Chapter 17

“…This is so absurd that I can’t even make sense of it.”

Embarrassed, I squatted down in front of Cain, who did not answer even if he was called.

The figure of him sleeping with a comfortable face was that of a person who was sleeping—no, it was the appearance of a person who was sleeping well.

“Is he not the male lead…?”

I narrowed my brow at the sudden thought before shaking my head.

There was no way the man in front of me could not be Cain, the male protagonist of this novel. There was only one Grand Duke of Lian, and the male protagonist described in the novel—everything from the name to the appearance, were the same as the man in front of me.

Besides, at the debutante, everyone called him Cain. I even saw it with my own eyes?

“Then, what is it?”

Obviously, The Cain in the novel I knew suffered from severe insomnia. The guilt he felt for driving his brother to death on his behalf had weighed heavily on him for the past five years.

I glanced at him, flinching at the old hardwood floor that creaked with every movement I moved. Nonetheless, he was still in a deep sleep.

It was amazing and strange to see him sleeping so deeply as though he would not wake up. Even waving my hand in front of him, Cain still did not respond. At that sight, all the strength in my body faded.

“…No, this isn’t insomnia, is it? Isn’t this sleep paralysis?”

At least, the man I knew was not someone who could fall asleep in such an uncomfortable position in an instant.

Even with the setting of insomnia, the male lead, and the female protagonist who saved him, he only got a proper sleep after Irene brought his brother, Abel, to Aren.

Of course, he had the unfortunate setting that he could not sleep properly without Irene after that.

“Did he happen to know that Abel is still alive?”

Since the cause of his insomnia was Abel, I wondered if he had heard from somewhere that Abel was alive. Although I tried to trace my memory, I had never heard of or read that Cain knew that he was alive before he met her.

In the first place, Abel returned with Irene, and he was suffering from amnesia.

Even Irene, who took care of him, did not know Abel’s identity, so it was impossible for Cain to know that his brother was alive unless Irene returned to Aren.

“Or, perhaps Cain can sleep because I haven’t died yet, and the original is twisted…?”

The thought that suddenly came to me was quite plausible, though I was not certain about it either. I could not believe how comfortable he looked as he was sleeping with the sound of even breathing. 

Seeing him like that, my heart felt sorry for no reason.

Conceivably, it was because I already knew the agony he had been through countless nights alone.

“Cain.”

I called out his name carefully, but there was still no answer. At that, I rested my face on my raised knees and whispered.

“An extra like me can’t save you like the heroine, though.”

“….”

“I hope you can get a good night’s sleep.”

ﾟ· : * ✧ * :· ﾟ

The sun rose through the ridges and poured in through the window, illuminating the morning.

Cain slowly opened his eyes to the warmth he felt on his knees, along with the sunlight that he could clearly feel even over his closed eyes.

Adelia appeared below his slowly blinking gaze.

The woman, who had been lying to him all night without changing the color of her face, was asleep, leaning against his lap as if she had forgotten all about last night.

“Euenng…” 

As the sunlight pouring in through the window was dazzling bright, Adelia whined and rubbed her face against his knee. Sleeping in the pouring sun in her white nightdress, her hair glistened in a light pink color every time it was exposed to the sunlight.

It was as if God had given him salvation.

Adelia’s face, who had been sleeping soundly in the warm sunlight, was grimaced.

As he had been watching her silently, Cain carefully raised his hand and covered the sunlight. Her face, which had been frowning from the shadow of the hand over her eyes, relaxed comfortably.

Cain’s lips, while gazing at the slightly lifted corners of her mouth, rose lightly as though it was almost invisible.

Adelia Blaise.

Until this incident, she was a woman whom he did not even know existed, let alone her name. No… Perhaps, she was a woman he would never have known if it was not for this. Had he ever thought that a woman he never interacted with could save his life?

It was also the book she wrote…

Thinking that, Cain’s gaze turned to the book lying next to Adelia.

The book that made him fall asleep every time he opened it was like salvation to him just by its existence. The book that cured his insomnia, which could not be cured by any magic or medicine, at once.

At first, he was intrigued by the author, who treated his insomnia with just one book.

He only wondered what secret she had hidden in the mysterious book that made him fall asleep just by reading it.

“Adelia Blaise.”

But now, he was curious about the woman who gave him warmth.