Chapter 16
The cold wind circled around her once and then started flowing somewhere.
An instinctive sense told her she had to follow it quickly.
Elledin hurried after the direction the wind was blowing.
Contrary to her assumption that it came from outside, the wind was actually coming from the end of the right corridor on the first floor.
“This place…”
It was where she had found the iron door while cleaning on her first day at the duke’s mansion.
At the time, the duke had warned her not to open that door. She was curious about what the wind was pointing toward, but not enough to go against his will.
Especially not after experiencing his kindness. She turned to leave, but the cold wind took control and flung the door open, pushing her inside.
“Don’t do that!”
Elledin shouted toward the wind.
But the wind pushed the bookshelf aside on its own, revealing the iron door. The now-exposed door rattled in the breeze. It seemed the wind wouldn’t let her go unless she opened it.
With a short sigh, Elledin grabbed the handle.
“This place won’t open anyway.”
But contradicting her own words, the iron door opened ridiculously easily.
‘Why is it opening…?’
Confused, Elledin stared down the dark passage. A staircase in the wall led deep underground.
“It’s open now, okay? I’m leaving.”
Whoosh. The wind pushed her again.
“No!”
She lost her balance and plummeted downward.
Falling from a great height where even the ceiling was no longer visible, her body hit the cold stone—but strangely, she felt no pain. It was like a hallucination.
— Welcome.
That same agonized voice from before rang out again.
Elledin snapped her head up.
A man was sitting in front of a white statue.
His eyes, sunk in deep despair, met hers, and in the next moment, Elledin’s eyes shot open.
‘Huh…?’
She was in Fernan’s arms.
As if time had rewound.
‘…What is this…?’
Elledin blinked in bewilderment.
Was it a dream?
No, it didn’t feel like one. It had been far too vivid. More than anything, the outside had been dimly lit earlier, but now morning sunlight streamed through.
‘Let’s check.’
Elledin slipped out of Fernan’s arms, more hastily than before.
Carefully opening the door and walking down the hallway, she felt a sense of déjà vu. It really felt like she was retracing her exact steps.
Was it possible the same thing would happen again?
But she soon realized this was the real world.
She hadn’t even gone downstairs yet, but murmured voices could be heard from below.
Descending the stairs, she found maids in the first-floor lobby who hadn’t been there earlier. As always, they were busy with their duties.
‘Was it really a dream?’
It had felt so real.
No, rather than a dream, it felt more like a vision.
Elledin made her way to the room at the end of the hall. She’d know once she got there.
But before she could go any further, Molek saw her and rushed over in a panic.
“My lady! My lady!”
“Hmm?”
Elledin stopped and turned around.
Molek glanced nervously between her and the end room, then whispered in a hushed voice as if sharing a secret.
“You mustn’t go in there.”
“Ah…”
Caught off guard by Molek’s words, Elledin looked around.
She knew Fernan disliked her approaching that place, but something had drawn her in and she hadn’t been able to stop herself.
Fortunately, thanks to Molek, she hadn’t caused any trouble, but she was shocked at her own behavior.
‘Fernan didn’t even get angry when I went there before…’
He was so kind. She shouldn’t be acting this way toward him. She mustn’t make things difficult for Molek either.
“I understand.”
As soon as she nodded, Molek’s face brightened with relief. He let out a breath and gently led her toward the lobby.
“Lunch will be ready soon. I’ll call you shortly.”
“Ah… Fernan’s still asleep… I’ll let him know when he wakes up.”
Elledin went back upstairs and quietly returned to the room.
Fernan was still sleeping in the same position.
After a moment’s hesitation, she decided to cuddle up to him again until he woke up.
But then she wondered—who was that man?
She hadn’t wanted to think about it, but the curiosity lingered.
She stared at Fernan’s face.
‘He looked a bit like him…’
As if hypnotized, she reached out and traced the shape of Fernan’s lips.
The soft texture met her fingertips. All her senses focused on that touch. His warmth seemed to raise her own body temperature.
