Chapter 5

"Come on, I’m sleepy."

Today’s events were so overwhelming that I felt drained.

I patted the bed next to me again.

After hesitating, Damian carefully lay down beside me.

"Alright, let’s sleep now."

I pulled the blanket up to my chin and closed my eyes.

Damian smelled faintly of something. I had never smelled such a scent, even though I often bathed in the principal’s room.

Sniff, sniff. Without realizing it, I took a whiff, and Damian shrank back. I could see his ears turn red.

This makes me seem like a pervert. Feeling embarrassed, I straightened my head.

Damian’s body temperature seemed to be on the high side. Warm and cozy, it felt like my body was melting.

"Goodnight, Damian."

"……"

"Aren’t you going to say goodnight?"

"A… Goodnight…"

Damian stammered and fumbled with his words.

It was strangely cute. I chuckled and soon fell asleep, overwhelmed by a drowsy sensation.

* * *

At the sound of steady breathing, Damian cautiously lifted his head.

Unlike Ellie’s goodnight wishes, Damian couldn’t fall asleep easily.

It was because the bed felt awkward.

Damian had no proper bed. He only had a cold floor and a tattered blanket as a substitute.

'And…'

Damian cautiously lifted his head. The moonlight faintly illuminated Ellie’s face.

Damian found the child in front of him intriguing.

When the person called the principal introduced him, Damian clearly heard:

"Just weak, that’s all."

It was a familiar phrase, so he looked in the direction of the voice.

There was a girl with hair like sunlight.

Her green eyes flickered roughly, as if she had just realized what she had said.

Damian didn’t really care. He was used to hearing such things.

'So, is that why you’re being so nice to me?'

Because of guilt?

'There’s no need to.'

No one ever got close to Damian. It was natural to keep a dirty and insignificant slave at a distance.

But this child said:

"No, it’s gone now. Even if it comes back, it will soon disappear."

"I promise. I’ll stake my life on it."

"I don’t find you disgusting."

'Am I really not disgusting?'

Not only did she not avoid his gaze, but she also held him so closely…

'No, that can’t be it.'

Just as Damian timidly wiggled his fingers, Ellie made a sound and pulled him closer.

"…!"

Heat rose to Damian’s face again.

How many times today? His face kept turning red.

Damian had never faced another person. So when he met Ellie’s eyes, his face automatically turned red.

Her eyes were clear and beautiful.

They reminded him of a ray of sunlight that had filtered through the old, dark stables.

Damian moved his hand to his chest.

His heart, which he thought might have stopped, was pounding.

Damian closed his eyes tightly, hoping his feelings would calm down soon.

&

It was pitch dark.

Damian adjusted his grip on the wooden sword in his hand.

Creak. A familiar cry pierced his ears.

Damian tensed.

He didn’t know when or where a monster might appear.

The sound of people laughing reached his ears.

Damian couldn’t see them, but they could see him. The sharp gazes piercing his back were unmistakable.

Betting on slaves fighting monsters was a major form of entertainment for the nobles.

The more times a slave defeated a monster, the greater the sense of achievement and pride their owner felt.

"Do you know what I’ve done to ensure your victory?"

He remembered something his owner had said once.

The person behind him was an illegal manufacturer who was close to his owner.

But it was strange.

They were clearly human, yet they seemed to overlap with the monsters.

His grip on the sword tightened.

The voices of the people grew faint.

Creak… The sound of a beast’s cry echoed.

Damian closed his eyes tightly. He needed to pull himself together. If not…

If not…

&

"…Sorry."

"Ugh…"

"Damian!"

"…!"

Damian opened his eyes with a gasp.

Sunlight was pouring onto his face.

There was no terrifying face of his owner, but he couldn’t calm down easily.

"Damian."

Then, a familiar voice descended. Damian lifted his trembling eyelids.

"Are you okay?"

The child looking at him was a girl with blonde hair. She wasn’t his owner.

