Chapter 20
Open Your Mouth
Royce scooped up some soup with a small spoon.
Seeing him go this far for me… it really seemed like he was still putting in so much effort for me.
Had he just ignored what I said earlier about not going to Elche?
Maybe he only half-listened and gave a vague answer—but whatever. I said it, and that was enough.
‘Even if he later asks why I used him and ran, I can stand tall.’
No matter how much he did for me now, I’d have my justification to cut him off later.
“Serdin.”
“Yes.”
Still half asleep, I looked at him, random thoughts swirling in my head.
He was someone I probably wouldn’t see forever.
Was there any point in becoming this close now?
“Open your mouth.”
Royce blew on the soup and fed it to me.
It was warm—just the right temperature.
‘But even so, moments like this remain.’
Because he was here, I could swallow this soup right now.
Even if he disappears someday, this moment will stay in the past.
I slowly moved my mouth to swallow it.
“It’s not too hot?”
“It’s perfect.”
Royce placed the back of his hand on my forehead.
His hand was so big it could almost cover my entire face.
“You should go now, senior.”
“No.”
“I can take care of myself.”
“That’s exactly why I can’t leave.”
What logic was that? As I mumbled in confusion, Royce fed me another spoonful.
“Thinking like that only makes you push yourself too hard.”
“What do you mean?”
“Trying to do even the things you could let others help with… it just ends up hurting you more.”
His voice sounded so kind as he said it casually. Maybe it was because I was sick.
“Senior.”
“What.”
“I like this… all of this.”
When people are sick, they become too honest.
I was saying things I wouldn’t normally say.
“What do you like?”
“You doing all this. Feeding me, checking my fever, and…”
Royce listened intently.
“Just… being here with me.”
Since my mom passed away when I was seven, no one had been by my side when I was sick.
This warmth, this comfort, this feeling of safety—it reminded me what it was like.
“I really like it.”
I smiled. Royce lowered his hand from my forehead, covering my eyes with it.
“Do you not want to see me smile?”
“No… it’s the opposite.”
Then why cover my eyes?
Royce always said things that were hard to understand.
Not just his words—his expressions too.
Even though we’d grown close, there was still so much I didn’t know about him.
But I guess it’s normal… no one can know everything about someone else.
“Thank you, senior.”
When I thought about it, Royce was always there when I needed him most.
During the training camp, on my birthday, and now too.
I reached up and grabbed the hand he had over my forehead.
Pulling it down gently, I saw his face looking straight at me.
His cheeks and ears seemed faintly red.
When I tugged his arm and looked closer, his face flushed even more.
“Are you catching my cold?”
“…No.”
“It seems like you are.”
It was possible.
If I were to give a textbook response, I should tell him to go home quickly before he got sick.
‘But… if he’s already caught it, oh well.’
Whether he left now or later wouldn’t matter.
Plus, there was a whole pile of medicine here anyway.
“Take some medicine from the pharmacy you set up.”
I pointed at the mountain of medicine stacked on the table.
“You have to catch it early, or it gets worse.”
“Is that from personal experience?”
“Yeah. An expensive lesson.”
Royce scooped another spoonful of soup and fed it to me.
When I finished, he laid me back down and placed his hand gently on my shoulder.
Then, silently, he slowly patted me.
With a completely relaxed heart, free of any thoughts or worries, I listened to the sound of his gentle pats.
‘Earlier, I told him to leave…’
But honestly, a thought crossed my mind—
‘I want him to stay here with me… just a little longer.’
And before I knew it, I drifted off to sleep again.
Royce’s hand stayed on my shoulder the whole time.
His touch felt so warm and comforting.
* * *
Enia, who had enjoyed the party, didn’t return until morning.
‘I wonder if Serdin’s okay…’
Hurrying back to the dormitory, she found the state of the door quite concerning.
‘…Looks like Royce was here.’
But… he left the door broken and Serdin alone?
Rushing inside, Enia peeked through the half-open door to Serdin’s room.
Serdin was fast asleep with a damp cloth on her forehead.
She looked much more peaceful now than she had before.
And beside her—
Royce sat sleeping in a chair.
Arms crossed, leaning back uncomfortably in the chair.
But it didn’t seem like he planned to leave her side anytime soon.
Enia thought to herself:
They both seem to have suffered a fever last night…
Though the kinds of fever they had were probably different.
