You’ll be fine after a night’s sleep.

Wendy, who had always been prone to illness, thought she would recover quickly from this cold.

But that was Wendy’s delusion.

After a few days, her cough worsened, and now it seemed like she had a fever too.

It was clearly a case of neglecting her health.

But if she had to make an excuse, there was something else bothering her more than her physical pain.

A while ago, Wendy had seen Helga coming out of Tristan’s bedroom.

It was purely coincidental, but the incident didn’t easily fade from Wendy’s mind.

‘Could it be that the Count and Helga…?’

She thought about subtly asking Tristan, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it, thinking it was his private life.

Moreover, Wendy had no right to meddle in his personal affairs.

With that thought, Wendy had been suffering alone.

The thought was as persistent as her severe fever, and it soon weakened both her body and mind.

And eventually, the limit came.

Late at night, Wendy, who was trying to drink some warm water in the kitchen, collapsed.

Until that moment, Wendy was aware that she had collapsed. She just couldn’t go back to her room because she was too tired and her body was trembling.

‘Just for a moment… I’ll stay like this until I feel better… then I’ll go back to my room…’

Thinking that, Wendy closed her eyes, feeling the chill of the kitchen floor.

‘It’s cold…’

Soon, a bone-chilling coldness came over her.

‘It’s so… cold…’

But Wendy couldn’t move.

She could only curl up as much as possible and wait until she regained her strength.

-Wen…dy!

In her daze, she thought she heard someone calling her name, but she didn’t have the strength to respond…

Exhausted, Wendy lost consciousness.

….

……

How much time had passed since then?

Wendy was no longer shivering from the cold. Moreover, she felt a warmth enveloping her.

“Ugh…”

Was it already morning?

Was this warmth from the sunlight?

Ah, I ended up sleeping on the floor until morning…

As she stirred, Wendy realized her thoughts were wrong.

The place she was lying on was too soft to be the cold floor.

Ah… I see.

She must have somehow gotten up in her sleep and returned to her room.

Well, if she had stayed asleep, she might have frozen to death. Her survival instinct must have saved her.

With her eyes closed, Wendy calmly checked her condition.

She wasn’t fully recovered yet. Her body was still sluggish, craving rest.

Moreover, the blanket was so warm, she couldn’t remember it ever being this cozy.

Wendy felt like she wanted to hug the blanket and sleep in.

“Hehe… the blanket is so warm…”

“Are you awake?”

“?!”

Suddenly hearing a voice above her, Wendy opened her eyes.

“Looks like you had a nightmare.”

“?!?!”

Recognizing the voice’s owner, Wendy couldn’t help but make a face as if she had seen a nightmare.

“Co, Count?!”

“Don’t make a fuss and stay still.”

Tristan, who had said that, was lying in bed with Wendy.

What she thought was a blanket was actually Tristan’s shirt.

“Why, why are you here!?”

“I found you collapsed in the kitchen last night.”

“Ah…!”

It seemed Tristan had found her unconscious and collapsed.

“You seemed to have a fever. If I hadn’t found you, it could have been serious.”

“Sorry, sorry…! I’ll get up now-.”

“I told you to stay still.”

“Ugh…”

Wendy had no choice but to stay still.

But why were they lying so close together? It seemed like Tristan was hugging her.

Embarrassed by this fact, Wendy buried her face in the blanket. However…

“Don’t suffocate.”

“…!”

Tristan commanded, and Wendy could only peek her eyes out from the blanket.

“Ugh… uh, how long have you been here…?”

“I’ve been here the whole time.”

“Really…?”

Looking around, Wendy finally noticed the washbasin and wet towels nearby.

It was clear that Tristan had been nursing her all night.

The reason she hadn’t been cold all night was because he had been holding her.

“Why, why did you…? You could have asked other servants to do this…”

“You wouldn’t let go, so I had no choice.”

“Huh?”

Tristan said in a tired voice.

“Besides, you kept crying as if you were having a nightmare, so I couldn’t leave you.”

“?!?!?!”

Crying?!

Wendy quickly touched her eyes and felt they were swollen.

“Sorry, sorry! If you catch my cold… it would be bad…”

“Don’t worry. I’ve never caught a cold before.”

Tristan smiled slightly.

It wasn’t his usual stern and solemn expression but a somewhat arrogant yet gentle smile.

That smile made Wendy’s heart race.

“Ah…! School…!”

For a moment, Wendy, who had been lost in thought, remembered what she had to do.

The wall clock already showed 8 o’clock.

“Ti, time is already…! Count! I, I have to go to school…!”

“You don’t need to go to school. Take a rest today.”

“But…!”

“No buts. If you’re sick, act like a patient and rest.”

“Ugh…”

Wendy tried to say something more but stopped.

She knew better than anyone that it was useless to insist any further.

“Alright… Then you should go to school, Count… You must have a lot to do today…”

“No. I canceled all my plans for today.”

“Huh?! Why?!”

“Because you’re more important than those things.”

Tristan said nonchalantly, but his words made Wendy’s heart race.

“Yo, you shouldn’t do that because of me…!”

“Why not? I wanted to take a day off using you as an excuse.”

“That’s…”

Wendy was about to say it was a ridiculous excuse but stopped.

There was no need to point it out. Tristan must have already known. He was just being considerate to not make Wendy feel burdened.

Wendy didn’t know what to do with his kindness.

“Sorry… Count… Because of me…”

“Enough. I’m tired of hearing you apologize every day.”

“Sniff…”

“…At times like this, just say thank you. It’s easier for the listener too.”

Wendy looked up at Tristan, who spoke indifferently.

What noble in this world would stay up all night to nurse a mere maid?

Wendy could confidently answer that.

Only Tristan would do such a thing.

“…Thank you, Count.”

“By the way. Wendy.”

“Yes…?”

“Did something happen with Helga?”

“…!”

“I’ve noticed you’ve been avoiding Helga lately.”

It seemed she couldn’t hide it.

Seeing Wendy hesitate, Tristan spoke in a softer tone.

“I’m not interrogating you, Wendy. Knowing you, there must be a reason. If Helga did something wrong, I’ll punish her-.”

“No! Helga didn’t do anything wrong!”

Wendy shook her head vigorously.

She already knew.

This wasn’t Helga’s fault. Rather…

“If, if anyone should be punished, it should be me…”

“What happened?”

Wendy confessed.

The fact that had been bothering her all along.

“I saw Helga coming out of your bedroom in the morning…”

“……”

Tristan quietly swallowed.

“I see. So you saw.”

“I, I didn’t mean to see! It was an accident…!”

“I know. You’re not the type to spy on purpose.”

Tristan spoke calmly.

He wasn’t displeased that his private life had been exposed.

He just opened his mouth to explain the situation.

“But Wendy. What you saw-.”

“It’s, it’s okay! I understand that you’re a man, so it’s inevitable…”

“?”

Tristan’s expression gradually hardened.

“What… are you talking about?”

“I know now…”

Just thinking about it made her face turn bright red.

Hesitating, she looked up at Tristan’s face.

“I know what Helga did in your bedroom that day…”

“Oh…”

Wendy swallowed hard and spoke as if she were a detective unraveling a mystery.

“It was… night service…!!”

Tristan flinched as if hit by the truth.