Late Night—
It was already the middle of the night, and Stelle had fallen into a deep sleep.
She had slept almost the entire day, so she was bound to have a little trouble sleeping at night, and only finally felt sleepy in the latter half of the night.
It was the same for Jean in the next room, but even if she hadn't slept during the day, she would probably still have trouble sleeping at night.
Lying in bed, she tossed and turned, extremely conflicted.
As soon as she thought of Stelle sleeping next door, her heart began to stir restlessly.
Especially since the room next door had no door lock; if she wanted to, she could just push the door open and enter.
But how could Jean do something like a night raid? She…
She should get up first.
She couldn't sleep now, so she would go out for some fresh air.
Jean slowly got up. She had already changed into a light nightgown that was somewhat out of character for her usual style.
Although it was a bit thin, it wasn't cold at this time of year.
On the contrary, Jean only felt a little hot now.
She slowly walked out of her room in slippers. The hallway was pitch black, and the moonlight from outside the window could only illuminate a tiny area.
Further in was Stelle's bedroom.
"I wonder if Stelle is asleep yet…"
Jean thought this to herself and tiptoed towards Stelle's room, making no sound.
She was just concerned, checking on Stelle's situation, with no other intentions.
Arriving at her room door, Jean leaned her ear against it, listening to the sounds inside.
It sounded like she was asleep; her breathing was steady, and there were no other unusual noises.
Jean just stood there, for a moment not knowing what she should do.
Leaving was not an option, staying was not an option.
Going in… was also not an option.
After a long time, Jean finally shook her head fiercely, making up her mind.
The next morning, Hunter's Deer.
Stelle arrived here early in the morning, ready to have breakfast with Lumine.
She had thought Acting Grand Master Jean would be with her, but when she woke up early today, she didn't see Acting Grand Master Jean.
She only found a note left by Jean, saying that the Knights of Favonius had an urgent matter she needed to deal with, and that Stelle should go to Hunter's Deer to meet Lumine first, and she would have her breakfast in the Knights of Favonius's mess hall.
The handwriting on the note was a bit messy, indicating that Jean was truly in a hurry, perhaps there was indeed a very urgent matter.
Although Stelle was a little worried, she couldn't help with the Knights of Favonius's affairs, so she finally had to go to Hunter's Deer alone first.
As for Lumine, she had arrived here early and had already ordered a table full of food.
However…
"Stelle, are you alright?!" As soon as they met, Lumine eagerly grabbed Stelle's hand and asked, a hint of worry in her eyes.
"What could possibly be wrong with me??" Stelle looked at Lumine with a head full of question marks.
Acting Grand Master Jean's home wasn't some demon's den, and there wouldn't be any danger. She couldn't understand why Lumine would ask that.
"Cough, no, I mean, how did you sleep…" Lumine laughed awkwardly, changing her question.
But she also took that brief moment to carefully examine Stelle.
There were no marks on her face or neck that she didn't want to see.
This made Lumine's heart feel a little more at ease.
"Not bad, though I didn't sleep for too long," Stelle recalled, nodding.
After all, she had slept for a long time yesterday morning, and wasn't very sleepy at night, so she probably only fell asleep in the latter half of the night, right?
Even though she didn't sleep for long, the quality of her sleep was very good, and she had a nice dream.
In her dream, she seemed to be tasting some delicious food, and her mouth was filled with a sweet taste.
And it must be said that Acting Grand Master Jean's bed was also very comfortable, similar to the feeling of sleeping in a tent last time—soft, warm, and fragrant.
"What about Acting Grand Master Jean? She, last night…" Lumine's eyes darted around, then she asked again.
"Acting Grand Master Jean?" Stelle was even more confused.
She and Acting Grand Master Jean weren't in the same room, so how could she know if she slept well?
"She should be fine too, right?" Stelle said, sounding unsure.
After all, since Acting Grand Master Jean could get up so early today, she probably didn't sleep too late last night…
"Oh." Lumine didn't press further; she pulled Stelle back to the seats they had just reserved.
Paimon, who was already there, had started eating, her mouth never stopping, her cheeks puffed out.
"Let's wait here for a bit; Acting Grand Master Jean should be coming over soon." Stelle couldn't help but smile, looking at Paimon's appearance.
Paimon's eating was very cute, and she wondered how such a tiny creature could eat so much.
"Paimon, why have you already started eating?" Lumine slapped her forehead helplessly.
"Huh? What's wrong?" Paimon lifted her small head and looked at Lumine confusedly, speaking a bit incoherently.
"Stelle and Acting Grand Master Jean haven't arrived yet, and you're almost done with all the food." Lumine looked at the remaining food on the table, speechless. Even though their appetites weren't very big, there still wasn't enough.
"It's okay, Lumine, Acting Grand Master Jean said she'd have breakfast at the Knights of Favonius's mess hall this morning," Stelle quickly told Lumine.
"The Knights of Favonius's mess hall?" Lumine looked at Stelle in surprise.
"Yes, she said the Knights of Favonius had an urgent matter, so she went there early in the morning."
"Is that so? What urgent matter could the Knights of Favonius have so early in the morning…"
…
What urgent matter could it be? Jean, far away in the Knights of Favonius headquarters, was also pondering this question.
When she came to her senses and saw that Stelle was showing faint signs of waking up, she hurriedly left the room, then left a note and rushed out the door.
"Sigh…" Jean sighed deeply, leaning back in her office chair, her eyes vacant.
She regretted it a little; she had been so spineless to run away instead of apologizing to Stelle immediately.
Even if Stelle didn't know, Jean felt she had done something unforgivable to Stelle.
Perhaps to outsiders, it wasn't that excessive, and there was nothing wrong with two girls doing such a thing.
But Jean knew exactly what she was thinking at the time, and she even had further intentions. If her willpower hadn't been strong enough, and she hadn't retained that last shred of sanity, she might have acted on it directly.
Doing something like that while someone was sleeping was truly too sordid.
And the most surprising thing was that she hadn't hesitated much in her heart last night at all.
Everything happened so naturally, as if she had been controlled by something.
From the moment she stood at Stelle's door, everything was irreversible.
"What's wrong with me? Why would I do such a thing?" Jean felt a hint of despair.
She should go to the church and confess to Venti, but there was no time for that now.
Because it was almost time for her appointment with Stelle and the others; they would be going to Diluc's Dawn Winery soon, and she had to leave early now.
But how was she going to face Stelle later?
She was a little scared. What if Stelle had already discovered something and was just waiting for her to come over later…
If she went over and was met with Stelle's cold gaze, she would die on the spot, wouldn't she?
Though it would be well-deserved.
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