# 44
Gasp!
I sucked in my breath and pulled my feet back. Did Harold just kiss the top of my foot?
In contrast to my shocked reaction, Harold tilted his head indifferently.
"Why, ma'am? Wasn't that enough? Shall I bend over?"
“N-No! That's not my preference! It's just… your gaze was so intense! I'm weak for eye contact, so I covered your eyes!”
My heart was racing, my head was spinning, and I didn't even know what I was saying anymore as I screamed in panic.
"And stop! This doesn't suit you at all!"
“Doesn't suit me? I think I do everything brilliantly.”
Well, that's true. This cannot be denied. Even when he was lying on the bed in just his pants, kissing the tops of my feet, he didn't look embarrassed at all. In contrast, his eyes were covered, which made the scene even more exciting. Yes, excitement...
“…Ugh.”
I'm so bad. I cupped my protective ears, relieved that Harold's eyes were still covered.
But his skill and what suited him were two completely different things.
"Hmm. Well, I've never been anyone's subservient," Harold mused.
I silently nodded in agreement.
Maybe that's why, even when Harold called me “ma'am,” I felt like he was in control. Like a monster pretending to be obedient, hiding with its claws and fangs...
“Diana.”
Suddenly, Harold gently grabbed my chin and lifted my head.
Although his eyes were covered, he found me so easily that I doubted the effectiveness of the cover.
“I can do better than ever.”
"H-This isn't about preferences! I'll just treat you, so please stay still!"
I was so frustrated that tears gathered in my eyes.
But fortunately, Harold loosened his grip slightly and remained still.
For a moment, I felt both disturbed and relieved by his calmness. I let out a long exhale, closed my eyes, and took a deep breath to calm myself.
Now that Harold's eyes were covered, I wouldn't be as conscious of him as I was before. All I needed to do was adapt to this situation. I can do that.
*This is simply a sacred act of healing.*
When I opened my eyes, I quickly realized that the problem wasn't his look.
Covering Harold's eyes wouldn't solve anything.
His manly body, which I had tried to avoid, was right in front of me.
Knock, knock, knock—
My body was heating up, and my heart was beating hard. I clearly remembered his previous action of kissing my feet.
Ugh! Stop thinking about that!
slap!
I slapped my cheek, but thanks to my holy powers, the pain immediately disappeared.
"What happened?"
“...Nothing. Nothing at all.”
“But, Diana, if you're struggling with eye contact, shouldn't we cover your eyes instead of mine?”
...Oh. This makes sense.
As Harold lowered the cloth covering his eyes, I stood frozen, still extending my arms to embrace him.
“Would you like to try that?”
His dark blue eyes, fixed on me, sparkled with a mischievous tone as they looked through the fringes of his thick eyelashes.
"…Good."
If it helps me focus on treatment, it's worth a try.
When I agreed, Harold took the cloth and tied it over my eyes.
“Wow, I can't really see anything. It's pitch dark.”
I had suspected it before, but now it was clear—nothing was visible through the cloth. Surprisingly, not seeing it helped calm my nerves, like a calm and calm lake.
I should have done this from the beginning.
Feeling more confident, I reached out to hug him.
But instead of his back, my hands landed on hard, warm muscle.
“Huh?”
“This is my chest.”
“…!”
I waved my arms like a terrified chicken, stumbling backwards before falling onto my back.
“Why are you so shocked? You touch this body every day.”
Harold laughed, clearing his throat, then picked me up and placed me on his lap. He wrapped his arms around my waist and rested his head on my shoulder.
"You wanted your sight obscured, didn't you? There you have it, Diana."
* * *
...After an hour, I realized something.
'Sleep is impossible tonight.'
I realized that I'm not just weak in front of sight—I'm weak in front of everything.
I kicked the covers violently, staring at Harold sleeping peacefully next to me.
How was I supposed to get used to this?
Later, Harold returned to the bedroom after taking a shower.
Diana, who had previously been violently kicking the blanket, was now deeply asleep, and was even drooling a little.
“You're sleeping well, it seems.”
After walking all day, she must have been exhausted.
Holy powers do not cure physical exhaustion, after all.
Harold gently rubbed her cheek, a soft smile creeping onto his lips.
Over the past few days, under the guise of treatment, he had learned something about Diana: she wasn't just visually impaired. She was reacting more strongly than he expected. When he touched her gently, she responded more intensely.
While she seemed to have just realized this, Harold had noticed it much longer ago.
Harold gently pressed her cheek.
“Ugh…”
Diana mumbled in her sleep, her lips parting slightly to reveal her front teeth.
Harold's hand, which had been gently caressing her cheek, hesitated as it moved to her lips. Another few and it would have reached her lips.
His eyes, dark with desire, were fixed on her lips. At that moment,
She must have felt the tickling around her lips, because, in her sleep, she took his finger into her mouth. Her soft lips gently wrapped around his finger, her teeth running over it.
For a moment, Harold's eyes widened. His throat tightened with a low laugh. He pulled his hand.
“You're really testing my patience in so many ways.”
'You have no idea how many times I've experienced it just today.'
Especially when Diana let go of his hand and ran to the child—he felt as if his importance in her priorities had declined, and his patience had taken a heavy blow. Not once, but twice—she grabbed his hand again only for it to break away and return to the child. Just remembering that moment threw his mood into chaos.
'She must care more because of her own experience. I understand that.’ Diana lived a lower-class life, deserted by the Empire,
Without a shelter to protect her from the rain or protectors to protect her.
Because she lived it herself, she paid extra attention to those kids. But the knowledge in his mind did not match his feelings.
If Harold had not trained to endure for the best results as a ruler, Diana would not be sleeping peacefully next to him right now.
Harold gently pressed her cheek again.
This time, instead of muttering or moving her lips, Diana let out a soft, shy laugh.
‘She has such a variety of expressions.’ Before Harold realized, his expression softened to match hers.
Out of nowhere, a clear memory came to his mind—Diana's tired face lighting up with astonishment as she looked up at a sky filled with exploding fireworks. At that moment, Harold was not watching the fireworks; He was watching Diana. He didn't even need to tilt his head up.
Her bright smile and the fireworks reflected in her big, sparkling eyes were more than enough.
“...Chicken. Yum, chicken leg,” she muttered in her sleep.
“What kind of sleep talking is this?” Harold shook his head, pulled the covers over her, and left the room.
It wasn't like he wasn't tired. On the surface, he might look fine, but he felt like his entire body was weighed down by stones. He did not keep his usual sleeping schedule for days.
However, Harold had no intention of resting just yet.
As previously mentioned, Harold was a man raised as a ruler, trained to endure anything for the best possible outcome.
But he didn't like that Diana cared more about others than him.
If he didn't like it, there was only one thing to do:
Remove any reasons that made her focus on something other than him.
'It would be perfect if that obnoxious old emperor died tomorrow.'
Even if that didn't happen, there were other ways.
With that thought, Harold entered the office and closed the door behind him.
* * *