After classes ended, and club activities were over as well, I returned to the mansion a little more quickly than usual.
As soon as I stepped into the entrance hall, Mina greeted me.
“Welcome back, my lady.”
“Where’s Haku?”
At my question, Mina smiled gently.
“He is still asleep. He turned over once in the middle of the day, but he did not wake.”
“He isn’t sick, is he?”
“No. His breathing is even, and his temperature is stable. He seems very tired.”
I let out a sigh of relief.
When I went straight up to my room, Haku was curled up on the blanket in almost the same position as he had been that morning.
His little nose moved slowly, and the tip of his tail rested near his face.
I approached quietly and sat beside the bed.
“Haku.”
I called softly, but Haku did not wake.
I reached out and carefully stroked Haku’s head.
“It felt a little empty without you today.”
Haku’s ears moved ever so slightly.
Had he heard me in his sleep?
I found myself smiling.
“Everyone was looking for you. In the classroom, at lunch, and even at the club.”
Haku still had his eyes closed.
But the tip of his tail swayed just a little.
“So let’s go together tomorrow. If you’re all right, of course.”
I looked toward the pajamas Haku had made for me.
Then I looked back at Haku.
“Thank you, Haku.”
He probably couldn’t hear me even if I said it.
But I still wanted to say it.
“The clothes you made for me are really warm. Both my body and my heart.”
I sat beside Haku for a little while, then carefully straightened the edge of the blanket over him.
The day I spent without Haku had felt strangely long.
During that day, I realized something.
Before I knew it, Haku had become a part of my everyday life.
Being beside me during class.
Eating little pieces of bread at lunch.
Posing on the cushion in the clubroom after school.
Falling asleep beside me at night.
All of those things had become so natural that only when they were gone did I finally see the emptiness they left behind.
I lowered my hand beside Haku and said quietly,
“Let’s go together tomorrow.”
Haku did not answer.
But still asleep, he rubbed his head very lightly against my finger.
That small movement alone was enough.
The next morning, Haku finally opened his eyes.
To be precise, it was a little hard to say that he had fully woken up.
Haku, who had been curled into a ball on his small blanket, twitched his ears,
then slowly opened his eyes. Pink eyes, holding a faint light, looked at me.
I had been sitting beside the bed, and I smiled softly.
“Haku, are you awake?”
“Kyauung……”
He answered, but there was no strength in his voice.
He did not seem sick.
His breathing was even, and his temperature was the same as usual.
But perhaps his body still felt heavy, because Haku looked at me for a long while with his eyes half-closed.
I carefully reached out and stroked Haku’s back.
“Are you still tired?”
Haku looked at me for a moment, then nodded faintly.
As expected.
Even after sleeping all day yesterday, it seemed he had not fully recovered yet.
Slightly worried, I said,
“Do you want to rest at the mansion again today? You don’t have to force yourself to come with me.”
At that, Haku’s ears twitched.
Haku stayed blankly still for a moment, then shakily raised himself up.
Then he crawled out from under the blanket with his little front paws and walked toward me.
“Haku?”
Before I could even call him, Haku climbed onto my lap.
And he did not stop there. He climbed up my arm, placed his front paws against my chest, and rested his chin on my shoulder.
“……You want to come with me?”
“Mm.”
A short answer.
But its meaning was clear.
I looked at Haku for a moment, then eventually smiled.
“All right. But you have to rest the whole day. During class, at lunch, and at the club too—no overdoing it.”
Instead of answering, Haku curled up on my shoulder.
It seemed he was already preparing to sleep again.
I let out a small sigh.
“Honestly……”
That was what I said, but the warmth returning to my arms put my heart at ease.
When I went to school without Haku yesterday, it had felt emptier than I expected.
The empty cushion on my desk, the empty spot at the lunch table, and the quiet corner of the clubroom had all felt awkward.
So when I saw Haku back by my side like this, relief came to me first.
Even at breakfast, Haku barely opened his eyes.
He stayed curled up on my lap and only barely managed to eat the small pieces of soft bread I had cut for him.
Camilla leaned forward with a worried expression.
“Haku, are you still sleepy?”
Haku did not answer, and only the tip of his tail moved a tiny bit.
Seeing that reaction, Camilla whispered,
“He must be sleepy……”
Mother smiled gently and said,
“It seems he is still recovering. Elysia, even if Haku falls asleep today, don’t wake him.”
“Yes, Mother.”
Father looked at Haku once, then spoke in a low voice.
