Strange Window (2)

After carrying Leyla in his arms to the bed, Siegfried carefully covered her with the blanket. When he tried to cover her up to the face, Leyla, feeling stifled, lowered the blanket to her neck, expressing a little rebelliousness against the “I-do-as-I-please” Siegfried.

“You might get cold.”

“It’s okay!”

Seeing Leyla stubbornly expose her face and neck above the blanket, he sighed and said,

“You can’t lower the blanket more than this. It’ll be bad if you catch a cold.”

Watching Siegfried earnestly warn her, even furrowing his brow, Leyla couldn’t shake off a strange feeling.

“I’m not a child…” Despite muttering to herself, she felt a tingling sensation in her chest at her husband’s concerned attitude. But Siegfried, calling a servant and instructing them to fetch a physician, didn’t show any particular concern.

‘Gosh!! Why am I acting like this?’

Leyla felt irritated at herself for getting all weird with emotions, especially after confidently demanding a divorce not too long ago. She didn’t want to get gloomy, so she deliberately shifted her attention elsewhere.

‘The strange image above his head is gone…’ She stared intently above Siegfried’s head.

The translucent blue window and the cute, strange pictures that had changed a few times were now completely gone.

‘Could it be that I was seeing things?’

However, the thing she saw was too vivid, and the pictures stayed for too long to make it just a figment of her imagination.

Even though they had disappeared now, Leyla had witnessed the strange pictures changing while she was nestled against Siegfried’s arms. It felt too vivid to be a mere hallucination.

“Leyla.”

Siegfried, who had silently approached the bedside, called her name with a gentle tone.

“Oh, yes?”

Leyla, lost in thought, responded with a blank expression. Siegfried looked at her with a serious expression.

“Why…”

He carefully examined Leyla’s face and then raised his hand.

“…Excuse me for a moment.”

Siegfried leaned forward and extended his large hand over Leyla’s face.

“Gasp!” Leyla involuntarily flinched and closed her eyes. It was an instinctive reaction ingrained in her body.

After waiting for some time without anything happening, Leyla cautiously opened her eyes. Siegfried had stopped his hand in the air and wore a somewhat bitter expression.

‘Oh? That expression… it’s as if you’re hurt.’ Even though she knew it couldn’t be true, that thought crossed her mind.

How could such a man—who is known for having an iron heart, someone who had never shown a hint of distress even on the dreadful battlefield and who didn’t show any sign of joy after defeating the evil dragon Phafner—seem to be hurt just because she closed her eyes…?!

‘…He-he’s not, right?’ Flustered, Leyla found herself offering an explanation.

“I-I just acted instinctively. I didn’t think you were going to hit me.”

“…Yes.”

He didn’t seem to believe her words.

“I mean it! Come on, try again.”

Leyla took Siegfried’s paused hand in the air and pressed her cheek against it.

Seeing her gentle expression as she rested her face against his hand, he froze in place. His Adam’s apple bobbed noticeably. However, Leyla remained oblivious to Siegfried’s oddity.

All her attention was on the strange picture that reappeared above his head.

〈 ( ⌯◞◟⌯)♡ 〉

Leyla stared at the characters floating above Siegfried with wide eyes.

‘That picture has appeared again.’

It wasn’t a figment of her imagination or some hallucination.

〈 (⁄ ⁄•⁄ꇴ⁄•⁄ ⁄)⁄ 〉

While observing the changing characters above Siegfried, Leyla frowned.

The continuous changes were straining her eyes. Just as she was pressing his eyelids to relieve her tired eyes, Siegfried, who came to his senses belatedly, asked in a hurry.

“Does your eyes hurt?”

“Huh? Oh, just a bit.”

Siegfried, frowning as if dissatisfied, calmly observed Leyla. After thoroughly checking for any signs of discomfort or changes in her complexion, he spoke.

“If you’re sick, you have to say it clearly. You can’t just hold it in. If you stubbornly endure it, even a minor illness can become serious.”

“Yes…”

Feeling like a child scolded for not wanting to go to the hospital, Leyla felt puzzled.

‘This isn’t it, though?’ She couldn’t help but wonder how the atmosphere had taken such a turn. The thought she had earlier came back to mind.

‘I met Siegfried with my heart set on divorcing him, so why am I getting scolded here?’

Although she had many questions to ask and argue about, seeing Siegfried’s narrowed forehead filled with concern, Leyla decided not to be rebellious.

Thus, she quietly underwent the examination when the physician arrived.

