Chapter 26

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Chapter 26

Rippling with muscles just the same as his chest, his back looked so strong in a way that I didn’t notice or couldn’t expect. Though at least, while I was wiping his back, I was glad that he couldn’t see my expression.

I dipped the towel into the basin.

Trickle. The only things that could be heard were the sound of water being squeezed out of the towel and the sound of that towel being wiped over his back. Just as it usually was, the tower was quiet inside.

In no time, I successfully wiped his back without any problems.

“You can turn around now.”

Albert sat back on the headboard again. As he faced me, he raised one brow.

“Rosé.”

He called my name, and as I looked up at him, Albert’s hand gently swept over my forehead.

“You’re sweating.”

“This is nothing, Prince. You were worse off.”

“That’s not true.”

A careful, slow touch caressed my skin.

Just as heavy as the atmosphere was, his touch lingered on me.

The same was true with his voice.

“It’s only natural. I also need to be mindful of your condition.”

Afraid of where this conversation would lead, I quickly picked up the clothes before anything happened.

“…Thank you. I’ll help you put on your shirt now.”

For fear of what else he’d say, I hurriedly finished dressing him. Soon enough, Albert succeeded in wearing the new shirt with my help.

It’s over!

It’s all done!

This had been a very long journey, but I was happy to see Albert wearing a new shirt now.

“Prince, go back under the sheets. You might feel warm now, so it’s okay if you cover just your lower body.”

As soon as I said this, I slightly tugged up the blanket on Albert’s bed.

“Alright.”

He lay comfortably back in bed. Maybe it’s because I wiped off his cold sweat, but he looked better now compared to a while ago.

But I still couldn’t feel relieved. I knew that Albert would just continue saying he’s fine even though he’s enduring the pain.

“What time is it now…”

I lost track of time after focusing on taking care of him.

After looking at the clock, I saw that it’s now around five in the morning. It was the usual time that Albert woke up.

I was getting drowsy now, but I couldn’t go to bed yet because Albert didn’t look like he was in a stable condition yet.

Since I’ve stayed up all night anyway, I decided to make some simple porridge for him. His fever still hadn’t gone down yet.

Prince, look at my deep sincerity. Please acknowledge this.

While I was lost in thought, Albert called my name.

“Rosé.”

“Yee… es?”

Albert held my wrist and pulled me towards him.

“Ack—”

I inadvertently fell sideways beside him. It didn’t hurt because the bed was soft, but I was still startled. What’s up with him?

Looking up, I asked with a puzzled face.

“…Prince?”

Albert smiled as he ruffled my hair.

“I’m not hungry. I just want to have a deep, restful sleep.”

…Huh? Why are you telling me that? You… You’re not asking me to sleep with you, are you?

In a situation like this, the best course of action was to pretend to be tactless. With an innocent smile, as though I knew nothing of the world, I spoke.

“The bed is soft, Your Highness is feeling cozy, so I agree. It’s the perfect time to sleep.”

Albert narrowed his eyes. He noticed that I’m avoiding the matter at hand.

“The bed is also big.”

When has my intuition ever been wrong? I knew it. He wants to sleep together.

Albert moved slightly to cover me with the blanket.

“If you’re going to nurse me to health, then you’d better sleep here, too. Isn’t it better that I can call you right away like this?”

Gently coaxing me, Albert trapped me here.

“You must be feeling sleepy, too.”

It was such a sweet temptation. After all, sleep was one of the most basic human needs.

Even so, sleeping now was like leaving Albert alone while he was still sick.

I shook my head.

“Don’t worry. I’m not sleepy.”

At my firm answer, Albert eventually asked with a hushed voice. His tone was mixed with a little bit of mirth.

With the same hand that he used to cover the blanket over me, Albert held up two fingers.

“I’ll give you two options.”

I have two options, he said, but why was that making me nervous? While looking around for a bit, I nodded. What else could I do when the prince was giving me a choice anyway? I’ll listen to what he has to say.

“One, you’ll continue to lie down here. Two, you’ll kiss me.”

…The choices are weird.

No matter how much I tried to turn it over in my head, I don’t think this would ever make sense.

With a smile, I asked.

“Prince, I think you’re a bit sleepy now. I don’t know why you’re saying something like that?”

On the other hand, I felt so relaxed because the bed was soft. And maybe it’s because I did the laundry not too long ago, but the sheets were so fuzzy and cozy. I like how it smells, too.

But I don’t know if this nice scent was from the bed or actually from Albert.

Albert raised his brows. As though he was disappointed in how I was acting, he folded his arms.

“Just how much are you expecting from a sick person?”

Even at times like this, he knew how to play his strengths. I glanced up at him and replied.

“Until Your Highness stops saying things like that under the excuse of being sick.”

“If you keep twisting my sincerity like this, I’ll be sad, Rosé.”

Albert reached up and touched the lock of hair that was covering my face.

Then, he tucked it back behind my ear.

I could see his face clearer now. It’s like I was looking at a world-renown painting.

The deep gaze behind his eyes made it impossible for me to avert my own eyes.

The way he looked at me was so straightforward that I couldn’t pretend not to notice. We looked into each other’s eyes for a long time.

I was the first one to surrender and hold up a white flag.

“Prince, you said you wanted to sleep.”

“I think it’d be nice to stay awake like this.”

“……”

“I feel so comfortable when I’m with you.”

As he leaned towards me, Albert’s low voice reverberated in my ears.

“I’m used to being in pain, but I’m not used to being this comfortable. I just want to stay like this longer.”

A life that was filled with more pain than comfort.