“There is no need for him to force himself to go to the academy, but if he himself wishes to follow you, then perhaps being by your side is more comfortable for him.”
At those words, I looked down at Haku.
Haku was already on the verge of falling asleep again on my lap.
Being by my side is more comfortable.
Those words lingered strangely in my heart.
“Yes. I’ll take good care of him.”
Mina handed me a small pouch.
“I put in some soft bread and fruit, so Lord Haku can eat if he wakes up in the middle of the day.
And I placed a small blanket inside as well.”
“Thank you, Mina.”
As expected, Mina was attentive.
And so, I headed to the academy with Haku.
Haku’s spot today was a little different from usual.
If I held him in my arms, he seemed likely to keep falling asleep and slip down, and leaving him on top of my head felt worrying when he still seemed tired.
In the end, Haku climbed up as if draping himself between my shoulder and the nape of my neck, letting his tail hang down in front of me as he slept.
A warm, light weight rested on my shoulder.
At first it tickled, but I soon got used to it.
As soon as I arrived at the academy, the students reacted first.
“It’s Haku.”
“He came today.”
“Is he all right?”
“He looks really sleepy……”
The students started to approach, then stopped.
It was partly because of the Seonghwihoe contact regulations, but it also seemed to be because Haku looked so exhausted today.
I said quietly,
“He is still recovering, so please don’t pet him or call out to him today.”
At that, the students immediately nodded.
“Yes, Lady Valerion.”
“Haku, rest well.”
“We’ll only look from afar today.”
Perhaps Haku heard the students’ voices, because only his ears moved slightly on my shoulder.
But he did not open his eyes.
Finding that both cute and a little worrying, I carefully raised my hand and supported Haku’s back.
When I entered the classroom, the small cushion that had been empty yesterday caught my eye again.
But Haku showed no sign whatsoever of wanting to get down onto the cushion on the desk.
I asked carefully,
“Haku, do you want to sleep on the cushion?”
“……Kyauung.”
He cried softly, but his body did not move.
It meant no.
In the end, I smiled and nodded.
“All right. Stay here today.”
Haku curled up even more deeply on my shoulder.
Even after class began, Haku kept sleeping.
While taking notes, I checked on Haku on my shoulder from time to time.
His breathing was even, and his fur was warm. Only, perhaps because he was sleeping deeply, he was much quieter than usual.
During the Department of Magic Knights’ lesson, Haku did not properly wake even once.
When I shifted my posture now and then, his ears twitched or his tail curled a little, that was all.
Each time, I tried to reduce my movements as much as possible.
When it came time for sword practice, things became a little troublesome.
I could not swing a sword with Haku on my shoulder.
I carefully held Haku in my arms and tried to set him down on the cushion on the desk.
But Haku, with his eyes still closed, clung tightly to my sleeve with his front paws.
His little paws held my sleeve weakly.
It did not seem like he was awake.
Even so, he held on as if he did not want to be separated.
I hesitated for a moment.
Seeing this, the professor spoke in a low voice.
“Valerion, you may substitute observation for today’s practical training. Considering Haku’s condition as well, do not push yourself.”
“But……”
“Managing your condition is also part of your evaluation.”
At those words, I bowed my head.
“Thank you.”
In the end, I did not take part directly in practical training that day, and instead participated by observing the other students’ stances and the flow of their aura.
If it had been the old me, I would have felt ashamed in this situation.
The fact that the daughter of Valerion was skipping practical training would have weighed on my mind.
But today was different.
If Haku was exhausted because he had overexerted himself making a gift for me, then it was fine for me to give way for Haku for just one day.
Thinking that made my heart feel strangely at ease.
That night, I once again put on the pajamas Haku had made for me.
The clothes were still soft and warm.
Strangely enough, whenever I wore the pajamas, my heart settled a little.
Even the flow of my aura felt steadier.
It was as if this clothing was carrying on, just a little, what Haku had always done for me.
I lay in bed and looked at Haku sleeping beside me.
“Haku.”
Even when I called softly, Haku did not wake.
But that was all right.
When I thought of Haku sleeping on me all day today, I smiled a little.
Yesterday had felt empty because I spent it without Haku.
Today had been quiet because Haku did nothing but sleep.
But both days taught me the same thing.
How deeply Haku had entered my daily life.
I reached out and gently stroked Haku’s back.
“I hope you feel a little better tomorrow.”
Haku’s ears moved ever so slightly.
Taking that as his answer, I closed my eyes.