*****

Soon after Asaya wailed like a child, she fell asleep again. Edwin stayed by her side until dawn, yet Asaya didn’t wake up, even after the sun rose in the middle of the day. Tik Tok. His long fingers drummed on the table for the nth time. As if it was testing his patience, the regular tapping and rumbling sounds, and the conversation between Lucia and Diana who were waiting. Eventually, he called the doctor to look at Asaya.

“There is nothing wrong with her body. She is just weak.”

After the examination, Edwin briefly kicked his tongue in the opinion of the doctor. He seemed relieved, but he was not completely satisfied.

“She eats better, wears better, and sleeps better than before. I don’t know why she collapsed suddenly and won’t wake up. How could she survive outside the wall with such a weak body?”

“I think her physical strength is good. Maybe it’s just her mental power is exhausted.”

“Ha.”

“Besides, wasn’t she hired as your personal priest? Then, she would have to use her powers frequently, and it was accumulated without knowing, and I am guessing that this time, she was completely exhausted by excessive force.”

“Can this be considered a common case? If so, it would be normal if other priests also collapsed?”

“There is no comparison between other priests and the young lady, who spent most of their lives training mentally. Her innate power is hale, but she doesn’t seem to be able to control it properly. It takes a long time of mental training to manipulate her powers properly.”

At the doctor’s words, Edwin frowned.

“That means she could fall hundreds of times in the future.”

“Right now, the priority is to recover the stamina that has been rapidly exhausted, and after that, how about finding a teacher to help her practice mental training.”

Tsk, Edwin clicked his tongue again. While looking at Asaya’s sleeping face with folded arms, his face was full of displeasure.

“That’s a heap of work.”

He used to be irked and disdained to pay attention to little things, but now he didn’t seem to mind it. The old doctor looked at him with interest, as if he were unpredictable. Then Edwin gazed at Asaya asleep, reminiscent of last night when Asaya cried like a child. The tears pouring out was an intriguing part to think back on.

Asaya Rubdoa came to this place and had never shown any signs of difficulty or weakness of her own. However, after being unconscious, her sadness or her bottled emotions have erupted vividly. At best, it was all about being infuriated at Reibene Schrandel. She was a woman who was skilled at controlling her emotions. Whenever she was afraid or uncomfortable, her emotional expression of crying, angry, or joy was quite dull. That was what made Edwin pay heed to her from the beginning.

“Reibene, why on earth…..“

An unpleasant name came out of Asaya’s mouth. Recalling that moment, Edwin frowned openly with a grimy look. Unsurprisingly, the old doctor, who was noticing the blatant and vivid emotional changes, hurriedly stepped back.

“Then, I’ll take my leave.”

Whether the doctor went out or not, Edwin gave no interest. His interest was fixated on Asaya, who was sleeping. Diana and Lucia, who were standing a little further apart, prepared to escape, thinking that they were tiresome enough for him to look at them. Even after they left, saying they had to go out because of work, Edwin’s gaze was still locked on Asaya.

‘’She said they were engaged. It seemed like they were smitten with each other.’’

Edwin remembered what Asaya told him about her past with Reibene. In her sleep talking, she called out the name of her ex-lover made Edwin feel unpleasant even though he knew their marriage was political.

‘’It’s annoying.’’

Edwin thought Asaya was a truly irritating woman. There was nothing that could bother him before. They agreed to keep this relationship strictly give and take; by keeping an appropriate distance and taking advantage of each other, but he felt something subtly starting to form. She’s probably the first one to get on his nerves.

Edwin frowned, realizing that his hand unconsciously reached for Asaya. Then, right before he was about to stroke her cheek, he hurriedly removed his hand. He leaned back on the chair, then touched his forehead and stared at the ceiling. Over his head, a schedule to be implemented right now floated. A man’s time, where one minute and one second was more expensive than gold, was passing meaninglessly. Although he, himself, was aware of it, he remained motionless like a stone.

Why did it matter if she was sick? It was not a life-threatening matter or a critical issue. She was just drained and knocked out. It wasn’t long before his reason became muddled. And Edwin couldn’t resist these long-awaited subtle changes. He stayed next to Asaya’s bed for a long time.

It wasn’t until after a full day before Asaya came to her senses.