It seemed like I had fallen into a deep, undisturbed sleep without any unsettling dreams.

Since returning to the shell of a house after the succession war, I hadn’t been able to sleep in a bed.

Always leaning against a wall or a pillar. Or, like last night, sleeping with my body propped up against the bed, constantly facing restless dreams.

The reason I had a peaceful dream was that my body was laid on the bed.

Waking up and hearing Aslin’s face and voice was surprising, but I realized that the comfortable sleep was because I had slept on her bed.

‘Maybe I should stop sleeping like that from now on.’

I let out a self-deprecating sigh.

It had happened suddenly without necessity or intention.

Borrowing the infinitely accelerated power of consciousness to savor the slow passage of time was immensely helpful in organizing my thoughts.

“….”

Even with my thoughts organized, no words came out.

Maybe it was because I had just woken up, and despite spending enough time, it still took a while to warm up my brain.

“Even though I greeted you on such a fine morning, you still don’t say anything. No matter how generous I am, I can’t help but feel a bit disappointed….”

Aslin lay beside me, looking at me with an expression I couldn’t decipher—whether she was smiling, angry, or joking.

“….”

Still, no words came out of my mouth.

The problem was I couldn’t think of anything to say, so I kept silent.

Even though I was just breathing, I could naturally smell Aslin’s fresh, flowery scent, which confirmed the situation.

‘I can’t say this out loud.’

After quickly realizing what I shouldn’t say, I focused on understanding the current situation.

…What on earth is going on? I definitely remember putting a drunken Aslin to bed, covering her with a blanket, and then leaning against the bed to sleep.

“Hehe….”

Why is my body lying on the bed where Aslin is looking at me with a faint smile?

“I told you.”

Aslin’s clear and pure voice, which didn’t seem like it could come from someone who had just woken up, nailed the point.

And that clear voice continued without pause, informing me once again of the following fact.

“I lifted you, who had fallen asleep leaning against the bed, and laid you down here.”

Aslin’s expression changed again as if to confirm that what I heard right after waking up wasn’t wrong.

It was a very faint expression, but there was a peculiar sense of pride in it.

I couldn’t tell why she felt proud.

At that moment, just for an instant, I thought her expression was cute.

And then, Aslin’s prideful expression changed again.

People’s expressions change all the time, but the transformation of Aslin’s face as she lay on the bed looking at me was shocking compared to the proud and cute expression just a moment ago.

Though subtle, her cheeks puffed out slightly, and her eyes narrowed—how could such a transformation not be shocking?

Anyone who knew Aslin in any capacity would be taken aback by this sight.

Regardless, in that fleeting moment, Aslin’s expression changed swiftly, and her mouth slowly opened.

“I’ve prepared a large, spacious bed for us to share, yet you chose not to lie here and instead leaned against the bed. Do you have a habit of not being able to sleep on a bed, or did you drink all the alcohol on the table, rendering yourself senseless?”

The words that flowed from her mouth were so refined and eloquent that it was hard to believe they came from someone who had just woken up.

Even with her polished sentences, it was clear that Aslin was at least mildly angry with me.

Hmm, it seems Aslin mixes formal speech with a hint of intimidation when she’s angry. I’ll have to remember that.

…Ah, now is not the time for this kind of thought.

There is an immediate problem. Why is Aslin angry at me at this moment?

While my consciousness accelerated, my thoughts and actions moved at a normal pace, repeatedly drafting and erasing numerous hypotheses in my mind.

My mind quickly settled on two possible answers.

They weren’t anything grand.

She might be angry because I didn’t lie down on the bed.

Or, she could be upset that all the bottles on the table were empty.

And in either case, I had the right to protest to Aslin directly.

First, even if we were nominally married, being forced into the role of a fake couple made it impossible for me to lie in her bed.

Even aside from sleeping habits, it was dangerous for me to sleep in the same bed as Aslin.

Just the rumor of us sleeping in the same bed could cause the Sword Spirit Duke, currently in the central province, to rush up north with his Caladbolg to behead me.

No matter how sweet the scent of a flower, approaching it without knowing its nature would lead to being devoured—a fate that all beings in nature, including humans, must face.

I reminded myself repeatedly to keep my body and mind on high alert, and with that, I neatly organized my defense for the first issue in my mind.

With that sorted, I felt confident I could handle the second issue without much difficulty.

Regarding the neatly emptied bottles on the table, there was undeniable evidence that didn’t need me to voice it.

“About the alcohol, Aslin, you drank it all.”

I turned my body to face Aslin, meeting her gaze. I believed she would soon realize this herself, but I felt the need to make it clear that I had stayed sober.

For some reason, although I hadn’t noticed earlier when I had let out a sound that could barely be called a groan upon waking up to the bewildering situation, I now detected a faint floral scent from my open mouth as I protested to Aslin.

Perhaps there was already a flower beside me, and its scent had mixed in when I opened my mouth.

In any case, my protest had a significant effect. Though I hadn’t properly answered her question about why I hadn’t slept on the bed,

“….”

Aslin’s body froze in place, and her eyes started darting around helplessly.

“Wh-what…are you talking about?”

Despite her eyes failing to meet mine, Aslin managed to squeeze out a response to my protest.

Her voice, now devoid of any authority, was nothing more than a signpost indicating that her words were mere feeble excuses rather than proper responses to my protest.

Just from seeing her lost eyes and hearing her weakened voice, it was clear that my argument had a significant impact on Aslin.

That should be enough. It’s wise not to push someone too hard when basking in a momentary sense of victory. It’s time to step back.

With that thought, I looked at Aslin, whose eyes still wandered aimlessly.

“As you can tell from what I said, leaning against the bed to sleep tonight was just a habit. It’s a leftover behavior from the battlefield, where I couldn’t afford to relax. It wasn’t because of the alcohol.”

I mixed half-truths with lies, then continued.

“Still…”

Trailing off, I got up from the bed while keeping my eyes on Aslin.

“Sleeping in a bed for the first time in a while felt comfortable and nice.”

I wanted her to know that her effort to move me to the bed hadn’t been in vain.

“I’ll make sure not to trouble you like that again. Thank you.”

I expressed my gratitude to Aslin with genuine sincerity.

Although watching her annoyed expression was unexpectedly enjoyable, I had a feeling that if I kept looking, she might express her annoyance in other ways.

So, hiding my regret, I tried to ease her irritation.

For some reason, Aslin’s reaction to my thanks was somewhat peculiar.

All I did was offer a simple expression of gratitude, no different from her morning greeting to me a moment ago.

“….”

Aslin stared at me, her mouth closed for a long time.

When she spoke to me earlier, I didn’t smell any alcohol on her breath. Maybe she still had some residual alcohol in her system because her face grew increasingly red as she continued to look at me.

“If you understand… that’s good.”

Though it took her a while to accept my gratitude, she managed to calm her annoyed expression, puffing her cheeks slightly.

“I hope… you won’t sleep on the floor every night like last night…”

Though she stuttered, her request for me to sleep in the same bed every night came out as swiftly as a lightning bolt after she accepted my gratitude.

“Alright.”

And, as if bewitched, I agreed to her request once again.

‘You idiot! Are you really accepting her request just because she softened her voice?’

I cursed myself internally for agreeing to her request again.

But the simple truth that spilled water cannot be gathered back made me realize that the first morning after our marriage was going to be quite a hectic one.