When Valentina woke up, it was because she felt a heavy weight pushing down on her stomach.

She quickly opened her eyes and glanced around. Curled up to her left was Luca who was wrapped in a blanket fast asleep. His fluffy cheeks were lightly flushed, and his mouth was open as he slept. And to her left was Kaiser. He was seated on a chair, but his upper body was resting on the bed as he softly snored. It was his arm extended over her body as his arm held her waist.

She took the moment to admire his face as the rays of the morning sun shone on him. His usually neat hair was roughly tousled and his long lashes cast a soft shadow on his cheek. The usually stern face was relaxed as he slept while his jaw and cheeks had a light shadow as his stubble grew in. Seeing that his mouth was slightly open just like Luca she couldn’t help but smile.

“Done admiring my good looks?” a deep husky voice spoke out.

Valentina looked back at Kaiser, noting that his eyes were now wide open and he had his characteristic smirk on his face. She rolled her eyes at his silliness so early in the morning.

“What ack” when she tried to speak, but a sharp pain shot through her dry throat.

“Don’t talk. Drink some water first.” Kaiser immediately sat up and handed her a water bottle.

Valentina gently sat up, careful not to disturb Luca, and took the bottle, quickly chugging the contents down.

“Ahhh. Thank you so much, Kaiser. What are you doing here?” She whispered in an attempt not to wake Luca.

“How could I not be here when I heard you were coughing up blood and fainted?” Kaiser asked with a faint smile. Although he was smiling, Valentina felt a cold chill run down her back. Still, she gave him a polite smile of her own.

“I see Lia told you even though I asked her not to.”

“A person was seriously injured in my home. It would be remiss of her not to tell me. Speaking of which, what happened Valentina? What caused this? Are you sick? Injured?” Kaiser leaned back with his arms crossed. He carefully looked over Valentina noting that her face looked less wan than it had throughout the night. With her eyes now open, it looked as if life had been breathed into her which comforted his heart. Still, he didn’t plan on glossing over such a serious situation.

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Seeing the serious expression on his face, Valentina sighed before taking the towel from her head.

“Nothing happened. My body is just a bit weak. It’s not a big deal.”

“It’s not a big deal?!? You coughed up-”

“It’s not a big deal Kaiser, in fact, this is a regular occurrence, you just don’t know about it. I don’t have a hidden illness and it’s not contagious if that’s what you're worried about. And I made sure Luca didn’t see anything and I’ll continue to do so in the future.” Valentina interrupted him with a closed-off expression. Although she didn’t mind talking about her body, she didn’t like the way he was subtly interrogating her.

“You think I'm worried about Luca?” Kaiser wanted to shout and shake some sense into her. How could the person who had coughed up blood and fainted seem the least concerned?

“Aren't you? Anyway, thanks for taking care of me. I appreciate it.”

The two of them silently stared at each other before Kaiser looked away first with a deep sigh.

“Fine. I won't argue with a sick person, but just know this isn’t over Valentina. We will discuss this in detail at a later time. How are you feeling? Your fever finally reduced this morning but it’s still there.”

“…I'm okay. I feel pretty groggy but much better than yesterday. I need to take a shower, I'm so sweaty.” Valentina said in disgust as she pushed the damp strands of her hair away from her face. Her whole body felt weak, but she felt sticky with sweat.

Kaiser stared at her figure noting the simple cropped tank that exposed the fair yet flushed skin of her body as she pushed her hair away while turning to get up. Her slender neck was exposed, and he could see the delicate collarbones as well as the contours of her figure. Her bright green eyes glanced at him as she smiled slyly.

“Heh, like what you see?” Valentina lightly teased him in an attempt to change the atmosphere into something lighter.

“Of course. Even while sick, you look good.” Kaiser’s gaze was fervent as he openly admired her appearance.

“How funny. I'm going to shower.” Valentina laughed before trying to stand up. She placed her bare feet on the plush rug, but as soon as she tried to stand up she immediately stumbled as her leg buckled.

She tried to catch herself on the bed, but Kaiser immediately caught her, his arms wrapping around her back and waist as he helped her stand up.

“Look at how weak you are, and you dare say that you're okay?! You need to lay back down and rest! You still have a fever and haven't eaten since yesterday!” He scolded her although his hands were gentle as he held her.

“I feel gross and want to shower. Rather than scolding me, just help me to the bathroom.” Valentina replied with a pout.

“…Can you even stand on your own? What if you fall down in the shower?”

“Stop nagging and help me to the shower Kaiser or go away. I feel sticky.” Valentina sulked, stared at him with puppy dog eyes, and batted her lashes. “Help me, please.”

Kaiser sighed once more before sweeping her up in his arms.

"Eeeek!"

Valentina immediately wrapped her arms around his neck to keep from falling.

“Hey! What are you doing?”

“Taking you to shower like you asked.”

Before she could respond, Kaiser somehow opened the door to her bedroom and walked out into the hallway. He quickly carried her to his bedroom, entering quickly and closing the door before carrying her to the bathroom.

As Kaiser carried her through his bedroom, Valentina peeked around curiously. It was her first time entering Kaiser's room, and she was curious about what it looked like.

Unfortunately, he walked through quickly and plopped her down in the large tub in the bathroom.

“What are you doing?”

“Shower here. It’s a detachable showerhead so you can stay seated and wash your body, then fill the tub and soak afterward if you want. Clean towels are to the side along with extra toiletries. I'll go grab a change of clothes for you so just come out when you're done.”

Before she could say anything else to him, he had walked off and shut the door.

‘What's his problem?’ Valentina thought to herself. She didn’t realize that as he was leaving, Kaiser's face had turned a bright red.