‘...Ah.’

The sunlight streaming in woke me up naturally.

The first thing I felt as I came back from the edge of unconsciousness was the warmth of someone beside me. Given what had happened last night, it was undoubtedly Ethan’s warmth.

To be honest, this wasn’t the first time I had woken up beside Ethan. At the academy dormitory, there had only been one bed, so we were forced to share it. And not long ago, at Blackwood Manor, Ethan had been considerate enough to stay by my side when I couldn’t sleep for a few days.

However, the sensation of bare skin touching mine under the blanket was still something I wasn’t used to, which was why, despite being fully conscious, I couldn’t bring myself to open my eyes.

‘I should have at least worn something before going to bed...’

Last night, the two of us had ended up naked, rolling around on the bed. It hadn’t felt embarrassing then, but now that it was morning and my mind was clear, I realized how reckless the situation was.

Even though Ethan and I had crossed some lines before, this was the first time we had slept together completely naked.

‘We were both so tired that we just threw the blanket over ourselves, but...’

Looking back, I must have been out of my mind. How was I planning to handle the awkwardness of waking up like this the next morning?

I should have pushed myself a little and at least washed up and put on some underwear before bed. Now, here we were, tangled up naked under the blanket from the moment we woke up.

‘...Is Ethan still asleep?’

He must have been exhausted too. It wouldn’t be surprising if he was still sleeping past his usual wake-up time.

Of course, considering what we did last night, I should be the one feeling more tired, but my years of maid work had turned me into a morning person, with my body fully attuned to waking up early.

In a way, it was a small blessing. There’s nothing more awkward than waking up at the same time in a situation like this.

‘I should just grab my clothes and head back to my room to change...’

As I was thinking that and trying to carefully sit up in bed, my hand landed on something firm, like a handle.

‘...Oh, right.’

Yeah, Ethan was naked too.

I had only been trying to sit up, but of all the places my hand could land, it had to be there.

Still, from what I could feel in my hand, it seemed like he was in good health this morning.

...And now that I’m really holding it, I have to admit, it’s absurdly large. How did I even manage to put this in my mouth last night...

“Did you sleep well, Lilith?”

“Eeeek!”

“You don’t have to be that startled.”

“I-I’m sorry, Ed. Were you awake this whole time?”

“Yeah, for quite a while now.”

...Then why didn’t he get up and wash or at least get dressed? Why was he still lying next to me in the same state as last night?

I was the only one who had gotten startled and embarrassed, making me feel even more awkward. I turned my head, trying to cool the heat rising to my face and maintain some composure.

“By the way, you’re quite... proactive this morning, Lilith.”

“I-it was an accident! I didn’t mean to grab that!”

“I wasn’t talking about that. I meant that you’re up early and ready to get going. What did you mean by ‘accidentally grabbed it,’ Lilith?”

“......”

Is this guy serious...?

It felt like he had only become bolder overnight, as if he’d decided not to hold back anymore after what happened last night.

If I argued, he’d just twist my words and tease me more, so I quickly changed the subject.

“More importantly, if you’ve been awake for a while, why didn’t you get up and wash, Ed? We have a long journey ahead, and if you keep dawdling like this, what are you planning to do?”

“I was going to, but your sleeping face was too lovely to leave.”

“Ack... ugh... ah.”

Oh, for heaven’s sake, could he not throw these lines at me without warning? Hearing something like that first thing in the morning left me completely at a loss for how to respond.

Embarrassed by Ethan’s affectionate words, I quickly threw the blanket aside and got out of bed.

-Slide.

“I-I’ll go back to my room and wash up. You should get ready too, Ed. We have a long journey to the Witch’s Forest today.”

“Why don’t we just wash together? This inn has a nice, spacious bathroom.”

“T-there’s no time for that!”

In truth, there probably was enough time if we only washed quickly, but I was just making excuses.

I had a gut feeling that if we went into the bathroom together this morning, we’d end up wasting a lot more time than we should.

“We really don’t have time to be leisurely, Ed. If we’re late to meet Lady Lara, the Hero will have something to say about it, won’t he?”

“...Yeah, no need to give the Hero any more reasons to complain.”

