Unease

With a resigned sigh, Cedran gently lowered Damien onto the cushions. They were incredibly soft, sinking beneath him.

"Thank you again, Cedran, for everything," Damien said, looking up at Cedran as he settled into the luxurious pile of cushions.

Cedran gave a slight nod, his expression a mixture of fondness and reluctance.

Sinking into the sea of feather cushions, Damien managed to express his gratitude to Cedran.

"I pray for your continued health, Damien," Cedran responded.

"And I wish you the same, Cedran."

As Damien exchanged farewells with Cedran, Theo suddenly climbed into the cushion-filled carriage and closed the door behind him.

Wait, he's coming along? Damien thought, surprised. There's no place to sit in this carriage, so how's this going to work?

Before he could figure it out, Theo lay down right next to him, settling into the cushions.

...So that's how it is, Damien realized.

Theo stretched out his arm from within the cushion sea and knocked on the wall of the carriage. With a creaking sound, the carriage began to move.

"Now, this will take a while, so please just rest, Damien," Theo said.

Though Damien couldn't see outside as he was buried in the cushions, the carriage barely rocked, moving at a slow, steady pace. Wherever Theo's estate was, it seemed like the journey would indeed take some time.

"Um, Theo, why are you in this carriage?" Damien asked. He had assumed he'd ride in the other, non-modified carriage.

"What? Of course, because someone needs to keep an eye on your condition," he replied.

Isn't that usually something a servant would do? Damien thought to himself.

"Don't worry. The doctor is in the carriage ahead, so just rest," Theo added with a gentle smile, his gaze fixed on Damien.

His stare, along with the occasional stifled giggle, made him feel uneasy.

...There's no way I can sleep like this, he thought.

Embarrassed by Theo's delighted gaze, Damien closed his eyes, pretending to sleep. But instead of helping, the muffled giggles, which he couldn't fully suppress, made it even harder to rest.

He was laughing quietly, and the once majestic and divine appearance of Theo was quickly fading in Damien's mind.

As the carriage continued its slow crawl, Damien lay there, tense, hoping that Theo wouldn't try anything while he pretended to sleep. He wished, with all his heart, that the carriage could just speed up—regardless of the strain it might put on his body.

If only they'd hurry up and get this over with.

In the end, Damien couldn't sleep at all, as he was far too preoccupied with Theo's presence.

They had been traveling for quite a long time, but Damien couldn't even tell how much time had passed because he had been on edge the entire time, watching Theo's every move. It must have been several hours, at least.

Despite being buried in the soft, cushioned carriage, Damien's body had started to grow stiff. He debated whether to pretend to roll over just to stretch a bit when, finally, the carriage came to a stop. It seemed they had reached their destination.

"Damien, we've arrived," Theo said, gently shaking his shoulder.