PMEVBO 133

My fading consciousness was returning. My dulled senses were gradually becoming keener. A scent reminiscent of herbs, a cool body temperature, and a vibration against my back…

I lifted my heavy eyelids. Everything before my eyes appeared blurry. The hand that had been patting my back paused for a moment, then cupped my cheek.

I blinked, and as my vision slowly came into focus, Iser’s face filled my field of view. I smiled before I even realized it.

“You didn’t go anywhere? You’ve been here the whole time?”

“Yes.”

The touch caressing the corners of my eyes was gentle. I looked at his face in silence for a while, then gently stroked his arm with the palm of my hand.

“Your arm must be sore.”

“Not at all.”

He gave a smile as radiant as a peach blossom in full bloom. The soft curve of his eyes tickled my heart. I grabbed the hand cupping my cheek and intertwined our fingers. I pressed my lips against his palm and asked,

“Were you lonely?”

It wasn’t a question limited to just this moment.

Iser had told me he suffered from insomnia. Thanks to his resilient physique, which functioned perfectly well even without sleep, even strong sleeping pills couldn’t put him to sleep. Six years ago in the hideout, and here now, he was always awake and alone beside me while I slept.

Someone who doesn’t answer when you call and doesn’t react when you touch them might as well not be there…

Ever since I realized he’d been patting my back all night, I’d always wanted to ask him: Wasn’t it lonely for him to stay by my side while I slept?

Through our joined hands, I could feel Iser’s hand tremble slightly. He lowered his gaze and mumbled.

“…A little.”

“I see.”

But I wasn’t lonely because you were there with me.

I wrapped my arms around his back and pulled Iser close. Only then did he meet my eyes. His irises, more beautiful than any jewel, were trembling.

At fourteen, Iser was calm and mature for his age. But he was still awkward at controlling his expressions and showing his emotions. He knew this himself and was often embarrassed by it. In contrast, the twenty-year-old Iser handled all of that easily. His expressions and emotions were always refined.

However, very occasionally, he acted as clumsily as he did when he was younger. It was cute.

After kissing his cheeks and chin, I met his gaze.

“Are you still lonely?”

“……No.”

“Really? That’s a relief.”

I smiled softly and kissed the corner of his mouth. At that, Iser pressed his body close to mine. The force with which he burrowed into my embrace was so strong that my body was gradually pushed backward. Eventually, I flipped over, my back hitting the bed. Iser, with the blanket draped over his shoulders, looked at me, one hand cupping the back of my head.

The body of a grown man, taller and more muscular than me. There wasn’t a single soft spot on Iser’s body. My whole body was crushed under his hard, heavy frame, making it hard to breathe. Yet it was strange that I actually found this sensation and weight endearing.

I chuckled softly and hugged his back. As I gently stroked his smooth skin, Iser, who had been staring at me with an expressionless face, lowered his head and pressed his lips against mine. His tongue entered more slowly than usual and cautiously licked the inside of my mouth, as if he were trying to confirm something.

It wasn’t a rough kiss, but the longer it went on, the more I felt like I was suffocating – perhaps because of the weight pressing down on me. As if he noticed my condition, his lips slowly pulled away.

“Haa…”

I could breathe again.

As I gasped for air, the hand that had been cupping the back of my head moved up toward my face. Cool fingertips slid over stolen content my lips. The touch tracing my lips slowly seemed almost reluctant to let go.

I chuckled softly and wrapped the arm that had been stroking his back around his neck.

“Want to do it again?”

As if he’d been waiting for that, Iser pressed his lips against mine once more. But he pulled away. He spoke with a gentle smile.

“That’s enough.”

“Really?”

As I gently stroked his cheek with the back of my hand, he closed his eyes for a moment and slowly rubbed his cheek against mine. Then he buried his face in my neck.

Every time his breath brushed against my sensitive skin, my body flinched. But neither I nor Iser minded.

