give it a try. But I don’t know anything about it, so I’m not sure how helpful I’ll be…”
“…Thank you.”
“It’s nothing.”
“Riana, if you ever need me, feel free to use me as you wish.”
“What? No, it’s fine. How could I possibly use Your Majesty… Besides, it’s not like I agreed to this expecting something in return.”
“Then why the sudden…”
“Just because. Even though I said no, it kept weighing on my mind. I guess the alcohol brought out my true feelings.”
I clenched and unclenched the hand Enoch had bandaged, letting out a small yawn.
Was it because the tension had finally dissipated? Or was it really the alcohol?
My eyelids, which I had been forcing open, started to droop as if weights were tied to them.
“Oh, right. I found out whose child Ariel is. Eli… *yawn*.”
No matter how much I rubbed my eyes, the wave of drowsiness that had begun to wash over me seeped into every corner of my body, impossible to stop.
“I think she’s Elisha’s child. But Elisha doesn’t seem to know she exis…ts…”
I tried to force my eyes open, but as if mocking my efforts, the end of my sentence trailed off limply.
“So… I don’t know… if I should… tell… Elisha…”
Watching me struggle against the sudden onslaught of sleep, Enoch covered my eyes with his large hand.
“I understand what you’re trying to say, so if you’re sleepy, get some rest.”
“But I still have… more to say…”
“I’ll listen tomorrow. Rest.”
“I need to put an ice pack on my face, too…”
Otherwise, it’ll be all swollen tomorrow morning. But I’m so sleepy…
Five minutes. Just five minutes of sleep.
Then I’ll ask him how I should act as his cure from now on, and we need to decide what to do about Ariel.
Ah. And I need to thank him for saving me earlier.
As I organized my thoughts, a gentle patting sensation lulled me slowly into sleep.
***
“…Riana?”
“…”
The eyelashes fluttering beneath his palm grew still.
Seeing that her small, rosy lips didn’t move even when he called her name, Enoch slowly lifted his hand.
“She’s asleep.”
Gazing at Riana, who had quickly fallen into a deep sleep as if exhausted, Enoch unconsciously reached for her translucent eyelashes.
But when Riana stirred slightly, he was the one who was startled, quickly pulling back.
“Mmm…”
“…Hah.”
A dry laugh escaped Enoch’s lips as he remained frozen in an awkward position, worried he might wake her.
“What in the world am I doing…”
Indeed, what was he doing?
Losing his temper so uncharacteristically at a duke he wouldn’t normally spare a glance for, and sending him to the battlefield instead.
And on top of that, here he was, frozen in this ridiculous posture, afraid of making even the slightest sound.
Even he couldn’t understand why he was suddenly acting this way.
Letting out a series of dry chuckles, Enoch frowned slightly as he lifted the deeply sleeping Riana to carry her to the bed.
“She’s too light.”
He’d thought she was petite, but her weight was even lighter than he’d expected, and for some reason, it displeased him.
And that displeasure doubled after he laid Riana on the bed.
“You look a mess.”
As he tucked a stray strand of her platinum blonde hair behind her ear, her cheek, red with broken capillaries, and her split lower lip came into view.
Looking at it made his chest feel tight.
Riana was the one who had been drinking, so why were his own emotions on such a rollercoaster?
Pressing the bridge of his nose in inexplicable irritation, Enoch turned away.
He thought he should tell someone to get her an ice pack before that pale face swelled up even more, and started walking toward the door.
But Ariel, who must have entered at some point, was toddling toward the bed.
“Ariel?”
“Dada, lie down!”
Do children normally grow this fast?
“It seems like just a few days ago she couldn’t even speak properly.”
As he tilted his head, marveling at the child’s storm-like growth, Ariel, who had diligently walked over on her short legs, grabbed his pants and shook them.
“Lie down!”
“Hmm?”
Thinking she wanted to play, Enoch shook his head.
“I’m sorry, but I have to go now.”
“Nooo. Lie down!”
Clinging to Enoch as he tried to leave the room, Ariel grabbed his pant leg and started dragging him toward the bed.
“Ariel! You’ll make me fall… Ugh.”
It wasn’t a strong pull, but it was a difficult situation to move carelessly in, lest his bare skin touch her.
In the end, Enoch lost his balance, and his body fell over Riana, making the bed bounce significantly.
His gray eyes, surprised by the precarious distance that left their lips almost touching, widened like a full moon in the sky.
“Mmm…”
“*Gasp!*”
At the sight of Riana’s face, her brow furrowing slightly from the impact, Enoch held his breath, only managing to exhale a long moment later.
