The moment Rishe registered that, she sobered up all at once.

What? Why is His Highness here?!

She immediately raised her upper body and looked down at Arnold, who was lying on his back with his eyes closed.

He’s even resting on the same bed as me.

Rishe wondered if it was perhaps because she had been using his bed.

Arnold must have returned to the room after finishing his work and might have been troubled to see Rishe sleeping.

Rishe didn’t know why he didn’t use the other of the two beds, but the fact that they were sleeping side by side right next to each other rattled her.

A-Anyway, I just have to be careful not to wake His Highness.

Arnold was at the edge of the bed, probably because Rishe was in the middle. Worried that it was too narrow for him, Rishe slowly moved away from Arnold.

I thought you weren’t coming back to this room today.

The moonlight streaming in through the window filtered through the summer curtains.

The moonlight cast a pale beam on the bedroom, casting a shadow of wispy eyelashes on Arnold’s white cheeks.

Did you come back to this room because I’m afraid of ghosts?

She must have gotten that right.

Arnold had kept his promise to sleep with her. Rishe felt a tightness in her chest and hugged her coat.

I should go back to my bed…

She thought so, but she couldn’t seem to move.

Lured by the feeling of reluctance to leave him, Rishe ended up staring at his sleeping face for a long time.

Just then, Arnold’s well-shaped eyebrows wrinkled, and his expression became distorted.

Rishe wondered if she woke him up.

She flinched, but that didn’t seem to be the case.

…Ah.

Beads of sweat oozed out of Arnold’s forehead.

Rishe was somewhat surprised and then reminded herself that there was nothing wrong with that. Even though he was beautifully sculpted like a doll, he was certainly a human being.

Those drops of sweat seemed to make this clear.

It must be hot in the room.

Rishe glanced at the window.

The window on the ocean side was closed. She had been afraid to open the window when she was alone in the room.

Perhaps Arnold was aware of this and left the window open.

However, even at night, in this season of July, it must be intolerable to sleep in this state.

He needs to get some rest.For that to happen, she should do something about this closed room.

Rishe decided to get up from the bed.

It was frightening to approach the window.

On top of that, what was even more scary was opening the curtains. Drawing them even a tiny bit made her feel her eyes would meet something.

Unfortunately, just at that moment, a small shadow flitted by outside the window.

“!”

Her shoulders jumped, and her heart almost stopped. She cautiously looked out the window, gripping the black sword that she had placed beside her.

It’s okay. The way that shadow moved, it was definitely a bat.

From her experience as a hunter, she was sure of it. Despite that knowledge, she couldn’t shake the possibility that it might be a ghost.

It’s not a ghost. It’s not…!

Rishe comforted herself.

She stopped breathing, laboriously stood up, and stretched her hand in the gap between the curtains. She groped her way to the window frame, unlocked it, and then opened the window.

Slowly, quietly, so as not to wake him.

A sea breeze blew in and softly rustled the curtains.

Rishe exhaled a sigh of relief and hurried away from the window. She got on the bed quickly, albeit soundlessly, and let go of her sword before settling down next to Arnold.

It’s gonna be okay! The window is open, and there’s nothing outside. This should solve the problem!

She forced herself to think that way, buried both her hands in bed and rolled over.

She carefully looked into Arnold’s face so as not to disturb his peaceful sleep. His bangs were sticking to his face with sweat, and she felt like combing them.

However, she stopped her hand from reaching for it.

A brief exhale escaped from Arnold’s lips.

“Hss…”

The sound of his breathing sounded somewhat pained.

A soft sea breeze caressed his sweat-soaked skin, but Arnold’s brow only twisted deeper and deeper.

Could it be…

The sweat on his forehead might not be due to the heat.

Is he dreaming…?

Realizing this, Rishe extended her hand again toward Arnold.

If he was having a nightmare, she should wake him up right away.

But if not, she wanted him to sleep as long as possible. Amidst these emotions, she hesitated, wondering what she should do.

But the next moment.

“Hya…”

“Hya …”Arnold grabbed her by the wrist and pushed her by the shoulder, making the world spin. She tried to take a defensive stance, but she had no time to move a single finger.

“Hss!”

Rishe sank onto the bed on her back and was pinned down from above.

Both of her wrists were sewn to the side of her face, with force weighing on them.

The moment she looked up, she met sharp eyes like that of a predator.

“…”

Arnold’s icy eyes were boring straight down at Rishe.

But it was only for a moment, and Arnold immediately blinked.

Then he quietly lowered his eyes and uttered a monologue, as if he was calling out to someone that shouldn’t be here.

“―― …Rishe”

It sounded as if he was trying to confirm something.

While pinned down, Rishe looked at Arnold without a hint of resistance.

She let out the breath she’d been holding, relaxed herself, and responded.

“Yes…Your Highness.”

“…”

Then Arnold raised his eyes.

After that, he slowly leaned down and plopped down on the bed, still covering Rishe.

“Your Highness?”

A hushed voice whispered in Rishe’s ear.

“I’m sorry.”

“N?”

Rishe’s eardrums quivered, so she ducked.

She writhed slightly, trying to hold back the tickle. But Arnold had her trapped, and she couldn’t move an inch.

“Your Highness, my hands.”

She worriedly looked at her wrists that Arnold restrained.

It was quite troublesome to plead when they were so close to each other.

“Hands off…”

“…”

Rishe coaxed, and he stilled for a fraction of a second.

“Ahh.”

Arnold said, ticking off each word as he went.

“I understand.”

Although he was atop Rishe, she wasn’t crushed at all.

Arnold’s concern was probably to keep her from being crushed. He first released Rishe’s wrists, but his hands stayed in the same position.

“…”

He unraveled his fingers little by little, as if hating to part with her hands.

Rishe felt like he had grabbed her hard, but there was not even a mark on her wrists. Rishe stared blankly at her wrists, which were still white.

Eventually, Arnold raised himself up, and their bodies separated.

Rishe made sure of it and then got up on the bed.

She got down on her knees and stretched her freed hands in front of her without hesitation.

“!”

And then she hugged Arnold tightly.

(｡♥‿♥｡)