The Kind Older Sister Is No More

I didn’t mean to touch him...

Irene looked up at his expression. She worried that he might have thought she was touching him on purpose. She could not take her eyes off his face. What caught her attention was the weird expression he made; it was contorted as if he, himself, was the sick one. I’ve never seen Noel like this before. He was biting his lower lip hard, to the point that she was afraid he might get hurt. Irene’s gaze was glued to Noel’s face throughout the time she was being carried to bed.

…It’s the first time someone’s cared about me like this.

Irene was not born healthy either. She had a much weaker immune system than her peers. She also used to suffer from sickness to a severe degree every time the seasons changed. Each time that happened, she barely managed to regain her consciousness from fever. She had not been able to open her mouth because of her dry, cracked lips, and she had trouble breathing normally. There were times she was ill all day long. There were times when she was bedridden the whole time. But when she eventually opened her eyes, she would be surrounded by only a few maids. No matter how serious her illness was, her parents never showed any concern for her. They would only show their face a few times on rare occasions to check on her condition and then go back. It was the first time she had seen the face of someone who truly cared for her.

So that’s the expression…

So that was the face people made when they were genuinely concerned and caring for someone. It was the face of someone who looked like they were about to cry. The sentiment hit her hard. After having, she learned about this for the first time in her twenty-three years of life. It was sorrow rather than surprise. Irene buried her face in his arms as if tears were about to burst. Noel stopped and looked down at her as he felt the touch. Then he asked in a quiet voice.

“... Does it hurt a lot?”

He must be asking about her physical condition, but Irene sounded a little different. Not wanting to let go, Irene grabbed hold of his robe and replied in her barely suppressed cracked voice.

“A little... a little bit. I will be fine when I wake up.”

“...all right then,” Noel answered calmly.

He continued with his steps and laid her on the bed. Then he covered her with a blanket as he appeased her. “I’ll be with you until you fall asleep. Now, go to sleep.”

“Noel should sleep, too. You’re tired....”

“It’s fine. Irene, you should turn in first if you want me to go to bed. I will rest as soon as I have seen Irene deep asleep.”

“...okay.”

Irene closed her eyes, thinking it would only become even more complicated. It would be unreasonable if she were to argue with him any further. At the time, she thought it would not be that hard, and she would fall asleep any time soon...

I can’t sleep!

It was a big problem. Far from falling asleep, her mind became clearer as time went by. It was because she had had a long sleep earlier in the day.

If I don’t sleep, Noel won’t either.

He was stubborn; he would keep his word to the end. Thus, he would not sleep until she did. Urgh. She really could not do it.

I have no choice but to pretend to be in slumber.

Irene concluded that perhaps pretending to sleep would be the best way out. This was because she had to put Noel to sleep. After all, he was so diligent in inspecting the monsters’ whereabouts. Irene closed her eyes tightly. She opened her mouth a little and did her best to act deep asleep. She made her breath even and sometimes even tried sleep-talking. She was quite shy, but she thought she did a fine job overall.

She’s pretending to be sleeping.

Noel could tell at once that she was faking sleeping. So far, there have been countless people who have put on all sorts of acts in front of him. He could not allow himself to be fooled by those masks, so he was always on the lookout. Hence, it would be absurd if Irene’s clumsy trick deceived Noel. However, unaware of this fact, Irene only wanted to get him to bed.

Soon, her effort paid off, Noel began to move slowly. At that, Irene pricked up her ears to get a hint of his movement. But soon she hardened.

S-so close!

Noel finally lay down in bed, but their gap was too narrow. When she turned her back, facing upward, she felt his breath could reach her. Irene flinched and her body tensed up. But before long, she heard Noel’s even and stable breathing in her ear.

I-is he sleeping? She wondered, but if he were not yet asleep, all her efforts so far would go in vain, so Irene just kept her eyes shut. As the long night continued, silence and stillness encroached on the surroundings. Not feeling even his slightest movement, Irene gently turned her head. As expected, Noel was lying right beside her. When her eyelids lifted, revealing the front view, there Noel was, face zoomed up close at her sight.

... It’s the first time I’ve seen his face this close...

Irene stared blankly at Noel, who was sound asleep. Even his sleeping face is handsome. That was all she could think of. Noel’s face shone with beauty so bright that it was beyond describable -if she tried to put it into words. He was like the embodiment of the greatest masterpiece of the century. One, that was created by a virtuoso artist. Irene’s thoughts of admiration for Noel’s sleeping face popped up without an end.

After a long while of silently appreciating Noel’s handsomeness, she opened her mouth. “You have worked hard today, Noel.” She muttered in a quiet voice.

Of course, she knew that he could not hear it as his consciousness had long sunk into a haze, but she still wanted to say it – that he had done a great job today. Even after that, Irene kept her eyes on Noel for a long time. So long that she lost track of time, unaware that plenty of time had passed. Things carried on that way until the night was over. But what Irene did not know was that his skill of pretending was a level above her.

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