Hearing this, Finihiya Hilesfiliana glanced sideways at Darlian Sasha Lissti, who was sitting in the middle of the bed.
“Darlian, shouldn’t you be reviewing the official documents? Aren’t there a lot of them lately?”
“Starting today, I have a lot more free time than before.”
“…Hm?” Darlian’s response left her rather puzzled, so she pressed on, “What do you mean by that?”
“I’ve basically thrown all the document approval work to those people in the Cabinet Council.”
“Is that so.”
Finihiya was never very interested in political matters like this, so after hearing Darlian’s answer, she just replied flatly and ended the topic.
Night deepened steadily.
Not long after, the two of them extinguished most of the oil lamps and candles in the room.
The cool white moonlight slipped through the cracks in the curtains, spilling into the room shrouded in darkness and silence, leaving a slender silver band of light across the middle of the bed where they lay.
Sha sha…
The rustling of leaves in the night breeze drifted in from outside.
Finihiya slightly lifted her eyes, gazing out the window through the curtains for a moment.
A weariness and drowsiness welling up from deep within her quickly crept up, and as she half-closed her eyes, drifting in and out of sleep, she suddenly felt a small hand wrap gently around her lower abdomen.
Uh…
Disturbed by that little hand, much of the sleepiness rising in Finihiya’s heart faded at once. She turned her head to look beside her.
In the hazy moonlight, Darlian’s slender form emerged from the darkness.
Though she couldn’t make out Darlian’s face in this light, she could vaguely sense that Darlian was staring straight at her.
“Your hand…”
“Hmm?”
Darlian made a confused sound, as if pretending not to understand.
Seeing this, Finihiya could only sigh helplessly in her heart, then reached out her small hand toward Darlian’s right hand, which was holding her waist.
Just as she was about to remove Darlian’s hand, the grip around her waist suddenly tightened a little.
“Don’t hold me like that, it’s hard to sleep.”
“I think it’s quite easy to sleep.”
Darlian answered in a calm, slightly teasing tone.
A subtle expression flashed across Finihiya’s lovely cheeks.
“But I find it hard to sleep—”
Before she could finish her words, Darlian interrupted her.
“But I want to hold Finihiya like this while I sleep.”
Darlian’s words left her at a loss, a little helpless.
After a moment of silent thought, she let out a light sigh.
“It’s getting late, and we have to go to the Belgrade Association early tomorrow morning. Let’s sleep early.”
“Hehe~”
Perhaps pleased by Finihiya’s compromise, Darlian let out a faint, snickering laugh in the dim room.
Ignoring Darlian’s voice, Finihiya took a deep breath and closed her eyes again.
Just as she tried to force herself to sleep, Darlian’s hand around her waist tightened once more.
The sudden pressure startled her into opening her eyes again.
As she prepared to scold Darlian, her right ear was suddenly brushed by a warm, soft breath.
Her ears were always sensitive, so this breath, as light as a feather teasing her earlobe, sent a tingling shiver through her.
Perhaps sensing Finihiya’s slight tremor, Darlian’s mischievous, devilish laughter echoed again in the darkness.
“Finihiya’s ears are really sensitive.”
After being teased with a breath on her ear, Finihiya covered her ear with her hand for protection, complaining with annoyance, “Don’t blow like that.”
“Hehe~”
Seeing that Darlian showed not the slightest hint of remorse, Finihiya put on a stern face and warned her seriously, “If you keep this up, Darlian, I’ll get angry.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you angry before, Miss Saint. I wonder what you’d look like if you got mad—I’m a little curious.”
No sooner had she finished speaking than Finihiya felt Darlian’s hands tickling her sides.
The unbearable itchiness made Finihiya’s previously stern face collapse in an instant.
“Hehe~ Stop…hehe…”
The night seemed to dissolve like a piece of gray cloth, gradually brightening.
Bit by bit…
Far off at the horizon, the morning sun appeared. Crimson dawn mingled with the fading moonlight, falling on the pale exterior walls awash in sunlight.
In the quiet, peaceful room, the tall clock suddenly chimed “ding dong.”
The slightly noisy sound gradually woke Finihiya from her slumber.
She wanted to sleep a little longer…
But as the lingering sense of deep sleep faded, she finally opened her eyes and slowly sat up.
“Haaah…”
Drowsiness surged again, making her yawn softly. She raised her small hand and wiped the corner of her eye with the back of her hand.
“So sleepy…”
From Finihiya’s lips, as soft and pink as cherries, came a dazed, sleepy voice.
Finihiya sat in bed, trying to shake off the lingering sleepiness.
“Good morning…”
An equally weary voice came from beside her, and Finihiya turned her head to look.
Darlian propped herself up on one hand, slowly sitting up, and yawned much the same way.
“Morning, Darlian.”
“You look terrible…”
“Ugh…” Hearing Darlian mention it, she glared at her in annoyance, “You’ve got some nerve! I told you last night we should sleep early, but you just had to torment me.”
“Hehe~”
Darlian tilted her head, her brows arching gently with a delighted smile.
“And your face doesn’t look great either, Darlian-sama.”
Muttering this with a sense of helpless grievance, Finihiya shifted her limbs toward the edge of the bed, then slipped her feet into her slippers and headed toward the large wardrobe in the corner.
From the dazzling array of clothes inside, she picked out a suitable dress. Just as she was about to pull off her nightgown’s drawstring, she suddenly thought of Darlian behind her.
So she turned slightly, glancing at Darlian, who was still sitting on the bed, unmoving.
With her eyes downcast, Finihiya picked up the luxurious dress and walked toward the door.
Her small hand had just grasped the doorknob, ready to open it, when Darlian’s teasing voice rang out from behind her.
“Why not just change here? Are you afraid I’ll eat you or something?”
Hearing this, she turned slightly to glance at Darlian again.
After giving Darlian a meaningful look, she opened the door and left the room.
The early summer sun shone on the fountain in front of the mansion, and the jets of water sparkled brilliantly in the dazzling sunlight.
After freshening up and enjoying breakfast, it was already past eight in the morning.
The strong, slanting sunlight made Finihiya raise her hand to shield her eyes.
Noticing Danila’s movement to open a parasol, Finihiya smiled lightly and shook her head, her golden hair looking even more beautiful in the sunlight.