Chapter 50: Under the Stars

“It’s been a while.”

It was time to leave for Celian Deretia’s estate. Celian stepped out of the carriage in front of Anne Klain’s house and greeted her warmly.

While Anne had been informed that the carriage would come, she hadn’t expected Celian to show up in person.

“Celie!”

Anne, equally surprised, greeted him with a delighted expression. After exchanging brief pleasantries, they prepared to part ways, with Celian heading toward his estate.

“Anne, see you after the break. It’s been a fun week.”

“Uh… yeah…”

Since the recent incident in the labyrinth, Anne’s demeanor had noticeably changed.

She seemed calmer than before. Of course, there were still moments when her loud voice and bold personality shone through, but there was a newfound restraint.

“Well, I’ll be going now. Enjoy the rest of your break, Anne.”

Celian boarded the carriage first, and as I was about to follow her in—

Slap! Slap!

I turned around, startled by the sound, only to see Anne pressing her hands against her cheeks.

It seemed she had smacked her own face.

Confused, I watched as Anne suddenly lifted her head and locked eyes with me.

“It’s not like me to act all gloomy before a farewell, right? Sorry, I just had a lot on my mind. I had fun too. Let’s hang out again after the break!”

Seeing Anne’s energetic side before parting was a relief. Smiling, I replied, “Yeah. Let’s make up for lost time in the second semester. Take care.”

“Got it!”

Her spirited voice faded into the distance as I climbed into the carriage. Celian was already inside, watching me intently.

“Why are you staring? Do you have something to say?”

“Just wondering… No, it’s nothing. It’s my turn now, anyway.”

Celian’s cryptic words caught my attention, but before I could question her, she cut me off with a different topic.

“Well then, since we have plenty of time during the ride, how about some tea?”

“It’s a bit early, but since there’s nothing else to do… sure.”

Deciding it wasn’t worth pressing him further, I agreed to enjoy the tea Celian was offering.

Aside from the coachman driving the carriage, it was just the two of us inside.

Naturally, Celian took it upon herself to prepare the tea.

Like Yuri Atilea’s and Anne’s carriages, Celian’s was also heavily enchanted with various spells, making it incredibly luxurious.

Inside, it felt more like a sitting room than a moving vehicle—stable and perfectly suited for an uninterrupted tea session.

Of course, it wasn’t a formal tea time. It was more of a never-ending chatter punctuated by sips of tea and bites of snacks whenever hunger or thirst struck.

Given the distance, it would likely be late evening by the time we arrived at Celian’s estate, even though we’d departed Anne’s house early in the morning.

That meant around ten hours stuck in the carriage. Options for entertainment were limited, so sleeping or chatting with Celian seemed like the best ways to pass the time.

“Yawn…”

After stuffing myself with snacks post-lunch and engaging in non-stop conversation with Celian,

I let out a yawn before I could stop it.

It was an unrestrained yawn, but at least I managed to cover my mouth in time.

“Are you feeling tired?”

“Hmm… maybe. I think I’m just a bit sleepy after eating.”

Worried that she might misunderstand my yawn as boredom with her stories, I quickly explained myself.

Fortunately, Celian didn’t seem offended by my lapse in composure.

“Then, would you like to take a nap? I’ll wake you up if anything happens.”

“It feels wrong to sleep with you sitting right in front of me, Celie…”

“I don’t mind. Please rest.”

Come to think of it, Yuri would have scolded me for trying to sleep right after eating.

But Celian was encouraging me to sleep without a second thought.

I chuckled to myself at the contrast, and just then, Celian, who had been sitting across from me, got up and came to sit by my side.

Surprised, I turned to look at her. She raised her hands and lightly patted her thighs.

“Here, lie down.”

“Huh?”

When I asked in disbelief, Celian tilted her head and smiled as if wondering what the problem was.

“It’ll make you uncomfortable. I can’t possibly lie there. Don’t worry about me.”

“It’s not uncomfortable at all.”

“My head’s heavy. Your legs will definitely go numb.”

“If El’s head is heavy, then no one else in the world has a light head. Besides, I’m pretty sturdy, you know?”

Well, that’s true. Even I knew my reasoning didn’t make much sense.

How heavy could this small head possibly be? And with Celian’s body, trained as a knight, she could probably hold my head on her lap without even noticing.

Still, there was one clear reason I kept resisting:

“I… I’m too embarrassed. If anything, I’ll just end up wide awake instead.”

In the end, I voiced the real reason. Even though it was awkward to admit, it seemed like the only way to get Celian to drop the subject.

Unfortunately, I underestimated her persistence.

“We’ve slept next to each other before, haven’t we? There’s no need to be embarrassed. Now, come on.”

Wait—she brought that up here?

Admittedly, sleeping on her lap and sharing a bed were on different levels of awkwardness.

While the latter was definitely more intimate, that didn’t mean the former wasn’t embarrassing at all.

Without waiting for my consent, Celian reached out, cradling my hesitant head in her hands, and gently pulled me toward her lap.

“Then, sleep well.”

Lying on my side, I could feel the soft texture of her thighs beneath my cheek.

Worse, Celian happened to be wearing a short skirt today, and her bare skin brushed against me where the hem had ridden up.

As I reeled from the situation, Celian lightly placed her hand on my head.

Like lulling a baby to sleep, she began gently stroking my hair.

The soothing sensation of her touch was enough to quiet my racing heart. Despite my earlier embarrassment, sleep slowly crept back in.

