Chapter 49
“Be careful. Your body must still be stiff after sleeping for five whole days.”
His body was so close to mine that I could barely hear him whispering into my ear.
Frozen in surprise, I panicked and squirmed to escape the man’s arms.
“T-thank you. You can let go of me now.”
This time, Rixion Luhanes released me without resistance.
He removed the arm supporting my waist, helped me stand straight on my own, then calmly stepped back.
I avoided his gaze, stiffening my expression out of awkwardness.
Then I looked up at him again with a Did I hear that right just now? expression.
The words I heard from his mouth were so shocking that all the awkwardness instantly evaporated.
“Wait a second. Did you just say I was asleep for five days?”
“Yes.”
“Not five minutes, not five hours—five days?”
“Yes.”
“Really?”
“Yes, really.”
Even though I kept asking the same question, Rixion Luhanes answered each one patiently, with a gentle smile.
I stared blankly at him, then grabbed my head with both hands and stamped my feet in panic.
“The butler grandpa will tell my brother! I said I’d be back shortly, but if there’s been no word from me until now—!”
“Calm down, Liz.”
Unlike me, who was flustered and frantic, he was unbelievably calm, which only annoyed me more.
How was I supposed to calm down when I had no idea how much nagging I’d get?!
…Wait. What did he just call me?
I looked up at him again with a bewildered expression.
“Did you just call me Liz?”
My voice came out more composed than I expected.
When I stared at him blankly and asked, Rixion tilted his head slightly and smiled.
“Yes. I thought we were close enough to use nicknames now.”
His tone implied, Is there a problem?
Huh? I frowned as if asking what nonsense he was talking about, but he simply looked confused by my reaction.
“Well, we did sleep together in the same bed.”
“Wh- wh- what are you— what are you saying right now?!”
There are children here!!
I practically shrieked, my voice twisting from shock.
Should I cover Rowin and Lynn’s ears first, or shut Rixion’s mouth?! I was still deciding when he added casually:
“I meant it literally.”
“When did we ever— you know— sleep there together?!”
I couldn’t even bring myself to attach the word bed to we, so I mumbled vaguely.
Even the word slept made me uneasy.
I glared at him with wide eyes, telling him to stop talking nonsense, and he raised one eyebrow.
“You really don’t remember?”
He even looked genuinely hurt, as if my lack of memory offended him.
I stammered in confusion, then slowly frowned as something clicked.
There was one thing bothering me…
I remembered gripping the unconscious Rixion Luhanes’s hand, using my power, and then falling asleep just like that.
If he woke up in that state, he would’ve seen me leaning against his bed, sleeping while holding his hand.
If I twisted the logic hard enough, I guess that technically meant we did sleep in the same bed.
“Are you seriously calling that sleeping together in one bed?”
I asked in disbelief, half laughing.
“Is it not?”
“Of course it’s not!”
“When I opened my eyes, Liz was holding my hand like thi—”
“Eek! Stop!!”
I couldn’t let him continue spewing nonsense in front of the kids. I screamed, practically bursting a vein.
He lifted a hand to cover his face, shoulders shaking—no doubt laughing at how horrified I looked.
I wanted to pour a bucket of insults over him but forced myself to focus on the more urgent issue.
“No, forget that— we’ll talk about that later. The real problem right now is that I disappeared for five days without a word. My house must be in chaos!”
I rambled without stopping.
“I need to go home immediately and explain everything to Butler Grandpa— otherwise when Michael gets back later, the amount of nagging I’ll get will—”
I was gnawing on my fingernails when Rixion gently pulled my hand down.
“I already sent word.”
His gentle, reassuring voice only increased my anxiety.
“What exactly did you say?”
“I told them not to worry because you’ll be staying at my estate for the time being. I passed the message through the escort who came with you.”
Of course. The worst possible outcome.
I could already see the moment this reached my brother’s ears.
‘So you WERE dating!’
I could picture Michael laughing loudly, asking why I lied, looking relieved at the thought of finally marrying off his troublesome little sister.
Then I suddenly paused.
‘Wait. When Michael comes back, Ji Eun-ha will be with him. So… does it matter?’
By then, Rixion will have definitely lost interest in me and focused fully on Ji Eun-ha.
Even if Michael tries to pair us together, the game will already be over.
Which meant I didn’t need to worry too much about misunderstandings right now.
Thinking of Ji Eun-ha — my all-purpose cure-all — calmed me down.
As long as I didn’t disrupt the main plot, Rixion couldn’t harm me later.
‘Still, it’s infuriating.’
I glared at the man who casually called me by a nickname and claimed we slept together in front of kids.
After all the things I did for him—patting his back and everything!—how could he do this to me?
I glared at him like he had betrayed me.
But he didn’t seem bothered at all. He just smiled leisurely. The more I stared, the more my eyes hurt, so I gave up glaring.
“Rowin, Lynn.”
I ignored Rixion and hurried to the kids with a whiny cry.
This time I made sure not to trip as I hugged them tightly.
So small, so cute, still smelling a little like babies…
I nuzzled their soft cheeks.
“I missed you so, so much. We didn’t even greet each other properly earlier—”
But suddenly the children slipped out of my arms.
Huh?
Confused, I lifted my head—only to see that Rixion now had one child tucked under each arm.
What?
He wordlessly stole the kids from me and walked toward the door.
After setting them down in front of it, he asked:
“Would you two like to go back to your room now?”
Apparently, the room I had been sleeping in was right next to theirs.
The children looked up at him, hesitant, then answered “Yes,” and disappeared into their room.
I stared blankly, now beyond confused and fully offended.
I kept the same posture I had when hugging the kids, staring at him in disbelief.
Rixion glanced back at me, his eyes gently curving.
“Liz, aren’t you hungry?”
I scrunched my brows in irritation.
Did he think I was some glutton who only cared about eating? I finally had the kids in my arms, and he—
Grrrrrrr—
My stomach growled loudly, perfectly synced with his words.
I had never resented my own abdominal organs more in my life.
Rixion’s laugh filled the room.
“Let’s eat first.”
Michael was surprisingly picky with food.
He never had much interest in eating, so even as a child, if something didn’t suit his taste, he would quietly put down his fork.
He wasn’t the type to complain about side dishes, but just like how I would polish off not only my portion but his leftovers too, he was the complete opposite.
Because of him, our parents struggled quite a bit to hire a capable chef.
Naturally, the chef employed in our household was among the best in the entire Empire.
To satisfy Michael’s picky palate, only the finest cuisine ever appeared on our dining table.
…At least, that’s what I believed before tasting the meals at the Luhanes ducal estate.
