・・・・・
"How did it come to this?"
Outside the window stretched a vast, clear autumn sky.
That eerie sense of déjà vu — like I’d seen this scene before, in a dream — was definitely more than just my imagination.
‘Was it actually a prophetic dream?’
Though the details were completely different, the scenery looked surprisingly similar — it felt kind of uncanny.
In reality, not only was I not being confined by Felix, but I was actually the one holding him captive.
To be precise, he willingly allowed himself to be confined by me.
‘I still can’t believe it.’
Surprisingly, it had only been an hour since Felix decided to take a vacation and agreed to be ‘imprisoned’ by me.
‘Now I have to spend a whole year with Fel here.’
Hmm, quite satisfying.
Suppressing a chuckle, I held out the basket of chicken I’d been clutching to him.
“I made this myself, just for you, Fel.”
Preservation magic never failed to amaze me.
Because the magic seemed to freeze time at the moment it was cast, the food stayed exactly as fresh as when I prepared it.
The chicken in the basket was still crispy and warm.
‘Ugh.’
I barely swallowed the gag reflex rising in my throat and bit my lip tightly.
Fortunately, Felix seemed too distracted by the unfamiliar fried chicken that had suddenly appeared to even notice me.
Ugh... Was I still traumatised by the smell of chicken grease?
If smelling it for just a week did this to me, then how extreme was it for those who ran a fried chicken business?
With a bitter look, I offered Felix the chicken — my humble offering.
“Eat it quickly.”
He obediently ate the chicken just as I told him to.
It was a little odd to see him slicing the chicken with a knife like it was a steak, though.
"Which one tastes better?"
I wondered whether Felix liked the fried chicken or the seasoned one more.
When I teasingly pulled out a notebook to pretend to jot down notes, his eyes widened, and he replied.
“Both are so delicious, it’s hard to say which one’s better.”
I knew you’d say that!
The problem was that he wasn’t just trying to flatter me or be polite.
He was speaking sincerely and wholeheartedly.
‘And the reason is that he loves everything I give him.’
I sighed again at Felix for giving the perfect, textbook answer today.
‘But I’ve already seen right through him.’
I crossed my arms and replied.
“Oh, so you like the fried chicken better? You thought the seasoned one would be spicy and flinched, but it actually tasted better than you expected, right? But the batter got soggy from the sauce, so that part wasn’t your favourite?”
When I began listing everything off, Felix’s eyes went wide.
“I hadn’t really thought about it that deeply.”
“Well then, let’s think about it together.”
Normally, that was about as much thought as people put into it.
“Fel, if you just keep eating like a machine getting oiled, without even knowing what you like or dislike, no wonder you keep skipping meals.”
I pushed the sauce I had brought separately toward him and said.
“I’ve already figured out you’re a ‘dip’ person.”
“Dip... you say?”
“It means you prefer dipping your sauce and eating the chicken crispy, rather than pouring the sauce over it.”
Felix was such an extreme dipper that he didn’t even spread jam on his bread — he dipped it in!
But he looked like he had just realised for the first time that he was a dip person.
No wonder he never noticed. Even if he had preferences, he just accepted everything without fuss.
Yet Felix looked genuinely puzzled about why it mattered whether he dipped or poured the sauce.
‘Honestly, some say that instead of arguing over dipping or pouring, you should just eat it.’
It was my way of saying he should at least take some interest in how he eats, even if it was just like this.
“I’m a dipper too, though not as extreme as you.”
I could eat pretty much anything, but I said that anyway.
As he listened seriously to my words, a light returned to Felix’s eyes, which had been somewhat unfocused.
“Since we're both dippers, there's not even a chance we'd argue over someone pouring sauce on the food.”
“A match made in heaven, you might say.”
I added that with a soft chuckle.
Felix seemed to relax at my smile, lazily resting his chin on his hand with a contented look.
“Rin, you prefer to have the sauce served separately.”
“Yes, but Fel does too.”
“Is that so...”
I gave him a glare for acting like it was someone else’s story, then picked up my fork to poke a fried chicken.
Then I dipped it in the seasoned sauce on the spot and held it out to him.
“Ah.”
He slowly opened his mouth.
As he ate the chicken I fed him, a sweet smile spread across his face — so tender it felt like it could melt my eardrums — and he said.
“You’re right.”
‘Ah, so beautiful.’
Excited by Felix’s smile, I happily went on listing more of his preferences.
He didn’t drink often, but when he did show up at a drinking party, he was the type who had a high tolerance and wouldn’t get drunk until everyone else had passed out.
He preferred tangy desserts over sweet ones.
And also…
“More importantly, Rin, you don’t look well.”
At that moment, Felix, who had been watching my chattering face closely, reached out his hand.
I tilted my head back lightly to avoid his touch and said:
“It’s nothing. I just smelled too much oil from frying chicken.”
“Have you eaten?”
His question made me flinch inwardly.
The truth was, I’d felt nauseous all day and hardly eaten anything, managing only a single glass of juice.
But admitting that felt really embarrassing.
I was always nagging Felix to eat properly, yet here I was skipping meals myself.
“Um…”
Still, I couldn’t lie, so I averted my eyes and tried to dodge the question.
“Is there anything you’d like to eat?”
Felix gently pinched my cheek as if scolding me, then let go and asked.