Wherever they touched, heat spread.
Just then, his lips twitched.
‘!!!’
Startled, Elledin quickly pulled back. She cautiously glanced up.
“Ah…”
Red eyes looked at her with amusement.
His expression was trying hard to stifle a smile, which made her face flush red.
Elledin lowered her head deeply.
“I-I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to touch you secretly…”
Fernan chuckled softly.
“Touch me more.”
He whispered by her ear as he pulled her tightly into his arms. His voice, freshly awakened, was thick with sleep.
Elledin tightly shut her eyes and shook her head. Through her fallen hair, her red ears peeked out.
It was so endearing that Fernan couldn’t resist and placed a brief kiss on the top of her head.
Elledin flinched and escaped from his arms.
Almost as if he’d expected that, he had already opened his arms to let her go.
Seeing his relaxed smile, she fumbled with the bedsheet.
“Molek came earlier and said lunch would be ready soon. We should head to the dining room…”
Ah, again.
She’d only said the word “dining room,” yet nausea stirred inside her.
Her face paled, and Fernan’s expression stiffened.
“Are you still feeling unwell?”
He placed a hand on her forehead. His touch snapped her out of her thoughts.
“A-ah, no! I’m fine!”
She waved her hands and quickly replied.
But Fernan’s eyes were already narrowing.
“No, this won’t do. You should rest the whole day.”
He pulled the bell by the bedside. Soon, Molek entered, and Fernan spoke to him.
“Bring the meal here.”
Elledin flinched.
Eat in the room? Was that even allowed? Could such a thing be done?
She stared at the door in confusion.
Meals were always taken in the dining room. No exceptions.
Even the day she broke her ankle or when she’d been too beaten to walk—they still dragged her to the dining room at mealtime.
“Please relax.”
Fernan smiled warmly and leaned her back against the wall. Not stopping there, he carefully pulled the blanket over her belly.
“Is it really okay not to go down?”
She asked, confused.
Fernan tilted his head slightly.
“Of course.”
His attitude was as if she were asking something obvious, and she fell silent.
Soon, Molek returned with the food and naturally set the table as if this were routine.
Fernan scooped up the smooth soup and held it to her lips.
The spoon so close made her nervously shift her gaze between him and it.
“Take your time.”
With his bright smile, she opened her mouth hesitantly.
The warm soup wrapped around her tongue.
It tasted heavenly, but she was too flustered to appreciate it fully.
Each time she swallowed, Fernan would offer another spoonful.
Though she kept eating, she still couldn’t understand what was happening.
‘How is this even possible?’
Whether he understood her confusion or not, Fernan just smiled.
“Is it good?”
“Ah… Yes. It’s delicious.”
“I’m glad.”
He kept feeding her other dishes with a happy expression.
The awkwardness soon faded. Elledin’s eyes sparkled with delight as she accepted bite after bite of food.
After the meal, while Fernan cleared the dishes, Elledin sat dazed, staring at the ceiling.
She couldn’t believe what had just happened. She’d never eaten so comfortably before.
Without the stress, her stomach had accepted more food than usual.
She touched her happily full belly and glanced up. In the mirror on the wall, she saw her reflection.
‘Oh my god…’
Seeing herself, Elledin was horrified.
Her appearance was a mess. Her hair unkempt, her skin dull, and her clothes damp with cold sweat.
‘To think I looked like this the whole time…’
Embarrassed, she quickly stood up.
As Fernan left with the dishes, he said:
“Take your time washing up.”
“Take your time,” he said?
She glanced at him warily. This was his room. Her room was next door.
Naturally, she had planned to go to her own room, but hesitating, she instead walked toward the bathroom in his room.
‘My room’s next door… Why does he want me to bathe here? Is he planning for us to spend the night together?’
Even though it was daytime, he had ignored the rule about facing each other at meals and casually fed her in bed.
It didn’t seem impossible for him.
Elledin entered the bathroom, deciding she’d take a longer shower than usual.