* * *
I woke up when the thick morning sunlight pierced through the curtains.
‘I feel refreshed.’
Strength was returning to my body that had felt completely drained.
When I stepped outside, Enia, who had been looking out the window in the living room, turned to me.
“Serdin, are you okay?”
“Yeah, I think my fever’s almost gone.”
“Royce just left.”
“Just now?”
“Yeah.”
“There was something I needed to tell him…”
I quickly turned toward the door.
There was something I hadn’t been able to say to Royce yet.
Something I really needed to say…
“What is it, Serdin?”
“Ah, it’s nothing.”
Looking at the door, I realized I didn’t need to say it after all.
‘Phew, he fixed the door before he left. Thank goodness.’
* * *
“Young master, where were you yesterday…?”
At the Bellkerente Ducal Residence, Eshule asked as he took Royce’s coat when he finally returned in the morning.
But instead of answering, Royce asked a question of his own.
“Eshule. How long have you been married?”
“It’s been about five years now.”
“Then, when you look at your wife… have you ever felt like your heart was going to stop?”
“My… heart?”
“Yes.”
Royce’s navy-blue eyes stared so intensely at Eshule that he felt he had to answer.
Eshule reflexively nodded.
“Y-Yes, I think I have.”
Royce nodded slightly and murmured:
“I see… if that feeling is normal, then that’s a relief.”
Eshule felt slightly worried about his young master saying such things.
But before he could ask, Royce dismissed him.
Once Eshule left, Royce bathed and came back.
Leaning back against the sofa, he thought about everything that had happened the day before.
‘I like this… all of it.’
Serdin’s words, her expressions, her gestures…
Just remembering them made his heart tremble all over again.
Watching her take the medicine with her small mouth, mumbling complaints, was so adorable.
Her gentle smile, when she looked up at him, was as beautiful as white snow blossoms.
“…Ha.”
Royce buried his face in his hands.
Serdin always made his heart rise and fall.
She was the only person who always remained outside his realm of certainty.
But somehow, whenever Royce’s anxieties peaked, Serdin would give him assurance again.
He picked up the slime doll that Serdin had given him.
She gave me something she had since childhood…
What could be more meaningful than that?
And there were moments when she looked at him with an expression he couldn’t quite define, tinged with a subtle tenderness.
‘Though it was slightly different from how she looked at me back at that masquerade party…’
On that day, her eyes had held such deep affection that longing felt like the only word for it.
‘And her actions that day too…’
Thinking back to that party made Royce’s face flush without him realizing it.
Even though her gaze was a little different when they reunited afterwards, there was still clear affection in those eyes.
He felt it every time Serdin looked straight at him.
Lying down on his bed, Royce closed his eyes.
Only once his body touched the mattress did he realize how sore and exhausted he truly was.
He hadn’t noticed it at all while staying up all night caring for Serdin.
* * *
Over the past few days, the weather had gotten much colder.
With the semester nearly over, even the dry red leaves had all fallen.
Cold winter wind seeped through the bare branches.
In the morning, after stretching and stepping outside, I saw Enia-senpai gazing out the window.
“Serdin, you’re up?”
“Yes. You’ve been waking up early lately, Enia-senpai.”
Enia looked back out the window with dawn-like sentiment in her eyes and murmured:
“It’s already winter.”
“This month passed by like a single day.”
“Graduation is just around the corner too.”
That’s right, Enia would be graduating this time. So would Simon.
And Royce… he would be graduating soon as well.
“Did you know? They said it’s going to snow tomorrow.”
Enia seemed lost in sentimental thoughts.
“And you know what else?”
“What is it?”
“They say if you make a wish with someone when the first snow falls, it will come true.”
‘Hmm, sounds ridiculous.’
Her expression was so wistful that I didn’t have the heart to say it out loud.
After getting ready, I left the dorm and headed toward campus.
‘It really does feel like it will snow soon.’
But for some reason, what Enia had said earlier kept echoing in my mind.
That superstition about wishes coming true if you make them with someone during the first snow.
‘Then again, this is a world where ridiculous things actually happen, isn’t it?’
The mere fact that I remembered my previous life was absurd, yet it happened.
So suddenly, that talk about the first snow felt strangely realistic.
‘I should find someone to exchange first snow wishes with.’
Thinking about whom to contact, I ran toward the mailroom—
Completely unaware of what would happen later that day.