“We’ll be riding in the carriage for a long time over the next few days, so I’ll change into something more practical than a dress. You should also wear something more comfortable than your uniform...”

“But Lilith, you haven’t answered my morning greeting yet.”

“......”

“Did you sleep well, Lilith?”

“...Yes, thanks to you, I slept well. Did you sleep well, Ed?”

“I did. Thanks to you, Lilith.”

Ethan responded with a gentle smile, his gaze soft and warm.

That look on his face... Honestly, it was unfair, especially first thing in the morning.

⁂ ⁂ ⁂

One of the biggest changes that came with the world of Luminor Academy becoming real was the fact that you couldn’t use the ‘skip’ function anymore.

In the game, you could skip all the cutscenes you had seen over and over in multiple playthroughs, the overly long skill effects during battle, and even the unnecessarily realistic travel times between regions. These were all the things that players would skip through to save time and avoid boredom.

But now that this world was real, I had to experience every bit of the journey, even if it meant a two-night, three-day carriage ride without skipping anything.

“Haa, yawn...”

“Lilith, are you tired?”

“No, Ed. I’m fine.”

“If you’re tired, you can lean on my shoulder.”

“...I’m not tired, really. Don’t worry.”

It had been about four hours since breakfast, and we had been traveling in the carriage the entire time.

As excited as I was about exploring a new region in Luminor Academy, the monotonous journey was starting to dull my enthusiasm.

‘We have to ride for twelve hours a day, for three days straight... and we’ve only done this once so far...’

Just imagining how much more time we had to spend traveling made my head feel dizzy. The journey to the academy, the capital, or Blackwood Manor only took about a day, so I hadn’t felt it before, but this two-night, three-day journey was already exhausting just to think about.

Not to mention, I hadn’t gotten much sleep last night because of Ethan, and the accumulated fatigue was starting to catch up with me. Just as I was feeling it in my bones, Agnes, sitting across from me, decided to throw out a comment aimed right at me.

“See? This is what happens when you spend the night together before a trip. You two really are like a pair of love-struck fools.”

“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about, Agnes. W-who spent the night with whom...?”

“There’s no point pretending. Your room is right next to mine, you know? I can hear everything through the wall, even if I don’t want to.”

“W-w-w-what?!”

“Lilith, calm down.”

“Miss Agnes, please calm yourself too.”

“...I told you, you’re not allowed to call me by name.”

The conversation was dragging on, so Ethan, sitting next to me, and Prince Antonio quickly intervened to mediate. Incidentally, the prince hadn’t been part of our original plan, but he insisted on tagging along this morning after hearing that Agnes was heading to the Witch’s Forest.

Agnes was probably right. I might have been too loud last night. If her room was right next to mine, it’s possible my voice had disturbed her sleep.

Even though the walls and floors of the palace were thick enough to block most normal... sounds, Agnes’s room was right next to mine, so maybe it hadn’t been enough.

‘Wait, hold on. There’s no way she could’ve heard my voice last night.’

I didn’t sleep in my own room last night. I spent the night in Ethan’s room, which was two rooms away from hers. There’s no way she could’ve heard anything from that distance, no matter how sharp her hearing.

It seems she’s just trying to provoke me because I look tired. There’s no reason for me to confess anything out of fear.

“Miss Agnes. Are you aware that your statement contains a contradiction?”

“...A contradiction?”

“You claimed that you heard my voice last night through the wall, but that’s impossible.”

“What?”

“Miss Agnes, you wouldn’t know this since you’ve never been in my room at the palace, but my room and Ed’s room are connected by a door. I spent the night in Ed’s room last night, so your claim that you heard my voice through the wall is logically flawed.”

“......”

“......”

“......”

As I made my rebuttal, I felt all three pairs of eyes in the carriage turn towards me. With my airtight logic, even Agnes was at a loss for words.

“So what? In the end, you’re still admitting that the two of you spent the night together.”

“W-wait, what?”

“Lilith, maybe you didn’t need to be so detailed about what happened last night.”

“...I’ll just pretend I didn’t hear anything about the lady’s private matters.”

For the next two hours, until we stopped for lunch, the carriage was filled with an awkward silence.

Agnes... That was an unfair trap.