Have you ever felt like you don’t want to get up?
That day, the bedding felt particularly cozy, and despite waking up with the sense that this feeling would vanish the moment I opened my eyes, I wanted to go back to sleep.
It had been a while since I woke up feeling like that, so I tried to close my eyes again, driven by a desire to enjoy this feeling a little longer.
But then, something tickled my cheek, causing my awareness that was about to drift away to wake up forcibly.
There’s a timing to sleep.
Once you’ve tried to fall asleep and are disrupted, that opportunity doesn’t easily come again.
In other words, my attempt to fall back asleep had been completely ruined by that tickling sensation.
I felt a twinge of regret at the fading drowsiness and brushed my cheeks.
As I did, I recognized the sensation that caught on my fingers; the something that interrupted my sleep was hair.
I grimaced slightly at the realization.
This long hair of mine was a problem.
Because it was long, it tangled every time I woke up, and on occasions when I found it stuck in my mouth, soaked with saliva, I felt a strong impulse to chop it all off.
By the way, I have acted on that impulse before, but unfortunately, it didn’t mean much.
My body seemed to think that hair was a part of itself, and shortly after cutting it, it would restore to its original length.
I was destined to live with long hair; damn this world.
Anyway, today, the feeling of hair caught on my fingers felt strangely soft.
Despite being expensive and having shampoo, I had never actually used conditioner, but I wondered if that was why I felt this way.
So, while I didn’t think my hair was in a bad condition, I pondered if this was what it felt like when I opened my eyes.
And then, I saw Sylvia’s sleeping face right in front of me.
Just a breath away.
“Huh?!”
I barely stifled a scream that was about to burst out upon seeing the scenery as soon as I opened my eyes and quickly closed them again.
I thought my heart might stop.
Sylvia’s sleeping face so close was immensely powerful.
…What the hell is going on? Why is Sylvia sleeping next to me?
Waking up to find a silver-haired beauty beside me felt like something out of the early chapters of a isekai story, leaving me momentarily bewildered.
Then, I noticed Sylvia’s hand atop my head and finally recalled what happened yesterday.
Right, because of the calming spell, I ended up sleeping with Sylvia…
Thinking back, it was surprising I was able to fall asleep in the same bed as Sylvia.
Normally, I would be too tense to sleep at all, but it seemed I had been utterly out of sorts yesterday.
After calming my racing heart from the surprise, I gathered my courage and opened my eyes again.
Even with my mind prepared, a natural gasp escaped me as I saw her.
The way Sylvia shone in the morning sunlight streaming through the curtains was nothing short of a beautiful painting.
It was a sight that transcended mere beauty and felt almost sublime; I involuntarily held my breath.
Interfering with such a masterpiece felt like sacrilege.
Though I thought that, before I knew it, my hand was gently grazing the hair that was tickling my cheek.
Her silky silver hair slipped through my fingers like silk.
Caught in that addictive sensation, I continued to brush her hair, wanting just a little more, just a little more.
Still enjoying the feeling of her hair, I gazed blankly at Sylvia.
Her silver locks sparkling with the morning light.
Her skin, so clean it appeared translucent.
Her lips nestled between her pale cheeks looked as if a peony had unexpectedly bloomed in the freshly fallen snow.
If there were a princess in this story, she would look like this.
“…Beautiful.”
Many words sprung to mind, but none seemed capable of fully expressing that beauty; the only thought that escaped my lips was simply, “beautiful.”
Maybe Sylvia had heard that voice even in her sleep, as she stirred slightly.
However, she still didn’t seem to be waking up, which suddenly led me to wonder if she would awaken if I kissed her like Snow White or Sleeping Beauty.
Just after that thought, I chuckled lightly.
Thinking back, the princes in fairy tales seemed to be thoughtless people who suddenly kissed a woman they had just met without permission.
I’m not that kind of thoughtless individual; it seems I’m not cut out to be a prince.
Moreover, our princess must have been quite tired after casting the calming spell for me late into the night, so I wished for her to enjoy a little more sleep.
