Rafael’s face, looking down at her, was especially cold. His face, which was revealed through the flowing ck hair, had a cold beauty as if it were not a person. However, his hands that were slightly trembling seemed to reveal his embarrassment that he had hidden behind the mask.


    At that moment, Ate had a strange feeling. It was a hunch that she herself couldn’t even exin, but if she let out a weak sound now, Rafael would listen to her. Ate carefully opened her lips to confirm her premonition.


    <strong>“I’m sick, Rafael….”</strong>


    At that moment, Rafael’s hand, which was pressing on her forehead to stop the bleeding, lost its strength. His enraged face looked down at Ate’s tearing eyes. Rafael tried to spit out his usual snide quibble, but nothing came out this time. A few secondster, he managed to open his mouth to rebuke her.


    <strong>“Of course it will hurt. The skin on your forehead is torn.”</strong>


    Even though his empty words did notfort her much, the sharp thorns that were usually present in his cold voice had now softened.


    With a new courage, Ate carefully reached out and grabbed the hem of his shirt. The shirt curled in the palm of her hand was warm as it radiated the heat of his body.


    Rafael’s gaze naturally averted to Ate’s hand that held the hem of his shirt. There was still some blood on her hands. Ate, who realized this toote, quickly yanked her hand back. The color of the shirt was dark, so it didn’t show any spots, but she was worried whether Rafael would like getting blood on his clothes. Ate absentmindedly muttered an excuse.


    <strong>“Sorry. I’m just a little dizzy…”</strong>


    Rafael bent slightly to listen to Ate. Ate thought he was trying to shake off her hand holding the hem of his clothes. But Rafael unexpectedly supported the back of her knee, and lifted her up. And he started taking big strides towards the mansion.


    Ate was startled by his unexpected kindness. Suddenly, her feet lifted off from the ground, and her vision was a little blurry as the feeling of spinning overcame her. She subconsciously clutched Rafael’s shoulder but thinking of her blood stained hands, she hurriedly removed it. This was the second time that she had stained his clothes.


    <strong>“I’m sorry, Rafael. I stained blood on your clothes…”</strong>


    <em>There were so many things she was sorry about today.</em> Rafael did not respond to her apology, and hurried a little further. As he nced down at her wound, he could see Ate’s blond hair drenched in blood. <em>Instead of worrying about all the blood flowing from her wound, she was worried about his damn shirt getting stained.</em> Rafael was truly dumbfounded.


    Ate’s body swaying in his arms was unnaturally light. She was very soft, slender, and smelled surprisingly good. She was so needlessly weak that such a minor wound made him feel sorry. <em>Yeah, anybody would have been.</em>


    Rafael was so unfamiliar with such a fragile appearance. He was worried he might break her, so he focused on reaching the mansion quickly. After flinging the front door open, he quickly strode up to the second floor while holding Ate carefully. Then he slowlyid her down on the sofa in front of Ate’s bedroom.


    <strong>“Thank you, Rafael.”</strong>


    Ate said in a faint voice. Her face had be pale. Rafael turned his back and went away without a word. The icy wind that he caused while hurrying out caressed Ate’s cheek. Ate closed her eyes as she looked at the back that she was so familiar with.


    After a while, three maids rushed to look at Ate. <i>‘They must have been sent by Rafael.’</i> They wiped the dried blood off her body with a soft cloth soaked in warm water, and bandaged the wound after applying some haemostatic medicine. Then, after drinking enough water, Ate wasid on the bed.


    <strong>“Sleep a little, madam. You’ve lost a lot of blood, so you need to rest.”</strong>


    Ate, who was already exhausted, nodded her head weakly. It was still in the afternoon, so the sun was high up in the sky. But she really didn’t have the energy to open her eyes and so, Ate was sucked into a deep sleep .


    * * *


    The moon was especially bright that night. Ate woke up from her sleep and got out of her snow-white bed. Although she was still a little dizzy because of her wound, she was in much better shape than before because she slept so well. She fell asleep in the afternoon, so she thought she had woken up at dawn.


    <em>‘I’m thirsty.’</em>


    Ate thought nkly. Maybe it was because she lost a lot of blood, Ate, who was generally afraid of the dark and did not go out alone anywhere at night, suddenly had the courage to go out. It was because the bright moonlight today was enough to give her some courage. She carefully stepped out into the hallway with a lightedmp by her side. She just wanted to drink water quickly and then go back to sleep.


    <i>~Whoosh</i>


    She could hear the howling of the winds through the closed window of the hallway. Ate shivered hearing the dreadful noise. The wind has been unusually strong since the morning, and it seemed like it was going to rain tomorrow. Ate’s steps that were going downstairs without much thought, suddenly stopped.


    <strong>“Rafael?”</strong>


    <span> Only


    She could hear Rafael’s voice mixed in with the sound of the wind. They used the same floor as a couple, but their rooms were far from each other at the end of the hall.


    The way to Rafael’s room through the dark corridor was frightening. But Ate decided to show some courage. She was worried about Rafael, and she had even gotten some help from him today. Ate carefully lifted themp and took a step forward.


    <em>‘I’m just checking to see if Rafael’s okay.’</em>


    Rafael loved to drink alcohol. He drank more especially at night. <em>Maybe he was vomiting or suffering from alcohol poisoning.</em> She had heard that some people could choke on their vomit sometimes. <em>What if Rafael did too?</em> Ate was concerned about him.


    Ate, holding amp, carefully stepped towards his room. When she arrived at the door, she could hear the faint sound of metal shing from inside and someone shouting and sobbing. It was a sound that had never been heard in the bedroom at thiste hour. Surprised, Ate hastily knocked on the door.


    <strong>“Rafael, are you okay? This is Ate.”</strong>


    There was no answer from the inside. Ate kept knocking at the door and stamping her feet, but Rafael remained silent. But she could hear him faintly groaning through the thick door, so it was clear that he was inside.


    <strong>“Rafael, are you sick? I’m sorry, but I’m going inside.”</strong>