Calyx didn’t wake up until noon. It was the first time he had overslept.

He got up hurriedly, scanning his body with wide-open eyes.

Even though he had a fever yesterday, his body felt strangely light, not aching at all.

‘It wasn’t a hallucination.’

Calyx recalled Rayna, who had saved him from falling down the stairs last night.

Rayna hadn’t shown up no matter how long he waited and ironically appeared at the moment he was engulfed in a fever.

Whenever he suffered from a fever, no one was allowed to touch him.

Although Calyx’ incurable disease wasn’t contagious, it had a bad impact on others.

Knowing this, Calyx—nearly unconscious—prayed Rayna wouldn’t come near him. He should have said, “No, go away,” but consciousness escaped him.

However, something strange happened.

In his half-asleep state he vaguely felt the touch of Rayna’s hand.

It soothed and made Calyx’ body gradually feel more comfortable.

Thanks to that, his pain disappeared like a mirage, and he fell into a deep sleep without dreaming.

‘It doesn’t hurt her to touch me, and she also reduced my fever. Maybe…’

Calyx reached into his collar and pulled out the necklace.

“Bomar.”

He opened his mouth as he looked at the small statue on his palm.

“Is Rayna a ‘special person’?”

Calyx’ eyes sparkled with hope.

“You said so. That a ‘special person’ would heal me. Look, I don’t feel any pain at all right now.”

Calyx swung his legs on the bed as if to prove it.

“Mh? Am I right?”

Despite Calyx’ urging, Bomar remained silent. His cheerful face shimmered in the sunlight but quickly turned gloomy.

“Bomar…”

He knew well that the wooden figurine wasn’t alive. However, Bomar was no ordinary wooden sculpture.

On the day he woke up from a severe fever for the first time, Bomar spoke to him.

Calyx thought he was dreaming.

However, the sensation of Bomar—perched on his shoulders—pressing the wooden sword against his side felt vivid.

“Calyx, there are so many stories I want to tell you.”

Bomar bravely wielded the sword, reenacting battles from fairy tales.

He even told Calyx the stories about what happened after the fairy tale ended.

In the end, he always cheered Calyx on, saying that he could become just like him.

Calyx was okay with believing that what he was seeing was a dream or an illusion.

Bomar was a gift from the heavens to comfort him when he suffered the painful fever.

A loving friend existing solely for Calyx.

The child never told anyone about this secret friend. Not out of fear of being told that he was losing his mind due to the fever, but out of fear of losing Bomar.

“Are you not going to play with me anymore?”

However, at some point, Bomar stopped speaking to Calyx.

But why?

“Is it because playing with me is no longer fun?”

If so, Calyx didn’t know what to do.

Bomar, the hero, had endless stories to tell Calyx, but Calyx had no stories to share with Bomar.

His world was limited to what he could see with his own two eyes. A square room at best—a truly boring world.

‘It’s natural for Bomar to get bored,’ Calyx thought, and even though he understood it in his head, his eyes reddened and his nose began to itch.

Just in time, a knock came from the door.

Startled by the knocking, Calyx quickly put Bomar in his chest pocket. The door opened, and Rayna entered.

“You’re up. I was about to wake you if you were still sleeping,” Rayna said, sitting on the chair beside the bed and comfortably leaning back.

“How do you feel?”

Her attitude was natural and relaxed as if they had known each other for a long time.

“I’m fine,” Calyx replied, fidgeting with his fingers happily.

“Are you hungry? Olivia will be bringing food up soon.”

Calyx was about to nod but suddenly stopped.

“I’m not hungry.”

He glanced at Rayna.

“Can’t I eat later?”

Calyx wanted to spend more time with Rayna. He felt like she would leave when Olivia brought the food.

“Just a little longer…” Calyx murmured, lowering his head.

“If-if you’re busy, though…”

“I’m not busy.”

Seeming like a refusal was about to follow, Calyx tightly clasped both hands together.

“I am hungry, though.”

“…What?”

“I was going to eat with you.”

Calyx raised his head abruptly.

“Together!”

The child, who spoke in a hurry, continued in a gradually diminishing voice.

“Let’s eat together. I want to eat, too.”

“Alright.”

Rayna replied coolly. She didn’t seem to find Calyx’ fidgeting and hesitation strange. Her expressionless face only appeared slightly indifferent.

Calyx bit his lip. Thoughts of his boring self and Bomar, who left him, involuntarily surfaced.

