Chapter 62
“Eros of the Night”
“…!”
It was true—when you’re too shocked, you can’t even scream.
I had never imagined Calier would wake up. I gasped sharply, just as his tightly shut eyelids slowly opened.
I’m… doomed!
The grip on my wrist grew even stronger.
I bit my lip, regretting trying to check on him with my own eyes.
I should have remembered—if you’re not the protagonist, doing something reckless gets you killed!
If Calier noticed that my hair color had changed…
“…Who are you?”
My eyes flew open in surprise at his voice, dry and cracked like a parched field.
…Who am I?
I peeked at the man lying there—his red eyes darting restlessly, trying to recognize me.
But thanks to the timely moon slipping behind the clouds, the room was darker, and his fever-clouded mind seemed unable to clearly make out my face.
Could it be… I might live?
Swallowing hard, I watched his unfocused gaze tremble.
He was breathing heavily. I carefully parted my lips.
“…It’s me, Your Grace.”
“…Heidi?”
Hearing my voice, he spoke Heidi’s name—confirming my guess.
Saved!
I swallowed down the cheer that almost escaped and only nodded quickly.
As I watched him blink slowly, something felt off.
“Are you feeling… any better—”
Then I felt it—the heat from the wrist he held. The warmth spreading from his grip made me instinctively glance at his face.
His cheeks flushed red, his breath rough, his gaze unfocused—his condition was clear.
Without thinking, I reached out my free hand to his forehead.
His whole body is burning up.
“…Is it really you, Idy?”
“Yes, it’s me, Your Grace.”
“…Is this a dream too?”
His voice held a hint of self-mockery he couldn’t quite hide.
For some reason, my chest ached at that. I shifted into the shadows and answered,
“Maybe it is.”
Yes, maybe.
For the first time, standing before him not as Heidi Eliana but as Revelia Piace, perhaps this was the dreamlike situation for us both.
“…Heidi.”
Hearing him call her name in a cracked voice, I hid my feelings and changed the subject.
“…You have a high fever.”
“…”
“You should take fever medicine.”
Turning my gaze away, I quickly searched for the medicine the doctor had left.
My churning stomach was screaming for me to get away from him as fast as possible.
In the pitch-dark room, finding anything was difficult.
I fumbled for the bedside table.
Where is it…?
My fingers brushed against crinkling paper. I held it toward the window—“Fever medicine” was written on it.
“I found it, Your Grace. Wait a moment. It’s powder, so I’ll mix it with water for you.”
“…Heidi.”
“Please wait just a little. I’ll be quick.”
He still hadn’t let go of my wrist.
Breathing was hard for him, yet he clung stubbornly, like a child afraid of losing his mother’s hand.
He must be in so much pain… I’ll just do this quickly.
Feeling around, I found the water bottle, poured it into a cup, then emptied the packet into it.
I picked up the teaspoon and stirred the powder into the water.
“Your Grace, it’s ready—”
“…missed you.”
“…What?”
“I missed you, Heidi.”
His low voice pierced straight into my ears.
I froze, forgetting to breathe, staring at him blankly. His hand slipped from my wrist—as if he’d held on all this time just to say that one thing.
I watched his eyes slowly close again, unable to say a word.
The heat from his touch still lingered on my wrist.
“W-what…”
Realizing what had just happened, my face flared.
After saying something I could never have imagined, he drifted back into a fevered sleep.
I sank down beside him, watching his rough breathing.
“What on earth…”
The heart that had been pounding with anxious fear now thudded for an entirely different reason.
“I’m glad to see you awake, Your Grace.”
Calier sat up in bed, his forehead aching and his chest burning like hot iron pressed into it.
Zember, startled to see him trying to rise with his complexion still pale, rushed to his side.
The quick-witted butler slipped a cushion behind him.
“The doctor advised you to rest more and recover fully.”
“…I’ve worried you.”
“Yes, I was very worried.”
Usually, Zember would fuss and say it was enough that His Grace was awake—but this time, the answer was plain and honest.
Noticing the difference, Calier glanced at him.
“…To think I’d hear such a scolding from you after almost dying.”
“Would that really be my true feeling?”
“…?”
Zember sighed deeply, half lamenting. Calier silently asked with his eyes what he meant.
With a faintly sulky look, Zember finally spoke.
“For an old man like me, coming to this castle vowing to serve only you for life, I was prepared for anything.”
“…”
“But what about her? What a disaster it must have been.”
“…Her?”
“Do you remember having a high fever before dawn yesterday?”
Calier slowly shook his head.
He had fleeting memories—but he couldn’t tell if they were dreams or reality.
Zember continued.
“When your fever spiked in the night, Lady Heidi stayed by your side. She changed your cold towels and gave you fever medicine.”
“Heidi?”
He sounded disbelieving, but Zember nodded.
Calier frowned.
“Where is Heidi?”
“She’s sleeping now. I don’t think she slept at all until dawn.”
Calier said nothing to that.
Zember guessed his master was feeling the same confusion the whole castle staff felt.
Bowing slightly, he added,
“So please, focus on regaining your health. Sleep well.”
“…”
“That would be the proper courtesy to Lady Heidi, who stayed by you all night.”
Leaving those words behind, Zember took the water basin from the table and left the room.
Calier’s gaze lingered on the closed door to Heidi’s room.
Heidi stayed by my side last night?
Even after hearing it, he couldn’t understand.
His fever- and medicine-fogged mind only offered broken, scattered memories.
With a headache still throbbing, he recalled a voice filled with concern.
…Idy, is it really you?
Yes, it’s me, Your Grace.
…Is this a dream too?
Maybe it is.
“It was definitely… called a dream…”
That small conversation seemed to say what he experienced last night wasn’t real.
But then another memory surfaced—
I found the fever medicine, Your Grace. Wait a moment, I’ll mix it with water for you.
His eyes instinctively turned to the bedside table.
If it wasn’t a dream, then Heidi had been fussing there for a while.
I’m sure she was mixing medicine.
And to prove it hadn’t been a dream, a crumpled paper—likely from the medicine—still lay there.
He picked it up and tasted it—the faint powder residue was the same as the one still lingering in his mouth.
But then…
Strangely, he had no memory of actually drinking the medicine she prepared.
Running his hand through his hair, he froze.
Wait.
Was that woman really Heidi?
The gentle voice calling his name belonged to Heidi Eliana…
But the golden hair that seemed to light up the dark room with every movement—there was no trace of that in his memory.
All that remained in his mind was Heidi Eliana’s voice.
Suddenly, Calier thought the situation was like the myth of Eros, finding his wife in the dark.
