After Putting the Slayer of the Night to Sleep, I Ran Away - Chapter 57

Unable to send Vivian back in that state, Isla sent a letter to the Helios family.

It stated that she would spend the night with Vivian at Leo’s mansion, and a reply arrived by the time Vivian had finished her shower.

“Really, my family is so overprotective of me.”

Vivian pouted, grumbling at the letter’s contents, which stated that they understood and would send a carriage to pick her up tomorrow.

“Why? It’s nice to see.”

At Isla’s playful reply, Vivian, who was drying her hair, bit her lip.

She was suddenly concerned about Isla’s situation.

Noticing Vivian’s mood, Isla smiled gently and led her to the vanity.

Then, she softly took the towel and carefully dried the remaining moisture from her hair.

“Oh, I could do it myself.”

“Let me do this much. It’s because of me that your hair got pulled out, after all.”

“I’ll say it again, I pulled out more.”

“Pfft. Your sister must have been furious. She cherishes her silver hair so much.”

“Really? Oh, if I had known, I would have pulled out more. If only Prince Leomond hadn’t stopped me.”

Isla chuckled once more at Vivian’s genuinely regretful expression.

“Meow.”

Just then, Night, who had appeared from somewhere, rubbed his head against Isla’s skirt and leaped onto Vivian’s lap.

“Oh, Night. How have you been?”

“Meooow.”

“Yes, yes. I missed you too.”

Vivian smiled as she held and stroked Night.

“But Isla, can I really sleep in this room with you?”

“Of course. If Night gives up the middle of the bed, there will be enough room for us to lie down, right?”

“Puhuhu. That’s right. The cat I have at my family’s house always sleeps in the middle of the bed, you know?”

“But they’re cute, aren’t they?”

“So, I’ll give up the bed too. Night, is it okay if I sleep with you just for tonight?”

“Meow.”

“He says yes?”

“Meooow.”

“Pwahahaha. Okay, okay, thank you.”

Watching Vivian smile brightly, Isla felt a strange sensation.

Leo, Bella, and even Vivian.

It was new to her that there were people who blindly took her side like this.

Vivian’s kindness felt so warm that today, when she had shed tears at Marcus’s harsh words, felt like a distant memory.

“Thank you so much for fighting for me, Vivian.”

Isla conveyed her sincerity.

At that moment, Vivian’s eyes widened, and then she smiled brightly, wrinkling her nose.

“Isla, are you asleep?”

Vivian, who was lying next to her in bed, wriggled and asked.

What was unusual was that this was the third time she had asked the same question.

“Pfft. No. Vivian, can’t you sleep?”

When Isla, who had been lying on her back looking at the ceiling, turned to face Vivian, her face lit up and her eyes sparkled.

“I guess not. I think it’s because it’s the first time I’ve shared a bed with someone. What about you, Isla?”

“Me too.”

Isla trailed off, having blurted out the answer without thinking.

It was because she suddenly remembered the night she had spent with Leo.

It was the first time she had ever lain in bed with someone.

However, Vivian, who had no way of knowing that she couldn’t say it was the second time and was covering it up with a laugh, added in a dejected voice.

“It’s so nice like this, but it will be difficult in the future, right?”

“Why?”

“The Consecration Ceremony is soon, isn’t it?”

Towards the end of the banquet, the Emperor had once again taken the stage and announced the date of Leo and Isla’s Consecration Ceremony.

It was about a month away, and he said that they had set it as quickly as possible so that it could be held immediately after the upcoming National Foundation Day festival.

“After the Consecration Ceremony, I won’t even be able to call you comfortably, right? I feel sad when I think about that…”

“Why do you think that? Even if it’s not a Consecration Ceremony but a wedding, Vivian is my friend. Our relationship won’t change.”

Vivian’s face brightened at Isla’s words.

“Still, I’m so happy that His Highness is participating in the Crown Prince competition, you know?”

“Why?”

“If he happens to be appointed as Crown Prince, Isla won’t have to leave, right? Because you’ll have to stay here.”

“Vivian!”

