Chapter 38: Nightmare
Shiron read the report handed over by Berta. Although the densely handwritten report looked challenging to read, Shiron read it without any problems. It would be laughable if a nobles heir found difficulty in reading a few sheets of paper.
As he read on, his eyes narrowed, and soon his eyelids began to tremble.
A very subtle change. Yet, even the slightest change could not be ignored by Berta. With the fearsome noble right in front of her, she swallowed nervously, feeling a bad omen.
As expected.
Rip- Tear-
Shiron, emanating a chilling aura, tore the paper.
Berta looked shocked, and Ophilia, who was attending to Shiron, hastily gathered the scattered papers from the floor.
Ah
A sigh escaped from the womans lips. The report she had worked so hard on had been torn to shreds. But that was the least of her worries.
Whats the problem?
Berta didnt understand why Shiron looked so cold. More pressing than the torn report was the clients displeasure.
As a seasoned professional, Berta was accustomed to seeing days of hard work go to waste. The naive expectation that her hard work would always be acknowledged had faded with time.
However, not knowing why she failed was devastating. Producing a result that did not align with the clients request meant she might never meet his expectations, no matter how hard she tried.
Berta bit her lip, and the fearsome noble spoke gently.
Berta.
I apologize.
Why? Its all my fault, not yours.
His soothing voice tried to comfort her, but Berta couldnt feel relieved. She wasnt so naive as to let down her guard with mere words.
Whether he knew her feelings or not, the fearsome nobles words of encouragement flowed mechanically.
You must be tired. I pushed you too hard. I shouldnt have overestimated your abilities. It must have been due to the intense pressure.
No, sir. Its my mistake. If given another chance, I will
She wanted to speak confidently, but her voice grew weaker.
She felt the report would be cruelly torn again, no matter how many times she revised it.
Berta took solace in the fact that she hadnt said she couldnt do it.
The fearsome noble tilted his head as he looked at her.
Really?
Yes, just tell me the issues, and I promise to rectify them by the deadline.
No need.
What do you mean?
Lets not waste each others time.
Berta was puzzled but sensed an unsettling shift in the atmosphere. The fearsome nobles smile disappeared.
I shouldve just killed you back then.
With a terrifying smile, the fearsome noble gestured to his fearsome maid.
Take out the trash.
Whoosh-
Berta felt a piercing sensation in her chest.
It happened so fast she couldnt react.
Cough! Choke Huh
However, even though her chest was pierced, she felt no pain. Her consciousness was intact, but her sensations were numb.
Berta slowly looked down at the pierced spot.
What is this?
There was no blood.
No sensation of something hot flowing, no feeling of agony or weakness.
Only then did she realize.
A dream.
Berta wore a dejected expression.
She realized that it was merely a nightmare.
The surroundings began to blur.
The gaping hole in her chest filled,
And she was left alone in a stark white space.
Gradually
Her vision darkened
Allowing her to awaken from the terrible dream.
A drenched back.
A burning face.
An oddly sore neck and waist. Lying face down had caused her whole body to ache.
Having awakened, Berta coughed dryly and lifted herself up.
Rubbing her feverish face, she massaged her swollen eyes. Her crusty eyes struggled to open.
Slowly opening her eyes, Berta looked around.
She was sitting in the mansions library.
She had been editing late into the night, preparing for the Lords declaration to leave for the capital the next day.
Suddenly, Berta felt a soft touch on her shoulder.
Swish-
The thing that fell from her shoulder was a blanket.
She was sure she came here intending to stay up all night. How a blanket came to cover her was beyond her understanding.
Who is it?
Who else?
Thud-
Berta quickly stood up from her chair. In front of her was Shiron.
With his hand on his chin, gazing intently at her, he looked no different from the one in her dream.
Ah?!
Perhaps because of that,
Bertas voice faltered.
Did you sleep well?
Shiron greeted her with an innocent smile.
The reason for his smile was simple. Although he couldnt figure out what kind of nightmare she had that made her moan throughout her sleep, watching a grown woman jump up in surprise was entertaining enough to be almost regrettable to watch alone.
Her disheveled short hair, lipstick smeared with drool, bloodshot eyes,
All of it felt quite ironically messy compared to her usually cold and haughty demeanor.
The blanket
You looked so exhausted.
Thank you.
Avoiding Shirons gaze, Berta calmly sat down.
Glancing down at the desk, papers were scattered messily. One distinctively colored sheet had drool stains on it. Now, it was impossible to use for a report.
Ugh
Berta annoyingly ruffled her hair.
Her body felt weary, her eyes swollen, and on top of that, the report she had been writing was smeared with ink due to the drool and had become unusable.
An utter disaster.
Tears welled up in her eyes.
She had wanted to cry many times before, but now she truly wanted to sob uncontrollably.
Not wanting anyone to see her tears, Berta wiped the corners of her eyes with her sleeve. Even though her vision was blurry from tears, her sharpened senses detected someone approaching.
The footsteps circling half the desk were calm and unhurried. Shortly after, a playful voice reached her ears.
Hey, are you crying?
Ah, no.
Berta quickly denied it, but her voice sounded choked up as if submerged in water. She wished she had ignored the question.
It was embarrassing to act weak just because of a nightmare. She had once shown her teary face, but she thought it was excusable since it felt like she had come back from the dead.
Shiron chuckled and rubbed his neck.
Shes such a handful.
He had come to check on her since the day of departure was tomorrow, only to find the person he was most concerned about mumbling in her sleep.
Considering himself a kind person, Shiron even covered her with a blanket to prevent her from catching a cold.
But then
She woke up abruptly and started crying as soon as she saw his face.
Sigh-
Shiron let out a deep sigh. After the possession, the frequency of his sighs had oddly increased.
Pouring lemonade into a cup, Shiron handed it to Berta. She blinked her sharp eyes alternately between the cup and Shiron.
Unlike earlier, the boy did not tease her.
Drink this. Its good.
Thank you.
Berta took the cup handed by Shiron with both hands. Shiron sat down next to Berta and began sorting papers.
What were you doing that got you so upset? Let me help.
She didnt respond, but Shiron didnt scold her.
On the day of departure, before dawn.
Despite a busy morning ahead, Shiron couldnt catch a wink of sleep. Thanks to the stimulants he consumed overnight, there were no dark circles under his eyes. However, his growing body craved rest.
He gritted his teeth and kept his eyes wide open despite his heavy eyelids, suppressing the yawns with his hand over his mouth. But his injured hand didnt stop working.
Each page he turned was smeared with ink, making it look messy.
And beyond the paper full of strikethrough marks was a tense-looking Berta.
Is it okay, now?
Her fidgeting, like playing with her hair and darting her eyes around, made her seem younger than Shiron. However, she didnt appear tired at all.
Yeah. I think this is good.
Ah Finally.
Relieved that it was finally over, Berta flopped down.
The initial draft she submitted was of an unacceptable standard.
To an outsider, what looked like a pile of trash that could be mistaken for a tribute was, after numerous revisions, finally shaped like a report.
The result of their all-nighter mentioned Shiron, who left the biggest impression at the succession ceremony only twice and objectively described Lucia and Siriels smooth journey over the ice.
Shiron smirked and pulled out the list he had kept.
Perfect aggro diversion.
The paper containing the rituals held secretly for 500 years was something that any nobles who liked to boast even a tiny bit would be dying to see.
Those above Berta would simply be waiting for it.
Though he felt like collapsing from exhaustion, a proud smile graced Shirons lips.
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