Section 3: Secret

Arthur picked up the box silently and raised himself, perhaps not feeling the value of an answer.

Having not given a glance to her sparkling eyes, he said he would send the servant soon.

“I’ll try sending another servant. It’ll probably make everyone run out of fear.”

She sat down with a smile and a modest smile. Arthur left after saying, ‘Do as you please’, with a stern look on his face.

Shortly after he left, a maid knocked on the door. I looked at the door without saying a word.

“Princess Anastasia, may I come in?”

“.....”

“I’ll stand outside until the Princess approves.”

“Sure, let’s do that.”

Lying on the bed, she closed her eyes. Drowsiness has finally come, perhaps because she lost a lot of blood or because she was tired. She saw a messed up room with torn curtains.

She laughed at what she did. Again, she couldn’t help laughing at herself left alone in a strange place.

Would it be too sad if it’s relieved that she’s alive?

‘Mary, where are you? Have you been trapped in darkness too?’

She was worried about the maid standing outside, but she soon went to sleep. She was a wicked woman anyway, and what she did was not different from what Mary had done.

She also didn’t want to care about anyone other than herself anymore.

‘Because I’m already going crazy enough.’

She curled to the side and slept. She felt like she was getting chills again. She dug into the blanket and buried her face.

It was quite hard to get a position because her hands were uncomfortable, but maybe because the bed was soft, she quickly began to fall asleep.

Squeak.

She could hear the door opening, but she couldn’t open her eyes. She felt like she was breathing hot as her body sank heavily. She soon fell into a deep sleep.

***

The air surrounding the body was cool. Her body shrank without realizing it. She dug under the blanket and wandered around looking for a warm place.

“Hmm, it’s cold...”

She continued to sleep again, hugging something warm and soft in the chills she felt in her body.

She doesn’t think it’s a pillow that’s soft and firm...?

She stuttered and tried to find out what object she was holding. She tried to guess the object that showed off its warm temperature with a dreamy consciousness because her eyes were still heavy.

“If you woke up, let go.”

“....?”

Suddenly, Arthur’s voice from nearby woke her up.

She opened her eyes gently under the blanket and identified the object she felt and touched. Along with Arthur’s upper body, which was not wearing anything, muscles that were firmly positioned came into her eyes.

She grabbed her fluttering heart. She lifted her head as she pulled on the blanket with an effortless expression on his face.

“I’m sure you didn’t attack me as a princess, right?”

“..Ha.”

Arthur exhaled for a long time as if he was amazed. She tried to sneak her hand off his body. Arthur’s hand grabbed her wrist and pulled it back with a mischievous smile.

“If being a servant includes this kind of thing, I’ll do it for you.”

Arthur’s lips came close as if they were about to touch mine. She looked at him in the eye and smiled. It’s not bad, she liked him more than Gray.

“There’s nothing difficult about sleeping. If you write an engagement contract before that.”

“I think you’ve come to your senses, so let’s stop joking around.”

“Why? You don’t want to be in the arms of a woman who waits for her death?”

She smiled, sweeping down his chest with her hands. Arthur grabbed her hand, removed it from his body, and raised himself from bed.

When he laughed and leaned back, he swept his hair as if he was offended.

“Let’s stop talking about it and come out.”

“Before that, shouldn’t you explain why you’re lying down here first?”

She poked the bed with her hands and asked innocently. The clothes would have been changed by the maid, but she didn’t understand why she was lying here like that.

“I just shared body temperature with you because you had a high fever while being treated and you were grumbling all night.”

“Really? If you can hear sounds from other rooms to this room, I think there may be a problem with the architectural design here.”

She got up from her seat, stretched slowly, and sat in a chair and held her chin.

Is that why she got chills? She guessed he shared his body temperature because she was cold.

In addition, it was ridiculous that it was not a small mansion, and that each room heard a groan in a castle with quite a wide distance.

Rather, it seemed convincing to say that he was worried that she would die from a high fever.