Picky eating.
Picky eating refers to the habit of consuming only certain types of food, rather than a balanced diet.
Typically observed in those who are overfed with an abundance of food, this habit usually resolves itself with age.
However, it appeared this particular ducal daughter had yet to outgrow the habit.
Thus, as someone handsomely rewarded with a princely sum of 5,000 gold, I had no choice but to resolve this predicament, however reluctantly.
It was, most assuredly, not an act of retribution fueled by anger at being dismissed as ‘just a mere baron.’
Just then, Rainy, who had been patiently awaiting the Lady’s inevitable surrender and arrival, posed a question.
“But, will the Lady really come?”
“Oh, come on, she’s human too. How long can she endure hunger? Given her status as a pampered ducal Lady, she’s likely never known true hunger, meaning her endurance will surely be fleeting.”
Rainy, sprawled brazenly across my bed, swung her pristine white feet as she spoke.
“I see things differently. That Lady, she clearly had a look of fierce determination (TL Note: A Korean expression, ‘dokgiga ollatdeorago,’ referring to someone who is stubbornly determined or spiteful). And I know from experience that when someone is in that state, they’ll grit their teeth and hold out purely for the sake of their pride.”
“Ah, so it seems the Saintess herself has indulged in such tantrums, much like that Lady? You speak with remarkable familiarity.”
“I… I heard it from a friend!”
“Don’t lie; you don’t have any friends.”
“Shut up.”
Even as Rainy’s pristine white foot connected with my back, a flicker of worry crossed my mind: what if the Lady truly failed to appear, just as Rainy had suggested?
I harbored no intention of starving the Lady to death, which meant I would, inevitably, have to feed her.
As I pondered whether I should bring a little meat to mollify the Lady come morning, Rainy’s pristine white toes began to wiggle, playfully poking my side.
Feeling a flicker of annoyance at Rainy’s persistent teasing while I was deep in thought, I firmly grasped her foot.
“Ugh, stop messing around.”
“I’m bored.”
“Then go to your room and read a book.”
“Oh, please. If the Lady were to come to your room alone while I’m away, you’d surely get up to some mischief.”
Having overheard my instruction for the Lady to come to my room if hunger struck, Rainy had forced her way in, adamantly declaring her intention to remain in the room with me.
Her ostensible justification was to keep watch, claiming she couldn’t trust what I might do to the Lady should she arrive alone…
“Didn’t you say you thought the Lady wouldn’t come?”
“W-well, yes, but just in case!”
“Now, please, go back to your room and get some sleep. Judging by the hour, I doubt she’ll appear tonight, and I intend to turn in myself.”
“No. The Lady might come even in the early morning.”
Rainy sprawled herself across my bed, arms and legs akimbo, as if to declare her absolute refusal to leave.
Forcibly removing her seemed an insurmountable task.
“No, really, how do you plan to sleep? I can never give up my bed. I’ll protect my bed, no matter what happens!”
Frankly, sharing a room with Rainy, who was essentially a friend, presented no real issue.
Though her striking beauty and alluring figure occasionally stirred a flicker of desire within me…
Nevertheless, given her former status as a Saintess, I was absolutely certain I would never overstep my bounds.
While sharing the room was acceptable, my bed itself was non-negotiable.
It wasn’t as though I couldn’t sleep anywhere but a bed, but on such occasions, I would fail to get proper rest, rendering me unable to focus on my duties the following day.
“Then sleep next to me.”
Rainy scoffed, a smirk playing on her lips, evidently convinced I would never dare to lie beside her.
Hah.
It seemed I would have to unequivocally demonstrate to that Saintess that I was a man who followed through on his words.
If she harbored an unexpected shyness, she would surely stammer and retreat once I calmly made my move.
“Then, let’s sleep together.”
“Wha…?”
Just as predicted, Rainy was visibly flustered by my confident declaration.
“Wai… wait, are you re… really going to sleep next to me?”
“Yes, I am a man who always keeps his word.”
To unequivocally demonstrate my resolve, I lay down beside Rainy.
Thanks to the generous size of the bed, it didn’t feel particularly cramped or uncomfortable, even with two of us occupying it.
Rainy swallowed audibly, then spoke.
“Hey… I… I’m still a former Saintess, you know?”
“So what? You were excommunicated anyway.”
“…”
Rainy, who had been sprawled out with limbs splayed, immediately blushed as her hand brushed against my body, then quickly withdrew it and recoiled.
Hmm, judging by that reaction, she would soon be overcome by embarrassment, toss a pillow, and scramble back to her own room.
Having spent weeks observing Rainy and completing my analysis of her character, I held absolute certainty in my prediction.
“F-fine! We can sleep together! Turn off the light.”
To my astonishment, Rainy defied my expectations, choosing instead to stubbornly hold her ground.
Though momentarily flustered, I dutifully complied with her request, flicked off the lamp, and settled back down beside her.
