“I’ll be in your debt just for today.”
Judith, who had taken Erne's pillow from his bed, hugged it and returned to his room.
Erne, who was packing his bags for an early departure the next morning, shook his head as he saw Judith naturally entering his room.
There were empty rooms in the mansion, but none were in a condition where he could immediately lie down. The other members of the mansion were all in double rooms, so Judith had nowhere to sleep.
Even though the godmother uses the room alone, if Judith goes there to sleep, how worried will the old woman, who can't even see, be? She's not feeling well, so she should at least get some restful sleep.
“Just for today, Miss Harrington.”
Erne pointed to the bed with the tip of his chin, slightly blushing.
“Don’t worry, Erne. I’m also someone who likes to sleep alone.”
Although she said she wanted to sleep alone, Judith settled into a comfortable position on one side of the bed. Erne, who had roughly packed his bags, checked the fireplace one last time and then went to bed and lay down.
He tried to grab Judith's hand without thinking but withdrew his hand with a look of embarrassment.
Fortunately, Judith was so lost in her own thoughts that she didn't see Erne extend and then withdraw his hand.
'You used to beg me to just hold your hand, but now you say you have nothing to do with it.'
Erne clasped his hand for no reason, then pulled it away, and raised his head slightly to look at Judith.
‘I’m leaving tomorrow, so why are you making such a complicated face...?’
No, you're sleeping.
Erne burst into laughter as he watched Judith sleeping with her breathing evenly.
She still had her eyebrows furrowed as if she had fallen asleep while thinking.
When he gently opened her eyebrows, Judith flinched her eyelids as if it tickled her.
“Yes, I won’t touch you, so go to sleep.”
Erne spoke to Judith, knowing he would not receive an answer, and laid his head down on the pillow.
It was then that Judith lifted one leg up over Erne's, and then quickly slipped one hand between Erne's pajamas.
The series of movements were natural, flowing like water, without any unnecessary details.
“...You, aren’t you sleeping?”
Erne rolled over onto his back toward Judith, her hands clutching at his clothes as she ran them over her rippling abs.
Judith, who had taken Erne's pillow from his bed, hugged it and returned to his room.
Erne, who was packing his bags for an early departure the next morning, shook his head as he saw Judith naturally entering his room.
There were empty rooms in the mansion, but none were in a condition where he could immediately lie down. The other members of the mansion were all in double rooms, so Judith had nowhere to sleep.
Even though the godmother uses the room alone, if Judith goes there to sleep, how worried will the old woman, who can't even see, be? She's not feeling well, so she should at least get some restful sleep.
“Just for today, Miss Harrington.”
Erne pointed to the bed with the tip of his chin, slightly blushing.
“Don’t worry, Erne. I’m also someone who likes to sleep alone.”
Although she said she wanted to sleep alone, Judith settled into a comfortable position on one side of the bed. Erne, who had roughly packed his bags, checked the fireplace one last time and then went to bed and lay down.
He tried to grab Judith's hand without thinking but withdrew his hand with a look of embarrassment.
Fortunately, Judith was so lost in her own thoughts that she didn't see Erne extend and then withdraw his hand.
'You used to beg me to just hold your hand, but now you say you have nothing to do with it.'
Erne clasped his hand for no reason, then pulled it away, and raised his head slightly to look at Judith.
‘I’m leaving tomorrow, so why are you making such a complicated face...?’
No, you're sleeping.
Erne burst into laughter as he watched Judith sleeping with her breathing evenly.
She still had her eyebrows furrowed as if she had fallen asleep while thinking.
When he gently opened her eyebrows, Judith flinched her eyelids as if it tickled her.
“Yes, I won’t touch you, so go to sleep.”
Erne spoke to Judith, knowing he would not receive an answer, and laid his head down on the pillow.
It was then that Judith lifted one leg up over Erne's, and then quickly slipped one hand between Erne's pajamas.
The series of movements were natural, flowing like water, without any unnecessary details.
“...You, aren’t you sleeping?”
Erne rolled over onto his back toward Judith, her hands clutching at his clothes as she ran them over her rippling abs.
He lay on his side, supporting himself with one arm, and stared intently at Judith's face. She was asleep, oblivious to the world.
“It’s not easy to do this while sleeping.”
Judith's hand twitched in her nightgown. She seemed to quite like the firm feel of the scratching at her fingertips.
He got used to this kind of one-sided contact, but that didn't mean it wasn't uncomfortable.
He was a healthy young man in his prime, and it was nighttime, and he was in bed, so it was difficult for him to keep Judith's hand still.
Erne, who was holding Judith's squirming hand tighter, suddenly had this thought.
'Why is Judith so indifferent?'
Isn't Judith at an age where she knows everything?
She probably knows what it means to share a bed with a man late at night, put her hand under his clothes, and caress him.
Sure, Judith did it in her sleep, but it was worse because she did it in her sleep. It meant she wasn't consciously thinking of Erne as a man.
Erne patted Judith's lips for no reason.
Erne teased Judith by pressing on her plump lower lip, perhaps because the soft sensation on his fingertips was not bad.
