“Uh-oh.”

There wasn’t any time to think too deeply about it.

“Give that to me!”

I quickly snatched the silver hair from Jayden’s grasp and hid it in my palm.

“Why are you making a fuss about someone’s grey hair, anyway?”

“Grey hair?”

“Yes, my grey hair!”

“But it looked more silver than grey to me…”

“You must have seen it wrong. It was definitely grey.”

Wasn’t silver just a shade off from grey, anyway? I decided to bluff.

“Look closely. It’s grey.”

Though I told him to look, I just waved the hair frantically in front of Jayden’s eyes.

“I’ve actually been worried about my increasing grey hairs lately. And here you go pointing it out.”

I whined a bit, and Jayden quickly wore an apologetic face.

“I was thoughtless. I’m ashamed.”

“It’s okay. Apology accepted.”

“Besides, I hadn’t noticed any greys. You look the same as always to me.”

“Well, that’s a relief then. Yawn, I’m sleepy; let’s just go to sleep.”

“Okay, sister.”

As Jayden lay down, I calmed my wildly thumping heart.

‘Crazy! I thought my heart would drop through the floor!’

Of all things, a strand of Kirie’s hair from last night had to be sticking to the pillow.

It was my oversight. I’d checked for any signs during the day but had failed to inspect the pillow carefully.

The pillowcase being white probably made the silver hair less noticeable.

‘Why does he have silver hair?!’

I internally cursed Kirie’s silver hair that, until yesterday, I’d been rather fond of.

Strictly speaking, it was Jayden’s sharp eye that was impressive for spotting that one overlooked strand.

Peeking through half-closed eyes, I saw Jayden lying under the blanket, his posture straight as a ruler.

It was a pose that, if there were a textbook on noble sleeping methods, it would surely be featured.

‘Scary guy…’

But fortunately, he seemed to believe my excuse that the silver hair was one of my greys.

It looked more like he couldn’t even conceive of the possibility that a man had shared my bed, as if the idea was too far-fetched to entertain.

Then again, being the epitome of nobility could also mean being incredibly conservative.

I found myself mulling over a conversation I’d had with Jayden not too long ago.

It was in the carriage on the way to Lady Mosella’s tea party, where I was supposed to meet Kirie.

The conversation had naturally started with the tea party and the hostess, Lady Mosella, but soon drifted towards Kirie.

Her reputation as a fervent admirer of the charming court mage was well-known in social circles.

“I’ve got to be honest, I don’t like that guy.” 

Jayden had said, expressing his distaste more bluntly and sharply than usual.

“Surely, courtship should be a matter between two people with the tacit approval of their families, with marriage in mind, right?”

“Oh, really? Is that so?”

“It’s common sense! And yet, here’s a court mage entrusted with an important role, and he’s out there leading on countless women… It’s hard to tell where the world is headed.”

Watching Jayden cluck his tongue in disapproval, I had only one thought.

‘This guy is seriously old-fashioned.’

While the nobility in this world were generally conservative, love wasn’t exactly forbidden.

Love marriages did happen, albeit less frequently than strategic ones. 

Just take Marquis Lindsay for an example, he had married a commoner woman, even if it was for his second marriage.

But Jayden seemed to hold surprisingly outdated views, to the extent that it felt like he was paying respects to Charlotte’s mother.

Then, with his eyes closed, Jayden spoke up.

“Please endure it just for tonight, sister.”

“Endure what?”

“This situation. It’s inappropriate for adult siblings to share a bed, even if they are related.”

“Ah… It’s just a small thing.”

“It’s a serious issue.”

“…”

What would Jayden think if he knew that not just siblings, but three other men had shared this bed? 

The mere thought sent a shiver down my spine, and I was glad I had stubbornly denied the truth when the hair was discovered.

I could say, ‘There are actually three other people cursed just like you,’ but that future didn’t seem any more appealing.

It was impossible to predict how any of them would react.

‘No, I shouldn’t worry too much about it.’

I tried to suppress my unease.

I had already lifted the curses on Reynard, Eugen, and Kirie. Jayden would return to normal by tomorrow morning too.

So, the only thing I should be pondering was what to accept as a token of gratitude from Jayden.

“Anyway, I’ll give you the details another time. Um…”

Jayden’s voice was fading into sleepiness.

“Tired?”

“Yes. I think… I can finally sleep…”

The emotion in his voice let on just how endless his nights of insomnia had been.

“Sister, good night…”

Jayden drifted off to sleep mid-sentence.

