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Brought to you by Valir Scans! ‌‌‌To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
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Chapter 51

"!"
I was pulled ‌‌‌onto the bed and clung ‌‌‌tightly to Dale.
"D-Dale?"
My voice trembled from the shock. Why? Why was he doing this? ‌‌‌‌So ‌‌‌suddenly?
This wasn't like Dale at all....
'Oh.'
The moment I turned around, my tension melted away.
Dale was sleeping with an expression that made it clear he had no idea whether he was embracing me ‌or a stone.
"What is this..., was he sleep-talking?"
When I thought about it, it had to be sleep-talking, but for some reason I ‌‌‌felt disappointed.
I stared intently at the ceiling.
If ‌‌‌I moved even slightly by accident, I'd end up kissing Dale at this distance.
'We're too close.'
And I can't breathe.
I glanced at ‌Dale and quickly looked away. He was sleeping so soundly it would be a shame to wake him.
"But if anyone saw us like this, ‌‌they'd definitely get the wrong idea."
I was already misunderstood yesterday for purely trying to change his ‌‌clothes, and if people found out about this situation...
I might be treated like trash.
"Ugh."
I tried to push Dale away, but his body was heavy and firm—he didn't budge an inch.
I knew his face was handsome from every angle, but seeing it this close up felt strangely fresh.
I subtly pressed my forehead against Dale's cheek to check his body temperature.
"His fever seems to have gone down."
At this rate, he seems to ‌‌‌have ‌recovered normally.
"He just needs to take medicine a bit longer."
But looking at Dale's sleeping face...
Something felt like I ‌‌should ‌remember it, yet I couldn't quite grasp it...
The feeling was strange.
'Where have I seen this before?'
It was an odd sensation.
Of course I've seen it ‌‌‌before. I've been looking at Dale for months.
"But..."
Looking at his sleeping face, something else kept flickering at the edge of my memory.
Like a sneeze caught in my throat that wouldn't come out—this vague, unsettling feeling!
Why did my heart feel so strange?
Does he resemble someone I know?
In that moment, our ‌‌‌‌eyes met—his golden irises catching mine.
"...Did you ‌‌sleep well?"
"...."
"...?"
"...."
*Rustle!*
Dale bolted ‌‌upright, ‌‌clutching his head as ‌‌‌‌he swayed unsteadily, then stared at me with eyes wide as a rabbit's.
His face flushed crimson before freezing in apparent panic.
I hastened to ‌‌explain.
"No! I didn't embrace you! You embraced me!"
"!"
So a person's face could cycle through red, white, and then pale blue.
Dale's complexion shifted by the second.
"Why..., did I, ‌‌how did I...."
"You were hurting, I gave ‌‌‌‌you medicine, and you slept."
"Slept... you mean."
Dale's face drained of all color, turning deathly pale.
"I slept lying down. And this morning, ‌‌‌you held me."
Yet Dale seemed ‌‌‌unable to fully believe my words, ‌his eyes narrowing in confusion.
His expression suggested he suspected there was more to the story.
Still, seeing him move about like that indicated he was recovering.
"You don't remember yesterday?"
"I'm afraid my memory is quite hazy."
I smiled wryly as I gazed at the ashen Dale.
"You mean ‌‌‌‌you don't remember at all... after doing something like that to me?"
"!"
"You ‌‌were incredible yesterday."
"...."
"Truly ‌‌remarkable. Do you remember?"
Dale stared at me with trembling eyes, seemingly uncertain whether his memories were complete or not.
"I apologize."
An apology spilled forth without hesitation.
"What exactly did I... do to you?" ‌‌‌‌
Even uttering a single word seemed to require careful deliberation.
Unable to recall last night, he gripped his head as though it might split. Genuine distress was written plainly across his features.
He fidgeted restlessly before me.
"It wasn't actions—it was words."
"Could you perhaps tell me what those words were, even if only partially?" ‌
"What could they have been?"
"Surely not..."
Dale bit his lip, his face growing even paler.
"You're not talking about the Empire, are you?"
"The Empire? No, that's not it."
"...I see. Then perhaps the Impe—"
"The Impe—?"
"...the Imperial Palace, perhaps."
Dale kept pressing the issue in ‌‌that direction. We'd never studied the Capital together.
Why was Dale acting like this?
