Chapter 18
Four hours later.
‘Ugh… I’m going to die.’
With Sofia’s help, I barely managed to climb the stairs. My head spun, and my stomach churned with nausea.
‘I should’ve just refused and left earlier.’
Regret came crashing in far too late.
“Miss, are you all right?” Sofia asked nervously.
“No… I feel like I’m dying…”
I collapsed inside the carriage, pressing my hand to my forehead.
The world was spinning. My head throbbed, and I could still feel the warm fuzziness of alcohol crawling through me.
‘She said it was just dinner. Dinner!’
At first, it really was.
Lady Odilon and I simply discussed the slave traders and Xavier’s disgusting habits while eating.
We even shared a few casual complaints about men.
‘And then what happened…?’
Right.
Halfway through her steak, Lady Odilon brought out a bottle of wine “just to go with the meal.”
That’s where it all went wrong.
Of course, I ended up drinking too.
Not because I wanted to—
but because she said, “A toast, perhaps?”
And just like that, dinner became a drinking party.
I should’ve escaped when the second bottle appeared…
‘I thought I could handle my liquor.’
But I was nothing compared to her.
“I heard from a maid in the Odilon estate,” Sofia said cautiously. “Apparently, the Marchioness is quite the drinker. She has at least two bottles of wine with every meal.”
“Ugh… Yeah, I can tell now. Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”
“Well, I didn’t think you two would be drinking together!”
“Fair point…”
Groaning, I decided to shut up and hold my head until we got home.
When the carriage finally stopped—
“Miss!”
Sebastian, the old butler, came rushing out the moment I stepped down.
He was one of the few remaining servants in the mansion, alongside Sofia.
The wrinkles around his eyes deepened in worry as he looked at me.
“Good heavens! What happened? Why are you in such a state—”
“I’m fine… barely…”
If I lay down, I’d probably fall asleep instantly, but for now, I could still stand. Barely.
“Nothing happened while I was gone, right?”
“None at all, miss. Please rest for now—you look exhausted.”
“Mm, good.”
I nodded weakly.
At least today’s goal was accomplished.
Lady Odilon had agreed to report to the Emperor — the plan was moving forward.
“Then I’m going to bed. Unless something’s on fire, don’t wake me until morning.”
“Yes, miss.”
Sebastian bowed deeply. I gave a half-hearted nod and dragged myself upstairs.
Of course, I didn’t get to collapse right away.
Sofia nagged me into changing out of my clothes first.
So I somehow changed into my nightgown, stumbled to the bed, and finally flopped down face-first.
“Ugh… my head…”
Sweet wine, my ass. It was pure poison.
‘Whatever. I’ll rest till morning.’
I’d been running around nonstop for days — one day off wouldn’t kill me.
‘The auction’s soon, anyway.’
I just had to stay alive and alert until then.
‘Tomorrow, I’ll go over some papers… maybe teach Matthias a bit more reading…’
As those thoughts drifted through my mind, sleep swallowed me whole.
***
Dawn crept through the window.
I groaned, pressing my temples as I opened my eyes.
“Ugh… hurts…”
It honestly felt like someone had split my skull open with an axe.
My head spun, and my throat was bone dry.
I reached for my neck, sat up slowly—
and saw a fresh bottle of water and a glass on the table.
‘Sofia must’ve left these. Thank goodness.’
I gulped down several glasses of cold water before I could even think straight again.
‘What time is it?’
The sky outside was still a pale violet.
So it was early — sunrise.
‘Seriously? I wanted to sleep in for once.’
Of course, today of all days, my body decided to wake me up early.
Still, the hangover wasn’t as bad as before. I sighed and lay back down.
‘Might as well rest some more.’
I closed my eyes, pulling the blanket up—
Wait.
“…Huh?”
Something felt off.
The mattress beside me was… indented. As if someone else had been lying there.
‘That’s weird. This bed’s mine. No one else ever—’
My eyes flew open.
Blink. Blink.
Dragging my hazy mind back to reality, I turned my head—
—and locked eyes with someone staring right back at me.
“……?”
I blinked.
Maybe I was still drunk?
No. My head was clear enough now. I’d even had water.
So why—
“Why are you here?”
Matthias tilted his head, sitting quietly on the bed like a well-behaved puppy.
“I was waiting.”
“…What?”
“Since last night. Until now.”
“Oh. Um. I see…”
I had no idea where to even start with this conversation.
“Right… Let’s start with lesson one: don’t sneak into my room.”
***
“Really… can’t I stay?”
“No. You can’t.”
I had planned to rest more, but apparently, that wasn’t happening.
Still wearing only my robe, I began to firmly explain the 1,029 reasons why Matthias shouldn’t climb into my bed.
He looked at me with those pitiful red eyes, lashes drooping.
“But I was lonely.”
Oh, come on.
How did he know my weakness was his face?
He looked so sad, it was practically a weapon.
But rules were rules.
“If someone saw us, they’d misunderstand.”
“Misunderstand?”
“Yes.”
It felt weird saying that to someone who genuinely just missed me, but this was important.
If he kept doing this, we’d run into trouble one day.
Or worse—he might try it with someone else.
“You and I are close, but if someone else saw this, they might think something else.”
“Like what?”
“Um… like we’re lovers?”
‘Wait. Does he even know what that means?’
I thought for a second, then decided to explain simply.
“Lovers are… closer than friends. They hold hands, hug, sleep next to each other—stuff like that.”
He blinked slowly, expression unreadable.
Before I could add more, he said quietly—
“I like that.”
“…What?”
“Being more than friends.”
He stared right at me, calm and serious.
“We held hands.”
“…”
“You hugged me.”
“…”
“We slept together too.”
His lips curved slightly into a smile.
“So we’re more than friends, right?”
“—No!”
Oh, for heaven’s sake!
I almost fell for it again!
Snapping out of it, I shook my head furiously.
“Friends can do that too!”
“But you said—hands, hugs—”
“Friends can hold hands!”
He slumped a little, his broad shoulders dropping.
“And… lying down together?”
“You were sitting.”
He’d stayed beside my bed all night while I slept, quietly keeping watch.
Only after I woke up had he climbed up.
When I pointed that out, he pressed his lips together and fell silent.
Good. While he was quiet, I drove the point home.
“From now on, don’t come into my room when I’m not here, all right? If someone saw you, it’d look suspicious.”
He was still supposed to stay hidden in the mansion.
If anyone saw him wandering around my bedroom, it’d be hard to explain.
‘Not yet,’ I thought.
Once we caught the slave traders and took down Xavier, he could live freely.
But for now, it was too risky.
“What if you ran into that bad man?” I added.
“I did.”
“Right, that’s why—wait. What?”
I froze.
“…You what?”
