Chapter 288
Claude looked puzzled, as if this had never crossed his mind.
In truth, it was a lie. Without the feel of his body against mine, the steady rhythm of his breathing, the weight of his arm around me, and his slightly cooler body temperature, I couldn’t sleep well anymore.
But without an excuse like this, Claude wouldn’t let me sleep separately.
After a moment of consideration, he sighed and offered a compromise.
“Then I won’t hold or touch you. Will that do?”
“No, that won’t work.”
“…Rose.”
Claude’s face turned stern. He couldn’t accept me wanting to sleep separately when he promised not to hold or touch me.
I hadn’t wanted to say this, but…
“Claude… even when you’re asleep, you still touch me…”
I mumbled, my cheeks turning red.
Cough, ahem, ahem…
There were startled coughs from all around. I was so embarrassed that I closed my eyes tightly.
The only unaffected person was Claude. He didn’t look embarrassed at all—instead, he asked curiously, as if hearing this for the first time.
“…I do?”
“Yes, who else would it be…”
“Why didn’t you tell me before?”
Why? Because his touch felt good, and I was happy that he wanted to keep me close even unconsciously.
But if I said that, he would never let me sleep separately…
“Anyway… just for tonight, let’s sleep separately.”
I was trying to gloss over it when I heard a voice laced with irritation.
“I can’t believe this…”
The voice wasn’t Claude’s.
“What’s the big deal about spending one night apart? The Guide doesn’t want to, so stop being clingy… Do you think I’m going to eat your Guide or something?”
Shana grabbed my arm and pushed me behind her, mocking Claude.
Already in a bad mood, Claude was triggered by her words and actions.
Angry, he took a step toward Shana as if to say something.
I seized the moment, hurriedly pulling Shana’s arm and shouting.
“Uh, I’m really sleepy, so I’m going to bed now! See you tomorrow!”
After getting to Shana’s tent with her, I glanced back at him. Claude, unable to follow me, was sighing and running his hand through his hair in frustration.
I felt guilty, but I hurried into the tent that Shana had been using alone.
Avoiding Claude was my top priority.
I just needed to hide tonight. If I could rest well and my fever went down by tomorrow, he wouldn’t notice I had been sick.
As soon as I stepped into the tent, Shana shook off my arm like she was shaking off a bug.
Only then did I start to think it was strange. Shana, who wouldn’t be happy about sleeping with me, had helped me. But…
“Sit down.”
“What?”
“Sit there.”
Shana glared at me with a fierce look. Instinctively, I shrank back and sat on the foldable bed.
Shana rummaged through her bag for a while. I watched her, confused.
Then Shana found something and handed it to me.
“It’s probably from the water.”
“What?”
“…Do I have to repeat everything twice for you to understand?”
“Oh, no…”
I heard her clearly, but I couldn’t help but doubt my ears. Her face looked like she wanted to kill me, but her words said otherwise…
“Espers never carry these kinds of basic medicines. They can’t get sick unless it’s an injury. It looks like you don’t want Claude to know you’re sick… I agree. This is a battlefield. But if you push yourself too hard and something goes wrong, do you think you’ll be able to get proper treatment later?”
Shana was holding a fever reducer.
“T-Thank you…”
I took it, still in a daze, and Shana scoffed.
Can I trust this? I wondered. After all, we didn’t have the best history…
But then I changed my mind.
This is a battlefield, as Shana said. Anyone with common sense would know that harming me now would only hurt themselves in the end.
“…If you plan to keep coming on missions, you should start carrying these yourself.”
Shana responded indifferently.
Maybe it was because I was delirious from the fever, or because I was dazzled by her tough demeanor.
I never would have thought this before, but…
Shana seemed kind of cool.
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