For a while, as I contemplated it a lot, I decided to lie down.

“Then after just a little bit, I’ll stand up again.”

It’s not like Albert was trying to do anything with me, and it wasn’t that I was under the covers either. The fact that we’re still quite a distance apart also compelled me to give in and just lie down.

Albert nodded.

“It’s been a while since you’ve been so obedient.”

“I usually am though.”

“Sure, now close your eyes.”

I tried protesting, but Albert just nodded again. I couldn’t find any solace in how he looked now.

No matter who listened to him right now, it’s clear that this was a trick to try and get me to sleep. With my eyes wide open, I shook my head.

“…I won’t close my eyes.”

“Will you try to resist even when I’ll continue to look at you like this?”

Albert just made me widen my eyes more.

Seeing his eyes so up close was like looking at the red sun during sunset. The bright red hue faded down to a deep red shade in a mysterious manner.

Albert’s voice rang in my ears.

“I’ve never lost a staring contest, you know.”

What was he saying this time. I picked up on the contradiction in his words.

“Is there anyone who’d want to be in a staring contest with you, Prince?”

Albert shrugged.

“They got caught, so they don’t get a score. That’s why I won every time.”

Albert’s shameless declaration rendered me speechless. He wasn’t wrong, so really. Albert’s really a genius at playing with words, huh.

…But how long do I have to stay like this?

Just continuing to stare at Albert was certainly burdensome. Even the times he blinked was completely different from the times I did, so every moment I had my eyes open, his gaze followed.

While I was trying to think about what to say, Albert beat me to the punch and spoke first.

“It’s burdensome to you, isn’t it.”

“……”

“I know how you feel even if you don’t say anything.”

Albert raised one hand, which carefully covered my eyelids. The width of his big hand covered almost half of my face. At that, it became dark for me.

“Sleep, just try it out while keeping your eyes shut like this.”

He continued speaking with a low voice as his hand covered my eyes. And—

“Just think of it as heeding the wishes of a sick person. If you don’t listen to me now, then I’ll just assume you’ll kiss me. I don’t care which way or another.”

Even his voice. Everything was warm.

…Albert’s someone who really knows how to get his way.

But sleeping like this was embarrassing.

I lightly held the wrist of the hand covering my eyes.

At that moment, I realized how different even our body frames were judging by his wrist. It’s rare for me to touch Albert first.

Albert didn’t even budge.

I gently pushed his hand away. There was no longer any darkness in front of me. Instead, I saw Albert again.

His eyes were still so brilliant.

Staring at those luminous orbs, I spoke bravely.

“I’ll make some porridge.”

Crossing his arms once more, Albert spoke.

“But what is that, porridge.”

While he knew I was still avoiding the matter at hand, he moved on without any qualms and purposely repeated the word he didn’t know.

“It’s like a soup that you eat when you’re sick, but instead of just soup, there’s rice in it. I personally like vegetable porridge, so you can try that.”

When in the kitchen, you follow the ways of the chef. I don’t know much about the food in this world, and all I know is Korean food and delivery food.

That’s why I could only think of soup when someone’s sick.

A porridge that’s lightly mixed with vegetables and some soy sauce was one of the few dishes I ate even when I’m not sick because it’s just so savory. Apart from that, it’s easy to cook and wouldn’t take long to whip up a bowl.

At what I said, Albert smiled.

“Is that dish either sweet or salty?”

“Your Highness knows exactly what my taste is, but unfortunately this time, it’s neither of those things.”

I heard that there’s a porridge restaurant out there selling spicy porridge, too, but… If you’re sick, I’m not sure if it’s a good idea to eat spicy food.

As though he couldn’t believe it, Albert narrowed his eyes.

How unfair. But still, I emphasized it again. It’s not spicy. It’s reeeally not, okay?

“You never do what I like.”

“Um, I usually do what I can, but since you’re sick today, I’ll ask…”

Of course, just asking about it doesn’t mean that I can do everything for you…

I decided to show my sincerity towards Albert by following his orders.

“Is there anything you want to eat?”

Smiling gently, Albert shook his head.

No? There’s nothing you want to eat? I asked again. What would you like? Ah, but he didn’t have a preference either. I was puzzled by his answer.

“…Were you disappointed that I didn’t ask what you like?”

Sir Prince, you seem to be a difficult customer to satisfy… like someone who would refuse anything that’s suggested to them even though they don’t particularly want something else.

Albert didn’t answer. Instead, he pulled back the conversation to the very first topic.

“It must be nice to be what you like.”

“…This seems to be no different from the beginning.”

“Haven’t I already told you what I like?”

“You haven’t.”

“What you like.”

I was at a loss for words.

“I like what you like, Rosé.”

Albert’s voice was so sweet that it seemed to melt like honey. Both his voice and what he said were all enough to draw someone in.

…Albert’s flirting seemed to get more effective by the day. Even now, I could feel my face heating up.

Just being here is already too dangerous!

I jumped up from the bed.

“You’re up.”

Seeing the mischievous glint in his eyes, I felt a prickling sensation. Come to think of it, he said that he’d kiss me if I don’t close my eyes and fall asleep.

I grew nervous that instant. I wondered if Albert would really get up and kiss me now.

I went ahead and warned him.

“Prince, if you kiss me now, you’ll pass on your sickness to me.”

“Sure, I’m not going to do it.”

“…Huh?”

…So everything you said was just a joke?

“I have no choice.”

I stared at him blankly right then. But he continued speaking in a low voice.

“Because I won’t allow myself to get you sick or hurt you.”

As though it was an obvious fact.

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