“Good night.”

I propped myself up slightly and peered down at his peaceful, sleeping face, noticing the dark shadows beneath his eyes.

“Such a stickler for the rules.”

The dark circles under his eyes suggested he was deeply asleep, so I took the liberty to poke them with my finger.

“While you were hesitating under the same roof, three have already come and gone.” 

Considering that a bit of sass makes life easier, this young master will likely face many trials ahead.

“Well, who am I to worry?”

Considering my own fate, now entwined with that of a villainess in a novel, Jayden’s assured future as a Marquis seemed less complicated.

With Charlotte’s bleak future from the novel in mind, I slowly succumbed to sleep.

* * *

The next day, in the afternoon.

Jayden and I faced each other again in the garden at the same time as the previous day.

The Lindsay estate provided the perfect secrecy for our conversation.

Especially since I had arranged for the gardeners to stay clear during this hour to accommodate Jayden’s love for peaceful walks.

“Hey, don’t you think that’s a bit too much?”

I was a bit sarcastic because of what happened at breakfast.

“You know I’ve been oversleeping and getting scolded for it, and you just sneak off without me?”

“I tried to wake you several times this morning, but you wouldn’t get up.” 

Jayden made excuses looking clearly uncomfortable.

“There was only a bit of time before the maids were due to come in; I couldn’t keep trying.”

“Fine, I’ll let that slide. But why on earth did you have to chime in when Mother was scolding me?”

“I wasn’t exactly backing her up; I just threw in a comment. The Marchioness suddenly turned the arrow of the conversation on me, and it would have been awkward to just stay silent.”

“So you just had to add your two comments? What was it? ‘Fair point’? ‘Sister should change her habits’? Who do you think caused me to oversleep?”

If it wasn’t for this guy showing up last night, I wouldn’t have fallen asleep at dawn, and wouldn’t have been groggy when the maids tried to wake me up.

“But, you did say I was being too friendly, that it was making you uncomfortable.” 

Jayden had his reasons too.

“I was trying to act more distant, like before…!”

True, the Marquis and his wife seemed somewhat relieved when Jayden started treating me with a colder demeanor.

‘Maybe this is what they prefer.’

After venting my frustrations, I felt better and moved on to the main topic.

“Anyway, that’s not important. Did you sleep well last night? Has the insomnia gone?”

At my question, Jayden’s eyes sparkled.

“Yes! It’s been a while since I’ve felt this clear-headed.”

He did seem to be in better spirits.

“No more voices?”

“Not anymore.”

He responded confidently, and Jayden’s answer remained consistent the next day and the day after.

“There, settled!”

Five days after sharing a bed with Jayden, I stopped checking on him daily.

He slept soundly through the nights without any disturbances, and the voices were no longer heard.

The curse of the bed was lifted.

Nothing particularly noteworthy happened in my daily life either.

‘This peace… it’s nice.’

Just lounging, eating, and sleeping at home. Although Marquis Lindsay had technically lifted my confinement, my life hadn’t changed much.

Even before I possessed, I only worked because I had to survive; laziness was my true nature.

Another upside was that even this slothfulness of mine seemed to the household, including the Marquis, like a form of self-discipline.

Thanks to that, the looks I received around the house had warmed considerably.

“Speaking of which, when is Reynard planning to give me the reward he promised?”

Even though it was broad daylight, I was rolling around in bed when a faint sound reached my ears.

The tapping noise was coming from the window leading to the terrace.

Feeling pretty certain about it, I quickly opened the window.

“Squeak.”

A white bird perched on the terrace railing let out a short cry.

“Oh my, isn’t it our adorable little thing?”

Despite my cheerful greeting, the sharp-featured hawk simply extended one leg quietly.

Truly befitting the crown prince’s beloved bird, it bore a dignified and proud appearance.

“I wonder what message you’ve brought from His Highness?”

When Reynard visited the Marquis’s estate last time, it seemed his hawk remembered the way here and had smartly taken on the role of delivering messages.

I had only found out three days ago when I received Reynard’s first note.

‘He asked me to wait a little longer.’

He must have been swamped, catching up on the backlog of work piled up due to his insomnia.

But sending a second note now probably meant he’d rushed through his duties.

‘That must mean this note is about the reward he owes me!’

I untied the scrap of paper from the hawk’s leg, my heart was buoyant with anticipation.

Then I checked the contents…

“Huh?”

The words on the note were not at all what I had expected.