# 130
The place was not as beautiful and clean as the rest of the Imperial Palace's facilities, but rather it was grand, as if it were a natural landmark hidden deep in the forest.
So it was even more surprising.
Between the old, half-collapsed buildings, tree roots stretched out to form a roof, and white flowers covered the floor like a carpet.
Deyarin turned her eyes and moved forward cautiously, gently stepping on the flowers.
“Can I come in?”
Dearyn hesitated a little as she moved under the guidance of Sirius' hand that was inviting her to enter the strange building, but she quickly realized that her question was stupid.
How many places in the Imperial Palace is the First Crown Prince prohibited from entering?
Dearyn laughed lightly and took another step.
“From here.”
Sirius was looking for safe places to walk among the ruins, but he quickly realized how difficult this was, and he made a small sound in his throat.
When he was young, his body was small enough to sneak everywhere, and now that he was so strong, the rubble was no longer an obstacle to him. But it was difficult for Darren.
“I will carry you myself.”
Deyarin looked at the road in front of her and agreed without hesitation.
She had gone out wearing flip-flops, thinking it was just a short walk. If she had entered these ruins like this, she would have needed a whole new bathroom.
Sirius formed his arm into a chair for Dearen to sit on, then began walking again. Even though the situation was stable, Deyarin held on to his neck tightly just in case.
The place wasn't far.
Sirius came to a spot where the ceiling was open, adjusted his position slightly as he looked up, then sat down on a pile of stones, placing Diarin on his knee instead of on the rocks.
His thigh was more comfortable than the cold, hard rocks, so Deyarin decided to stay that way.
“If you looked at the moon from here, it would look like a rabbit.”
Sirius said, pointing proudly towards the sky.
Dearyn laughed lightly and looked up in the direction he pointed. A rabbit-shaped moon? How cute...
“Oh…?”
...It was real.
The gap in the dilapidated roof was exactly in the shape of a rabbit, and with the natural shadows on the moon's surface, the shape looked like a realistic rabbit.
"Wow, it's real! Really! A rabbit!"
Deyarin, who had just been laughing at the thought of the cute rabbit, was now exclaiming excitedly: “Rabbit! Rabbit!”
No matter how she tilted her head from here or there, she still saw the rabbit.
As she stared at the moon for a while, she finally realized that Sirius had not spoken for a while.
“Why don't you say something...?”
When she looked at him, her tone suddenly softened.
Sirius wasn't looking at the moon, he was looking at her.
His eyes reflected the pale blue of the moon, and the mysterious light that bounced off his eyes made Diarin stay in place.
It was a sight beyond the magnificence of the Moon Rabbit.
He was so dazzling that she couldn't avert her gaze, as if she was bound by his magic.
“...You're cute.”
Sirius said as he stared at her.
"…What?"
“Darren is nice.”
Sirius repeated, not taking his eyes off her.
Dearyn blinked, not immediately understanding what he said. But when she understood the meaning, flames rose from her cheeks to cover her entire face.
“W-What are you talking about...?”
“The moon from here looked nice...but Diarin is nicer.”
“…”
“I don't see the moon anymore, I only see you.”
Deyarin turned completely red from embarrassment.
She couldn't even tell him to "stop looking at me." Her throat was filled with unbearable heat.
Because she couldn't speak, she started biting her lip silently.
And now, Sirius's eyes turned to those lips.
It was redder than usual, probably from the light biting.
"…beautiful."
Sirius ran his thumb over her lip.
Dearyn jumped in shock, causing his finger to move away from her.
But the warmth that arose between them did not disappear, but rather continued to connect them with an invisible thread.
It was as if some heat surrounded her body like spider webs.
She couldn't even breathe.
Her chest was tight.
Although the distance between them did not change, Ceres' presence became larger, wider, stronger.
While she no longer saw anyone but him before her eyes, Diarin closed her eyes tightly.
“Dyaren...why don’t you look at me?”
“...N-just sleepy...”
It was a ridiculous argument, and even Dearyn herself felt it was extremely trivial and embarrassing.
“Then you can sleep.”
“I'll...I'll go back to sleep in my room.”
“If you fall asleep, I will bring you back myself.”
Once again, Deyarin found no way to escape, as if she was backed into a corner.