Ultimately, sleepiness won over my self-consciousness, and my eyelids grew heavy until they closed completely.

***

Clunk.

“Huh…?”

The jostling woke me up. More accurately, it felt like the entire carriage had shaken, not just me.

Still groggy from sleep, I took a moment to regain my senses and remember where I was.

Worried that I might have drooled in my sleep, I lifted a hand to discreetly check the corner of my mouth. Thankfully, it seemed the worst hadn’t happened.

Now fully awake, I decided I couldn’t keep lying on Celian’s lap. Slowly, I began to sit up.

“Aah!”

As I sat up, a sigh escaped from Celian. Turning to look at her, I saw her reaching out with her hands, almost like a child whose toy had been taken away.

“Celie?”

“Y-yes!”

Celian stammered in her response, which was unusual for her.

Her face was flushed red, and she seemed to be breathing unevenly.

Even though the carriage was supposed to have spells for temperature control, it somehow felt warmer inside.

I glanced outside through the window to find that the sky was painted with the deep reds of sunset.

…How many hours had I been asleep?

“Are you okay?”

What was meant to be a short nap had turned into an unintended deep sleep.

Even though Celian was physically well-trained, staying still with my head on her lap for hours would naturally have been exhausting for her.

“Oh… Yes, I’m fine. Totally fine. In fact…”

“Huh?”

“No, never mind! It’s nothing.”

It had been a long time since I had seen Celian this flustered—perhaps not since the time I accidentally touched one of her important letters while we were studying together.

Before I could be more curious about her reaction, the door to the carriage opened.

“Apologies, my lady. Are you hurt in any way?”

“No, I’m fine. What happened?”

The person opening the door was the coachman.

Following him, Celian and I stepped out of the carriage to see what was going on.

“It seems the wheel has come off. I checked everything before departure, but I have no idea how this happened…”

The coachman’s bewildered tone didn’t sound like he was lying.

It seemed the imbalance caused by the loose wheel was what had jolted me awake.

“Whew, luckily, everything went as planned…”

“Huh?”

“Oh, no! I mean… Fortunately, the spells on the carriage were intact. That’s all I meant.”

Celian mumbled something under her breath, and I instinctively reacted.

She was startled, replying loudly to cover it up.

Indeed, it was fortunate. Considering that a wheel had come off while the carriage was moving, it was remarkable that we only experienced a single jolt.

The wheel seemed undamaged. If we could reattach it, we should be able to resume our journey shortly.

“Please wait a moment. I’ll have this fixed right away.”

The coachman examined the problem area and immediately began his work.

“Well, at least that’s a relief. Hopefully, we can still arrive before it gets too dark… Celie?”

I turned to speak to Celian, only to see her already walking toward the coachman.

She crouched near the wheel and started inspecting it herself, tapping it lightly with her hand, as if to confirm the coachman’s assessment.

The wheel didn’t seem to be damaged. Even when Celian applied pressure, the wheel held firm—

“Uh… Celie? Checking is fine, but don’t press too hard…”

Crack.

“Ah.”

It seemed Celian had misjudged her strength, breaking one of the wheel’s spokes in the process.

The coachman, witnessing the scene, dropped the hammer in his hand, staring in disbelief.

“Hehe… Sorry.”

Since the wheel now needed to be repaired, the work naturally took longer.

By the time we were done, the moon was already high in the night sky.

Traveling through dark, unfamiliar terrain seemed too risky, so we decided to camp for the night.

To keep the area lit, we started a campfire a short distance away from the carriage.

After finishing dinner and assisting with the repairs, it was already time to rest.

“Let Mr. Ban sleep inside the carriage.”

“Oh, no, miss. You and your friend should rest inside. I can manage outside just fine.”

“No, we’re still in the wilderness, and while it seems safe, it’s better for us to stay outside on guard duty.”

The carriage, enchanted with warmth and other protective spells, was far more comfortable than the outdoors.

It wasn’t a bad place to sleep, so Celian’s suggestion made sense.

Although the coachman initially refused Celian’s offer, she made a compelling case.

Eventually, he reluctantly accepted, apologizing profusely as he stepped into the carriage.

Now, only Celian and I were left outside. Of course, earlier, it had just been the two of us in the carriage as well, but the atmosphere somehow felt different now.

“Well, shall we rest too?”

Celian draped a fine-quality blanket over her shoulders and settled near the fire.

I glanced around, wondering if there was another blanket, but none seemed available. If there had been, Celian would have already handed it to me.

Following her lead, I sat across from her, with the campfire between us.

But as soon as I sat down, Celian suddenly jumped up, moving to sit right beside me, closer than necessary, before plopping down.

“Celie…?”

“There’s only one blanket, and I get cold easily… Would it be okay if we stayed close?”

“Well… sure, I guess.”

Having experienced similar situations a couple of times now, I thought I was getting used to it.

I agreed with little hesitation, but Celian moved even closer than I expected, nearly nestling herself against me.

With the single blanket covering us both, Celian started speaking.

“This reminds me of the old days. It’s nice.”

“I can’t really imagine you camping out like this, Celie.”

“…Back then. I used to camp out a lot. Sometimes, just the two of us, like now…”

It seemed Celian, as a candidate for a hero, was no stranger to camping under the stars. I, too, had my share of similar experiences, and as she said, it did feel a bit nostalgic.

We ended up chatting late into the night, and eventually, we drifted off to sleep with our heads resting against each other.