"Did you have a nightmare? What’s wrong? Are you in pain?"

Ellie reached out her hand toward Damian.

For a moment, it overlapped with the image of her owner reaching out to him. Damian closed his eyes tightly.

But he didn’t feel any pain. Damian slowly opened his eyes.

His vision gradually became clear. Ellie was looking at him with a serious face.

Her worried expression was so unfamiliar that Damian just stared at her.

"Do you have a cold?"

Ellie muttered and reached out her hand toward Damian. A cool touch settled on his forehead.

At that moment, the chilling fear and the boiling heat vanished instantly, as if purified.

Damian blinked blankly, even forgetting that his face was turning red.

His breathing slowly returned to normal.

Ellie gently stroked Damian’s hair to check his condition.

"You don’t have a fever. It seems you had a nightmare. Goodness, look at this sweat."

Ellie gently touched his damp hair, as if to cool him down.

There was no trace of disgust or annoyance on the face of the child looking at him.

Damian couldn’t take his eyes off Ellie’s face.

When Damian didn’t say anything, Ellie’s face grew serious.

"Are you really in pain? Are you okay?"

Okay? Damian had never thought about being okay.

No one had ever checked on his condition, not even himself.

Feeling unfamiliar with the question, Damian couldn’t easily speak.

Ellie got up.

"I can’t. I’ll get a wet towel."

Only then did Damian, with wide eyes, grab Ellie’s hand. It was a reflexive action.

Realizing he had grabbed her, Damian quickly let go, startled.

"I’m fine."

Damian stammered and fumbled with his words.

"I’m fine. I don’t… hurt at all."

The words he managed to say were no different from before.

He felt like a fool.

Just as Damian bowed his head, feeling embarrassed,

"You must have been very scared."

At the gentle voice, Damian involuntarily lifted his head to look at Ellie.

Ellie’s hand softly stroked Damian’s hair.

'Strange.'

It was so strange.

Just a simple gesture, yet the twisted feeling inside him unraveled, and he felt filled with something ticklish and warm.

'It’s like I swallowed the sun.'

That’s why, perhaps, his face felt hot. He felt both embarrassed and ashamed.

Damian’s head slowly lowered.

Then, the cool hand withdrew. Damian’s eyes snapped open, and he lifted his head.

"It’s a relief you don’t have a fever."

"…"

"I was worried you might be in pain."

It’s a relief you’re not in pain.

Ellie smiled faintly as she said this.

'Should I have said I was in pain?'

Damian didn’t even realize what he was thinking.

Ding, ding

At the sound of the bell, the children began to stir and grumble.

"I don’t want to…"

As the child in the next bed mumbled in their sleep, Ellie chuckled and patted their back.

"You need to get up, Betty."

"I want to sleep more with you…"

The child called Betty clung tightly to Ellie.

It seemed to be a familiar action.

Seeing this, something felt strange.

Damian raised his hand and scratched his chest.

It felt similar to the sensation he had experienced last night, but different.

'Why am I like this?'

Just as the boy’s face showed confusion,

Bang!

The door opened with a loud noise, and Carsten stormed in, fuming.

The room fell silent, as if doused with ice water.

"You, you bastard…"

Seeing Damian, Carsten’s face twisted as he approached him.

Damian wasn’t scared. It was just a bit noisy to have him loitering around.

Then,

"Carsten, you’re late."

Ellie, who had gotten up from her bed, smiled.

"Ellie, you did it on purpose! That guy wasn’t in the storage room!"

"Really?"

"Yes! Because of you, I got caught by the teachers and you know what happened?"

Watching Carsten and his gang vent their frustration, Ellie quietly shifted her gaze.

She saw the clock tower outside the window.

'It’s almost time to go up.'

Turning her gaze back, Ellie said to Carsten,

"Why is it Damian’s fault?"

"…What?"

Ellie smiled.

"The one who got tricked is the fool."