I held him tightly and gently ran my fingers through his soft hair.

***

We were sharing the sandwich Iser had made.

My long bangs kept falling into my eyes. Even when I brushed them aside with my hand, it was only temporary; they fell back down immediately.

As I looked down with a frown, Iser reached out and tucked my bangs behind my ear. I flinched briefly at the cool touch of his fingertips brushing against my earlobe.

“Thanks.”

He smiled in response, then glanced at the sandwich I was holding and said,

“……I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“For not being able to make anything better than this.”

“I’m actually enjoying it a lot right now.”

I took a big bite of the sandwich, deliberately making sure he saw.

Actually, the scrambled eggs he made were usually a bit too salty. But after eating them for several days in a row, my taste buds had adjusted, so now they tasted just right. I was genuinely enjoying it, so I shouldn’t have looked unhappy. So why did he look so down?

Come to think of it, I feel like I didn’t compliment him as much as usual today……

Oh, shoot. I was so hungry I was wolfing it down and didn’t even notice.

“It’s delicious. I love this. Look. I’ve already finished it.”

It was late, but I praised him generously. unauthorized copy Even so, Iser didn’t seem to believe me. He smiled listlessly and said,

“Since you went to the banquet hall, why didn’t you just eat a lot of good food and come back? ”

I finished off the last bite, folded the paper wrapper in half a couple of times, and pushed it aside.

“I didn’t really feel like it.”

“……You weren’t feeling well back then. You must have been stressed about the time limit too.”

Convinced, Iser nodded and poured me a cup of water. I took a few sips of water and set the cup down on the table.

“Yes. That’s true, but….”

I leaned my head against the knee I’d bent and propped up on the chair.

“I didn’t want to eat alone without you.”

Iser stared at me with his mouth slightly agape, as if he’d been hit on the head. Then he bit down on one lip and lowered his gaze. At the end of his line of sight was his own half of the sandwich.

With the same expression he’d had when he first received his half of the sandwich, he murmured.

“…I don’t understand why you’re doing this. You know I can’t taste anything and don’t need to eat it.”

“Exactly.”

I stroked his cheek with the back of my hand. His trembling eyelashes tickled my fingers.

“But even so, you always eat with me when I eat.”

“……”

“Six years ago. And now.”

It was the same when it came to sleep.

Iser’s body didn’t need sleep, and to make matters worse, he said he suffered from insomnia. I know from personal experience how agonizing it is to lie there struggling to fall asleep. Yet he always stayed by my side while I slept. Six years ago. And now.

“Even if a feast were laid out before me, I wouldn’t want to eat it without you.”

“…….”

“Does that sound weird?”

Just as I was about to pull my hand away, he grabbed my wrist. He pressed a kiss to my palm, then lifted his head and stared at me without blinking.

“I love you.”

The spot on my palm where his lips had touched felt ticklish. My fist clenched reflexively. Feeling the heat rise to my face, I quickly covered my face with the hand he wasn’t holding.

“……Who says something like that while eating?”

“Then when do other people say it?”

“Huh?”

In that moment, my entire romantic history flashed through my mind. Iser, who had been silently watching me, smiled brightly.

“I guess you’ve heard the words ‘I love you’ a lot.’”

……Not exactly “a lot,” but I had heard them before. It’s not like I’ve never been in a relationship, and saying “I love you” is a common expression of affection between lovers.

…Up until now, if it seemed like the other person wanted to hear it, I was the one who said it first.

Just then, Iser’s finger tickled [unauthorized copy]the inside of my wrist. A shiver ran up my spine and spread to my shoulders.

His big hand easily enveloped both my wrist and the back of my hand. Through my clenched fist, his thumb slowly slipped in. Without realizing it, I grabbed his thumb.

He shook my hand gently, just like when he was younger, and said,

“You know, Lucariel.”

“Uh, what…?”

I replied as I buried my face between my knees.

“Have you always acted so cute whenever someone told you they loved you?”