I paused brushing Sylvia’s hair and carefully and quietly got up, wanting to avoid waking her.
I owed her quite a bit from yesterday, after all.
I should prepare breakfast as a token of gratitude.
With that thought, just before leaving the room, I playfully whispered into Sylvia’s ear.
“Thank you for yesterday. You must be tired, so please sleep a little longer, princess.”
*
“…Uh, wait, did you make all this yourself, Scarlet?”
“…You’ve prepared this much right from morning? After everything yesterday, you really didn’t need to go this far.”
I had woken up a bit earlier to prepare breakfast, and as I called Yoon Si-woo and Sylvia, a strange reaction came from them.
“Well, I thought since I troubled you both in various ways yesterday, I should do something in return… Was it too much? I’m sorry. Please just eat as much as you want, there’s no need to finish everything.”
It seemed they were a bit taken aback by the breakfast spread filling the table.
…To be fair, even I thought it was slightly excessive for breakfast, so it was understandable.
This was my first time preparing a meal for three, and perhaps in my eagerness to repay them, I got a bit carried away.
Reflecting on my mistake at potentially wasting food—something I’d be punished for—especially not for anyone else but myself, I felt a bit down, but suddenly Sylvia shook her head and exclaimed.
“No! It’s completely fine! I was just super hungry! I saw that Yoon Si-woo looked hungry too, right, Yoon Si-woo? You must be hungry, right? So this is totally enough for us to eat!”
“Uh…? Y-yeah! Then, that’s perfect! I was really hungry! There’s no way I’d leave any of this behind since you prepared it for us, Scarlet! I’ll eat all of it, I swear!”
In the brief moment, it seemed like an intense, resolute look exchanged between the two. What was that about?
Anyway, I felt relieved knowing that both of them were hungry as we began the meal, but as soon as Sylvia took a bite, her eyes widened in astonishment.
“Wow, it’s delicious! Scarlet, I guessed you’d be good at cooking since you made macarons alone, but I didn’t expect you to be this good!”
“Haha… I’ve put in a fair bit of effort to learn.”
Given that it’s often cheaper to cook for yourself, I was somewhat confident in my cooking skills.
Besides, whenever I had free time, I often visited Leonor-senpai’s house to learn cooking alongside Mei.
Still, hearing their praise made me feel a bit shy, and I laughed awkwardly when I noticed Sylvia looking at Yoon Si-woo with a smirk.
“Hmm, some people are really lucky, huh? Living with such a good cook like Scarlet.”
“Cough cough…”
Seeing Yoon Si-woo’s cough, Sylvia chuckled, then lightly murmured to me.
“Well, who knows who will end up living with whom in the future? Scarlet, if you ever dislike being here, feel free to say so. I’ll even get you a place of your own.”
“Somehow, that sounds like you might actually do it, Sylvia…”
It sounded like a joke, but because it was Sylvia, it genuinely felt like she would carry it out, and I replied with a wary chuckle.
More than that, Sylvia seemed unusually excited today.
Her tone was strangely higher than usual. Did something good happen?
Just as I was pondering this, Sylvia spoke up.
“Oh, Scarlet. I have a place we need to go together this morning; could you make some time for me? It wouldn’t take long.”
While I had work to do today, I thought if it were just a little while in the morning, it wouldn’t be a problem, so I nodded.
Then Sylvia nodded back, as if confirming it, and said,
“Then, once you’re done eating, could you start getting ready first? Yoon Si-woo and I… it seems like it’s going to take a while to finish our meals. We have some things we’d like to discuss separately too.”
“Sure. I’ll finish up soon and wash up, so please enjoy your meal.”
As I stood up to leave, both Sylvia and Yoon Si-woo exchanged stiff expressions, looking at the mountain of leftover food still on the table.
There was quite a bit left, so I thought they could take their time preparing.
*
So after casually washing up and finishing getting ready, I found the table filled with empty plates, suggesting that they had finished their meals.
The only issue was that while Sylvia had looked happy a little while ago, she now wore a terribly distressed expression.
…Although she had insisted it was enough, it seemed the amount of food was indeed too much for her to handle.
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