It hurts so much… what in the world did I do yesterday? Did I ram my head against a boulder?

My temples throbbed with every heartbeat, and my eyelids felt as heavy as stone. I forced them open little by little, trying to remember how I ended up back in the wagon. And why did everything beneath me feel so soft? I certainly did not have a pillow before. My throat was painfully dry, and although I had experienced a few hangovers in my life, none had ever hit me this hard.

My gaze fell on the driver's seat, which was empty. Rovan was nowhere to be seen, probably off doing something useless. Good. I didn't need the urge to slice his neck open just to get him out of my way.

Oh? Crazy? Maybe a little. But I'm just joking. Joking… hehe… ahem.

A soft, steady breath drifted from somewhere above me. I turned my head to investigate, and the sight made my cheeks flush instantly. Elira was there, peacefully asleep, her face relaxed in the quiet afternoon light. Only then did I realize that my head rested comfortably on her thighs. She had taken the trouble to let me sleep on her lap, giving me a warm, gentle pillow I never asked for.

The warmth from her body seeped into me, and her faint flowery scent wrapped around my senses. The entire situation softened something inside my chest. I didn't even dare to move. Maybe I secretly wanted to enjoy this small connection between us. Or maybe I was afraid of waking her and facing whatever she thought of me after I vanished last night.

But what was I even saying? We weren't dating. I could leave and return whenever I wished. That was the truth. And yet… the image of how sweet she had looked toward that damn Rovan twisted something in me again.

Jeez… what's wrong with me?

Yet no matter how much I told myself to escape this situation, my body refused to move. I felt far too fragile to pull away, and this warmth… this quiet comfort… was something I secretly craved, even if I kept lying to my own heart that I didn't need it. Time slipped by slowly, and at last Elira began to stir.

Her soft yawn brushed the dry air, unexpectedly cute, and a small thought crept in while I watched her wake. Had she been waiting for me all night? The idea made an uncomfortable guilt settle in my chest.

"Hey…" I said awkwardly, forcing my voice to sound normal. "H-have you slept well?"I spoke as if nothing unusual had happened, even though everything about this moment felt different.

"Ah?! Beatrice, you're already awake? I- I didn't mean for this to happen. You just… you looked like you needed a pillow. Your breathing was heavy and… well…" Her voice trailed off as she looked away, cheeks tinted with a faint color.

I found myself turning my gaze aside as well, my face growing warmer by the second. Why did this feel like the kind of conversation you had with someone you were dating?

"I was worried, you know…" she finally broke the heavy silence, though neither of us turned to face the other. "You were gone all night. You didn't tell me where you went. It reminded me of that time you disappeared and I was left with Beelzebub all alone…"

Her words struck right into my chest, sharper than I expected. I had never stopped to think about how she felt through all of this. I was too caught up in my own emotions and forgot that she actually cared… that she depended on me even in those small, quiet ways. I felt childish for it, but regret would not change anything now. I should have thought about the consequences before acting on impulse.

"But it's alright. You don't need to apologize," she continued softly. "I understand that you're free to go where you want, and you need your own space. We barely even know each other, after all. It hasn't even been that long since we met, and here I…"

Her voice faded mid-sentence, as if she caught herself revealing too much. There was something hidden behind her tone, a quiet ache I could feel even without looking at her.

"Elira." I lifted my hand slowly, turning my head to look at her. My fingertips brushed her cheek with a gentle touch. "Thank you… for all of this. You truly are the best. So sweet, so caring. Sometimes I wonder how I'm even worthy of being by your side. I'm sorry for hurting you. I won't repeat that. And if I do, you can give me any punishment you want. No matter what it is, alright?"

Her fingers wrapped around mine, guiding my hand closer as she pressed her cheek into my palm. Her eyes softened as she looked at me, warm and uncertain all at once. For a moment, we lingered like that, neither of us moving, both caught in the quiet pull between us.

"You truly promise?" she asked, her voice trembling slightly, though a small smile began to rise on her lips.

"Of course," I answered, my tone soft but steady.

Her eyes shimmered at those words, as if they struck somewhere deep inside her.

"Then the next time, if you disappear again… if you run off without saying anything and I find you, or you come back to me afterward, I will take something of yours forever. How about that? Do you agree?"

Her face flushed a deep red at her own words, but she did not take them back. I didn't think too hard about the meaning behind them. Her eyes alone were enough to draw me in.

"Yeah. Anything you wish for," I replied softly.

For a moment, we stayed frozen in that delicate closeness. I could swear her face was drifting nearer to mine, slow and hesitant. She brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, and I did nothing to stop her. I didn't want to pull away. Her presence felt warm, comforting… and I secretly wished she would come just a few inches closer.

When her face hovered just a breath away, I saw the faint shift of her lips. Without thinking, mine moved as well. We were so close that I felt her warmth against my skin—

Then something heavy crashed onto the wagon floor.

I jolted upright in panic, and our foreheads collided with a loud crack. Both of us cried out at the sudden pain.

"Oh—sorry, was I… interrupting something here?"

Rovan's nervous voice seeped into the moment. When I turned toward him, he was clutching a large crate, his face tinted red as he avoided meeting our eyes. "I-I should go. The two of you… keep doing what you were doing." He coughed, then fled so fast it made my eye twitch. I swear, the next time I catch him, I will make him suffer.

"Hahaha!"

Elira burst into laughter, warm and bright, filling the wagon with a sudden lightness. The situation was ridiculous enough that I couldn't help joining her. The tension that had wrapped around us finally cracked apart.

We ended up talking for a while, sharing how my night went and everything I learned. The awkward pressure between us faded, replaced by something far more comfortable. And honestly? I preferred it this way.

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