“Now that we have out of the way...” Marianne said, glancing toward Alpheus, who stiffened in reaction. He seems slightly intimidated by her after the entire lecture about manners.

Marianne doesn’t feel guilty about that. Enough time has passed for her to become more straightforward with him. Being a caretaker may have become second nature to her, but that never managed to erase the uncompromising professional.

Unfortunately for him, she will show that side of hers far more frequently from now on, and she doesn’t feel apologetic about it.

She carried on, choosing to ignore his current apprehension.

“... I think it’s time for us to learn more about each other.” She wasn’t sure how comfortable he would be with the idea, but she already decided to cross that bridge.

As expected, he visibly panicked. This would be a hurdle for sure.

However, Marianne never had the patience to tolerate stuff like this.

“Areyousure??? I... uh... I don’t think you will find anything interesting, though! Uhm... uh... it’s...alreadydarkrightnow! I think it would be most prudent to rest now. Also...!”

“Wow, he must really hate the idea.” Marianne thought to herself, surprised by his sudden outburst. At least he no longer meekly retreats from a situation like this in silence anymore.

However, ...

Alpheus's thoughts are moving so quickly that he feels dizzy. Is it because he hasn’t recovered yet? He isn’t in the state of mind to question that right now. His mind is currently preoccupied with escaping the current situation. He doesn’t want to say anything about himself. The things he says will be bound to upset her. He’s not even in the state of mind to properly verbalize those thoughts and feelings inside his head. They almost bordered on being instinctive reactions.

However, just like that, his thoughts went blank. Because... she... she...

...She flicked him on the forehead again!!!

Once again, he yelped in pain and fell on his back, holding his hand against his forehead in pain.

Marianne was almost impressed with how effective a simple flick on the forehead was on the boy.

Still lying on the ground, squirming in pain, he looked through the hand that covered his head. Upon recognizing the displeased expression on her face, he immediately froze up.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

After a moment of utter silence, Marianne spoke. “Do you think I won’t see you if you don’t move?”

And just like that, his mouth opens again. “I-I’m sorry,thatwasrudewasn’tit?!”

In response, he received...

... yet another flick to the head.

“This will take longer than expected, won’t it...?” Marianne came to this solemn conclusion with genuine concern for the future.

He was about to open his mouth again, but this time, Marianne didn’t even give him the time to go into another frenzy. Instead, she started pinching him by the cheeks. This didn’t exactly serve to quiet him down, as he was busy moaning in pain and apologizing profusely.

“I’msorry!I’msorry!I’msorry!I’msorry!I’msorry!”

Still holding onto his cheek, she pulled him closer so that they were on an even eye level so she could openly scowl at him. That finally did the trick and made him settle down.

“What did I say about apologizing?” The coldness in her tone was downright terrifying.

Instantly, he was about to open his mouth, and it would probably be another panicked apology. Fortunately, he is finally learning because he caught himself immediately and quieted down.

“Hey, that’s progress! Good job!” Marianne said, looking genuinely proud of him. Suffice it to say Alpheus is beyond overwhelmed. Upon closer look, he swayed back and forth, struggling to remain focused. It was then that Marianne was reminded of Alpheus’ current condition. She was so preoccupied with chewing him out that she completely forgot. Frustrated, she had no choice but to end the discussion for tonight. Right now, he needed to focus on recovering.

“Alright, I think this was enough excitement for the day! It’s time to rest now.” Marianne declared forcefully.

“Are you sure? Didn’t you want to talk more?” Alpheus looked unclear about what he was supposed to say. At least he calmed down from his episode. In fact, he might look a bit deflated at Marianne’s sudden announcement. That thought put a smile on her face. While she hated postponing this ordeal for tomorrow, she had no other choice.

“Yes, I’m sure. We can talk more tomorrow, right?”

“Tomorrow...” He muttered.

“Right?” She encouraged him to answer.

“Y-Yes!”

“Good, then I expect you to be fully rested tomorrow, " she said, her commanding voice seeping in, which made Alpheus shiver. She then added with a sweet voice.

“Good night, Alpheus.”

He felt giddy inside and nodded with a genuine smile.

“Yes! Good night, Miss Marianne!”

----------------------------------------

The light emanated by the campfire was long extinguished. So darkness permeated by the night outside the sanctuary of their cave expanded, enveloping them both, as the gentle light provided by the moon was almost nowhere to be found. Within that very darkness, it was as though they were cut off from the rest of the world. It was like this void was a companion that never dared to let him leave his orbit. Always around to remind him of that fact. Such were the thoughts that always followed Alpheus through every night since he lived outside. It was during these moments that he always felt like he was back in his room. The outside he imagined inside the room was exactly what he imagined whenever he looked at the night sky. Unlike then, he has finally caught a glimpse of that void, so he can no longer avert his eyes from it. In exchange for gaining sight of the view that always piqued his curiosity, he relinquished the shelter that protected him from it.

Strangely enough, none of these thoughts reached his head even once tonight. Only when his eyes fluttered closed did he realize that he never even looked outside the cave.

The reason for that eluded him, and he soon fell into slumber before he could pursue it any further. Before he left the waking world, a voice reached him. That voice, containing an inhuman echo, felt familiar, but its mockery puzzled him.

“It’s because of her.”