When I blearily opened my eyes again afterward, the sun was setting. The sky was tinted in shades of the sunset, calming lilac and pink overtones making me feel like I was still stuck in a dream. Still blinking the sleep from my tired eyes, I dazedly tried to remember something I thought before I succumbed to the warm and comforting embrace of sleep.

Haha, I can’t believe I fell asleep while nursing Sigren.

My muscles ached in protest as I stretched my shoulders and raised my head, moving my neck from side to side. Clearly, sleeping in a seat was not one of my brightest ideas. Finally returning to a normal position after I had finished shaking off the stiffness that had taken root throughout my body, I met Sigren’s glassy blue-grey gaze staring at me intently. He stared at me with a sense of guardedness and defined focus, tracking my every movement as he looked down upon me. His body was already angled towards the nearest instinct. Waking up in unfamiliar surroundings in addition to an unfamiliar person watching guard over him must have triggered his fight or flight instinct.

Are you finally awake?

“Well, did you sleep well? Nice to meet you.”

As soon as I was fully awake and had opened my eyes properly, I saw him staring at me. The face of him with his hooded eyes and long eyelashes closed did him no justice. It was a beautiful appearance—he seemed picturesque, like an artist’s imagination came alive, even more, beautiful than any other humans. His face had sharp planes and delicate features like those seen on the statues of angels. However, he gave off a distinct cold, predatory atmosphere that made him seem imposing and intimidating. It significantly deviated from my expectations and the image of him I had come to build up in my imagination. I had thought he would be a little more relaxed and casual. Well, this was the kind of personality that anyone would have come to expect of the main character. Only the slight color that brushed across his cheeks and the tousled bed head made him seem more human.

“….”

As the silence weighed heavy between us, I racked my brain for something, anything to break the ice. It was only then did I realize that I had absolutely no idea what to say to Sigren after he woke up. Despite my extensive planning, the reality of this situation occurring had most definitely slipped my mind and I found myself completely clueless.

Sigren cleared his throat and broke the silence, clearly tired of waiting for me to begin talking. He took the initiative to obtain information on his surroundings. “Where am I? What is this place? Where is this?”

“This is Heilon Castle…”

“Who are you?”

“My name is Fiona. What about you?”

When I asked for his name, his brow furrowed in distrust and wariness.

“Si…gren.”

His words were uttered softly, an unexpectedly sincere response from someone who was shooting me such a hateful look mere moments ago. He broke eye contact with me and began to survey the condition of his body. He slowly tested out the strength of his body, experimenting with his capability at the moment. Sigren subsequently lifted his fingers, hands, and legs. Although he was still clearly in pain, the exertion he was putting himself through resulting in a pearly sheen of sweat that covered his forehead. He chose to instead, ignore his discomfort and continued to stretch his limbs, marveling at the fact that he had survived to live another day.

“How am I alive?”

I guessed that Sigren didn’t remember holding me and rolling away from the attack that could have ended my life as easily as a fly getting swatted. It was probably a semi-conscious action, one that had been acted upon instinct. This boy…he tried to save a strange girl he had never seen before, at the risk of losing his own life. Despite being in such a terrible wounded state, his immediate reaction was to save someone he had never met before. Such a selfless nature- indeed, Sigren had all the qualities of a male lead.

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“I was the one who brought you here and fetched the healer to treat you a couple of days ago. You’ve been extremely ill, suffering a high fever for the last two days. I’m just glad you’re not still burning up and that you now seem okay. I’ve been waiting for you to wake up.”

Sigren’s face clearly conveyed his bafflement at my comments. He looked as if someone had told him that the sky was actually the earth or an even stranger statement.

However, currently, his mental state and the thoughts swirling around in his head were the least of my worries. I was much more concerned regarding his physical condition. Even though he held the position of the male lead in this world, he was still only a child. With a delicate and frail body, Sigren had not yet come into his strength. A feeling of guilt slowly crept up on my consciousness like a thief stealing away through the night, virtually undetectable. Why the hell had I set the male lead’s childhood to be so unhappy and tragic?!

The difference between my vague imagination and what actually was real was a huge disparity. It was as if the idea of a zombie in a movie wasn’t scary but as soon as you thought that the zombie might exist in real life, wouldn’t it be scary? That was roughly what I felt, that the distinction between fiction and reality was really quite negligible.

“You were having a fever earlier, although you seem better now. I’m not sure if it’s completely gone though. Here, let me check.” I came closer and extended my hand towards him slowly to check the warmth of his forehead but, despite my best efforts, it seemed as if he was still spooked. Sigren batted away my hand without an ounce of hesitation, as quick as a flash of lightning. Although his face remained as composed as ever, I could detect a gleam of nervousness beginning to shine within his eyes due to his fear of the repercussion that would follow his harsh, instinctive reaction.

“Don’t touch it.”

The act of slapping away my hand while having such a pretty face was no joke.

How adorable…this older sister’s generous heart has fallen for your charms, kid.

“Alright then. Tell me if it hurts anywhere, okay?”

“I told you already, it’s not your concern! I’ll take care of- AAAHH!!”

Sigren couldn’t help as a scream was torn from his throat as I gently touched where his wound was, over the layers of bandage that currently covered it. His abrupt scream did not make me flinch, it was hardly a surprise- the poor boy was only fourteen years old after all, I knew he had just plastered on a facade of strength and normalcy. There’s no way it wouldn’t have hurt, the wound on his torn stomach was only recently stitched a few days ago. Under no circumstances was that adequate time to heal.

“You! What are you doing..?”

I rested my hands on my hips defiantly, taking a stand against Sigren’s stubbornness. “You are a serious patient right now. You have to tell me right away if you’re sick. Otherwise, I won’t know, I can’t read your mind. You have to communicate, okay?”

“Why the hell do you even care about me?! I’m just a stranger, we’ve only just met. It’s really weird, you know?” Sigren seemed alert, as if my gentle behavior had set off alarm bells in his head. However, it was completely understandable. He couldn’t trust people easily since he had experienced such traumatic experiences in the past—his mother’s death and the constant assassination threats from an early age.

“Didn’t you save me as well?” I stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“What are you talking about? I have never done-”

Then, the door of my room swung wide open and someone’s silhouette was framed in the doorway. The tall figure drew closer.

“For a little girl like you, as small as a mouse, it’s still a hundred years too early to bring a man to her room.”