Just then, Olivia arrived, freeing Calyx from those thoughts.

Olivia brought a table and chairs to the window, arranged the food for Rayna and Calyx, and then left the room.

“. . .”

Even though one should concentrate on the food during a meal, Calyx was more focused on the silence.

He wanted to make Rayna want to stay with him, but, not knowing the proper way, Calyx awkwardly played with his food.

“You don’t like it?”

Out of the blue, Rayna asked.

“Oh, no, it’s delicious.”

Calyx quickly answered, picking up a piece of meat with his fork and putting it in his mouth.

He immediately regretted his choice.

‘Of all things, I had to choose meat.’

Calyx disliked meat.

At the Ingerson mansion, his diet was strictly restricted due to his frail health. He mostly ate easily digestible porridge, and all other foods were bland without any seasoning.

Especially meat dishes, boiled without any spices, had a strong smell. He used to reluctantly eat them, risking choking and nausea, to avoid scolding.

Though he had been eating similarly here, he didn’t want to show that side of himself in front of Rayna.

Conscious of Rayna’s gaze, Calyx cautiously chewed the meat in his mouth.

Soon, his brows rose slightly.

The succulent juice burst out from the meat marinated in sweet and savory sauce.

It was delicious—extremely delicious.

Calyx, in disbelief, took another bite.

It was delicious once again.

The child chewed with a serious expression, his eyebrows slightly furrowed.

Observing him, Rayna silently chuckled.

“Olivia has good culinary skills.”

Calyx vigorously nodded his head.

“The aroma is also good. The food I ate always smelled of bitter and ugly herbs.”

Finally finding a topic to talk about, Calyx became excited, and his words flowed quickly.

“If I left even a bit, I would be scolded. Although they were good for my body, it felt like my older brother was trying to bully…”

Calyx abruptly stopped talking, realizing that he had mentioned ‘brother’ in front of Rayna. He felt greatly taken aback.

“That, uh…”

Rayna didn’t press him further and simply picked up a napkin.

“Your fever yesterday didn’t seem ordinary.”

Wiping the sauce from the corner of Calyx’ mouth, she continued,

“I need to know exactly what illness it is so I can prepare for the future.”

Calyx’ Adam’s apple bobbed.

‘Rayna might be the only person who can help me.’

Making up his mind, he raised his gaze.

Then he widened his eyes as he saw something at the edge of his vision—there was a bandage on Rayna’s palm, right above the napkin.

“…Are you hurt?”

Rayna, too, followed Calyx’ gaze to her hand.

Instead of the sloppily wrapped bandage, Maya had replaced it with a new one.

“It’s nothing.”

“Did you get injured last night?”

Rayna nonchalantly nodded her head, and Calyx’ expression darkened.

He turned his head away, avoiding Rayna’s hand.

Bomar, who had provided information about the ‘special person,’ no longer responded to Calyx’ calls.

Even Rayna, whom he thought was a ‘special person,’ had ultimately been hurt.

‘Where did I see hope?’

Calyx considered it fortunate that he stopped before making a big mistake.

‘If I recklessly reveal information about my illness, Rayna could be in danger.’

The Ingerson family wouldn’t leave Rayna alone.

“The fever… It’s okay. It happens sometimes.”

Avoiding Rayna’s gaze, Calyx turned his head toward the window.

Seeing him suddenly shut his mouth like a clam, Rayna felt defeated.

Although she had maintained a casual expression, Rayna was quite anxious inside.

Earlier, she had run into Lucius in the market district.

Judging by his reaction, fortunately, it seemed he didn’t know her and hadn’t come intentionally looking for her.

‘I can’t be relieved just because it was a coincidence.’

According to the original story, Lucius should have been searching for Calyx in the southern region by now.

If the plot had deviated, had Lucius’ actions also changed?

Rayna realized that there was not much time left for the day she would properly meet Lucius.

‘I need Calyx to tell me about the black spots.’

That way, she could tell him that she was able to remove it.

However, Calyx didn’t seem inclined to share his own story, including his illness.

The defensive shift when he mentioned ‘brother’ was evidence of that.

As Rayna was contemplating how to break through Calyx’s guard, his eyes, focused outside the window, opened wide.

‘What is it?’

Rayna followed his gaze out the window and then looked back at Calyx.

His lips were now wide parted, and his eyes sparkled brightly.

Rayna’s mouth curled up faintly.

‘I found it!’

A way to get Calyx to let his guard down.