Closing her eyes and pretending to fall asleep instantly was the only recourse she had left.
Fortunately, Sirius made no mention of the fact that Dearyn's heart was beating violently, even though he could hear it clearly.
Instead…
“Good night.”
He said gently as he placed a kiss on her cheek.
“!”
Dearyn felt the touch of Sirius' soft lips on her cheek.
She almost jumped, almost forgot that she was pretending to be asleep.
Sirius must have felt her body jump slightly, but, as if they had agreed in advance to ignore what had happened, he did not comment, and Dearyn did not open her eyes.
Perhaps even Moonlight decided to ignore what happened and turn a blind eye.
“Hmm...”
Dearyn moved slightly, pretending to be tossing and turning in her sleep, separating her body from Sirius.
The parts touching his body were getting hotter, to the point that they could no longer bear to be so close. If this continued, she would feel like her whole body would catch fire.
But she didn't have the courage to open her eyes.
Because if she did...
It's bound to be nothing special.
Just another look with Sirius.
But there is a strange feeling, as if that look alone would be enough to turn everything upside down.
The problem wasn't Sirius himself.
Rather, it was in her heart, as if something inside her began to shake.
Deyarin didn't want to know what that thing was. As long as her eyes are closed, it's okay.
As for Sirius, he was hugging her softly, like moonlight.
Even the wildest fire, if you don't get close to it, will look beautiful.
Within Sirius's warmth, which did not exceed its limits, Deyarin slept without realizing it.
—
“!”
Dearyn suddenly opened her eyes.
As soon as she did, the sun's rays filtered through her eyelashes fiercely.
“Ah…”
She frowned and closed her eyes again.
She woke up, but she was still in a half-dream, and she couldn't organize her thoughts yet.
Maybe you didn't close the window last night?
She gradually began to wake up, and the cold air began to touch her shoulder.
“...Ah, the quilt...”
She started moving idly, searching for the cover with her arm, but she did not touch it.
“…?”
Then, she noticed that her lower body was abnormally warm. Is it possible for the bed to be this warm until the morning? Even in winter, no matter what the heating, the bed was cold by morning. But this warmth was not normal.
The sound of birds chirping seemed very close.
Either she entered through an open window, or...
Wait...how did you sleep last night?
“!”
She remembered the moments before she fell asleep, and realized that she did not remember entering her room.
Diarine opened her eyes wide.
This time, the vision became clearer.
She saw the ruins enveloped in the morning light.
Green leaves wet with dew, bright blue sky. And a strong arm embracing her...an arm?
"I woke up?"
"Yes!!"
Deyarin gasped and sat up suddenly.
The moment she realized that what she was laying her hands on was Sirius's chest, the bright magic of the morning was completely shattered.
"What were you doing?! Why are we like this until the morning?!"
She slept on top of Sirius' body as if his body was a mattress.
It was strange for someone's body to be warmer and more comfortable than the bed itself, but she slept soundly, that was a fact.
She did not wake up even with the dew of dawn, which indicates that she was deeply asleep.
But Sirius, who had been sleeping on top of him all night, couldn't be completely fine.
Dearyn quickly tried to get up from him.
“Shh!”
But Sirius tightened his arms around her tighter, hugging her tightly.
Deyarin pressed herself against his chest, trying to escape.
"No, wait a minute... I'm not running away! I was just worried about you. Didn't you get numbness? Is your back okay?"
"I'm fine."
But Dayarin did not believe him.
She stared at him, intending to scold him if he showed any signs of fatigue. But Sirius's sun-soaked face was bright and flushed.
“Why do you look so uncomfortable?”
“I slept well.”
"…I slept?"
Dearyn couldn't believe that Sirius slept in this dilapidated place, on the stones, while she slept on top of him.
But his radiant face was evidence of a deep sleep.
“Because I was hugging Darren.”
“Even without using any holy power...”
“However, when I hug Dyaren, I feel comfortable.”
Sirius said, clearly not wanting to let her go, and he hugged her tightly again.
She couldn't scold him for that, not when he said that cuddling her made him feel good.
Deyarin sighed deeply, then gave up and gave up trying to get away.
She, too, couldn't deny that the warmth of his body was very comforting.
Hema: This is the first time I'm jealous of a heroine. ༎ຶ‿༎ຶ
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