Chapter 36
“……I will go in, Your Grace.”
Tessarion grabbed my shoulder and knocked me down.
“Ugh.”
As I was knocked down, the bedroom door opened.
Tessarion’s hair, flowing like a curtain, reflected the sunlight, glowing white. His golden eyes, now fully awake, were staring down at me. I quickly shut my eyes.
A clattering sound echoed. The butler, following his usual routine, placed washing water, shaving items, warmed towels, replaced the water bottle on the table, and set up some snacks and tea. That time felt like an eternity.
“Looks like you woke up late.”
Tessarion sat up with his knees raised, glaring at the butler while resting his hand on his head.
“…Did you sleep well?”
“Even after drinking strong liquor, you woke up at dawn. It’s good that you got a proper rest after a long time. Your personal doctor was worried about your lack of sleep, so this is a relief.”
The butler chuckled. Despite saying he slept well, Tessarion seemed more upset than any other morning. It was probably the butler’s fault for waking him up so carelessly, not mine! It was that old man’s fault!
Clearing his throat, the butler said with a dismissive tone, “Ah, you should sleep a little longer. I’ll tell Deputy Commander Ibis.”
“Forget it. Tell him to wait for 10 minutes.”
With a nod, the butler left the bedroom.
As soon as the door closed, I let go of all the tension in my body and exhaled a deep breath.
It must have gone well, right? With so many layers of blankets, I doubt he noticed I was under him. I wiped my hot, flushed cheek with my cold hands.
It was embarrassing, but I overcame it.
It’s okay, Kim Roy. It’s over.
“Did you sleep well?”
“Ugh, huff… I nearly… really almost…”
“Roy?”
“Yes… yes?”
Turning my head toward the voice, Tessarion was staring down at me.
“I said, did you sleep well?”
Did he just ask me if I slept well? Is that a morning greeting or is he trying to kill me again?
My heart racing, I looked up at him in disbelief as he pulled my hair, messing it up. I spoke, nearly in tears.
“D-did I really have to sleep in your bed, Your Grace? Can’t I sleep somewhere else? With the Crown Prince and the Princess around… What if there’s a misunderstanding? I’m really scared…”
He gave me a piercing look that could crush me and raised one corner of his mouth.
“Scared? You were snoring soundly.”
“Me?”
“The safest place to sleep in this castle is by my side. How could you not sleep well?”
Ugh. Let’s not talk about this.
That meant I might be the cause of the war’s beginning, but we were back at square one.
Tessarion gathered his hair and tied it up, shaking his head and stretching his shoulders. His back muscles popped and cracked like a lion stretching, his body showing signs of powerful tension.
“By the way, Your Grace, why did you sleep with me last night? You even skipped training and slept soundly.”
“…?”
Tessarion tilted his head.
“Don’t you remember?”
Huh? What memory?
“…Hmm. If you don’t remember, I guess there’s nothing we can do.”
What? Was it me? Am I a somnambulist?
Confused, I clutched my head, but Tessarion gave me a meaningful smile.
“Why, do you want to know?”
“No! I don’t!” I hurriedly shook my head. I didn’t want to know any uncomfortable truths. Please keep it a secret! I prayed with both hands together, but Tessarion, that cruel bastard, didn’t let up.
He followed me around, gleefully recounting everything that happened the previous night.
“You kept kicking off the blankets because you were hot, then later started shivering, muttering that you were cold. I had to catch you before you fell out of bed, and you clung to me and fell asleep.”
“Wha—really? Me?”
I screamed and jumped up, but he just nodded, arms crossed.
“I barely managed to pull you off me so you wouldn’t fall, but you just came back and clung to me again. Then when I shook you awake, you whined about wanting to sleep more.”
“Wh-what?!”
I couldn’t believe it. When I was in the first round of training, I used to sleep soundly without making a fuss, except for the occasional snore.
But that wasn’t the real issue. Tessarion—he didn’t push me away or slap me, he… he pulled me back?
I stared at him, wide-eyed, still processing the contradiction in my character setup.
“After all that, I finally gave up and fell asleep, but then you….”
He was smirking now. I blinked, dumbfounded.
“What did I do?”
“….”
“What should have happened when I clung to you? You should’ve slapped me awake, not held me!”
This time, Tessarion froze. Realizing his mistake, his neck turned red, and he wiped his lips as his mouth hung open.
I didn’t know what part was truth and what part was a lie, but I didn’t think he was making it all up just to tease me.
He cleared his throat loudly and turned away.
“It’s late. Get ready.”
The conversation ended, leaving me with lingering doubts.
It wasn’t so much unsettling as it was eerie.
The idea that I might have done something terrible to him last night seemed less troubling than the fact that he had just slept unaware, leaving me in that situation.
Due to sleeping in, I thought I would skip training, but Tessarion headed to the training ground as usual.
On the way to the training ground, Deputy Commander Ibis, who had been following along, complained to Tessarion, saying that the First Imperial Knights were unilaterally dictating the training time and place and that they were freely using the Black Wolf Knights’ training ground.
As he said, the training ground was filled with members of the First Imperial Knights, wearing red cloaks and brass-colored armor.
The infantry, practicing rapid transitions between attack and defense using spears and shields, and the knights leading them in command, along with the cavalry lined up on both sides, made a spectacular sight. It was truly a scene befitting the best knight order representing Bellatinaum.
When Tessarion appeared at the training ground, the knights on the platform surrounded the Crown Prince. Helios, who had been looking down at the training ground with his arms crossed, glanced toward us.
“I heard the Black Wolf Knights train day and night, but they only train at sunrise and sunset. Seems like the rumors were greatly exaggerated.”
“It’s different from the South, where they can operate a massive standing army.”
“I know that too. That’s why I came here personally.”
Helios arrogantly raised his chin, as if to say, “Ahem. Hurry up and thank me.”
Who asked him to come all the way to the North? He only brought a month’s worth of supplies and was trying to force gratitude out of us. It was really unpleasant to watch.
In fact, complaints had been emerging from the knights Helios brought, such as “Why does the food taste like this?” and “Why aren’t there any heating spells in this cold?”
Tessarion, with an indifferent expression, spoke.
“You may use the large training ground from 9 AM to 3 PM. However, please make sure to vacate it by 4 PM at the latest. Also, I will be in charge of the joint training. I know the Northern terrain and enemy tactics better than His Highness the Crown Prince. The schedule will be twice a week. Detailed information will be delivered through Deputy Commander Ibis.”
“What kind of rude person is this?”
“Your Highness, the Duke of Claremont is only needed as a strategic advisor!”
As expected, the knights surrounding Helios strongly opposed this. Helios also seemed displeased with Tessarion’s notification.
He sat on the high seat with his chin resting, but somehow, it felt like he wasn’t staring at Tessarion, but at me instead… Was it just my imagination?
