[IHTTMBW] Chapter 47

As I blinked my large eyes, Euphil gently patted my head again. He was unusually tender today, as if trying to comfort me after what had happened earlier. This was always how Euphil was. Without saying a word, he seemed to know everything about me. If I ever faced hardships, he would silently comfort me without revealing any sign of it.

'He cuts heads off for all to see, but helps in secret... It's an impressive skill, really.'

The story he told today was about a guardian of the fairy kingdom. It was a story about a tiny fairy who wanted to become a gatekeeper and went to meet other fairies. I was listening intently to one part when I asked Euphil,

“Euphil, what’s a goodnight kiss?"

The little fairy who wanted to be a gatekeeper received a goodnight kiss from her fairy mother every night before bed. So, the story kept mentioning goodnight kisses.

Euphil usually avoided reading stories that involved mothers. That’s why stories featuring goodnight kisses were extremely rare. The fact that he was reading me one today was probably a reward of sorts, perhaps for how well I had handled the king earlier.

Euphil glanced at me briefly before turning back to the storybook.

“It’s a kiss you get before going to sleep.”

“A kiss?”

“A kiss on the cheek or forehead.”

Ah, I see. Of course, I knew what a kiss was, but I nodded eagerly anyway. Then I burrowed into the blankets.

I felt a strange sensation in my heart. The reason I had asked Euphil about the goodnight kiss was that I wondered if he had ever experienced being loved by his mother.  

Could Queen Alkaden, Euphil’s mother, have loved him?  

“Euphil, have you ever received a goodnight kiss?”  

From the way he reacted, it didn’t seem like he had.  

But who knows? Maybe he had. I peeked out from under the blankets, watching Euphil read, and mumbled,  

“Myrthi never had one.”

Slowly, Euphil’s gaze turned toward me.  

Standing between boyhood and manhood, his face looked tense. But then, his expression softened as he gently brushed my hair aside. I rubbed my face against his soft touch.  

Euphil’s eyes became kinder, and his gentle movements revealed my forehead.  

“You don’t need it.”  

His tender whisper followed. The fingers that had been stroking my cheek slowly traveled up, uncovering my forehead. I felt his ruby-red eyes come closer. His pupils grew larger as they approached, and I gazed at them, entranced.

“But still.”

Something soft touched my forehead.  

His golden hair fell over my cheeks, tickling me. His hair was so smooth. It made me close my eyes for a moment. Then, I realised what had just happened.  

“Huh?”  

“...Now you have one.”  

“What?”  

“A goodnight kiss.”

My heart raced. His ruby-red eyes were filled with only me. I touched the forehead where his lips had just been.  

“Huh?”  

‘Did I just get a goodnight kiss?’

I was so surprised that my mouth hung open, but no words came out. Euphil, seeing my expression, quickly turned his head away. Then, with a thud, he knocked his forehead against the bed. He looked deeply conflicted.  

“I wasn’t going to do it anymore...”  

“Huh? Anymore?”  

“It’s nothing.”

I didn’t understand what he meant, but Euphil just shook his head. Still, I felt warmth spreading from the place where I had received the goodnight kiss. The warmth from his lips seemed to wrap around my heart, making it feel cosy.  

“Hehe. Myrthi got a goodnight kiss.”  

“It’s the last one.”  

“Okay!”

Even if it was the last one, it didn’t matter.  

I had never received a goodnight kiss before. Now, I could listen to fairy tales without wondering about them anymore.  

Still rubbing the spot on my forehead where his lips had touched, I chuckled to myself before drifting off to sleep.

[The blond boy traced the silver-haired girl delicately with his fingertips.  

Her hair tangled briefly in his fingers before falling loose again. He could hear the soft sounds of the child breathing. The closer he got to her, the more the boy realised how much he wanted to stay by her side.  

Only beside her could he breathe freely.  

In this narrow, cage-like palace, the girl was the only one who made him think of life beyond the bars.  

Because of her, he had learned to wield a sword. Because of her, he had come to know the outside world.  

As he gazed at her flushed, peach-like cheeks, the boy found himself troubled.  

His red eyes gleamed darkly before losing their light. Why did he want to get closer to this child? He couldn’t understand his own feelings.  

But,  

He felt he wasn’t enough to stop her from crying.  

Still, he would protect her.  

He thought of the butterfly that had been cruelly killed by the king’s hand.  

The boy’s eyes grew deep and heavy with emotion. With a trembling gaze, Euphil Raize clenched his fist tightly, then released it.  

He didn’t want anyone to threaten Myrthi in front of him.  

On impulse, the boy gave the girl one more goodnight kiss on her forehead and gently rubbed the spot where his lips had touched for a long time.]

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