The physician opened his examination bag, slightly panting and sweating as if he had rushed over.

Leyla noticed he looked somewhat fearful, feeling conscious of Siegfried’s reactions. Her husband stood with crossed arms, casting a stern gaze at the physician, radiating an intimidating aura that could make anyone tense up.

Hunching his shoulders, the trembling physician continued with his duties.

“Um, Madam, let me check your temperature first.”

“Yes.”

However, something amazing happened.

“Oh?”

While Siegfried’s face remained as scary as always, the window above his head disappeared, but,

〈 ( ˃̣̣̥᷄ㅇ˂̣̣̥᷅ ) 〉

Above the nervous physician, a picture she had never seen before appeared.

‘…What on earth is that picture?’

Leyla blinked her eyes.

‘The translucent blue window that was above Siegfried’s head before is now only above the physician. Why on earth did it move?’

As she was lost in thought, the physician finished examining her and stepped back.

‘Ah, it’s gone.’

Just like with Siegfried, the window above the physician’s head disappeared. Now, Leyla couldn’t see the translucent window anywhere.

‘Am I really hallucinating because I’m tired?’

As she was entertaining such thoughts, the physician spoke,

“Firstly, I don’t think there’s anything of concern.”

“…Really? Is there absolutely nothing wrong with my eyes?”

“Pardon? Ah, no, they are perfectly normal. Do you suspect any symptoms?”

“Well, um…”

Leyla hesitated, unable to answer immediately.

‘Can I honestly say what’s happening?’

Even if she told the truth, they wouldn’t believe it. It was an unbelievable story. They might even say she was crazy.

‘I too think I’m going crazy…’

She felt like even her family, who loved her dearly, wouldn’t believe her, let alone here, where there was no one on Leyla’s side. This place was somewhere she felt that even her husband, who should have been the closest person to her, was on someone else’s side…

“Um…”

As Leyla pressed her lips, deep in thought, the physician, sweating slightly, spoke up,

“If you have any symptoms, please tell me in detail, Madam.”

The attending physician continued to glance sideways. He was keeping an eye on Siegfried, who had been by Leyla’s side the whole time.

“Wife.”

“…Ah, yes!”

She replied a beat later as she was lost in thought. Thus, Siegfried, convinced that his wife was truly ill, focused his worried gaze on her.

“Are you really sure there’s nothing wrong? My wife has been acting a bit strange since earlier. She has been saying she saw something in the air, her eyes hurt, she’s feeling tired, and she’s slow to react, just like now.”

At Siegfried’s words, Leyla frowned.

‘If you speak like that, it sounds as if I’m a weirdo!’

However, Leyla’s glare did not affect her husband.

“Well, sometimes, when we’re mentally exhausted, we may see things. Madam will be fine if she rests well.”

As the physician carefully conveyed his opinion in a roundabout way so as not to offend the listener, Siegfried furrowed his eyebrows, seeming dissatisfied with the physician’s assessment.

“Aren’t you going to prescribe any medication or something?”

“I will prepare medication to help relieve fatigue.”

Siegfried’s gaze softened slightly at the physician’s brisk response.

“Will it be effective?”

“Yes, it will definitely help. I will prepare it right away!”

With his permission, the physician quickly grabbed his tools and left. Siegfried, still looking at the physician’s back with discomfort, approached Leyla, who was in a daze.

“Do you feel any discomfort elsewhere? I’ll ask for a more thorough examination if you’re feeling sick.”

“No, I’m fine. I’m not sick.”

Leyla spoke in a weak voice and blinked. She couldn’t see anything. There was nothing above Siegfried’s head or the physician who had just left.

Then what were those images she had seen? Whether she was hallucinating, dreaming, or seeing something real, she couldn’t tell anymore.

‘Could it really be that I’m just tired?’

Since even the physician didn’t know, there was no need to pester him further and make him uncomfortable.

“More importantly, I think I really need to get some sleep…”

Covering her mouth when yawning, Leyla lay down on the bed. As her head touched the soft pillow, drowsiness washed over her.

‘Maybe I’m just seeing things because I’m too exhausted.’ Leyla closed her eyes, deciding she should sleep first and think later.

Siegfried, who had been silently watching her, spoke softly.

“…Alright. I’ll tell the physician to have the medication ready. Be sure to take it when you wake up.”

“Yess.”

Leyla’s face was filled with drowsiness as she mumbled her response.

Bending down, Siegfried carefully tucked the blanket up to her neck and watched her sleep for a while.

Then, he quietly left the room.

_