‘Huh, what is this…’

Leciel had a somewhat incredulous expression as she looked down at Kael, who had collapsed on the floor.

It was baffling to witness how calling him <Father> had an immediate effect while cursing and scolding had no effect at all.

Even when he was called <Father>, Leciel wasn’t sure Kael had truly come to his senses.

It wasn’t some kind of all-healing magic, yet the current situation was solved with just one title, which had left her dumbfounded.

‘Well, at least it’s better than nothing.’

Whatever the situation was, Kael didn’t seem fine, and leaving him like this would have resulted in a disaster.

‘… what should I do?’

Leciel didn’t understand Kael’s condition, nor could she figure out why he had suddenly turned this way.

‘So… what now?’

Leciel felt guilty leaving Kael as he was.

Despite his aggravating behavior, he was a benefactor to her.

Regardless of how annoying he could be, Leciel actually liked Kael.

Searching around, Leciel found no one else who could help, likely because everyone else was asleep at this hour.

Since she was a child with conscience, it seemed there was no choice but to take responsibility and move Kael to his room.

Leciel wondered if she could really manage to move the large, heavy Kael on her own.

Despite her doubts, she gave it a try and put all her strength into moving his body.

First, Leciel attempted to help him to his feet, but lifting the much larger adult man and moving him to his room was more than she could manage.

All she could manage was to barely lift his upper body.

So, it was on to Plan B.

“I’m really sorry, but… please forgive me.”

After rationalizing in her mind, Leciel grabbed Kael’s hands and dragged him across the floor.

It was the best she could do, although she had to take breaks here and there from the effort.

Luckily, she eventually managed to move Kael into his room.

Unfortunately, the dragging left Kael’s clothes in disarray.

Kael’s exposed back turned red from the friction.

“But how do I get him onto the bed?”

Leciel managed to drag Kael into his room somehow, but the task was far from over.

Leciel couldn’t just leave him on the floor, but she wasn’t convinced she could move Kael onto the bed.

At least it would be better than lying on the cold floor outside the room.

“Why do I always get stuck with these chores?”

Leciel sighed heavily and shook her head.

After thinking for a moment, Leciel came up with a plan.

She leaned Kael against the bed, climbed up on top, and slipped her hands under Kael’s armpits to pull him onto the bed.

She managed to get Kael’s upper body onto the bed.

Finally, she climbed down and tossed Kael’s legs onto the bed.

At last, Kael’s body was lying on the bed, albeit clumsily.

“Phew. I’m exhausted.”

After a long, exhausting struggle, Leciel was starting to feel sleepy.

She could finally return to his room and rest.

However, as soon as Leciel tried to leave the room, Kael’s hand shot out and grabbed her wrist.

“Ah!”

For a moment, Leciel thought she was seeing a ghost.

Realizing it was Kael holding her wrist, she finally calmed down.

“Man, your sleep habits are crazy.”

With another sigh, Leciel tried to pry Kael’s hand off her wrist.

But it seemed Kael had an unnaturally strong grip, and no matter how much Leciel struggled, she couldn’t get free.

“Seriously, this guy!”

Leciel didn’t understand why she was stuck here.

The more she tried to pull her hand away, the stronger he became, and it seemed like she would end up with a big bruise on her wrist.

“Ah, whatever!”

She was tired right now and needed to sleep, but he was the one who didn’t let her go.

Eventually, she gave up and decided to lie on the bed, still holding Kael’s hand.

It wasn’t the most comfortable position, but Leciel was too exhausted to care.

The next morning.

Kael felt his whole body aching as he woke up.

It felt as if he had tossed and turned all night, bumping into everything in his path.

He felt groggy, as if he hadn’t slept well.

He soon realized there was a soft, warm sensation holding his hand.

Kael’s brows furrowed as he glanced over to see Leciel lying next to him.

Why was she here?

Kael noticed his hand was still grasping Leciel’s wrist.

After letting go, he inspected her wrist and found no sign of injury.

It seemed she wasn’t hurt, only a little red because he had been holding her for quite a long time.

Kael tried to recall how he had ended up in bed with Leciel, but he was at a loss.

‘Why did this happen?’

His body was throbbing, and his clothes were all wrinkled.

While he was lost in thought, Leciel stirred and woke up.

She looked tired and stiff, but she seemed to be all right.