Judith moved her lips as if she was annoyed by it even in her dreams.
“You’re cute when you sleep.”
She wants to move something that touches her lips, but the only resistance she can give is to lick her lips. Isn't it cute, like a small animal?
Erne, who was having fun, even leaned towards Judith and played with her hands.
Tap her lips, poke her cheeks, and watch her eyelashes flutter.
“Yeah.”
Judith, who couldn't shake off Erne's hand no matter what, pouted her lips as if whining. Erne swallowed a smirk and looked at Judith's face.
I wanted to sleep soundly, but you kept bothering me, so I felt the urge to bite your puffy white cheeks.
The soft, smooth texture of the flesh that comes off when he puts it on his lips is quite...
'It's soft.'
It's soft and makes Erne want to stick his teeth in for no reason...
“...!”
Erne, who was about to bite Judith's cheek, froze as if struck by lightning.
He thought he was just thinking about it, but why were his lips touching Judith's cheek!
Erne, frozen in shock, slowly pulled his lips away from Judith's cheek.
Point-
A strange sound echoed through the quiet room.
Erne's long eyelashes fluttered and his clenched jaw quivered.
Erne, who had paused for a moment away from Judith, straightened his back as if startled.
“Ugh, yeah.”
Judith squirmed as the hand inside Erne's clothes slipped away. Erne's heart sank at that small sound.
"Ha."
How long had he been holding his breath? Only when Judith began to breathe slowly again did Erne finally let out the breath he had been holding?
As his breathing returned, a heat rose from deep within his stomach.
‘What am I doing in front of a sleeping person...’
Erne, whose ears were bright red, covered his lips. He couldn't believe that he had lost his mind and ended up kissing Judith.
'I'm a pervert.'
Erne blinked at the shocking fact and then frantically tossed his hair.
Crazy guy. Self-deprecating insults were a bonus.
He glanced at Judith, who was sleeping so soundly that she didn't even notice him, roughly wiped his eyes, licked his dry lips with his tongue, and then got up from the bed.
It was still far from dawn, but Erne couldn't sleep next to Judith. No, he didn't think he could sleep.
He left the mansion carrying the luggage and outerwear he had prepared in advance.
***
The next morning, Judith, unaware of the events of the previous night, felt a little disappointed in Erne for leaving without saying goodbye.
“Tch, what’s the rush? You’re leaving without even saying goodbye.”
She might not see him for another few days, but she'd say goodbye anyway. Suddenly, Judith wondered if she'd ever been separated from Ern this long.
Maybe it feels a little empty.
Judith muttered, running her hand through her wavy hair.
“...That’s really something new.”
***
The advance party, disguised as mercenaries, set out a day earlier than the Ouz Caravan.
After walking for two days at the speed of walking, we arrived at the place where Chief Omar always does his personal activities.
“Eat, Sir Erne.”
The advance party, who had prepared camp while waiting for the top of Ouz, prepared a simple dinner: a mulberry stew with dried meat and potatoes.
Erne took the bowl of stew and took a few bites before stopping. The ingredients were poor, so it couldn't possibly taste good.
'I used to eat something like this and it was delicious.'
Back in those days, when the incense business wasn't doing so well, Erne and Judith's staple food was a stew made with scraps of meat they had obtained and vegetables they had found.
The liver was just salt and pepper, and if you had some crusty bread to go with it, it would have been a feast.
'I remember the day the Marchioness Ferney gave me a thick piece of meat.'
It's been a really long time since he had steak. He grilled the meat without any garnish, just sprinkling salt and pepper on it. He didn't even put any sauce on it, but it was so delicious.
That day, they ate dinner in a flash.
'This is a story I can't hear without crying.'
Erne stirred the stew and burst into laughter.
Although he was poor when he was young, Erne later enjoyed quite luxurious meals as the illegitimate child of a Count and a knight of the imperial family.
But he can still smile as he recalls the memory of sitting in the kitchen and eating a meal.
'Judith said she would buy me a proper steak when she became rich.'
It was because of Judith, who had sat down with him and shared a poor meal. At some point, she stopped cooking, but she still often said that she would buy him meat when she earned a lot of money.
There were many kinds of meat, including lamb, pork, and chicken, but Judith insisted on buying beef. Perhaps it was because she had a grudge against not being able to eat beef as a child.
'It'll probably take a long time to reach the level of wealth that Miss Harrington dreams of. I'll catch a priest and tell her to pay off all her debts so we can go eat some beef.'
Erne, who had imagined Judith’s lips eating a proper steak, closed his eyes tightly and shook his head.
“I remembered it again, again.”
For the past two days, Erne has been trying to erase the memory of that night. That shameless memory of kissing a sleeping woman.
Why on earth did I do that? Why did I lose my mind so much?
He had always been on edge since a time he couldn't remember. The symptoms got worse at night.
But that night, he was so relaxed that he didn't even notice the assassin opening the door and coming in.
'No, was that really the only time?'
Suddenly, he remembered the nights he had fallen asleep without any warning. He had suffered from insomnia for years, but these were nights when he had relaxed enough to forget about it.
It definitely started from the day he slept holding hands with Judith.
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