Noel sat upright in bed, groaning softly as the weight of fatigue clung to his body like a wet cloak. His head throbbed, and his throat still burned from the fever that had taken hold of him the day before. The dim morning light filtered through the curtains, casting pale lines across the wooden floor. He reached for the small nightstand beside his bed, fingers fumbling until they closed around the familiar texture of his dimensional pouch.
With slow movements, he opened it and pulled out the Diary of the Forgotten Son. The worn leather cover felt colder than usual in his hands.
"You left me hanging right when I was about to discover something big," he muttered under his breath, voice still hoarse. "I wonder... should I go with that theory? That the one who wrote this is the same bastard who killed Elarin...?"
His brow furrowed. That answer would e later—he was certain of it.
What mattered more was that Act IV had officially begun. So far, each act had always carried two major events. Torwan... that was likely the first. But what would the second be?
"I guess the system will let me know when the time es," he murmured.
He opened the diary again.
The first two pages were blank.
Noel stared at them in silence.
"Does it mean something?" he wondered. "A message, or maybe a spell trigger?"
Hard to tell. But the way the pages progressed after that—almost like a real diary—left him thinking that maybe even this emptiness had meaning. Still, with his head spinning and his body aching, it was too much for him to analyze right now.
With a heavy sigh, Noel shut the diary and dropped it gently beside him on the bed.
Just then, he heard footsteps in the hallway—soft and measured, but unmistakable. The door opened moments later, and Elyra stepped in carrying a tray.
The scent of hot soup filled the room.
Elyra approached the bed with an amused smile.
"Noel, I told you to stay lying down. You’re still sick. But since you’re already sitting, I might as well feed you."
Noel gave her a look of mild annoyance.
"I can eat on my own, you know?"
"No, you can’t. You need to rest properly. Let me do it," she replied without giving him a choice.
She sat beside him, placing the tray gently on the edge of the bed. The bowl of steaming soup still swirled with faint traces of mana—likely enhanced for recovery. Elyra picked up the spoon, filled it carefully, and brought it to Noel’s lips.
Noel opened his mouth and accepted the spoonful, cheeks heating up slightly from the close attention.
"Good boy," Elyra said playfully.
Noel choked slightly, coughing once.
"Oi! Don’t say that!"
His eyes darted to the side.
’Thank the gods no one heard that. That would’ve been the end of me.’
Noir, who was curled up on his usual chair nearby, seemed to give a huff—almost like a laugh.
’Don’t even think about telling anyone. Not that you could...’
Elyra smiled, clearly enjoying herself.
"I won’t tease you like that... for now. But only because you’re sick. You know I find your reactions adorable."
"I get it, I get it. But just this once, please. I don’t want my fever getting worse."
She giggled softly and continued feeding him, one spoonful at a time, without plaint. Once the bowl was empty, Elyra stood and placed the tray on Noel’s desk.
Then, with a look that made his stomach sink slightly, she turned to him.
"Now, let’s go to the shower. You need to clean off all that sweat."
Noel blinked.
"Wait, what do you mean ’let’s’? I can do it myself."
Elyra crossed her arms, gaze sharp but playful.
"Don’t argue. We’re going. I said I’ll help. I won’t do anything weird."
Her voice was innocent, but her expression said otherwise—and Noel felt a shiver crawl down his spine.
The bathroom filled slowly with warmth and mist, fog creeping up the polished mirror. Noel stepped in first, a white towel loosely wrapped around his waist. His body still felt sluggish, but the heat of the water was doing wonders for his aching muscles.
Behind him, Elyra entered—this time without her academy jacket, wearing only a simple white shirt and shorts.
Noel glanced sideways, then immediately looked away.
"I see that disappointed look," she teased, casually tying her hair up.
"Wasn’t disappointed," Noel muttered.
’Tch. I mean, I’m sick, not dead... but still. Control yourself.’
Elyra walked over and gently pressed a warm cloth to his back, wiping away the sweat accumulated through the night. Her touch was careful, almost tender, as if she were afraid of hurting him.