“Why are you here? Did you come here because you were scared?”

After confirming that Leciel had woken up, Kael asked with a puzzled expression.

“Nope!”

Was he treating her as someone who couldn’t even sleep alone like a child?

Leciel shot back in annoyance.

“Even so, it doesn’t matter to me. I have a responsibility to take care of you.”

Kael wasn’t so harsh to turn away a frightened child who had come looking for him.

Maybe with other children, but not with Leciel.

“That responsibility doesn’t include sleeping with someone who’s afraid to sleep alone, does it?”

“Well, maybe it’s all up to personal interpretation.”

“That may be true. But that’s not why I slept here.”

At this rate, it was starting to seem like Leciel had genuinely sought him out because she was too afraid to sleep alone. So, she quickly rejected that idea again.

“Then why did you?”

“Don’t you remember what happened last night?”

The very reason she ended up sleeping uncomfortably here was because of Kael! And the man was saying he couldn’t even remember?

“… not a bit.”

Come to think of it, it was weird.

He distinctly remembered returning to his room after finishing work, but what came after was foggy.

Did he lie down to sleep? Or did he try to do something else?

“Seriously?”

“… yeah.”

“Not even a single thing?”

Kael nodded quietly, seemingly not showing any signs of annoyance from the continued questioning. However, Leciel gave a doubtful expression.

She had suffered the hardships of being woken up in the middle of the night because of Kael, but the man couldn’t even remember?

It wasn’t as if Kael could help forgetting, but it still felt unfair.

After a brief pause, Leciel asked cautiously.

“Do you sleepwalk?”

From the way he wandered around the corridor like a madman last night and his inability to remember, this had to be sleepwalking.

Of course, sleepwalking generally wouldn’t explain Kael’s bizarre state, but that was the most likely cause Leciel could think of right now.

“What? Me? There’s no way.”

Kael was puzzled about why Leciel had brought up sleepwalking, but to his knowledge, he had no such symptoms.

If it had been happening, his butler surely would’ve let him know.

“Really? Because if not, why would you be wandering around crazily in the corridor at night?”

“I did that?”

“Otherwise, why would I be here?”

Kael found it hard to believe considering his lack of memory, but there was no reason for Leciel to lie.

“Tell me what happened.”

Seeing Leciel’s earnest face, Kael found it difficult to believe she was lying, but he still felt hesitant to accept it.

Leciel, on the other hand, recounted last night, explaining how she had stumbled across Kael and described the sight of him meandering through the corridor. She also mentioned the difficulty she had carrying him to his room and getting him to wake up.

Of course, she omitted details about how she had carried Kael and managed to rouse him.

Leciel knew if she mentioned anything about calling Kael <Father> again, he’d surely order her to do it from then on.

“That’s odd.”

The explanation seemed too specific to be fabricated, but Kael still found himself doubting it.

“I almost died, you know? I had a hard time getting you in there.”

“That’s tough.”

Moving Kael must’ve been challenging for such a small frame.

“Yeah, it really was.”

If it weren’t Kael, Leciel would’ve left him lying there and gone on her way.

“So why didn’t you just sleep on the bed?”

Her body must’ve been tired, but there wasn’t even enough time to rest comfortably.

“Even so, I don’t think I should sleep in the same bed as you.”

“Is that so?”

That wasn’t much of an issue for Kael, who saw Leciel as a daughter, but it might be uncomfortable for her.

Kael didn’t mind, but Leciel might.

“Anyways, since you’re up now, I’m going back to bed to finish the sleep I couldn’t.”

“… a sleep enthusiast, huh?”

She felt that she hadn’t had enough sleep.

“Who else could I blame?”

She wouldn’t have been so exhausted if it hadn’t been for Kael last night.

“Still, it might be best to eat before going to sleep.”

She hadn’t eaten dinner yesterday, so it wasn’t a good idea to skip breakfast.

“… ugh, I’m too tired…”

“You need to eat to grow big and strong, didn’t you say so?”

“Hmph, I’m hungry anyway, so I guess I would eat something.”

Might as well eat first so she could rest without waking up hungry.

“Well thought out. I’ll see you in the dining room.”

Kael had to change his clothes before going to the dining room since he couldn’t go outside in this condition.

“Okay, bye.”

Leciel waved sleepily before heading to the dining room.

Moments later, Kael joined her.