‘Strange feeling…’
Tremble. Tremble.
Julia suppressed her trembling and tightly shut her eyes.
Rustle.
Something settles on her body. Again. And again.
She almost let out a groan, but barely held it in.
She thought it was over, but now a hard hand approached and gently caressed her soft skin.
“Khuhuhuhu.”
An evil laugh echoed from the other side.
How did it come to this?
Tears welled up in Julia’s eyes.
“Who is it?”
“…It’s me.”
“What’s the matter, at this hour?”
“I still can’t sleep alone… Can you lend me a hand…?”
This was two hours ago.
Julia, firmly resolved, knocked on Aslan’s study door.
It wasn’t because she couldn’t sleep due to those damned voices again.
It wasn’t because she felt safe by Aslan’s side.
‘This is just to uncover that wicked man’s schemes…!’
Last night, when she slept deeply for more than 12 hours, did Aslan really do nothing?
No. What trick did he use to completely get rid of those voices?
There were too many suspicious things.
There was only one way to uncover them all.
Pretend to sleep by Aslan’s side and watch what he does with her own eyes.
‘I’m scared, but I have to do it…’
Someone had to do it.
It was terrifying, but she had to uncover Aslan’s true nature.
For Charlotte’s sake, she had to.
When Julia, with a big heart, entered the office, Aslan was busy buried in paperwork.
“Um…”
“Just lie down on the sofa or the floor and sleep. I’m busy.”
“…”
Aslan, not even glancing her way, told her indifferently.
Still as unfriendly as ever.
For a brief moment, when Aslan’s face was hidden by the documents, Julia stuck out her tongue at him and lay down on the sofa, hugging a pillow.
As she tried to sleep, her brow furrowed involuntarily.
‘Voices. I can still hear them…’
Realizing something was wrong, Julia’s eyes opened.
She couldn’t sleep here.
The voices had definitely decreased, but not enough to sleep.
She got up abruptly and walked briskly towards Aslan, and miraculously, the voices disappeared.
“I guess I can’t sleep unless I’m right next to you…”
“Then lie down on the desk or something. It’s spacious anyway.”
“What? Are you serious?”
“Do you expect me to abandon all my work and stay by the bed just for you? If you don’t like it, don’t do it. The choice is yours.”
“Ugh…!”
Hah. Sleep on the desk?
Is he even serious?
There were clearly other alternatives, but Aslan didn’t mention them on purpose.
‘Does he expect me to beg to sleep in his arms!?’
His intentions were obvious.
The chair Aslan sat on was large and spacious.
If she climbed onto his lap and leaned against his chest, there would be enough space.
He was blatantly acting this way, hoping for that.
Did he think she couldn’t sleep on the desk?
Julia, fueled by defiance, took off her shoes and climbed onto the desk.
“Well, you told me to sleep on the desk.”
“…”
How about that. Didn’t expect this, did you?
Aslan looked a bit surprised.
Feeling triumphant, Julia lay down with a pillow and closed her eyes.
Indeed, the desk was large enough for the short Julia to lie comfortably.
With a victorious smile, Julia closed her eyes and about three seconds later…
‘Something’s off!’
Julia realized something was wrong.
What is this?
Lying down like a display, right in front of Aslan who was working?
The triumph disappeared, replaced by indescribable embarrassment.
‘No? Actually, this is good. I came to see what Aslan does while I’m sleeping. Tonight, I’ll catch him red-handed.’
With her eyes tightly shut, Julia began to breathe evenly.
As if she had fallen asleep comfortably.
This would make Aslan drop the act and reveal his true colors.
So, Julia waited and waited, fighting off sleep.
“Young Master, here’s the annual estate management plan you requested. But this is…”
“Don’t mind it. Just think of it as furniture. Also, bring the transaction records with Holzbern.”
“I was called in while I was sleeping. Are you giving me more work?”
“…”
“Please don’t ignore me, young master.”
“Yawn. Young master, here are the transaction records with Holzbern up to last month. But now I’m starting to…”
“Starting to what?”
“Nothing.”
“If it’s nothing, then bring me the employee payroll records.”
“Do those even exist?”
“If they don’t, make them now.”
“…”
“Young master, I have prepared the payroll records. Can I go to sleep now?”
“Why not adjust your sleep pattern to mine?”
“Young master, in case you forgot, I am not a secretary, I am a knight.”
“Oh, right. I didn’t know. Thanks for reminding me.”
“…”
What is with this guy?
He’s just handling paperwork all night without doing anything else.
At some point, even Sylvia treated Julia lying on the desk as furniture, not sparing a glance.
Not that she was expecting anything different, but…
Being forgotten and ignored like this felt strange.
Wasn’t this like a childish prank bothering a busy lord during his work?
‘That can’t be true!!!’
