“This is……!”
Startled by the unexpected situation, I had unconsciously parted my lips, but I quickly pressed them shut again.
Having already used the ring to converse with Xenon’s illusion, I was aware that my voice now could potentially wake the sleeping Xenon.
With my lips firmly sealed, I froze for a moment before cautiously moving my body.
Since I was currently in Xenon’s room in the form of an illusion, I could not make contact with objects.
Naturally, even if I were sitting on the bed, my presence would not be conveyed to him.
However, sitting idly beside him as he lay defenseless felt somewhat eerie.
‘How do I return again?’
There was definitely a time limit for maintaining the illusion. And to return first, did they say to move the ring like this?
Just as I was about to clutch the ring to immediately dispel this magic—
At that moment, a rustling sound came from the direction of the bed.
“Mmm……”
Xenon mumbled, shifting his posture.
In doing so, the blanket covering him slipped down, revealing most of his upper body.
The contours of his form were clearly visible along the dim shadows. Realizing this, my mind went momentarily blank.
‘Surely the imperial palace… provides sleepwear….’
Where did he put his clothes, to be in such a state… No, but. He’s more muscular than I thought, isn’t he?
It was true.
Xenon, who had appeared relatively slender next to the large-framed Samuel, unexpectedly had a body without an ounce of excess fat.
Unable to react, I just stared blankly when Xenon shifted once more. The blanket slid down to below his ribs.
‘Wait!’
Frozen while standing beside the bed, I hastily reached out my hand.
I wanted to pull the blanket up for him, but of course, I couldn’t.
Having retreated with no gain, I struggled to avert my gaze and tried to clear my mind. But it wasn’t easy to erase the sight already imprinted in my memory.
Why, while sleeping, why, it’s not even hot, what on earth!
‘But won’t he catch a cold like that?’
At the thought that unintentionally surfaced, I first slowly scanned the room. To check if the heating was adequate.
‘The heating seems to be properly maintained.’
This room was an average guest room provided by the imperial palace. Neither excessively lavish nor terribly shabby—just that level.
‘Still, for a guest of the Magic Tower, they provide merely such an average room?’
Having intended to give it a cursory glance, I crossed my arms and began inspecting the room in earnest.
‘Good heavens! Not even a balcony?’
Only a window was faintly visible between the curtains.
In such a cramped space, not even a single balcony—no wonder Xenon wanted to leave the imperial palace quickly!
With a dissatisfied look, I checked between the curtains and turned my body.
The room didn’t even have the common drinking water. Usually, they would leave out wine to drink before bed according to preference, but there was truly nothing.
‘Isn’t this too neglectful?’
For me, who had thought they would be treating him well since the imperial mages had begged him to stay, it was simply absurd.
‘Perhaps I should separately ask Prince Heinri to ensure he’s properly looked after… No, maybe it’s better if I just finish the work as quickly as possible?’
But he has to endure until my sister brings the marriage registration. The corruption in the Roam family hasn’t been uncovered yet, and the Lilia issue also remains.
Perhaps I should indeed hint to Heinri…
Just then.
“……Lady Anelli?”
A voice, thick with sleep, came from behind me, lost in thought.
Startled, I swallowed dryly and froze. A moment later, with a rustling sound, a clearer voice called me again.
“Uh, Lady Anelli……?”
Should I just run away?
For a moment, the desire to activate the ring surged like a chimney, but I struggled to suppress the impulse.
If I fled without at least a minimal explanation, I would be confirmed as a pervert who secretly crept into someone else’s bedroom at night.
Taking a calm, deep breath, I turned around to see Xenon, who had half-raised his upper body.
His face, squinting as he examined me, still bore traces of drowsiness.
“Is it a dream?”
Seeing him mutter as if to himself, it seemed he wasn’t fully awake yet.
‘Maybe there’s still a chance to escape.’
Just as Xenon’s illusion had been before, I, now in an illusionary state, would also appear like smoke.
So, in the dim room and in his half-awake state, there was room for him to mistakenly think he was truly dreaming.
Pressing my lips tightly together, I watched his reaction, ready to turn the ring if necessary, when Xenon fully sat up.
At that moment, I saw the blanket covering his body slide smoothly downward.
‘Oh!’
Without thinking, I swiftly turned my head away, facing away from Xenon, and the rustling sound abruptly stopped.
“It must really be a dream.”
His clear voice now seemed fully awake.
“If it were really Lady Anelli, she would have been much more brazen……”
Xenon’s voice was soft, but the room was quiet enough to hear clearly.
Suppressing the urge to retort to his words, I twisted my body a little more, turning my back to him.
‘It’s only natural to be bothered…!’
