“…Ung.”

Ariel’s eyes suddenly opened, and she finally let out her voice that had been blocked. The response that burst out after a long silence was like taking a breath after a long dive—new and urgent.

The person next to her turned their head toward her.

It was Canon.

Looking into Canon’s worried eyes, Ariel swept the bed sheets. She was in the car, and before she knew it, she was somehow back home. She couldn’t even remember how she had gotten to her room and was lying down like this.

As she groggily tried to piece together her memories and raised her upper body, Canon draped a shawl over her shoulders.

“Did you sleep well?”

“…Did… I fell asleep?”

“Yes. You came in the arms of the Grand Prince, and you were sleeping so well that you didn’t move at all.”

“I… did that?”

“The Grand Prince mentioned that you suddenly fell asleep, so the Young Lady might find the current situation a little confusing.”

Canon poured some warm water and handed it to Ariel, who cradled the transparent cup in both hands. The glass was warm. She leaned into that warmth, letting her mind settle.

She slowly retraced the fragmented memories.

In the car, where it felt like the door might fall off, she almost collapsed, though the Grand Prince caught her. In that position, sitting side by side, she drifted off to sleep.

From that point onward, her memories were unclear.

She remembered the air brushing against her cheek a few times—from the car to outside and then from outside into the mansion.

That was it.

No matter how hard she tried to remember, she had no recollection. Nevertheless, she felt strangely reluctant to attribute it solely to falling asleep. It was because sleep approached her as if it were beyond her will, like she was in a state of unconsciousness, akin to fainting, rather than naturally closing her eyes.

‘…Was my body really that unwell?’

Even when she thought about it, her condition didn’t seem that bad. While she was tired, certainly not to the point of fainting…

“Are you feeling all right?”

Seeing Canon sending a worried glance, Ariel stopped her thoughts and nodded her head.

“Ung. I’m okay.”

“Then, I’ll help you change your clothes. The Grand Prince will be waiting for you downstairs.”

“Yes. I’ll be ready in a minute.”

It seemed he had somehow made it into the mansion.

Ariel suppressed the sigh that threatened to escape her and pulled the blanket up. It seemed that pajamas were draped over her body while her original clothes and belongings were neatly placed on the table next to her. As she lethargically rummaged through the table, her eyes widened as she spotted a small, rectangular object.

Her phone, which must have been in the pocket of her dress, was sitting on the table.

Ariel felt her heart sink.

It didn’t matter if the servants found out since some people already knew about the existence of her phone. However, since she adorned it as a decoration or amulet, few people expressed interest in it.

Regardless, it was different with high-ranking nobles. They were more likely to find that item peculiar since they were more accustomed to magic devices.

It was dangerous to have her cell phone get caught by the Grand Prince.

“Canon, my cell… Since when has my amulet been there?”

“Are you talking about the white thing you always carry with you?”

“Yeah. The one on the table.”

Canon took a quick glance as Ariel pointed at her phone.

“I took the liberty of organizing it separately while I was changing the Young Lady’s clothes earlier.”

This meant that she was the only one who saw the phone.

‘…Thank goodness.’

Ariel let out a small sigh of relief and smiled at Canon.

“Thank you.”

“…I was just doing my job.”

“Thank you again, really.”

Canon nodded awkwardly at the sincere words before she smiled a little.

“I’m going to bring some clothes, so please wait a moment.”

Then, she quietly headed to the dressing room.

Even though it seemed as though she probably had many questions, she didn’t ask them. Ariel was grateful for her consideration. Not only was Canon quick-witted, but she was also considerate and skilled at her tasks. She couldn’t express enough how grateful she was to have someone like her as her personal maid.

‘I should talk to Mother and ask her to raise Canon’s salary.’

As the young lady of this house, that might be the best thing she could do. Ariel mused before her expression stiffened when she looked at her phone.

 
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