When I opened my eyes, dawn was breaking. Faint rays of sunlight streamed in through the window.
I lay there blankly, staring at the canopy above my bed, blinking as I tried to make sense of the situation.
I distinctly remembered talking to Nox on the roof... Nox reaching out his hand, telling me to come down... Me taking his hand... and then—nothing.
Had I collapsed?
I dreamed about the day my parents died. This time, the dream lingered even after waking. Their departing figures as they left to meet a new friend were my final memory of them.
The last words I said to them were like driving nails into their hearts. I regretted it more than anything. It was the greatest regret of my life, and I knew I’d carry it with me until the day I died.
I bowed my head and steadied my breathing.
‘Now that I think about it... who was the friend they went to meet?’
I’d never wondered about it before, but after reliving that day so vividly in my dream, curiosity gnawed at me.
The fact that they died on their way to meet this “new friend” felt unsettling. Did that person attend the funeral? I hadn’t had the mental capacity to keep track of the guests back then.
‘Maybe Harrison would know.’
But even Harrison wasn’t here anymore.
That thought—the realization that no one was by my side—left me feeling hollow.
Just then, I sensed movement nearby.
Turning my head toward the sound, I saw a man sitting with his back to the window.
It was Ethan. He was asleep, arms crossed, slouched in the chair.
The golden strands of his hair shimmered in the morning light. His sharp and chiseled features softened slightly with his eyes closed, making him look almost like a resting cat.
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His long lashes cast delicate shadows under his eyes. As I quietly observed him, I turned my head the other way.
Someone else was there too.
Nox sat in the chair opposite, also fast asleep. He held a damp towel in one hand, and on the side table next to him was a bowl of water.
He looked like a painting of a sleeping prince.
The room was silent and peaceful—unnaturally so.
I slowly pushed myself up into a sitting position. With Ethan on one side and Nox on the other, it almost felt like they were guarding the bed.
The thought made me picture two loyal watchdogs keeping watch, and I couldn’t help but chuckle softly.
Ethan was the first to stir.
Hearing my laugh, he slowly opened his eyes.
“Mm...”
He grimaced and let out a low groan. Pressing his fingers against his temples, he looked over at me.
“Your fever.”
Without waiting for an answer, he reached out and lightly touched the back of his fingers to my forehead.
I doubted he could tell anything from such brief contact, but apparently, he could.
“It’s gone.”
He muttered the words with a sigh of relief.
I struggled to compose my expression, awkwardly scratching my cheek.
“What are you two doing here?”
“It’s because of you, Cherry. Your fever was serious.”
Ethan rubbed his temples again before stretching his arms. In that moment, Nox stirred awake as well.
“Ah... I must’ve dozed off for a bit.”
Nox looked exhausted. He massaged the back of his neck and smiled when his eyes met mine.
“I only meant to check your temperature and leave, but somehow I ended up staying.”
Setting down the towel, Nox started examining me again.
After confirming that my fever had subsided, he checked my eyes and hands, then pressed his fingers lightly to my neck to feel my pulse. Finally, he shrugged.
“You seem fine now.”
“How long was I out?”
I directed my question to Nox, but it was Ethan who answered.
“About a day and a half.”
He handed me a glass of water from the side table. After quietly sipping it, I started to get out of bed.
But both Ethan and Nox immediately moved to block me.
“Lie back down. You need rest. You collapsed from overexertion.”
“Exactly. Just take it easy today, Cherry. Honestly... You’re terrible at taking care of yourself.”
Ethan even clicked his tongue in disapproval.
Caught off guard by their rapid-fire scolding, I blinked a few times before blurting out without thinking:
“It’s like I’ve suddenly gained two moms while I was asleep.”
Of course, that remark only earned me an even longer round of nagging from both of them.
Surprisingly, though... I didn’t mind it as much as I thought I would.
It was strange.
*****
Amy peeked through the curtains of the second-floor window.
Monsters still roamed the streets of Brunel Village.
“We should’ve gone out earlier to call for help.”
“And ended up luring the monsters here? Is that what you want?”
“But you saw it, didn’t you? The lady from the abandoned house went out and brought the doctor back.”
“Exactly. Which means we should’ve risked it too and sent out a distress call. Look at us now—completely cut off!”
“Did you see the lights in the abandoned house on the hill? They escaped this hell alive!”
“Who even is that woman? How can someone be that strong...?”
“You all read the papers, didn’t you? She’s supposed to be the heiress of the famous Sinclair family from the capital.”
The murmuring voices of the villagers filled the room behind Amy.
The fifteen-year-old girl turned around, her expression full of disdain as she looked at them.
Even with the village in ruins and their survival hanging by a thread, these people hadn’t changed. Hiding in this place, talking endlessly about plans to escape but never acting on them. Not one of them had the courage to go outside like the lady from the abandoned house.
The same people who had spent so much time mocking her behind her back, calling her names and sneering at her supposed arrogance...