‘Why did it turn out like this?’

I thought absentmindedly, leaning my forehead against Dimitri’s chest.

Every time the sharp wind made the window rattle with a chilling sound, I flinched and shivered, and Dimitri was comforting me, patting my back. I didn’t realize it because I was too scared to notice, but now that I’ve calmed down a bit, this situation was too embarrassing.

‘What will he think of me…’

A grown woman being held in the arms of a man who coldly dumped him under the pretense of being afraid of wind, rain and ghosts.

‘…And all in the same bed!’

Would he think I’m shameless?

Would he think I’m just taking advantage of him?

I wrapped myself tightly in the blanket and glanced up at Dimitri as I nestled into his embrace. I wondered what expression he was wearing.

But then our eyes met.

I panicked when I realized he was looking down at me, and I just closed my eyes.

“Are you still very scared?”

“Unh…”

“If you’re going to spit out onomatopoeias as words, don’t pretend to be asleep.”

“…I thought you’d just let it slide when you saw me trying this hard to pretend to be asleep. You’re not being forgiving.”

When I blamed him for my embarrassment, he also spoke without backing down.

“Then, wouldn’t it be better to show a little more sincerity in your acting?”

Right.

Although I thought it was a reasonable suggestion, I came up with a ridiculous excuse.

“If I make the acting too realistic, wouldn’t you mistake that even my cowardice is just acting?”

Dimitri chuckled.

“Hold on to such concerns. Even a three-year-old could tell that Rowaine is a coward…”

“No, wait a minute.”

Interrupting his words, I sat up straight. I glared at him, feeling a little confused, even for myself.

“It’s true what you said… but why am I so angry about it?”

“….”

“Is that really something to snicker about?”

“Hmm.”

Seeing him clear his throat and avert his gaze, I slapped his shoulders and widened my eyes.

“No, it’s true I’m a coward, but it wouldn’t be obvious to a three-year-old, right? Still, I’m an adult, but you’re making fun of me like I’m a three-year-old, aren’t you? Huh?”

At my words, Dimitri tightly shut his eyes and turned his head in the opposite direction.

“Unh…”

“Are you kidding me? This guy! Wake up! Open your eyes! Open them!”

And so, the first night in the dormitory passed.

‘She must’ve been exhausted.’

Dimitri looked over at Rowaine, who had fallen asleep next to him after a few minutes of joking and playing around. He could tell she was uncomfortable, so he joked around with her, and only then did she manage to forget her fear and awkwardness and finally fall asleep.

‘Are thunder and lightning really that scary?’

As he looked at her sleeping face, he smirked.

‘Cute.’

Slowly raising his hand, he gently brushed a stray strand of hair out of Rowaine’s face before lightly tracing her forehead with a careful touch and tapping the tip of her nose. He then placed his fingertip over her slightly parted lips.

It was warm and soft.

When he moved his fingers slightly, her lips parted a bit more, revealing neat teeth.

‘….’

Vivid memories of kissing her came flooding back to him.

The ecstasy of that sensation, scent and movement…

Dimitri swallowed his saliva without realizing it. Somehow, there was a fluttering sensation from the pit of his stomach.

‘I want to kiss her.’

As he swallowed dryly, he suddenly became aware of how close he was to Rowaine, almost close enough for their lips to touch, and he jerked back in surprise.

Creak!

The bed shook with his sudden movement.

He froze in place, fearing Rowaine might wake up. Fortunately, she only tossed and turned a bit, curled up in the blankets.

‘She’s still asleep..’

Dimitri, who could easily awaken at the slightest noise, looked curiously at Rowaine sleeping deeply, unaware of anything happening around her.

‘She’s defenseless.’

How could humans sleep so deeply without any awareness of their surroundings? At the thought, he gently returned to her side and pulled her into his embrace under the blanket.

….

There was no response.

Encouraged by that, he boldly hugged her and buried his nose in the nape of her neck.

‘Nice scent…’

He wrapped his arms around Rowaine like he was hugging the cushion that she made for him when he was in his cat form.

“Purr… Purr…”

“Madam! Wake up.”