Without thinking, I mentioned a craving.
“Tteokbokki?”
“Rice cakes…?”
“Yeah, something spicy.”
“It’s not good to eat something spicy on an empty stomach.”
Not long after, the royal head chef himself personally brought the dish Felix had requested.
Always kind and considerate, Felix, true to himself, ladled some soup and offered it to me first instead of the spicy dish.
I opened my mouth absentmindedly, but immediately turned pale and quickly covered it.
“I-I think I’m going to throw up…”
Wait, what?
Wasn’t it just because of the fried chicken oil smell?
I didn’t expect to react this way even to a bland soup…
“Rin!”
Felix hurriedly pulled me into his arms.
As he gently rubbed my back, I vaguely heard him shouting for someone to call a physician.
Even though I hadn’t eaten anything, I kept dry heaving, completely confused.
Could it be indigestion?
From just one glass of orange juice?
No, I had been feeling dizzy and nauseous like motion sickness for a while now — I half wondered if my semicircular canals were secretly doing some kind of popping dance inside my head.
‘Oh.’
Then another possibility crossed my mind, and I blinked repeatedly, dazed.
Ah, no way?
Really? Seriously?
・・・・・
[Bring Rin here immediately!]
Claudia, beyond the crystal sphere, was literally furious.
Felix going on vacation alone with me was already irritating, but now it looked like she’d have to take on all the duties the Guardian should handle as well.
And that wasn’t all.
[Of all things, why am I the only one stuck hearing this good news through some lousy little crystal bead?!]
It seemed that was the main reason she was the most upset.
Because for the emperor to leave the capital, an incredibly complicated procedure had to be followed.
I figured it would be at least a month before I could see Claudia again.
And even then, with work piling up in real-time, she’d probably have to return immediately.
“Well, I don’t think teleportation magic would have a positive effect on a pregnant woman.”
Felix firmly cut through her stubbornness and refused.
[But you used magic to get there, too!]
“We don’t even know what effect that one time had on the fetus. We can’t risk any more danger.”
What he said wasn’t entirely nonsense.
They say that if teleportation magic were misused even once, it could cause grotesque incidents, like the body being sliced into pieces.
It was obvious that it would be especially dangerous for a pregnant woman.
‘But that only applies to incompetent, sloppy sorcerers.’
Felix was a sorcerer comparable to a dragon, so it wouldn’t be a problem at all.
So, it was almost nonsense.
[Ugh, this is so frustrating!]
Claudia knew that all too well, which only made her clutch her chest in exasperation, glaring at him with even more irritation.
From nearby, I thought I could hear someone saying, “Please compose yourself, Your Majesty!”
[Just wait there for a month.]
With eyes blazing, Claudia spoke as if declaring war, then abruptly cut off the communication.
“Honestly…”
I let out a small chuckle.
Her reaction was exactly what I expected — no different at all.
It was honestly kind of cute.
Of course, she was the fearsome Emperor who only became cute when she was in front of me and Felix.
“I didn’t expect it to turn out like this. I came to this castle to… imprison — no, to take care of Fel.”
Somehow, it looks like I would be the one being taken care of by Felix.
But Felix actually seemed pretty pleased about that.
“I’m glad I ’m unemployed and can stick right by Rin’s side from morning till night.”
“It's just temporary unemployment.”
“At the very least, I’ll be able to stay by your side until the baby is born.”
When I was the one taking care of him, he looked uncomfortable, but now he looked at ease like he was finally wearing clothes that fit, so I couldn’t bring myself to say anything.
“Looks like Rin’s the one who’ll end up confined.”
“So, it comes down to that in the end, huh?”
“In the end?”
He looked puzzled at my quiet muttering.
“Ah, actually, I had a dream this morning where Fel was confining me.”
At that, Felix, who had been holding me tightly as if restraining me, suddenly stiffened.
“Just a silly dream, really.”
I casually gave a rough explanation of what happened in the dream.
Felix was only surprised at first, then quietly listened to me without much reaction.
“So you had that dream and came to the conclusion that you should imprison me instead?”
After hearing everything, he let out a faint, incredulous laugh.
Alright, I understand.
Even to my own ears, the decision I made sounded a bit ridiculous.
"No, it turns out I actually had this really dark and perverted kind of desire."
The desire to lock up workaholic Fel so he couldn’t work, feed him three meals a day without fail, awaken his appetite, and raise him healthily...
Ugh, how awful.
“It’s too late to back out now.”
"Honestly, really..."
He kept laughing foolishly.
Then he buried his head in my shoulder, pressed his lips firmly to the nape of my neck, and breathed out a warm sigh.
“You always go beyond my imagination.”
His voice was deep and languid, thick with contentment like a well-fed beast growling softly.
My shoulders twitched from the tickling sensation, and I scrunched my eyes.
“At worst, I thought I’d be despised and that I’d ruin you.”
But what was that supposed to mean?
I shifted my eyes around, trying to figure out what Felix meant.
But, well, I had absolutely no idea.
Could it be that the dream wasn’t caused by my desire, but by a lingering demonic desire projected through it...?
I glanced sideways at Felix.
As if reading my thoughts, he gently curled his well-shaped lips and spoke softly:
“It was just a dream, Rin.”
“Ah, right? I thought so, too.”
I laughed awkwardly and pushed the thought from my mind.
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