“That’s a relief,” he said finally.
What the hell happened when I was unconscious? Why is he acting so sweet? Kaichen never asked me how I was feeling. This was strange. He was relieved?!
“I don’t think you are all better. What are you even doing here now?” That would be classic Kaichen. I would have laughed at that and maybe joked around a bit. But him turning suddenly all sweet and asking after my health threw me off guard. I met his eyes and flinched.
I could hear my heartbeat in my ears now. At this rate, my heart might just give away. Kaichen’s dishevelled appearance with messed up hair and dreamy eyes were just too overwhelming for me. Calm down, I said to myself. Calm down!
Kaichen didn’t say anything after that. That was what was strange. By now. Kaichen would have frowned and gotten annoyed and asked me what I was gawking at. He would tell me to leave if I was done staring rudely. But he didn’t. I thought I should get out of here before I overstayed my welcome and make him annoyed but… I didn’t want to. I wanted to be with him a little more.
I wanted to look at him a little more.
“Dalia,” he called.
That startled me again. I hoped he didn’t know the things on my mind at that moment. That would be too embarrassing.
“Yes, Teacher,” I asked. Do I look flustered? I was suddenly conscious of my appearance.
“Shall we… eat breakfast together?” he asked. He smiled slightly.
He is… smiling? This all felt like a fever dream. “Yes… Yes!” I stammered.
“You brought me food, right?” he said. “Alright. If you haven’t eaten yet, let’s eat together.”
I was speechless. I heard the sheets rustling and Kaichen got out of bed. I stared blankly at him. Kaichen smiled at me and placed a hand on my head. I flinched slightly. This was all so new. This was weird. He then headed to the bathroom.
Am I still dreaming? I found it near impossible for him to initiate any kind of physical touch. Kaichen had mysophobia. He asked me whether we could eat together. And he gently touched my head. Either this was a dream or the world was truly ending!
I raised my hand to my head where he had touched and jumped up. He had asked me to eat with him! But, I didn’t bring my share of the meal. I rushed out of the room and ran to the kitchen. I had set aside my share of the food. I could just get it and run back in time.
When I ran back, I heard Mimi shouting after me. “Countess, there is a guest outside….” But I didn’t hear it properly. Angel did say we had a lot of guests arriving in the mansion these days. Most days they were residents of Acrab visiting the mansion to apologise for misunderstanding me.
I didn’t really want to see them. It was heart-breaking and difficult for me to face them still. I didn’t harbour any resentment towards them. Instead, I felt guilty for putting them through difficult things. However, I just couldn’t face them yet. It seemed Dalia was capable and kind, but inflexible. Her parents, the Alshines, had been similar. Aside from the counts in the neighbouring cities, they did not really interact with other nobles in the empire. Oftentimes, this led to them not being able to ask for help in a crisis. Dalia did not try to forge a new path in that direction. Besides, I preferred having breakfast with Kaichen over listening to people’s apologies anyway.
When I opened the door to his room, he was already dressed in comfortable clothes. I noticed that he wasn’t wearing the magician’s robe that he always had on him. It was the first time ever that I saw him in a casual grey shirt and black pants. I froze. Really, what was wrong with him today? I sat down opposite of him on the table and tried to appear nonchalant.
“You still haven’t learnt to knock, I see.”
“I am so sorry!” I said hurriedly. “It has become a habit…”
“Do you go into other people’s rooms like that too?”
“What? No way.”
He smirked.
“It’s true! Nobody ever visits here long enough to stay.”
“What if it happens in the future?”
“Hm,” I mumbled while putting a spoonful of food in my mouth. Would I knock if someone else was staying here?
“I don’t think I will do that.”
“Really? Why?”
“It would be awkward,” I said. “Besides, why would I take the pains to go into a guest’s room anyway? I might just send Angel or Mimi with a message requesting them to come to the living room.”
“Then… am I not a guest here too?”
“You? You are Kaichen. You are my teacher.”
“What’s the difference?”
“It’s different!” I said. “First of all, you are my teacher so it would be disrespectful of me to call you to the living room. Besides, I can just come to you if I need something.”
He raised his eyebrows as he listened to me but did not comment. I wasn’t sure whether he was satisfied by my answer or annoyed.