I lifted my heavy eyelids at the familiar voice calling me. Agwen was waking me up and opening the curtains. Fortunately, the weather was clear today, and the sun was shining.

“Ugh…”

As I stretched lazily, I belatedly remembered that I had slept with Dimitri and checked the bed beside me.

‘He’s not here?’

The space next to me was empty.

Agwen, who realized I was looking for Dimitri, opened her mouth again.

“The master has been wandering around the mansion since early in the morning.”

“I see.”

“I’ve prepared water for washing up in the bathroom.”

“Thank you.”

I relaxed and stretched once more and then stumbled out of bed.

‘It seems like he’s checking the areas we’ve kept clear all this time?’

The daily routine of a cat leader typically begins with patrolling its territory.

‘It wasn’t as awkward as I thought it would be.’

As my mind became clearer, memories of what happened before falling asleep naturally surfaced. I joked around with Dimitri, hit him a few times, and we talked about our daily lives. Contrary to my concerns, there wasn’t any awkward or strange atmosphere. It was a rather simple night.

‘It’s… not bad.’

With that thought in mind, I looked into the mirror in the bathroom and was surprised.

‘What… Why am I smiling?’

I realized I was smiling far too brightly.

After struggling to compose my expression, I splashed water on my face more roughly than usual. When I lifted my head, Agwen handed me a towel and tilted her head, noticing my serious face as I tried to hold back my smile.

“Your complexion doesn’t look great. Did you have an uncomfortable night?”

“Ah, yes. I slept uncomfortably all night.”

I blurted out an excuse without much thought, but then I realized it was indeed uncomfortable all night, sending shivers down my spine.

“That’s right, I felt like I couldn’t breathe the whole time I was asleep. I thought it was a dream, but now I think it was real. Hiik.”

“Why, why are you so startled?”

“I must have had sleep paralysis!”

The ghost story Dimitri told me flashed through my mind.

“It must be a ghost! A ghost must have come…! He said ghosts don’t hurt people!”

I shivered, thinking that there was no way a ghost powerful enough to destroy a bed couldn’t harm a person.

“We need to do an exorcism… we need to…”

I came out of the bathroom, thinking I should tell Dimitri.

While ghosts were ghosts, there were urgent matters at hand. I needed to visit the salon to get formal clothes during my stay in the capital.

‘I only have casual clothes with me…’

It seemed unlikely that I could even enter the palace with the clothes I currently have, let alone meet with Renée.

‘I’ll probably get turned away at the entrance.’

Like the phrase, ‘When in Rome, Do as the Romans Do.’ Even though I could do as I pleased as the Duchess in Blois, I couldn’t do so here.

“Agwen, could you tell the butler to prepare the carriage?”

With the help of Agaliaept, I recalled the name of the dress salon that Rowaine often visited in the novel and headed straight for the shopping street.

As I entered the shopping street, the dazzlingly decorated storefronts excited me.

‘It was a little bothersome at first, but now that I’m here, it’s quite exciting.’

Instead of heading straight to my destination, I walked around a bit with Agwen, taking in the sights, starting from the beginning of the shopping street.

“Madam, there are exquisite items everywhere!”

Agwen looked excited as it was her first time visiting the capital. She tried her best not to look around too eagerly, perhaps out of consideration for my dignity, but it seemed like she was having a hard time.

“Let’s take our time and walk around, Agwen. It’s been a while for me, too, so I’m in a good mood.”

In truth, it was amazing because this was also my first time. So, we wandered around, visiting various shops and purchasing a few useless but beautiful things.

And then, amidst our wanderings…

“Oh…!”

Just as I walked down the street, a woman passing by stopped in her tracks upon seeing my face.

‘Is this someone who knows Rowaine…?’

I looked at her, thinking that she might come up and say hello if she knew me, but suddenly, her face turned pale as if she had seen a ghost, and she quickly turned away to go somewhere else.

‘…What was that about?’

I turned around in confusion and watched her quickly disappear with hurried steps before I kept walking. Until that moment, I hadn’t realized that I had completely forgotten one very important fact.

I only became aware of it when something happened at the dress salon I had just arrived at.

 
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