“Are you awake?”
In the early morning, close to dawn, as I woke up from sleep, a now familiar scene met my eyes.
The figure of Selian offering her morning greeting from beside me, having slipped into the blanket I was covering myself with just after I woke.
Despite the bed being so wide it couldn’t even be compared to the dormitory bed, Selian was lying close to me.
“…Good morning.”
Certainly, every night after bidding each other goodnight and heading back to our respective rooms, how did she manage to end up inside my blanket?
The first time I woke up in Selian’s mansion, I found myself staring directly into bright, blue eyes upon waking and immediately panicked, jumping up from the bed.
When I realized that the owner of those eyes was Selian, I let out a sigh and asked how she ended up in my bed.
According to Selian, she had gone to the restroom in the middle of the night but ended up in my room instead, still half-asleep.
When I asked why the restroom she visited in her sleep wasn’t the private one in her own room, or why she didn’t return to her own room, she simply replied that she didn’t know.
Strangely, it wasn’t just the first night—this pattern continued every night afterward.
On the second night, I tried locking my door before sleeping, just in case.
The next morning, as soon as I opened my door, Selian, who had been leaning against it, fell to the floor and looked up at me with deeply dark circles under her eyes.
Apparently, the previous night she had ended up in my room again after using the restroom but found the door locked, so she ended up sleeping in the hallway.
Since it wasn’t a good look for the eldest daughter of a count’s family to be found sleeping in the hallway, even if she was my employer, I decided to leave the door open in case her sleepwalking habit recurred.
Since then, Selian had been slipping inside my blanket every morning.
At first, I was definitely startled, but as the routine repeated for a few days, I gradually learned not to outwardly show my surprise or racing heart, even if I still felt a little shocked inside.
But after a while, I started to wonder if there was something wrong with me. Both the previous case of Yuli sneaking into my blanket and now with Selian, I had been completely oblivious and stayed in dreamland.
Had I become too lazy? But then again, I decided to take it as a sign that I trusted both of them deeply.
“Once again, you’ve gotten up early.”
Not once had I woken up before her. Every time I opened my eyes, Selian was already awake and watching over me.
Even though I told her to wake me up if she got up earlier, she always agreed but never actually woke me. Instead, she would sit there and keep staring at me.
It was unlikely that she had been awake for dozens of minutes or even hours before me—probably she just woke up a few minutes earlier.
Of course, even that became remarkable when it happened daily. But the human body works in such rhythms. I always woke up at the same hour, and it seemed she just woke a little earlier.
“Hehe, I haven’t been awake for long myself.”
She threw back the blanket, got off the bed, and headed towards the dressing room. And Selian, rising beside me, also followed and entered the dressing room.
I changed out of my nightgown into a comfortable daily outfit. Selian too shed her nightgown, which felt too embarrassing to keep wearing, and switched into her own daily attire.
Why was Selian changing in my room instead of her own?
Without telling me, she had stored a few of her outfits in my dressing room. I think it was around the time I stopped locking my door.
Well, I decided it was better than letting her wander the mansion corridors in her nightwear at the break of dawn, where she might be seen by the servants.
The day of Selian and mine continued without much change from previous days.
The morning routine started with combat practice and training, followed by breakfast, a brief digestion break, and then more training.
Of course, training wasn’t all we did—by around 10 or 11 a.m., our daily training schedule was complete, and we had lunch.
From then on, it was all leisure time.
We went shopping in the commercial district, took long walks outside the city walls, enjoyed quiet afternoons in the garden drinking tea, and spent time in the study, quietly reading books across from each other.
Aside from when going to the restroom or bathing, we were practically attached at the hip, 24 hours a day.
One thing I’d learned about Selian after spending so much time together was that she absolutely adored taking showers or baths.
While I washed quickly and generally took no longer than thirty minutes, Selian usually spent at least an hour, sometimes even two, like the other day.
Maybe from a woman’s perspective, my habits seemed strange. Women truly are an enigma.
After spending the whole day laughing and playing with Selian, it was already evening.
Since she’d inevitably crawl into my bed during the night anyway, and I had already decided to stop resisting, on what would likely be my last night, I decided to sleep together.
While Selian was cleaning herself in her room, I had already finished washing up and started preparing my luggage while waiting.