Surely Aslan had some dark intentions.
He must have used some trick to make it so that she could only sleep by his side.
He created this situation to do all sorts of things while she slept…!
‘That’s how it should be… it has to be…’
Julia’s certainty was weakening.
Her conviction was breaking.
She thought she could catch Aslan in the act here.
But even when she peeked with squinted eyes occasionally, Aslan was just focused on his documents, not even looking her way.
Had he really forgotten she was there? He even accidentally placed some papers on her.
‘It tickles…’
Rustle. Rustle.
With each document added, Julia felt the tickling sensation and twitched.
Eventually, she was covered in a blanket of papers.
This crazy guy.
How could he forget there’s a person here?
“Oh, right, this girl is here.”
After a long while, the sound of rustling papers subsided a bit.
With a little more free time, Aslan noticed Julia’s presence and reached out.
‘Finally, revealing your true nature!’
Julia’s mind sharpened, shaking off sleep entirely.
Yes, with a girl lying right in front of him, there’s no way Aslan Vermont wouldn’t do something.
She would expose his true nature here.
Just as Julia made up her mind, Aslan’s large hand touched her soft skin.
“Huup…”
“Oh, will this wake her? I should be gentler.”
Slide. Slide. Press. Press.
Aslan’s fingers gently stroked Julia’s cheek, then pressed and lightly tugged it.
Her cheek, soft and elastic, stretched like a fluffy mochi.
“Khuhuhuhu…”
A stifled laugh escaped Aslan’s lips.
Who could resist laughing while touching such cheeks?
Unable to overcome the addictive feeling, Aslan’s hand didn’t stop.
Constantly rubbing.
Pressing, pressing.
And stretching.
Aslan even continued his work with one hand while caressing Julia’s cheek with the other.
Unaware that Julia’s face was turning red.
‘What is this!!!’
She came to expose Aslan’s true nature.
She had made a big decision to come to a place where she didn’t know what might happen.
But what is this?
Wasn’t she now like a stress-relief toy being played with during work?
Julia’s pride was rapidly crumbling, and she felt a complex mixture of embarrassment.
It wasn’t an unpleasant kind of embarrassment, but it was still embarrassing.
‘It feels like I was the one with weird thoughts…’
Was she suspecting something for no reason?
Was Aslan really without any hidden intentions?
No, touching her cheek while she was asleep and letting out sinister laughs was definitely weird, but…
It was far from what Julia had imagined.
This wasn’t the behavior of the wicked Aslan Vermont.
This wasn’t how someone from the Vermont family, who treated people like objects, behaved.
This couldn’t be happening…
Moment by moment, Julia’s world was crumbling.
Her pride was falling.
Her beliefs were collapsing.
The source of strength that kept her going was disappearing.
Julia had despised Aslan, hoping to overthrow him and escape.
But if Aslan wasn’t someone to be hated, who was she supposed to hate?
Julia’s mind was in turmoil when Aslan’s troubled voice quietly broke through the silence.
“You’re blessed to have such a peaceful sleep.”
What did he mean by that?
Did Aslan suffer from insomnia too?
She didn’t know…
Julia was no longer in a state to think any further.
Sleep was slowly overtaking her, and her consciousness drifted away.
‘Mom…’
Entering the realm of dreams, she felt a warm hand.
Just like when she used to whine about her stomach hurting.
A warm hand on her belly…
“…Huh?”
“I was about to wake you, but it seems you woke up on your own.”
“What!?”
Feeling something on her lower abdomen, Julia’s eyes snapped open at the creepy sensation.
It felt like Aslan’s hand was on her stomach, with his other hand pinning it down so she couldn’t escape.
Embarrassment hit the ceiling in an instant, and Julia’s body shot up as if by reflex.
“Ahh!”
Thud!
Julia’s body lifted off the desk and tumbled roughly to the ground.
Looking up, she saw Aslan calmly sitting at the desk, sorting through papers.
His arrogant gaze seemed to mock her.
“What a noisy way to wake up. But it’s certainly effective.”
“Youuuu…!”
He could have caught me!
Julia clenched her teeth at Aslan’s mocking tone, and her misplaced anger realigned itself in an instant.
Yes, this man was definitely not purely kind!
Whether he was truly bad… she wasn’t sure anymore…
But at least, he was certainly a jerk.
A very, very bad one.
At breakfast, Julia silently licked her bowl like a dog.
Charlotte, watching her, finally spoke up.
“Julia.”
“…”
“Julia, Julia, Julia, Julia!”
“What. Stop it.”
“So what’s with the bump on your forehead?”
“I don’t know!”
“Why are you getting angry…”
Wasn’t she less cranky since she’d been sleeping better lately?
Seeing Julia seething, Charlotte was bewildered.
