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The desert nights were cold.

In the inn’s guest room, there was a fireplace, and throughout the night, the firestone burned. Wood was precious, so it seemed more cost-effective to provide magical items for heating. A dim light, not too dazzling, filled the room, the sleep-inducing flames illuminating it continuously.

Though they had the entire inn to themselves, Lucella and the others didn’t separate their rooms. The decision was based on the idea that being together would allow for quicker response in case of the unexpected.

The room had two single beds. They had considered bringing a bed from the adjacent room, but the hallway was too narrow, and the only option was to bring it in through the window. So, they settled on Lucella and Kafal sharing one bed, and Monica having the other.

However…

“…Monica?”
“I can’t sleep.”

Lucella, who had been sleeping in Kafal’s embrace, woke up around the time the date changed, noticing a sound nearby.

Monica was standing beside the bed.

Wearing some kind of magical negligee that oddly shimmered, Monica seemed to have been changing positions several times in the bed, her beautiful blonde hair disheveled like a bird’s nest, and her blue eyes completely glazed.

“Are you feeling bad or…?”
“I’m not, I think.”
“Then, are you the type who can’t sleep with a different pillow?”
“If that were the case, I wouldn’t have been able to sleep when we stayed at the Rock Lizard Inn.”

Saying so in a gruff tone, Monica removed Kafal’s hand from Lucella and forcibly pulled her up.

“Can I ask you something?”
“Uh, well, sure.”

Then, she dragged the bewildered Lucelle onto her own bed, embraced her just like Kafal was doing, and wrapped them both in the blanket.

“I sleep with my big sister like this all the time. Maybe I’ve developed a weird habit because of it.”

Lucella, being used as a makeshift pillow, didn’t know how to react and simply went along with it.

Lucella often used Kafal’s throat as a pillow, and being embraced by her puppet and sleeping in bed was also a common occurrence. However, sleeping while being embraced by someone of roughly the same size was a first for Lucella.

Inside the blanket that both of them were wrapped in, it was warm. Kafal’s warmth was like the heat of flames, akin to the warmth of the sun, powerful and robust. In contrast, Monica’s warmth was like the flame of life. Compared to Kafal, it felt precarious, as if it could be extinguished with a single breath, a fragile warmth like a flickering flame.

“How is it?”
“…………”

Monica opened her mouth wide in a cat-like yawn.

“I think it was the right answer…”

The effect of having a living pillow seemed to have induced a strong sense of drowsiness in her.

“It’s strange. When I was in the Mansion Prison, I could sleep just fine alone all the time.”
“…You probably weren’t fine.”

Lucella spoke gently, feeling an unexpressed, lingering anger deep within.

It wasn’t fine at all. Despite Monica’s whimsical and demanding tone, she seemed to cling to Lucella with that fragile hand, as if supporting her body on the edge of a cliff. It was as if her body knew that letting go of this hand would mean the death of her heart.

Lucella realized how much the prideful rivalry among the nobles had tortured and hurt this innocent sacrifice.

“I see…”

Monica closed her eyes and muttered softly, not intending for anyone to hear.

“Hey, Lucella… Why do you speak so overly politely?” ¹

And then, she suddenly said something strange.

“O-Overly? Do I really?”
“You speak politely to everyone, me and the party members included. The only exception is perhaps your mom.”
“Well, being a manager involves speaking that way. Negotiations are part of the job, and it is to handle them smoothly…”

Lucella tried to justify herself, but there was no response.

“…”
“Monica?”
“Fweh?”

Just three seconds ago, Monica was awake, but just now she had been peacefully snoozing and exclaimed a silly response to Lucella’s call.

“I’m not sleeping.”
“U-Uhh if you’re sleepy you should just sleep…”
“I’m not sleepy… at all…”

Monica shook her head like an irritated baby. Her eyelids seemed too heavy to lift, and she kept her eyes closed.

“I hate it… in that ‘Mansion Prison,’ it felt like everyone was monitoring me… They used polite words… but it was like a mask…”

In a slightly trembling voice, Monica spoke.

The mansion in the royal capital where she had been imprisoned had its servants regularly rotated to ensure that no one would become Monica’s ally. They were hired by the royal palace, likely to be loyal to their duties. Even if they were surveilling Monica.

In her surroundings, everyone acted perfectly friendly, but they were all enemies.

Indeed, it was a life akin to being confined in a windowless stone cell.

Lucella, upon reflection, realized that she had been using polite language as a safe choice, not making the effort to truly understand the other person.

“I see… That makes sense. Got it. I’ll stop being too polite. I’ll try to talk more like I do with Mom.”
“Hmm… That sounds better… a bit cute and fluffy…”

Monica mumbled in a tone almost indistinguishable from sleep talk, and soon after, she completely drifted off.

“Lucella, is it okay if I come over there?”
“Yeah.”

Kafal, who had been silently observing, got up from the bed and walked over to the two.

Rather than hugging them outright, Kafal curled up like a beast, enveloping both of them along with the blanket and lay down.

“It’s cramped.”
“…Hehe, yes it is.”

Originally a single bed, it was now tightly packed. Lucella found herself sandwiched between the wall and Monica.

The desert night was cold, but in this space, it was warm.

The following morning.

Perhaps due to the land’s association with the elemental nature of ‘fire,’ the atmosphere here underwent significant changes between day and night. With the sunrise, Lucella felt invigorated and couldn’t stay still any longer.

Lucella quietly left the bedroom with Kafal and started re-reading the picture book she had brought along. It was then that Monica, still looking a bit sleepy, emerged.

“Morning, Monica!” ²

Upon the greeting, Monica pondered something for a while.

“…Why are you suddenly being so casual?”
“Huh?”

Monica’s expression resembled that of a fish swimming in the sky or a helmet-bearing fruit on a tree.

“Ah, s-sorry. Well then, let me…properly…”
“Nah, it’s fine. I was wondering how long you’d stick to speaking so politely. I’ll go change; just start eating when breakfast arrives.”
“Okay…”

Casually saying this, Monica retreated back into the bedroom.

Lucella and Kafal exchanged glances. What happened last night wasn’t a dream or an illusion; it had to be real.

Jumping into bed and covering herself with the blanket, Monica held her head.

“It wasn’t a dream, it wasn’t a dream, it wasn’t a dream, it wasn’t a dream…”

As soon as she clung to Lucella, drowsiness overwhelmed her like a burst dam, and from there on, the clarity of what she was saying became increasingly vague.

Trying to piece together fragmented memories after waking up, Monica cursed herself for the events of last night. She wondered whether it was a dream or reality, but it turned out to be the latter.

“Ugh, seriously… Was my brain melting or something? What was that, seriously… Uguh…”

Everything she muttered was genuine.

The only problem was the embarrassment—it was as simple as that.

1. This doesn’t show clearly in the translation due to the fundamental language differences, but Lucella by default uses desu/masu forms and ‘-san’ honorific with almost everyone, including her party members, Ivar, and Monica. This is typically how you converse with people in Japanese, the base level of polite speech, but you normally don’t use it with people you’re particularly close to, as it feels like you’re putting up walls between you.
2. Lucella stopped using polite speech and ‘-san’ for Monica.