It seemed Rainy was now enduring purely out of pride, convinced that to leave the bed would be to admit defeat and flee.
It is a natural human tendency for one’s senses to sharpen once the lights are extinguished.
If we were to lie side-by-side in the darkness, she would surely become acutely aware of my presence, eventually prompting her to flee.
With that thought, I waited patiently for a short while.
This woman.
It appeared she genuinely intended to sleep right here.
Though she periodically twitched, suggesting she was still awake, there was no indication whatsoever that she intended to leave the bed.
I waited, my lips subtly parting and closing, until I could no longer endure the silence and finally spoke.
“Um… Saintess?”
“Hm?”
“Truly, you intend to sleep here? I am, you know, a man.”
“You won’t pounce on me, will you?”
“Well, of course not, but…”
“Then it’s fine, isn’t it? Friends sometimes sleep together!”
“…”
“And as you said, I’m not a Saintess anymore, either.”
“Where did you hear that friends sleep together…?”
“Hm? Our Order’s Holy Knights sleep together, you know? When I asked them why, they claimed it was perfectly normal for friends to share a bed.”
“…”
Holy Knights sharing a single bed?
Ugh, the mere thought of it made my stomach churn.
It truly seemed the Order had decayed to its very core.
Equally astonishing was Rainy, who readily believed such an absurd excuse.
As I reeled, horrified by Rainy’s naivety and the Order’s blatant corruption, it suddenly dawned on me that she had no friends.
In her childhood, Rainy had led a gang of pickpockets in the back alleys, simply trying to survive each day, leaving her no opportunity to forge friendships.
Even after her selection as the Saintess and her subsequent activities within the Order, I had heard she never had the chance to make friends her own age.
‘Could it be… that I am her first friend?’
Only now did I begin to understand why she so innocently accepted such distorted information.
Having never experienced true friendship, she lacked the discernment to differentiate truth from falsehood in others’ words.
A faint pang of pity stirred within me, prompting me to decide against shattering her illusion, and I quietly closed my eyes.
“Alright, good night to you.”
“M-mm.”
****
In truth, Rainy was not such a naive fool.
While it was true that the Holy Knights of the Order had claimed friends sometimes slept together,
she was well aware that men and women typically did not share a bed.
Yet, the reason she remained in Raden’s bed, offering such flimsy excuses, was…
‘I don’t know…’
Rainy herself couldn’t precisely pinpoint why.
She simply, for some inexplicable reason, did not want to leave his room.
Knowing her excuses were preposterous, she still chose to remain in his bed.
Rainy, wiggling her fingers as she pondered why she had made such a choice, subtly turned her body.
In the dimly lit room, the sturdy outline of Raden was visible.
Rainy cautiously poked Raden’s shoulder with her finger and asked,
“Hey, are you asleep?”
“…”
“Are you really asleep? With me right next to you?”
“…”
Rainy subtly leaned closer to Raden, checking his breathing.
“Swoosh…”
A steady rhythm of breath.
Astonishingly, this man had truly fallen asleep, despite her presence beside him!
Rainy was objectively aware that she was quite, no, remarkably beautiful.
Because of this, she always guarded her demeanor and was wary of men.
Yet, this impotent bastard was simply sleeping soundly, without a single thought, even with her right beside him.
It was certainly a good thing that he harbored no lustful intentions toward her.
It was a good thing, yet…
Rainy felt a peculiar discomfort deep within her heart.
She herself couldn’t understand why she felt this uneasy sensation.
Feeling inexplicably annoyed, Rainy decided to retaliate against him.
How dare he displease the Saintess?
He deserved to be punished for the crime of vexation.
Rainy carefully slipped out of bed, making sure not to wake Raden.
‘Around here, I think…’
Even in the pitch darkness, Rainy fumbled with her hands until she found the drawer.
From it, she retrieved a pen.
Then, she cautiously lay back down in the bed.
Raden slept soundly, oblivious to the fate awaiting him.
Had her eyes adjusted to the prolonged darkness?
The outline of Raden’s face became visible to her.
Rainy, who had never had occasion to closely observe his face before, leaned in and studied it.
Raden’s eyelashes were surprisingly long, and his thick eyebrows exuded a masculine charm.
His nose was sharply defined, and his lips possessed an appealing shape.
‘He’s more handsome than I thought.’
After admiring Raden’s face for a moment, Rainy fell into a brief contemplation.
Then, she took out the pen and began to doodle on Raden’s face.
On his left cheek, she wrote:
[I love Rainy the Saintess so much]
On his right cheek, she wrote:
[Rainy the Saintess, please marry me]
“Hehe.”
Rainy, satisfied with her creation, smiled, then pushed Raden, who had somehow rolled into the middle of the bed, aside and lay down.
Perhaps due to the lingering effects of her withdrawal symptoms, which often caused insomnia, Rainy was able to fall asleep peacefully tonight.