“Ariel!”
As he scolded her in a small voice, the child, who had been giggling with her fern-like hand over her mouth, crawled up the small steps set beside the bed and slipped in next to Riana.
“Lie down! Go sleepy-bye!”
And then, she even swatted at his supporting arm with a doll.
‘What is happening right now?’
Blinking in bewilderment at the situation—finding himself lying side-by-side with Riana in the blink of an eye—the light from the ceiling scattered dizzily before his eyes.
Was it because the light was too bright? His mind seemed to be going blank.
After lying there dazedly for a while, the sound of Ariel’s soft snores brought Enoch back to his senses, and he tried to sit up.
“Nnngh.”
But that too became a distant hope as Riana chose that exact moment to snuggle into his chest.
As Riana’s body kept burrowing into his embrace as if she were cold, Enoch squeezed his eyes shut.
Then, the sound of his own heart thumping loudly filled his ears.
His mind was already a mess, so why was this damned heart, which was usually so still, suddenly causing such a ruckus?
Could it be because the ice was melting from his contact with Riana?
“So noisy…”
It was already this loud; how chaotic would it be if it melted completely? If it got any more clamorous than this, it would be quite troublesome…
Wondering if he should let it melt not completely, but just enough—not so much that it became too noisy—Enoch took a deep breath.
***
“Haa…”
In the room, filled only with the sound of even breathing, a small sigh was heard, and dark eyelashes trembled.
“Sleep… won’t come.”
Perhaps because it was his first time lying in bed next to someone, Enoch, unable to fall asleep, finally lifted his eyelids and turned his head.
“Mmmamaa.”
His eyes fell on Ariel’s chubby cheeks as she clung to Riana’s back, smacking her lips in her sleep.
He found himself intrigued by the sight of her eyes, nose, and mouth, all arranged with their own charming order on a face so much smaller than his own.
But his interest in the child was fleeting; his gaze soon shifted to Riana, who was using his arm as a pillow.
The pale moonlight illuminated her translucent skin, making her red, swollen cheek stand out even more.
He took off his glove and placed the back of his hand on it, feeling a flush of heat.
“Tsk.”
Clicking his tongue in displeasure again, Enoch finally remembered the ice pack he had completely forgotten about.
He considered calling for ice now, but a look of helplessness crossed his face at the sight of Riana, who looked like she would wake at the slightest movement.
“If I leave it like this, it’ll swell up a lot.”
Deciding he couldn’t just leave it, he tried to reach for the servant’s bell pull, but it was too far away.
After fumbling a few more times, he finally gave up, turned back, and carefully poked her round cheek.
“It seems to have swollen more in just a short time…”
He knew it was an absurd thought, but he worried what would happen if her cheek kept swelling and just popped.
She was so small and delicate, it seemed like something like that might actually be possible…
His dark eyebrows began to furrow seriously as he earnestly contemplated the utterly impossible scenario.
“I need to cool the heat before it swells more, but how do I get ice—”
His cool-colored eyes, which had been examining the injury with a deep frown, now stared blankly at his own hand, a thought forming.
“Ice… Wouldn’t I do just as well?”
As Enoch muttered to himself, a blue light flickered in his eyes, and a cold wind swirled around his pale hand.
A power he hadn’t dared to use since he was seven, when his mother had died after being caught up in it.
And now, after more than a decade, he was activating that power just to reduce the swelling on that small face.
“The elders would have a fit if they found out.”
Still finding his own actions incomprehensible, Enoch delicately controlled his special ability.
Not too cold, lest she wake up, but just enough to bring down the swelling.
After several trials and errors, he found the right temperature and covered her red, swollen cheek with his hand. A pleasant warmth spread through his palm.
Unlike his mother, who had grown cold and frozen at his touch, the still-warm and soft skin against his hand made him let out a sigh of relief without realizing it.
“Mmm… so cool…”
“Is it cool?”
“Uuung…”
As if pleased by the cool temperature, a gentle smile bloomed on her small face with its delicate features.
It was so beautiful. Watching her, a serene smile blossomed on Enoch’s lips as well.
How many more times did he use his power to cool her feverish skin?
As Enoch satisfyingly stroked the noticeably less swollen area, he finally realized he was smiling along with Riana and covered his mouth.
“…Anyone who saw me would think I have a screw loose.”
Thankful that he was the only one awake in the room, Enoch pressed his lips into a firm line and forced his eyes shut.
“Just go to sleep, just sleep.”
