TBTD 38

I froze at the sudden voice that came at me like an ambush. Valentin, who had been lying neatly on the bed, turned his head toward me.

“Come here.”

Unlike usual, his blond hair was slightly messy, falling softly over his forehead. His shirt was loosened, revealing part of his chest and giving him a strangely decadent look.

…If I go over there, I might cause trouble.

With that ominous thought, I tried to run out of the room, but my legs wouldn’t move.

It had been a while since I’d seen Valentin awake like this, and I couldn’t bear to just leave the room.

‘Just close your eyes until dawn.’

As I hesitated nervously, Valentin lifted the blanket himself and patted the bed.

“Good.”

His gentle blue gaze, as if coaxing a child, made me surrender in the end.

Reluctantly, I crawled into the space he made for me. As soon as I did, the sharpness in his eyes softened.

His dreamy, sweet smile was so beautiful that I had to look up at the ceiling for a moment to keep my heart from bursting.

‘I am currently a dangerous beast.’

I forced my eyes wide open until they nearly hurt and gathered what little patience I had, counting sheep.

‘One sheep, two sheep…’

Whether he knew my state or not, Valentin propped himself up on his left elbow and lifted his upper body halfway.

His shadow fell over me. I swallowed hard, and then his soft touch followed.

His fingers brushed my nose, slid down my neck, and gently traced up my chin.

The repetitive, tender touch made my eyelids grow heavy. Surrounded by Valentin’s scent, it felt like I could fall into a pleasant dream.

But only for a moment.

“Ha.”

“Ah!”

He blew softly near my ear, and I jolted upright in shock.

What on earth was that?

I rubbed my ears furiously and glared at him. He simply raised one eyebrow confidently.

The way he lay there, propping his head up with one arm while looking at me, was incredibly irritating.

“Be glad this is all I did. Last time you ran away barking nonsense.”

His low, sleepy voice sounded more chilling than usual in the middle of the night.

And he still remembered the ridiculous things I’d blurted out back then.

‘Don’t you know that men and women over seven shouldn’t sit together? It’s improper! How can we possibly share the same bed?’

‘Where do you even learn that kind of nonsense?’

His gaze had demanded a more convincing excuse, and I had desperately tried to come up with one.

‘Besides, I’m a beast. What if my beastly instincts awaken at night and I attack the fragile Duke?’

‘……’

‘It’s hot these days, so I think sleeping on the cool floor would be nice. I can’t possibly make Your Grace sleep on the floor, can I?’

‘……’

‘A-actually, I’m going through puberty. I want to be alone?’

The more I talked, the deeper his smile became, and the more trapped I felt.

Still, he had stepped back without argument, and I had felt relieved.

‘So he thought it was all nonsense after all.’

Tch.

Rubbing my ears, I asked sulkily, “Why aren’t you sleeping? It’s so late.”

Judging by his reaction, he hadn’t woken up because of me.

Instead of answering, he mimicked my tone teasingly.

“And why are you here at this hour?”

“Seriously.”

I tried to dodge the question, but Valentin wasn’t that easy.

The sharpness in his eyes warned me not to brush it off. I eventually gave in.

“…I missed you.”

Too embarrassed to look at him, I scratched at the blanket instead.

“Y-Your Grace has been so busy that it’s hard to see you in the morning. And at night, I fall asleep early because I’m, um, in my growth period. So it’s been a while since I’ve properly seen your face.”

My mumbling was mixed with ridiculous excuses.

Growth period. It wouldn’t convince anyone.

I knew Valentin was pretending not to notice, but I had no idea how he would react.

‘Is he going to tease me again?’

Instead, he simply chuckled and stretched out his strong arm, gently pushing me back down.

As I blinked against the softness of the pillow, his right arm began to pat my chest gently.

“Maybe I’ve gotten used to sleeping with you since you’ve done it a few times.”

That was his answer to why he was awake.

I thought he was joking, but I shrank a little anyway, feeling strangely apologetic. A soft laugh fell by my ear.

“You look cute when you run away, so I let it slide.”

After teasing me for a while as I stayed silent, he rubbed his smooth lips against my cheek and nose one last time before closing his eyes.

