“……Imsi. What did you do to me?”
“Pardon?”
Gerald bolted upright and strode toward her.
“I asked you what on earth you did!”
As he advanced, she retreated. His sharp interrogation made her breathing ragged; the thudding of her own heart felt loud and intrusive.
“I don’t understand what you’re talking about.”
She replied in a trembling voice.
“Poison?”
“Excuse me?”
He gripped her shoulders firmly, pinning her in place. She felt her startled body stiffen under his touch.
Gerald leaned down, brought his face to her neck, and inhaled deeply.
“Ugh.”
She muffled a cry with her hand, suppressing the sound.
It was a scent she recognized, though she hadn’t encountered it in a long time—a scent he had likely ceased to carry since walling himself off from the world. It smelled of dew-kissed grass and dry sunlight, underscored by the faint, sweet fragrance of a woman’s skin.
It wasn’t the poison he had anticipated. Even this close, there was no trace of toxins.
“Why—why are you doing this?”
She shivered under his hands, her fear palpable. A strange sense of disappointment washed over Gerald as he pulled away.
“What exactly are you? How are you capable of this?”
“What could I have possibly done…?”
Terrified, she whispered, her voice thinning as if she might faint.
He stepped back slowly, his expression heavy.
“……I dozed off.”
“Pardon?”
“You put me to sleep. To think you could put me to sleep, not with poison, but with a mere talent for reading.”
“Wow! Di-did you really sleep? You really did?”
As if the terror of a moment ago had never been, her voice brimmed with joy.
She was happy for his sake as if it were her own.
An incomprehensible woman.
“Yes.”
“Then why did you wake up? Why stop sleeping?”
“It’s bothersome.”
“Pardon?”
“It’s been too long; it’s bothersome. It feels like if I fall asleep once, I won’t be able to wake up.”
Gerald was surprised by his own honesty; the words had slipped out inadvertently.
It was true. It had been so long since he had rested that the very act of falling asleep felt foreign, a threat to his survival.
“Ah, I see. No, wait. Just how long has it been since you’ve truly slept?”
She nodded, then asked with a startled expression.
“I don’t remember.”
He couldn’t recall when he had last enjoyed a proper, undisturbed rest that didn’t end in him fainting from exhaustion.
“My goodness.”
Hearing the shock in her voice, a wave of weariness crashed over him. He retreated to his desk and slumped into his chair.
She approached him tentatively, like a puppy following its master.
“Why?”
“……Should I read for you again?”
She suggested cautiously.
“Forget it.”
“But you need to sleep.”
Though her voice dripped with lingering regret, the sleep that had fled him felt unlikely to return.
“Let’s do it tomorrow.”
“……Yes. Understood. Then please rest.”
The soft rustle of her skirt faded as she retreated.
Soon, the office door clicked shut, and darkness reclaimed the room. Only one person had left, yet the office felt colder and emptier than before.
* * *
Clutching her books to her chest, Marin emerged into the hallway, her face flushed red. She quickened her pace until the dark corridor gave way to the sunlit hallway.
She knocked hurriedly on the office door.
“Come in.”
Olive, who had been reviewing documents, greeted her with a warm expression.
“Lady Marin.”
“Mr. Olive!”
Marin held up both books, raising them high as if in victory.
“Yes?”
“I did it!”
Marin smiled brightly, her light green eyes sparkling.
“You did it?”
Olive, puzzled, smiled back instinctively.
“The Duke fell asleep!”
“What did you say?”
Startled, Olive jumped up from his chair. The wooden furniture couldn’t withstand the sudden recoil and tumbled to the floor with a thud.
“Well, to be precise, he dozed off.”
“Tell me in detail.”
Olive led her to the tea table in the center of the office.
Sitting down, Marin excitedly recounted what had happened with the Duke.
“Then how long did he sleep?”
“I’m not sure. The Duke only said he ‘dozed off.’”
“The Duke said that himself?”
“Yes.”
Marin nodded vigorously.
“Lady Marin, congratulations!”
“Is it something I should be congratulated for?”
Marin asked, wide-eyed and bewildered.
“Of course. You’ve accomplished something no one else could.”
Olive hurried to his feet and produced a gold coin.
“Here, take this.”
“No! I can’t accept this; he didn’t fully sleep, he only dozed for a moment.”
Marin waved her hands frantically, her expression flustered.
“They say well begun is half done. Lady Marin, you are fully entitled to it.”
Marin stared at the coin Olive held out, then accepted it cautiously.
“Thank you.”
“I’m counting on you for the future as well.”
“Yes!”
Marin answered spiritedly, determined to succeed.
* * *
Olive entered the office with his shoulders slumped listlessly.
Marin looked at him with anxious eyes. He met her gaze and shook his head slowly.
“Just how many days has it been?”
Marin jumped up and demanded, as if confronting him.
“It has been a week.”
“But there’s a possibility he could sleep—why are you avoiding me!”
“That is exactly what I’m saying.”
Marin suddenly rolled up her sleeve and thrust her arm toward Olive.
“Do you think my wrist has gotten bigger?”
“Um, well.”
Olive examined her thin wrist carefully before quickly looking away. Though she was posing as a commoner, she was a noble lady; one shouldn’t stare at her wrist for too long.
He didn’t know if the size of her wrist had changed, but her appearance certainly had.
Her platinum blonde hair, once dry and lusterless, had begun to regain its sheen, and her face—once so gaunt her cheekbones stood out—now held a soft, healthy curve. Proper nourishment and rest had done wonders.
“If I go to ask for a status check, will he chase me away immediately?”
She asked, turning her wrist this way and that.
“His orders are for no one to enter, so……”
“I suppose so.”
Marin sat back down and glared at the pile of fairy tale books on the desk.
These were the carefully selected tales with happy endings. She felt certain that, with these, she could coax him into a full, deep sleep.
“Lady Marin. You may leave work early today.”
With a dejected look, Marin picked up a hardcover book and stood up.
“Yes. Then I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Yes. Take care.”
For a week, she hadn’t caught even a glimpse of the Duke. Since she had nothing to report to him, she had little work to do. She had finished the paperwork days ago, and most of her time was now spent selecting books—a task she could just as easily do elsewhere.
Marin walked slowly down the hallway, then turned around to look toward the dark corridor.
No matter how she viewed it, this wasn’t right.
He was avoiding her because he was afraid of sleeping.
Marin marched back to the edge of the dark corridor. She crossed her arms and stood with her weight on one leg, staring into the gloom as if the Duke were standing right there.
It was an insolent stance by any measure.
“Your Grace the Duke. The desire to sleep is a basic human need. How can you expect to survive, given your poor health, if you refuse to rest? I really didn’t want to go this far, but……”
Marin glanced around to ensure no one was watching, then whispered in the smallest voice possible.
“Coward. Hmph.”
With that, she fled the hallway, running away as fast as she could.