If it were a man with no relation to me, perhaps not! But this is someone I’ve kissed and nearly had further contact with!
If he had at least been wearing a thin shirt, I wouldn’t have been this startled.
With his upper body bare, how am I to know the state of his lower half!
‘Does he think I’m always as unfeeling as a stone?’
Suppressing my discontent, I stubbornly kept my back turned, and no more words were heard.
The room was already dim and quiet, and with Xenon, his bare skin exposed, saying nothing, I felt strangely uneasy.
‘I must never handle the ring carelessly again.’
No, perhaps it would be better to suggest changing the communication magical artifact from the start.
Making a firm inner resolution, I gently placed my hand on the ring.
Then, a soft question came from behind.
“Are you leaving?”
‘…….’
“Just as I was trying to pass it off as a dream, couldn’t you spare a little more generous time?”
…What dream. It seems Xenon had realized this was reality quite some time ago.
Struggling to keep my head from bowing automatically in embarrassment, I steadied my voice and calmly began to speak.
“I know you must be very surprised. You may not believe it, but this is a mistake. I was lost in thought and unconsciously touched the ring……”
“Who are you talking to? If you’re going to explain, you should do it to me, not the wall.”
His grumbling voice held a faint trace of laughter.
Seeing him act so leisurely, unlike his usual careless and sloppy self, somehow provoked my stubbornness. I calmly composed my expression and turned around.
……Whether unfortunate or fortunate, his lower half was properly clothed.
If his lower half had been bare as well, I would have left without further explanation.
“Didn’t the palace provide you with sleepwear?”
In trying to hide my embarrassment, my tone inadvertently came out reproachful.
It might have been irritating, but Xenon answered lightly, unfazed.
“It’s constricting. And the less I wear, the more sensitively I react to magic.”
“What reason would you have to react to magic while sleeping?”
Could it be that he’s even receiving death threats within the imperial palace?
At the sudden thought, I looked at Xenon with a serious face, and he parted his lips with a laugh.
“Incidents like today’s.”
Casually replying, Xenon got down from the bed.
“I mean, you contacting me suddenly. Well… I didn’t expect you to appear as an illusion without warning, though.”
Glancing down at his own bare upper body, he found a shirt nearby and put it on.
It was large and loose, and seeing the front gaping open, it seemed to be sleepwear.
How can someone wearing clothes still not lose their indecency at all?
“Is something the matter?”
Glancing at his loosely hanging hem, which seemed worse than not wearing anything, I tossed out a reply.
“……Just, I had a nightmare.”
Only after giving him that small answer did the dream I had earlier resurface. However, the low mood I felt after the dream did not follow.
Perhaps it was because the shock of facing an unexpected situation was greater.
“You can’t possibly sleep comfortably in such an ominous household.”
Sighing and shaking his head, he approached me.
But his hand passed through me, uselessly crossing through empty air.
As if regretting it, he waved his hand in the air a couple of times, then frowned and said,
“Since you’re in an illusionary state, there’s nothing I can do for you.”
“I didn’t come expecting you to do anything. It was a mistake. I was about to return right away.”
Perhaps because he just woke up, Xenon looked more disheveled and languid than usual. Seeing him like that made me feel oddly restless.
Trying not to show this awkwardness, I was about to bid farewell when he asked in a disappointed tone.
“You woke me up and now you’re just going to leave?”
“……I’m sorry about that.”
“If you’re sorry, couldn’t you stay by my side until I fall asleep again?”
Surprised by the unexpected request, my eyes widened, and Xenon awkwardly scratched the back of his head.
“Actually, my sleeping arrangements aren’t very comfortable either, so I couldn’t fall asleep until late. When camping, I slept listening to your breathing, but here it’s too quiet.”
“We’ve never slept close enough for you to hear my breathing.”
“I slept listening to it.”
Despite my skeptical gaze, Xenon stubbornly held his ground without yielding.
When camping… he might have slept listening to owl sounds, but he wouldn’t have heard a trace of my breathing.
Even though his ploy was transparent, the reason I couldn’t readily refuse was likely because I had woken him.
While I was briefly pondering, he had already returned to the bed, settled in, and lay down.
‘Not a hint of reserve to be found.’
A hollow laugh escaped me at the sight of him, who had even neatly covered himself with the blanket and was staring intently at me. Who would have thought the person I always considered timid had such brazen qualities.
Watching him act with such a thick skin made the embarrassment I felt seem trivial.
With a more relaxed heart, I perched lightly on the edge of the bed and subtly posed a question.
“Does something like my breathing really help?”
“There’s plenty of space, so you can lean back. And as for the answer, yes. Of course it helps, that’s why I asked.”
At Xenon’s reply, I paused.