I sorted the clothes hanging in the dressing room into two bags and added to another the items I had brought from the academy.
There weren’t many things I’d brought from the academy to begin with. Mostly they were clothes: uniforms, workout attire, casual wear, simple t-shirts, and underwear.
“Hmm? Did I only bring six pairs of underwear?”
Of course, it didn’t matter much since I’d wash them midweek anyway, but I thought I had planned for one week and packed seven based on a daily change.
But now I only see six sets in my bag. I vaguely remember wondering the same thing when we left Anne’s place but didn’t pay much attention to it at the time.
I checked the laundry basket in the changing room, just in case, but it was empty. Anyway, it was already cleaned today, and I had put those clean items back into my bag.
Unless every pair of underwear I own looks exactly the same, it’s hard to recall which one might be missing.
“Oh? What’s the bag for?”
“Today’s the last day, you know. I was just trying to pack my things early instead of rushing tomorrow.”
“Ah… Already a week? Is anything wrong?”
Since she noticed me taking clothes out, rechecking, and putting them back, Selian asked me.
“It’s just… I think I brought seven pairs of underwear from the academy, but apparently, there are only six visible.”
“That’s… right?”
“The laundry basket is empty too. Where did it go? Hmm…”
“Huh, check again carefully. It’s probably somewhere. Who would take someone else’s underwear? Besides…”
“Isn’t that true? Who would do that? Especially when you’re…”
“Cough! Cough!”
“Are you okay, Selian?”
“Cough… It’s… fine. Just… a… cold… Cough!”
“Wait a sec. I’ll get you some water.”
This is Selian’s mansion, yes, but the room I’ve been using is also mine now. I saw her coughing and brought a glass of water from the living room, handing it to her.
“Here you go. Are you really okay? You’re even sweating!”
“Oh… It’s hot! Why’s it so warm? Is the climate control system malfunctioning?”
Maybe I’ve just been here too long, but I don’t find it particularly hot.
But Selian seemed genuinely overheated, fanning herself with her hands while quickly downing the water I brought.
“Well, where did it go anyway?”
Still, I couldn’t find the missing underwear no matter how hard I looked.
“Hmm… Is my memory faulty?”
It was entirely plausible, given that after searching so thoroughly and not finding anything.
“Isn’t that the case? Or… Hey! Including the one you’re wearing right now, wouldn’t that make seven?”
Oh… I didn’t think of that. Counting this one, it is seven.
“Ah, right. Why did I forget that?”
“Guess so. People can’t remember everything. It’s just one pair of underwear, don’t sweat it.”
“True. That settles it…”
Since I had already packed most of my things, I just shoved the items I had taken out back into the bag, completing the packing.
“Phew…”
I heard her exhale softly. The coughing must’ve finally settled.
“Anyway, such comfortable living is ending today.”
“Didn’t even notice this was the last day. Time really flies.”
“True. It goes by fast. Feels like we just started the vacation.”
If I had stayed alone at the dormitories without visiting Yuli, Anne, or Selian, this vacation would’ve seemed about twice as long.
“How was your stay at the mansion?”
“Of course it was pleasant. Even though the dormitories are nice, it’s easier to have people around to help here. And no need to worry about school rules or penalties.”
“Then how about staying for one more week?”
“Hmm?”
When I expressed my reluctance to leave, Selian kindly proposed extending my stay.
As much as I liked being here, it probably would be inconvenient for Selian’s family.
“No, it’s fine. No need for special consideration.”
That’s why I turned down her offer. If anything, while I got along with Selian, it might still be awkward for her family—even if I was her friend.
“Is there a pressing reason you need to rush back to the academy? There’s still a lot of vacation time left…”
Of course, I had other plans, but nothing urgent. As Selian said, there was still over a month until classes resumed.
“I just wanted to spend more time with El. Is it okay?”
Slightly raising her eyes, Selian looked up at me. As I looked into her eyes, I couldn’t bring myself to refuse.
“Will we…?”
“Hehe, let’s unpack that bag again, shall we?”
With excitement, Selian took my luggage bag and returned to the dressing room.
Hmm, it’s not a bad idea, right? Since this is the last stop, and a guild trip won’t take much time after all.
Still, it feels like I announced that we’d sleep together tonight even though it isn’t the last day yet.
