I had just finished relieving myself to the thought of the princess.
Sigh.
I really am pathetic.
I lingered for a moment, staring at the ceiling, letting the weight of shame press down on me. My body always betrayed me, reminding me that I was still nineteen—barely a man, still ruled by impulses. I left myself exposed, softening, my body slack and drained. They always say it relieves stress in those magazines, and—annoyingly enough—it really does.
With a small grunt, I tucked myself back into my pants. I stretched out on my back, arms folded behind my head, the flicker of torchlight on the walls casting uneven shadows. For the first time all day, my mind felt quieter. Rest seemed possible. After all, it's not every day you get to live in a palace, treated like royalty, even if the crown isn't really yours.
But just as my eyelids began to grow heavy, I felt something.
A presence.
It lingered just outside the door, silent but heavy enough to break through the veil of half-sleep. My body tensed instinctively.
The door creaked.
My eyes snapped open.
For a heartbeat, I expected her—the princess—brazen, smiling, ready to toy with me again. I could almost see her smirk, silk sliding off her shoulders. But no.
The figure standing in the torchlight wasn't draped in royal finery.
It was Kaela.
Her eyes swept the room like she expected something to leap out of the shadows. Then, finally, they landed on me.
"You're awake," she said flatly.
"No kidding." My voice came out rougher than I intended. "Hard to sleep when people keep sneaking into my room."
Her jaw tightened at that, but she still stepped inside, closing the door carefully behind her. She wore a plain night-robe, the kind of thing meant for privacy, not display—but the way it hung loose at the neck, the thinness of the fabric, made privacy questionable. She folded her arms, whether to hide herself or to test me, I couldn't tell.
"I just wanted to check on you," she said quickly. "Seeing as Liora left you shaking earlier and all."
Ouch. The words seemed innocent, but the tone was sharp enough to cut.
I leaned back against the headboard, raising an eyebrow. "Check on me? Or did you have something else in mind?"
Her lips parted, and for a moment her composure faltered. A faint flush crept into her cheeks.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
Liar.
She moved closer, the hem of her robe brushing her knees as she reached the edge of my bed. Candlelight danced along her curves, softening the harsh angles of her scowl, reshaping her into something more dangerous than she knew.
"Carl…" she began, then hesitated. Her eyes dipped to my chest, following the uneven rhythm of my breathing. "Would you…"
"Would I what?" I pressed, straightening my back while keeping it against the wall.
"Would you like to take a walk with me tomorrow?"
A walk. That was the last thing I expected. For a second, all I could do was stare. Kaela, the knight who had once been first to draw her blade against me, now asking me to… stroll with her? I always thought knights were supposed to be loyal to their duty, cold to everything else. It seemed out of character. But the system hadn't chimed, which meant her words were her own.
I let out a low, bitter chuckle. "A walk, huh…"
"You're welcome to decline. It wasn't an order or anything," she added quickly, her voice suddenly rushed.
"I'll be off now. Sorry for bothering you."
She turned stiffly, walking toward the door with a kind of shyness I'd never seen from her before. Almost like someone trembling on a stage before an audience.
Who would have thought Kaela had a soft side?
This was the same Kaela who had once been the first devil hunting me in this twisted reality.
Hmm.
It was only a walk. That didn't sound too bad, did it?
"Hey, Kaela."
She froze, only a few steps from the door.
"Yes, Carl," she replied softly. Her tone carried a strange gentleness that made my skin prickle.
"I'll walk with you."
She turned her head slightly, enough for me to see her expression.
"I'm looking forward to it," she said, pausing before the words as if forcing them through clenched teeth.
Her fingers tightened around her robe as she turned away, and I could've sworn her cheeks glowed faintly pink.
"Good night, Carl."
"Night, Kaela."
She slipped out, closing the door behind her.
At this rate, I thought, I might lose my mind. Everyone was acting strangely tonight. Out of character.
And then it chimed.
[You're lacking sleep. Go to bed, Carl.]
"Tch. I thought you quit popping up in my face."
I glared at the glowing message. I'm a man—or almost. I'm nineteen. A man doesn't get told when to go to bed. What are you, my mother? But then I remembered: Mom had stopped worrying about me once I turned eighteen. She'd stopped caring about a lot of things.
Sigh.
"Guess that's what they call adulthood," I muttered, voice heavy with a tired bitterness.
I rolled onto my side, preparing to drift into dreamland—though maybe I was too old to be calling it that. Still, the thought made me chuckle under my breath.
Heh.
DING.
The sound jolted me.
It wasn't from the door. It was too close. That could only mean—
"screen." I called out
I was right. A notification appeared, glowing faintly in the dark.
Open notification.
[Morning routine begins tomorrow
Tasks:
20 push-ups
20 squats
20 sit-ups
20 km run
Reward:
+10 Endurance
+10 Speed
+10 Strength
Failure:
1 hour in the Void Realm]
If I had just gone to sleep earlier, I wouldn't be dealing with this now.
My body was far too frail for these kinds of demands.
Sigh.
How could someone ruin an entire day before it even began?
Close.
The screen vanished, leaving me alone with the shadows.
Whether I figure something out tomorrow or not is uncertain. But one thing is clear.
Tomorrow is going to be a very long day.