“Do you remember, Isla? When we were talking about the Opera House operation together. When Isla said that she would break off her engagement with Lord Rodrigo through her marriage to the First Prince, I cheered you on, but I was secretly sad. I was very upset at the fact that we had only just gotten close, but we had to grow apart. But when I think that you might be able to stay in the Imperial Capital, I’m really, really happy.”

Isla’s eyelashes fluttered at Vivian’s purely joyful expression.

What had she ever done to deserve being thought of so highly?

Unlike her wishes, she would probably leave for Eisenfelt.

It wasn’t that she didn’t want to, but Isla also felt a pang of sadness at the thought of growing apart from Vivian.

“I was sad too. Because I thought I would be separated from the friend I had just made too soon.”

“Really?”

“But just in case, if I leave for Eisenfelt. We’re still precious friends, so whether I go or Vivian comes, let’s meet as often as possible, okay?”

“Of course. I’ll come visit often.”

Night, who had been lying down between the two people lying face to face, came closer, stretched out, and began to purr.

That night, another burst of laughter erupted at Night’s affection.

The two people’s voices continued to chatter until quite late.

At that moment.

Dex, who had been tossing and turning, suddenly sat up and sighed deeply.

This was because he was dissatisfied that the Consecration Ceremony was later than he had expected.

Leo said that a month wasn’t that long and acted as if it wasn’t a big deal, but for Dex, who had lost the artifact, that period felt like an eternity.

“Stupid bastard. How are you going to last a month?”

While the artifact was there, he felt at ease.

Leo was already a Sword Master who had mastered Aura at the age of fourteen, and he could get at least a nap on the days when he came back from rummaging through the mountains alone.

The reason why he hadn’t planned to stay in the Imperial Capital for long in the first place was also because of that.

Since the Empire was founded, a gate had never opened in the Imperial Capital, which meant that there were no monsters for Leo to steal at night.

The Emperor, who didn’t know this fact, seemed to be plotting to keep Leo in the Imperial Capital throughout the social season. If it hadn’t been for Isla’s existence, Leo would have had to travel back and forth between the North and the Imperial Capital.

But even that was useless now that the artifact was broken.

“In the end, the answer lies with the princess.”

When the story of the Consecration Ceremony came up, Dex thought to himself that this was it.

The reason why he had laid the groundwork that the customs of the North should be followed was also to have the two people spend the night together immediately after the Consecration Ceremony.

But to have to wait a month with the artifact broken.

Who knew what would happen in the meantime…

“I can’t tell him everything either.”

He felt frustrated that he couldn’t even open his mouth when the answer was right in front of him.

At first, he vaguely thought that Leo would take care of it himself.

Because Isla was Everett. He thought that Leo didn’t need to consider or take her position into account.

If the daughter of the enemy was the key, then he could just close his eyes and take her, and it might even be better, he thought.

However, Leo’s attitude towards Isla was more cautious than Dex had thought.

Far from taking advantage of her, he even ordered the lights in the garden to be turned up brighter after she had fallen once.

Even if he had to stay up all night for a month, he didn’t seem like he would ask Isla for help.

In that case, Isla would have to move, but to do that, he would have to tell her about Leo’s curse.

To do that, he would have to be able to trust her completely, but this was not something that Dex could decide on his own.

It could end up giving her a weakness in order to save him.

“Haa. This isn’t easy, really. That means I have to endure for a month somehow.”

He stared blankly at the ceiling and pondered.

‘Is there a good way?’

A way to put Leo to sleep without revealing his weakness.

The fundamental solution was for the two of them to fall in love with each other and live happily ever after as a ‘real’ couple.

To do that, he had to make them be together first.

That way, they could hold hands or sleep together, right?

Dex’s eyes lit up when he thought that far.

“Wait. I can make them be together on a one-time basis, right?”

He had to make them be together somehow.

If he could put Leo to sleep like that a few times, a month would pass quickly.

Dex jumped up and sat down at his desk.

Then, he began to devise a way to naturally bring the two people together without Leo noticing.

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