Episode 10
I could clearly hear the sound of my own heartbeat ringing in my ears.
Was it because it was night?
Or was it because this man gave off an overwhelmingly decadent presence, enough to steal one’s breath?
We’d only brushed fingertips, yet my lips had gone dry and my heart was pounding violently.
I hurried to answer.
“This is enough for me.”
Not too close, not too far—
a level of kindness and distance one could offer even to a passing stranger.
Just that much.
Sir Dylan, as precise as a machine, firmly held my fingertips and replied,
“That’s a relief.”
His seemingly indifferent tone and faint touch came across as unmistakable comfort.
I pressed my hand more snugly against his and smiled shyly.
“Yes. I really don’t feel scared. Thank you.”
At that moment, Sir Dylan visibly flinched.
…Things became even more awkward.
After a few minutes passed—
“I’ll go finish putting away the rattles and the mobile.”
Only then did I understand why he’d been holding a rattle earlier.
After steadying my trembling breath, I answered cheerfully,
“Okay! Would you like some help putting them away?”
“No. I’m done.”
With a cool, composed expression, Sir Dylan turned around.
On the back of his head—something you wouldn’t notice unless you looked closely—
was a tiny cowlick sticking up.
An unexpected sight from a knight who looked like he even slept with military precision.
I covered my mouth and let out a quiet giggle.
I slowly walked over to the sofa and flopped down.
On the table across from it sat a small tabletop mirror.
And reflected in it was—
“Why is there a monster here?”
A creature with horribly swollen eyes stared back at me.
To think I’d look this awful on the very first night of my marriage.
But let’s think positively.
If this keeps up, he’ll divorce me before we even reach a year.
…Wait. That wasn’t positive at all.
If we divorced, I’d be out on the streets.
I was about to roughly mess up my hair when I froze.
In the mirror, I looked like a roaring beast.
Just then, Sir Dylan returned from the storage room where he’d put away the rattles and the crib.
When our eyes met, his face turned bright red.
Well, to be fair, I probably did look pretty hard to look at with these fish-like eyes.
“Ah… I can’t sleep. You should go ahead and rest, Sir Dylan.”
We don’t know when the thunder might start again.
I planned to close the blackout curtains tightly and sleep on the sofa.
But Sir Dylan still looked uneasy.
“Will you be all right? It may be uncomfortable.”
“Don’t worry.”
“Then until you fall asleep, perhaps we could stay together and…”
He trailed off.
“…Yes?”
“I can’t sleep either, so talking together in the living room might be… nice.”
His gaze drifted briefly toward the window.
Is he worried I’ll be scared if the thunder starts again?
“Yes, that sounds good. Oh—then I’ll need a blanket to cover myself on the sofa—”
“I’ll get one.”
Sir Dylan went into the nursery and returned with a pristine white blanket.
As he lifted the soft blanket, his stiff expression relaxed for just a moment.
“Will this suffice?”
“Yes! Come over here!”
I patted the spot beside me on the sofa.
Holding the thick blanket easily in one hand, Sir Dylan walked over.
A man with a massive, bear-like build—
someone who could easily seem intimidating.
But after the connection we’d shared earlier, he didn’t feel frightening at all.
If anything, I felt grateful.
Feeling a little giddy, I said brightly,
“Today is our first night, after all!”
Though we were married in name, we were essentially just housemates.
But at that very moment—
Sir Dylan turned his gaze aside and tightened his grip on the blanket.
“Our first night…”
The blanket crinkled softly in his grasp.
It looked like he might stand there forever with that blanket unless I said something.
His cheeks flushed like peaches.
His slightly parted lips, breath slipping through.
Even the faint redness around his eyes.
Watching all of it from the front row, I swallowed hard.
How can someone look so indecently attractive?
He looked cool and aloof when still,
but when he blushed, there was a strange, dangerous allure.
Wasn’t this practically a cheat character?
I deliberately looked away and swallowed the saliva pooling in my mouth.
Adjusting my crooked glasses as best I could, I stared ahead.
Sir Dylan walked over stiffly, maintaining a blank expression.
When he finally sat down on the sofa—
A playful smile curved my lips.
“Um… aren’t you sitting a little too close to the edge?”
He cautiously moved closer to me.
Leaving just enough space that not even our skin touched.
It was completely different from the Sir Dylan I knew.
People whispered that Sir Dylan was arrogant and rude.
Honestly, Sir Dylan totally looks down on everyone, you know?
What good is skill if he’s not humble and doesn’t mingle with others?
Who turns off the lights alone every single night when no one else does? That’s just spiteful.
Is being handsome all he’s got?
Well… being handsome does count for a lot.
So maybe I meant nothing to him.
Still, at least for this moment, we were living together.
“Let’s get along while we’re living together!”
His eyes—tinged with an unusual red—fixed on me.
“…Yes.”
At that moment, a small smile bloomed at the corner of his lips, then vanished without a trace.
Did I imagine that?
I tilted my head awkwardly, then held out my hand.
“Your hand!”
“…Pardon?”
Sir Dylan’s eyes, which had nearly softened, twisted in confusion.
Come to think of it, maybe I looked like I had ulterior motives.
I waved my hand lightly through the air.
“Nothing like that—just a handshake! To say, ‘please take care of me!’”
Only then did he seem to understand, carefully extending his hand.
“…Yes. Please take care of me.”
“Great! But there’s one thing I need to tell you.”
I was about to change the subject after finishing the handshake—
But Sir Dylan was acting strangely.
He was still holding his hand out in the air.
Why?
Why was he keeping it raised, like something had malfunctioned?
“Well… I’m not on good terms with my family.”
“…I see.”
“If my family causes you even the slightest trouble, Sir Dylan—don’t worry! I’ll bite them like a chihuahua!”
“Like a chihuahua…”
“Yes! If they even touch you, I’ll bite them!”
I may lack a conscience, but thankfully, my jaw is strong.
I flashed a bright, toothy smile.
Sir Dylan nodded gently.
His ears seemed a little red.
This massive, rigid man somehow reminded me of a giant dog.
“Chihuahuas… are very impressive.”
So I failed to hear the words he muttered under his breath.
And just like that, the eventful day came to an end.
Ishael. You’re an adult—why are you afraid of thunder?
Stop trembling and take a sleeping pill already.
Tsk. How troublesome. Even if you’re sick, you should still go to work. You need to earn money, don’t you?
Memories of my family—who had tormented me—rose up, and I squeezed my eyes shut.
But over that trauma, memories made with Sir Dylan piled up softly, like thin layers of snow.
Memories like the first snowfall—
ones that might vanish once the day passed.
They weren’t enough to erase my initial resolve to draw clear boundaries with the person I lived with.
Still, I couldn’t deny the truth—
As the quiet conversation faded into night, my heart had grown just a little warmer.
The next morning.
I was about to get up, running a hand messily through my hair, when I froze.
“Gasp.”
I bolted upright and looked around.
“What… what is this?”
On the table in front of the sofa sat corn soup and a sandwich.
When I listened closely, I could hear the sound of a shower running in the bathroom.
He’d not only tucked me in neatly on the sofa, but prepared breakfast and gone to shower first.
Was Sir Dylan a god?
Just then—
click.
The bathroom door across the room opened.
“…Gasp.”
“Ah…”
Sir Dylan and I locked eyes.
No—
to be precise, it wasn’t our eyes that met.
