Episode 57
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"……."
The room was silent.
Ludville's breathing was ragged, as if he had been running non-stop, and his whole body was drenched in cold sweat.
He lay in bed, groping for the space beside him.
There was nothing there. Of course.
He had lived alone his whole life, fallen asleep alone, and never had anyone sleep beside him in bed, so why was he doing this?
Naturally, he couldn't understand it himself.
But when had he ever understood anything?
He got out of bed.
His mind was still hazy, as if on the border between dream and reality, but his body moved perfectly well.
He walked with unfocused eyes.
His consciousness didn't know where it was going, but his steps were clearly moving with a destination in mind.
As soon as he left his room, he turned down the hallway…
And arrived in front of Odelia's room.
Ludville reached out and opened the door.
With silent steps, he entered the room like a night breeze.
And he looked down at Odelia, who was sleeping peacefully in the center of the wide canopy bed, her hands neatly folded.
'Still sleeping like a corpse.'
Ludville suddenly thought.
Whether she was lying in a coffin or sleeping alone in bed, she lay so still and neatly.
He had grabbed and shaken her to wake her when she was in the coffin, and he had wept as if the world was ending while watching her sleep in bed.
Ludville quietly lay down next to Odelia without knowing what he was thinking.
And he arbitrarily pulled her body into his arms, hugging her tightly.
"Ugh."
As if suffocating, she grumbled in her sleep and pushed him away, and he patted her back familiarly.
"It's okay, it's me. Your Lud. Your knight. Your slave…"
Not even knowing what he was whispering.
Ludville closed his eyes.
As her unique warm afterglow permeated deep into his lungs, he could finally breathe.
Ludville fell into a deep sleep.
For the first time in months.
Without dreams or nightmares, for quite a long time.
* * *
The next morning.
"……."
Ludville slowly opened his eyes.
The sound of an unknown bird announcing the early morning rang in his ears.
'Morning?'
He woke up in the morning, not in the middle of the night?
Unlike usual, his head was clear and his mind was sharp.
The unique refreshing feeling of waking up after a good night's sleep.
It was a feeling he hadn't felt in a very long time.
And soon came the sense of incongruity.
This was not his bedroom.
The feel of the sheets under the blanket, the subtle scent of herbs, the moderately warm room temperature…
Everything was completely different from his bedroom.
'…What is this.'
Above all, he felt the small, warm body temperature of someone in his arms.
Waking up in a strange bedroom, holding a stranger in his arms, was a first for him.
Ludville couldn't help but lose his usual composure and become flustered.
He slowly lowered his gaze.
And his eyes met Odelia's, who was staring at him with wide eyes from above his chest.
"……!"
Ludville felt like his heart was falling.
"…Were you awake?"
"Yes."
"Why didn't you wake me…"
"I tried to wake you about twenty times before giving up."
"……."
"……."
It seemed that Ludville was holding her too tightly, and she couldn't escape from his arms.
"How did I even get here…"
His mind went blank for a moment.
Did I come here unconsciously? Me?
Ludville, with his heart racing like crazy, hurriedly took Odelia out of his arms.
"I… must have been crazy."
"It's okay."
"It's okay?"
Why is it okay?
Ludville retorted at Odelia's nonchalant answer.
"What exactly is okay?"
"People usually go crazy when they don't get enough sleep. Your Highness was already a little crazy, so you're twice as crazy."
"……."
"I understand."
"You're very understanding."
Ludville replied sarcastically, straightening up in a stiff posture.
But for someone trying to act calm, he couldn't fix his gaze anywhere.
Silence.
Neither Odelia nor Ludville said anything.
Ludville felt like his chest was still warmed by her body temperature, so he pulled at his collar for no reason.
The man who was always confident, calm, and never swayed by any emotion was nowhere to be found.
Ludville sat back as if running away from Odelia.
"…I don't remember."
That was the truth.
To be exact, he remembered having a nightmare and waking up from it.
But there was nothing after that.
It was completely dark.
Only the feeling of walking as if led by something, like an instinct, remained faintly.
Perhaps it was because the Princess had the 'Purification' ability.
His survival instinct had unconsciously sought out the person who could eliminate his pain.
But there was no way this excuse would work.
Ludville was wondering how to make up for this accident and apologize.
"It seems so."
Odelia replied quietly.
She didn't ask anything, nor did she corner him.
As if she had no feelings about this at all.
Perhaps, she understood.
That was even stranger.
And… he was angry.
Ludville, who was uncharacteristically flustered, suddenly hardened his face and abruptly cornered her.
"Would you react the same way if another man crawled into your bed in the middle of the night and fell asleep?"
Odelia blinked.
Ludville's voice was low and sharp.
Fragments of emotion that he couldn't explain himself were messily seeping out in it.
"……."
After a moment of silence, Odelia tilted her head slightly and opened her mouth calmly.
"Of course not."
Ludville didn't understand what those words meant for a moment.
He felt his anger slowly subside in the face of her composed and calm voice.
Ludville looked at her without a word.
Odelia was still looking directly at him, but she didn't reveal any emotion.
But Ludville noticed a subtle trembling in her eyes beyond that calm face.
He had flustered her.
"…I'm sorry."
Ludville finally spoke first.
It was an unexpected apology.
"No."
"……."
Odelia got up from her seat first.
After calmly arranging her dress, she greeted him lightly as she would any other morning.
"Then I'll go out first."
With those words, Odelia walked towards the door.
And just before opening the door, she added a short remark.
"…If it hadn't been Ludville, I would have kicked you in the vitals."
"……."
"But you were sleeping so peacefully that I couldn't help it…"
Peacefully…
Is the expression 'peacefully' even appropriate for me?
But before Ludville could even feel embarrassed, Odelia left the room without looking back.
Ludville silently watched her leave.
The door closed, and the room became quiet again.
"……."
He slumped down on the bed.
His heart was still racing wildly on its own.
He slowly spread his fingers.
It still felt like her body temperature remained.
'…This, I could get addicted to this.'