"That's not it either. Then perhaps I had...... ah."
Dale's hands trembled before his eyes suddenly widened.
And he covered his own mouth.
"...I remember holding Enya's hand."
Dale looked at me with an expression of dread.
"Is this memory correct?"
"Ah, yes, that's right."
"...!"
Dale stared blankly at his own hands. His ‌‌face drained of color, ‌‌‌‌turning a sickly blue.
"While holding ‌Enya's hand, I rendered you immobile..."
"What?"
"Did I do something terrible? Did I perhaps restrain you and speak nonsense?"
He muttered, conviction ‌‌settling over his features.
"That's right. It seems I did hold you. This wasn't a dream."
His complexion shifted as though he might crumble to dust at any moment.
"Calm down. I only held your hand. Just that!"
When I took Dale's hand, he went rigid.
"I told you not to leave, and I said I would stay with you. That's ‌‌‌all. You didn't do anything wrong."
"...Ah."
A ‌long exhale.
Dale visibly relaxed, the tension draining from his shoulders.
He ran his hand across his face and sat quietly, as though a weight had lifted.
Now that I noticed, Dale had been kneeling on the bed the entire time.
As the pallor faded from his face, it began to flush crimson.
"I apologize. I showed you something unseemly."
He ran his hand across his face again, regarding me with a tense expression.
"Does this contract stand, or is it void?"
"Void?"
Dale exhaled sharply, then lowered his voice with grave seriousness.
"Even after I've shown you such a state, you're... truly all right with this?"
"Of course. Who would break a contract simply because the other party was ill and requested care?"
"Haven't you come to dislike me?"
"What do you mean?"
"I thought you must have grown to hate seeing me like this."
Dale's question struck ‌‌me as odd.
Yet his expression held ‌‌no trace of jest. I reached up and placed my hand on his forehead to ‌‌check his temperature.
Completely normal.
I stroked him gently.
"The fact that you showed me your vulnerable side means you consider me someone you can trust—and I found that wonderful. Even wild animals seek rest in places where they feel safe, don't they? I was delighted and touched that you revealed your unguarded self only to me."
"...Wasn't it repulsive?"
Dale asked anxiously.
Repulsive? His sickly appearance? That version of him ‌‌that was somehow even more endearing and honest than usual?
Was he joking?
Or not? No, he wasn't.
Looking at his expression, there wasn't a shred of humor in Dale's question.
I grew serious and shook my head firmly.
"Dale, listen to me carefully."
I placed my hands on both his shoulders and spoke clearly.
"You're incredibly handsome. Even if you drooled in your ‌‌‌‌sleep, everyone would still praise your beauty."
"!"
"Do you understand?"
But Dale still seemed ‌‌‌‌‌unconvinced by my words.
"And do you know what's even more important?"
Dale shook his head.
"We're practically friends now."
"...Friends."
In that instant, Dale's eyes widened ‌‌‌‌considerably.
He blinked his round, golden eyes.
"Don't you think we've become closer to friends than employer and employee?"
"...."
Dale gazed ‌‌‌‌‌into the ‌‌‌empty space as if contemplating, his expression like someone weighing something on a scale.
"If we move away from the contract, then we are friends."
"Yes. Because friends are far closer and more precious than ‌a contract. On the left is our contractual relationship, and on the right is friendship."
I drew a wide arc with my hand.
"You're gradually moving toward the right."
"Friends...."
Dale murmured ambiguously, as if uncertain whether he approved, then suddenly lifted his gaze.
He stared directly at me.
I added to what I'd said.
"It's a good thing. Because beside a friend, you're always allowed to rest."
"That makes me special."
Dale nodded in understanding, his expression shifting to comprehension. He straightened his posture and rose to his feet, looking down at me. ‌‌
After his ordeal, Dale ‌‌‌appeared even more robust and imposing ‌‌‌than before.
"Friend, I accept your proposal."
Still dizzy, he leaned his head against my ‌‌‌‌shoulder with a soft thud.
As I turned my gaze toward the pleasant fragrance emanating from Dale's body, ‌‌‌‌our eyes met.
My heart raced in startled surprise at that moment, and he whispered.
"Because I want to have a special relationship with Enya."

---------------
Brought to ‌‌‌you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy ‌‌the latest releases, ‌‌‌‌please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
---------------