"You’ve been burning up. We need to get your temperature down."
"You’re... really taking this seriously, huh?" Noel asked quietly.
Elyra didn’t answer immediately. Instead, she moved to his shoulders, rinsing the cloth and repeating the motion.
"You need to recover quickly if you want to keep up with training," she finally said. "That, and... I wanted to be the one to take care of you. Just today."
Noel said nothing, allowing her to continue. The silence was surprisingly forting.
When she was done, Elyra gave him a pat on the back.
"All clean. e on, back to bed with you. Don’t make me carry you."
He smirked weakly.
"I’m pretty sure you would if I collapsed."
"You bet I would," she said with a wink.
Noel lay down again on his bed, still wrapped in the towel. Elyra pulled the blanket over him and sat at the edge of the bed, her arms crossed behind her as she leaned slightly.
"Thanks... for everything," Noel said, his voice low. "But... am I really more important than all your duties? I know how busy you are."
Elyra looked at him and smiled, soft but firm.
"Yes. Today, you are."
Noel blinked, unsure of how to respond. She leaned a bit closer, brushing his hair back.
"Probably the same for the other two as well. But I didn’t tell them anything. I wanted to have you all to myself for a little while."
"..."
"After classes, they’ll e. They’ll probably be upset I didn’t say anything. But hey..." She gave a small laugh. "Our Noir already chose who the ’mom’ is, didn’t he? So let’s not overthink it."
Noel sighed and sank deeper into the mattress. His body was still sore, but a strange calm settled over him. He turned to his side, already slipping toward sleep.
Elyra watched him for a moment, then gently reached toward the nightstand. Her fingers touched the cover of the leather-bound book he’d been reading earlier—Diary of the Forgotten Son.
She picked it up, curious.
But as she flipped it open, her brows furrowed. The pages were blank.
’A new journal? Is he planning to start writing in it? ...I hope he writes beautiful things about me.’
She smiled to herself, then carefully closed the book and set it back where it was.
Several quiet hours passed.
The room had grown still, lit only by the faint glow from the window. Elyra had fallen asleep sitting beside Noel, her back resting against the headboard, arms folded and legs crossed elegantly. Noir remained curled up in her usual chair, her black-and-purple fur barely rising with each breath.
Suddenly—tock tock tock—a soft but clear knock echoed through the room.
Noel stirred.
His eyes opened groggily, still heavy with sleep and illness. He blinked a few times, noticed Elyra still asleep beside him, and sighed. Slowly, he pushed himself up and walked toward the door.
He opened it.
Standing there were Elena and Charlotte.
Elena looked especially worried, her face a mix of relief and frustration.
Without a word, she moved forward and hugged him tightly, burying her head in his chest.
"Elena, I’m okay. Really," Noel said, his voice soft but reassuring.
Charlotte offered him a warm, gentle smile, her hands clasped together in front of her as if in prayer.
"I’ll give you a small blessing, just in case."
Noel raised a hand immediately, cutting her off.
"Don’t. I already told you—not for something this minor."
Charlotte pouted a little but nodded.
"Sorry. We were just really worried. Though..." She glanced into the room, where Elyra was now stretching on the bed. "It seems like you weren’t as bad as we imagined."
Elyra let out a yawn, elegantly covering her mouth.
"Oh, good afternoon, girls. You’re back from classes already?"
Elena still hadn’t let go of Noel.
"You didn’t think it was worth mentioning he was sick?" she snapped, voice tinged with both anger and concern. "We were at the training wondering where he was!"
"Sorry, sorry," Elyra said, sitting up straighter. "But you couldn’t skip your classes, right?"
"Only you get away with doing that," Elena shot back.
Elyra winked. "Perks of being the vice president, no?"
Noel sighed, wrapping an arm gently around Elena’s shoulder.
"Thanks for ing. And for worrying about me."
Elena mumbled, "Of course it’s nothing," while Charlotte nodded beside her.
The room filled with a brief, quiet warmth. Noel stood in the middle, flanked by the three girls who cared deeply for him, each showing it in their own way.
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