Chapter 13

Chapter 13

“What are you doing awake at this hour of the night?”

“I…” Karina was so startled, she had to place her free hand on her chest to calm her racing heart. “Wha… What are you doing here, my lord?”

“Ah...” Milian rubbed the back of his neck, looking slightly embarrassed by her question. He didn’t want to say that he was worried about leaving her alone after the day’s events, so he just said the first thing that came to his mind. “It occurred to me that the thermostat in here is broken, so I decided to check on that while getting some fresh air.”

“Ah, is that so?” Under any other circumstances, she would’ve questioned why the duke himself would come to fix the thermostat in the middle of the night, but she was too flustered to think things through. The best reply she could give him was a nod.

Milian furrowed his brows as he tried to look her up and down, although she had kept her distance—he was wondering why she didn’t come any closer. He took a step forward and she matched him, retreating a step. He was sure she was hiding something. His sharp eyes, used to anticipating demonic monsters’ moves perfectly, served him well—he couldn't help but notice her awkward twitching.

“What are you hiding?”

Karina took another step back. She felt like turning around, running to her room, and locking the door.

“My lady. Tell me if there is something wrong.”

She didn’t know how to respond—whenever someone asked her if she was okay, she would easily say that everything was fine with a straight face, even if there was a problem. She struggled to give her opinions about any circumstance, so to him, she could barely get out a strangled, “It’s nothing.”

As soon as he heard her answer, he closed the distance between them in two big strides. He had noticed that her voice and breathing did not sound normal.

Startled, she tried to run away but he quickly grabbed her wrist, his face stiffening. He dragged her to the window where the moonlight was shining through. His red eyes squinted under the gentle moonlight, closely searching Karina’s face. “You’re burning with fever.”

It took a second for her to answer. “I’m fine. I’ll be fine if I just rest.”

“I should have known the moment you told me that you spent two months on the road,” he said in a small voice. He clicked his tongue, but he sounded like he was blaming himself more than anything else.

Her fear started morphing into curiosity. He didn’t do anything wrong. It’s my fault for not disclosing my condition.

His fierce gaze returned to her face. “You should’ve told me if you weren’t feeling well. Why would you try to hide it? Only a silly bear hides being sick.”

“Silly bear...” she repeats. First, he calls me a jellyfish, now I’m a silly bear. She was shocked by his words and could only stare at him in disbelief.

“If you were on the battlefield, you would be the first one to lose your head! You should have told me right away that you weren’t feeling well. Am I right?” His fierce eyes were glaring.

She pursed her lips and nodded. Her intention hadn’t been to make matters worse but she still felt like it was her fault.

“Did you make a mistake, or not?” he asked.

“What? Ah, it’s my mist..…” She was close to admitting that she was in the wrong, falling under the pressure of his gaze, but she suddenly raised her head—he had no right to bark questions at her in the middle of the night. The realization hit her hard and cleared her vision.

Milian sighed and lifted his strong and battled-trained fingers in front of her face. Karina counted six of them.

“My lady, how many fingers do you see?”

She squinted, hoping to see better. When her vision blurred, she’d often see double, so she decided to divide the number by two and answer, “Three fingers.”

Milian looked at her blankly. He gazed down briefly at his fingers and then looked up at her again. She felt smug thinking she got the answer right, but he let out a hoarse laugh.

“My lady. You need to get yourself to the mansion and get some sleep.”

“What? Why?”

When she lifted her head in embarrassment, she saw that three Milians were standing in front of her. Three pairs of sharp eyes were all looking at her. She looked at his fingers again. It must have been two fingers. Her eyes were tinged with disappointment.

“You answered three, not two, nor four. It seems you saw six fingers first,” Milian said sharply. “You require a lot of care.”

She shuddered at his words and her eyes narrowed even further. “I’m fine,” she said out of habit. She didn’t want to be a burden. She just wanted to rest in a place that was quiet and away from her family. She heard him sigh above her head before he swept her in his arms.

“This place isn’t good for an ill person to rest well. I’m taking you to the main building to rest.”

“But...”

“I know you don’t welcome my attention but please don’t think of me as a heartless person who’d ignore a sick lady.”

She couldn’t find any response to that. She looked up at him and he returned the gaze.

“I will call someone who can tend to you. So, sleep.”

After a few seconds, Karina spoke. “Don’t call the doctor.”

Milian took a few seconds to process that. “What?”

“I don’t want to see a doctor.” Fighting to stay awake, she continued, “Do you understand...?”

Seeing how tired she was, Milian decided not to pursue the matter further. “First rest.”

“You promise, okay?” She started to fall asleep in his arms before he even put her in bed. As she fell into a deep sleep, the last thing she heard was his low sigh. Her shaking slowly stopped in the warmth of the bed.

* * *

When she woke up, her head felt clearer. She blinked once and felt the fog clouding her thoughts lifting. She saw an unfamiliar ceiling. Her shivering body was wrapped in a soft comforter. The bed was damp from her cold sweat.

“How are you feeling now?”

It took a split second for her to reply. “My lord?” Her voice was hoarse. She quickly covered her mouth with the comforter, but she couldn’t take back the sound she had already made. She looked around and found Milian looking at papers under the moonlight coming through the window.

As she turned her head in shock, the wet towel he had placed on her forehead fell off. Karina’s eyes widened. She slowly took in the situation and tried to sit up quickly.

Watching her struggle to get up, Milian sighed and waved his hand in dismissal. “Don’t get up, stay put. Your fever hasn’t gone down at all.”

“Why... are you here...”

“You said not to call the doctor, and it’s an inconvenient time to call someone to tend to you now. So I decided to stay with you until the morning comes.”

Once again, she must have not slept for long. She froze, neither lying down nor sitting up. Milian got up from his seat and walked over to gently push her shoulders back so she would lie down. Her eyelids trembled as he touched her—she was completely taken aback. She had never had anyone but her maid help her when she was sick. He seemed very caring, despite his earlier words.

“Were you here all this time?”

“Of course. Why would I be here otherwise when I have my own room.”

“Why...?” she asked in a sleepy, hoarse voice.

Noticing her puzzled eyes as she pulled the blanket up to her chin, Millian pulled up a nearby chair and sat down next to the bed. “How could I ignore an ill person when we don’t even have a doctor on the premises?”

“But aren’t I burdensome?”

“What does that matter when you don’t feel well? You’re a guest and I’m the host. The moment I decided that you would stay here, the deal you proposed entered into effect. You can act like a proper guest.”

Karina looked into Milian’s red eyes and smiled bashfully. It felt great to hear those words at the boundary between reality and dreams.