“Ever since I knew Cersinia from two years ago, I’ve seen her walking around in her sleep occasionally. It’s become more frequent these days.”

“You said that thishas been happeningsince 2 years ago…”

“I think she did that even before I met her.”

Ben looked at Cersinia, who was still in his arms. Cersinia’s body was so slender that he could hold her with one arm. She’s so light that he barely felt her leaning on him. She was skinnier compared to 3 years ago.

“She had gotten a lot thinner than before.”

Ben’s eyes trembled slightly in worry as he directed them towards Cersinia.

“She can’t eat a normal portion of food.”

“Why…”

“I don’t know. But it’s getting a lot better.”

May’s tone was a little sharp while talking. She was resentful of him.

‘If he was going to come back to Cersinia, he should’ve come earlier.’

If Ben had come earlier, Cersinia wouldn’t have faced yesterday’s incident. It was unwelcomed, but it was entirely true that Ben saved Cersinia’s life, and for that May was grateful. But Cersinia didn’t seem to want her to meddle between them, so she’ll let Cersinia handle the problem by herself, but May decided to support Cersinia’s choices no matter what it is.

“I understand. I’ll put her back in her room.”

Ben hugged Cersinia, who was leaning on him tightly, at once. Her arms fell helplessly into the air. Her white and slender arms seemed like they could break at any moment. Ben’s heart sank as he remembered that she must have suffered alone in his absence. It felt as if an arrow had pierced his heart. The corners of his eyes were trembling slightly.

May watched Ben’s actions silently. She seemed to ponder for a moment whether it would be beneficial for her to entrust Cersinia to him. But her worries didn’t last long. Because Ben’s affectionate gaze towards Cersinia was sincere. His feelings for Cersinia were so obvious that she couldn’t dismiss them as lies.

“Yes, then please take care of her.”

Still, she couldn’t help but worry about it. So after checking Cersinia’s condition several times throughout the whole way back to her room, May went into her room.

Ben moved very carefully, fearing that Cersinia, who had fallen into a deep sleep, might wake up. His step was cautious, like a person holding a fragile object. Entering her room, he immediately laid Cersinia on her bed. Her long red hair fluttered across the white sheet as if it had been sprinkled with petals. Everything about Cersinia was unrealistically beautiful as if she’s not real. Ben shook his head vigorously to confirm this moment was not a dream. When he looked back at the bed, she was still asleep.

‘This isn’t a dream. It’s real.’

“Cersinia,” his voice filled with longing and waiting resounded like a lullaby in the night.

The name that he called tens of thousands of times. The mirage, which had been scattered like a haze every time it was called, now became a reality, and she was in front of him.

“Don’t get sick. Please…”

He sat on the cold floor and looked at her. Her skin was shone in the sparse moonlight, obscured by the dark clouds. Ben’s heart raced rapidly at her alluring appearance. He carefully reached out to her sparkling face. His long, hard fingers traced along in the air at her face and went down her eyes, nose, and mouth. They stopped at her red and thick lips.

“Ummm…”For a moment, Cersinia’s lips twitched slightly. At the same time, Ben stopped breathing. Cersinia let out a small sound, but it was a strong stimulus to Ben. His mind was stunned as if he had been electrocuted with a deep desire to kiss her. The sound of his heart, beating faster than before, resonated clearly as if it were in his ear. Ben touched his blushing cheek. It was so hot someone could easily think he had a fever. He lowered his posture to calm down his pounding heart because he didn’t want to wake her up. He took a deep breath and waited for his mind to calm down.

“Um…”

When he lifted his face to the sound of tossing and turning, he saw Cersinia lying on her side. Thanks to that, the distance between the two narrowed. Ben looked at her face with lustful eyes. He couldn’t take his eyes off her, as if she was a magnet, or like he was enchanted by her. No, the thing was that he didn’t know how to turn his gaze away. Because he had no intention to learn how to turn a blind eye to her or reject her. His trembling hand carefully grabbed her disheveled hair. He wanted to touch her, but stroking her skin would make him desire her more, so he only touched her hair. He could feel Cersinia’s soft hair in his hand.

“I won’t miss it again.”

He poured out his sincerity that he had no intention to hide. His lips touched her red hair. It was a slow and long kiss. As if to swear to her and keep the feeling of her on his lips longer, he kissed her hair a second time lightly.