Time passed, and soon I could hear his steady breathing.

I glanced at Valentin’s sleeping face and slowly turned toward him.

His smooth cheeks, thick eyelashes, the golden strands of hair falling across his forehead, his well-shaped lips—even his earlobes in the light were beautiful.

No matter how I looked at him, he was undeniably Valentin.

But something felt strange.

‘Why doesn’t he kiss me?’

He used to occasionally give me a light kiss—like a joke, or a reward—but at some point, that had completely stopped.

Even just now, when he rubbed his face against mine, I had subtly tilted my lips toward him, but he skillfully let his lips brush my cheek instead.

‘Am I imagining things? Maybe he’s just sleepy.’

The sudden doubt left me uneasy.

The streets were now familiar.

If you turned the corner past the waffle shop with its mouthwatering smell and the small bookstore, you would find “Companion House.”

Looking at the streetlights turning on one by one, I spoke to the faint moon in the early evening sky.

“Moon, do you think I can save enough money in time?”

With less than a month left until Valentin’s birthday, I only had 100 gold.

That might not sound like a small amount, and it wasn’t. Considering that commoners spent less than 10 gold a month to live, it was actually an impressive achievement.

The problem was time.

I was earning money faster than anyone, but Valentin’s birthday was approaching even faster.

“An advance? Collateral? Ugh.”

Would I have to give him a different gift?

As I pulled at my hair and stepped into Companion House, Wang greeted me.

“Woof! Woof!”

Perhaps he liked the new feed I had developed—he looked much chubbier than when I first saw him, which was quite cute.

I waved at Jorge, who was busy helping customers, and entered the interpretation room.

The room, decorated almost like a playroom, was filled with toys and treats that dogs would love.

“Let’s see today’s schedule.”

I picked up the reservation sheet and scanned it quickly.

‘Five consultations today.’

The first one had a high fee, so it was scheduled for a longer time.

“Martel Cocoon, huh.”

No sooner had I read the name than the door rang open.

“Welcome.”

Sitting in the large chair Jorge had specially ordered for me, I greeted the man named Martel.

“Huh?”

He was a familiar face.

‘That man is…’

As I stared and pointed at him, he smiled awkwardly.

“It’s been a while.”

With neatly slicked-back black hair and a solid build, he was an employee from the jewelry shop!

He didn’t seem surprised to see me, which meant he probably already knew I worked here.

While I fumbled in surprise, Martel placed the small dog he was holding onto his lap.

The dog squirmed briefly, then rested its chin on its front paws. It was very cute.

“This little one is named Papi.”

As Martel gently stroked Papi’s golden-brown fur, he explained why he had come.

“My mother cherishes Papi like a daughter. But due to health issues, she had to go south to recuperate and left Papi in my care for a while.”

She had repeatedly told him to take good care of her, but not long after she left, Papi stopped eating.

“It’s a real headache. I’ve given her delicious food, rare food—even human food—but she won’t touch it.”

He sighed heavily, saying she only picked at a few grains at most.

“At this rate, Papi will waste away. My mother won’t forgive me. I’m worried the shock might worsen her health.”

Martel rummaged through his bag and pulled out a framed portrait. Inside was a middle-aged woman with prominent cheekbones, smiling kindly.

“I thought she might miss my mother, so I showed her the portrait, but it only worked for a moment.”

He had even found her a dog companion and hired a sitter, but nothing helped.

No matter what he tried, Papi whimpered all day and barely ate.

“Please, if only she could tell me what’s wrong. I’m so frustrated I might get sick myself!”

Watching the tiny dog refuse food and run away made him both annoyed and worried.

“Please ask her if there’s something she wants to eat, something she needs, or if she misses my mother.”

At first, Martel had thought this was ridiculous, but after advice from acquaintances, he had come to find Nathan.

He carefully placed Papi on the table, looking anxious.

Using my experience, I greeted Papi with the gentlest expression I could manage. But she ignored me and kept her head down.

‘Hmm, she might be picky.’

Contrary to my worries, the situation was resolved quickly.

I found the cause in the sound of her soft whimpering as she avoided my eyes.

“What did you say?”