“Would you like to come out? It’s a little dark.”

His brilliant jewel-like eyes examined the affected area once. It was an extremely innocent gaze.

“Yeah.”

“Then, excuse me for a moment.”

Smiling, Mikael wrapped a blanket around my exposed shoulders. With the most mixed feelings, I adjusted the blanket that I used to cover Ian earlier.

Was he going to be okay? I was a little worried. I wondered why I was worried about someone else in this situation, but I couldn’t help it.

“Is it difficult to walk?”

Mikael asked as he saw me standing blankly for a moment. I shook my head.

“No.”

“Shall I help you if you’re uncomfortable?”

“You don’t have to.”

“Yes. Alright.”

He stepped back neatly and opened the curtains. Holding the dress tightly with one hand so that it would flow down all the way, I moved to the place where he politely beckoned.

The lamp I was holding disappeared from my hand at some point. Soon, it began to flutter gracefully over our heads, with a movement that seemed like a real jellyfish floating in the ocean.

Mikael placed me in an armchair by the window and got down on his knees. Then, after slightly pulling up my clothes, he gently swept the affected area with his palm.

I felt like my hair was standing at the unusual contact.

“Does it hurt a lot? Can you describe exactly how it feels?”

He asked seriously. Beneath his eyes, the moonlight created an elaborate shadow, like a bristle.

“It’s not a lot, but it’s still throbbing deep inside.”

“First of all, you didn’t just simply get hurt. Most curses have aftereffects.”

“So, this is also an aftereffect?”

“Yes.”

A hazy light emanated from his fingertips, as if enveloped in fog.

“It’s healing very well right now, so you just need to rest well.”

“Yeah. I see. Thank you.”

“I’m telling you this now, but it was a strong curse.”

Mikael frowned.

“I see.  A strong curse.”

I muttered. No wonder it hurt so much. Someday I’ll see that damn woman again, and I’ll tear out all her red hair. I’m going to make her bald. I vowed firmly.

“Master would never let you stay like that. To put it bluntly, your eyes were turned inside out, so he even went to the temple.”

“The temple? No way. Did the High Priest cure me himself?”

I frowned.

“That’s correct. Celina is no ordinary person.”

“No. Even so, that person…”

I blurred my words. I never thought the High Priest would suddenly appear out of nowhere.

“Master said we should sneak a high-ranking priest out and lock him up here.”

He smiled and looked up at me. Wow. What was that? I can’t believe he is joking in this situation. It was ridiculous, so I let out a fake laugh.

“That’s a lie.”

“Oops. I got caught.”

Mikael responded slyly, shrugging his shoulders.

“To be honest, it didn’t make sense even to me. I’ll try something a little more plausible next time.”

“You don’t need to promise the next lie.”

“Do you not like lies?”

“Yeah. Though I do think white lies are inevitable. Who likes lies in the first place?”

“I see.”

He lowered his head slightly and gave a thoughtful look. His hair, shining under the moonlight, was extremely beautiful. Certainly, nighttime suited him better than daytime. Without realizing it, I reached my hand towards him.

While I was blankly enjoying the soft touch on my fingertips, I belatedly realized my actions.

“I’m sorry!”

I hastily removed my hand. What kind of dirty behavior was this?

“I’m really sorry.”

“Please don’t go.”

Mikael grabbed my hand tightly as I walked away. And without giving me time to react, he buried his lips in it. I felt dizzy for a moment.

“You have no idea how startled I was.”

I felt his clean, sweet voice on the concave palm of my hand.

“I’m glad you didn’t die and that you’re in front of me right now. Please don’t deny it. Please accept it now.”

The place where his lips touched felt hot and ticklish. I felt somewhat numb.

“Your only reality. And me, too.”

“What do you…”

The protagonist couldn’t have known, but he seemed to know something.

“I heard it from Master. Celina Dell is like a denier of reality.”

He held his lips over my palm, raising only his blue eyes. I flinched without realizing it as his eyes overlapped for a moment with the cold glare I had seen from Celina.

“Let’s get you dressed first. If you catch a cold in this state, it will be a problem.”

Mikael carefully grabbed hold of the pajamas that were near my hips. Following his touch, the thin piece of fabric climbed up very slowly.