* * *

“Ummm…” a whine leaked from Cersinia’s red lips.

She was in a very sweet dream, and the sound of heavy rain falling outside surrounded her like a melody. Cersinia tossed and turned her body to cover her ears, but it wouldn’t change anything unless she put her earplugs on, so she quickly gave up and laid down.

‘Should I put a curtain on that window?’

She thought for a while whether the sound outside would be heard less when she put curtains, but she gave up because there was no reason for her to stay in this village any longer. It had been a long time since she had woken up, but the soft sheets and the cozy and comfortable blanket felt so good that she became reluctant to wake up. The air was still cold due to the rain, but she felt refreshed.

‘Fortunately, I woke up in bed today. I guess I didn’t go around the house last night because of my sleepwalking habits.’

If Ben, who was sleeping in the living room, had seen her like that, he must have had a negative thought about her.

‘He must be disgusted by me.’

She hated to just imagine it. It had been a long time since she had had a good night of sleep. A faint smile was drawn around her mouth in a refreshing state. It was the first time since three years ago that she fell asleep without waking up suddenly.

The sound of the rain splashing through the window was heard irregularly, but somehow it had a calming effect on her mind. Listening to the sound of rain, she stretched out her arms. She thought the rain would stop today, but it was getting stronger. It had been raining for two days.

‘What should I do with Ben…?’

She remembered that she would let him in this house until the rain stopped. It seems that she’ll be stuck with him for another day.

“Ah… I don’t know.”

First, she roughly organized her messy hair with her hands and lowered her feet. Suddenly, something caught on her toes. Surprised, she quickly looked down and saw Ben sleeping, curled up on the cold floor.

“…huh.”

Her gaze was stuck on the floor in embarrassment. Knowing that he had a lower body temperature than others and was very sensitive to cold, she put a lot of wood in the fireplace and blankets.

‘What to do if he caught a cold…’“Ben. Wake up.”

She couldn’t believe that he had come into her room without saying a word. Especially the fact that he was sleeping on the hard floor. When she grabbed his arm to wake him up, the icy coldness swept into her palm. At that moment she started to shake him.

Thud.

Cersinia got hit on her forehead with a thud sound. With the tingling pain, cold energy spread through her body. Ben, who opened his eyes wide, grabbed her arm and pulled her closer. As a result, Cersinia fell onto his body. Ben’s body was so hard that she thought it was a stone.

“What are you doing?”

Cersinia raised her head and patted her forehead. Then she met eyes as sharp as a black panther ready to pounce on its prey. His gaze made her scared.

“Ah, Cersinia…”

The cold-blooded energy went away, and she could hear Ben’s soft voice. Ben recognized Cersinia’s voice and face, then hid his murderous energy as if he never had it.

“I’m sorry.”

Ben realized his mistake and quickly released her.

“Did I threaten you?”

Otherwise, there is no reason for Ben to pull her as if to kill her.

“No. It’s become my habit… I’m sorry.”

His gloomy face was really sorry. Cersinia was looking at Ben with squinted eyes. Even though he was clearly asleep, his instinct kept awake.

‘What the hell happened over the past 3 years to say that this type of behavior became a habit?’

Cersinia instinctively noticed that Ben was hiding something from her.

‘What happened…’

She tried to recall the novel she read a long time ago. It had been three years since she possessed Cersinia’s body, so it took her a while to remember the contents. She thought carefully about whether there was a description about Ben, but there was nothing much no matter how much she thought about it. The more she knew about him, the more mysterious he became.

‘It seems like his life can’t be described in just a few lines. So, why did the author end up wrapping it up with a short explanation?’

“Um, Cersinia.”

Ben carefully called Cersinia, who was lost in thought. Apparently, he stayed by her side all night and then closed his eyes for a moment, and it seemed that he fell asleep. Then, he felt someone’s presence and unwittingly got in a defensive posture, then grabbed Cersinia.

“…”

Cersinia didn’t answer. She seemed to be immersed in her thoughts more than he had expected. Ben’s complexion grew pale. It was something he had done, but he wanted Cersinia to stop thinking about it. Because he could feel her skin, his face quickly turned red. His mind wandered, and his eyes were dizzy.

“Cersinia…”

Ben called her one more time as if begging. He couldn’t touch Cersinia directly. If he touched her a little more, his head would explode.