Her friends' teasing had prompted the innocent little rabbit to take immediate action.
Cheryl tiptoed toward Grey's room.
She wasn't sure why she wanted to keep their meeting a secret. Maybe she was just too nervous. Maybe she wanted to be alone with him. Or perhaps she was simply too shy, or wanted to surprise him.
When she reached the door, Cheryl didn't knock right away. Instead, she pressed her ear against the wall like a petty thief about to commit a burglary.
The room was quiet. That was hardly surprising, since it was nighttime.
Grey must be exhausted and already in bed. The thought made Cheryl's cheeks flush.
She wanted to turn around and run away, but a strange sense of excitement kept her from taking even a single step back. Although she'd seen Grey sleeping many times back in the slave camp, her feelings were completely different now.
Her little upturned nose wrinkled slightly as she caught a familiar metallic scent.
"Is Grey injured? Did robbers break in? Is he still alive?"
In an instant, Cheryl's heart began to race. Her mind went blank, and she simply couldn't process the information properly. If it had been anyone else, she would have called for help without a second thought or fled in a panic.
But it was Grey... Her close friend and companion... The man who had left an indelible mark on her heart...
Her man!
Mustering her courage, Cheryl pushed the door open as quietly as she could and slipped inside.
There were no enemies. No signs of a struggle or blood. The room was perfectly tidy, and Grey was sleeping peacefully in his bed. His chest rose and fell in a steady rhythm, and a relaxed smile played on his face.
For a split second, Cheryl froze in place, admiring his handsome profile.
He looked so defenseless, so relaxed... She couldn't remember the last time she'd seen him so carefree.
Ever since they'd met, it seemed that trouble had constantly followed him, or that he had gone looking for trouble himself. Grey never sat idle. He was always fighting, devising elaborate plans, and taking responsibility for the lives of others.
Cheryl didn't understand why he worked so hard, but she admired his unbreakable will.
Over time, she'd grown accustomed to his behavior and simply accepted his strange actions as something ordinary. That was just the kind of person he was.
Only now, as she gazed at Grey's face, free of its usual frown and thoughtful expression, did Cheryl truly realize how heavy a burden he had been carrying. In a world where only the strong had the right to choose, he had been denied that freedom.
Unlike her, who had never dreamed of becoming strong, Grey had grown up in a noble family and understood the high expectations others placed on him. That was why he constantly fought, striving to prove his worth.
At least, that was the conclusion Cheryl had reached as she reflected on his personality.
She didn't want to disturb his light sleep, so she immediately abandoned the idea of showing off her new ability.
"Wait, if Grey is perfectly fine, then where is that bloody smell coming from?" Cheryl snapped out of her daze and looked around, searching for the source of the anomaly.
Cheryl was a rabbit beastkin and trusted her sense of smell. Lately, she'd caught similar scents more than once, so she knew she wasn't mistaken.
But no matter how carefully she examined the moonlit room, she couldn't find anything unusual.
She drew back the curtains, peeked inside the wardrobe, and even checked under the bed. That was where she found the source of the bloody smell. A large basin, usually used for washing, was filled to the brim with water stained red.
After returning home from the massacre he'd carried out, Grey had carefully washed himself, scrubbed the dirt and sweat from his body, and treated all his wounds. He knew he couldn't go to bed covered in blood.
After all, he lived in the same house as a large number of women. If someone came to check on him in the middle of the night, wouldn't his alibi become a joke?
So, despite his exhaustion, Grey had found the strength to cover his tracks. He'd even left the window open and lit some fragrant incense to mask the smell, then stuffed all his bloodstained rags and clothes into his bottomless pocket.
Of course, he couldn't heal all the wounds on his body in an instant, but he was absolutely certain that by morning, he'd recover enough to keep anyone from noticing anything.
The one thing he hadn't accounted for was the sensitive nose of a little rabbit girl who shouldn't have been here in the first place.
Cheryl stared at the darkened water, a mixture of shock and panic on her face. Whose blood was it?
She turned around and looked once more at Grey's peaceful face.
Overcome by curiosity, she carefully lifted the blanket, and what she saw made her shudder.
Grey's entire body was covered in deep wounds, abrasions, and bruises. It seemed there wasn't a single patch of uninjured skin left on him. Numerous white bandages soaked in medicinal potions covered his worst wounds. Red stains spread across them like oceans, but even the exposed patches of skin were a horrifying sight. Only his face remained unharmed...
Cheryl's breathing grew ragged. Even Quintilian had never beaten Grey so mercilessly back in the slave camp.
"By the Beast God, just a few hours ago, he was happily singing and dancing to entertain the audience. So what did he do to end up in such a state?"
Cheryl lowered the blanket back into place. She wasn't sure she wanted to know the answer to that question.
"But if Grey didn't ask for help or say a single word about it, then he must want to keep his injuries a secret, right?"
Having reached this conclusion, Cheryl felt noticeably more cheerful.
She felt guilty for prying into someone else's life, yet at the same time, she felt a strange joy in knowing more about Grey than anyone else. If he wanted to keep this a secret, she would never betray his trust.
"Cheryl is such a bad girl. Grey doesn't even know that Cheryl knows. But this is so exciting..."
"Wait, Cheryl... Will Grey really be okay? His wounds look very serious. Maybe she should tell someone so they can help him?"
She immediately shook her head from side to side.
"No, no, no. Cheryl won't reveal his secret. But then how can she help him?"
Cheryl fell into thought, pressing a little finger to her lips.
She didn't notice how much bolder she'd become since their first meeting.
In the past, faced with such a dilemma, she would undoubtedly have panicked. Now, however, she could calmly consider her options.
"That's right! Cheryl saw a minor healing potion in Aunt Lydia's cabinet. Maybe she should... steal it?"
Her heart pounded wildly as she considered the idea.
She was a very obedient girl and had never done anything so shameless before.
In her eyes, stealing something from her best friend's mother was utterly despicable.
If it were for anyone else, or even for herself, she would have dismissed the idea without a second thought. But right now, it was Grey who needed help...
"Cheryl can't leave him like this. He's always taken such good care of us and never refused to help. Aunt Lydia is also close to him, and she wouldn't want to see Grey die..."
"That's right! This isn't stealing... Cheryl will only borrow her potions for a little while and try to pay her back as soon as possible. Cheryl will even take on more of Aunt Lydia's duties as an apology..." Having comforted herself with these words, Cheryl left Grey's room.
She hurried toward the room she needed, which was not far from her own.
When she ran into two maids in the corridor, she shrank back awkwardly, but managed to force the sweetest, most innocent smile she could muster and wished them good night.
Sophie and Wendy smiled warmly at her and wished her good night in return.
Although they sensed something strange about Cheryl's behavior, they paid it no mind. After all, they weren't in the habit of sticking their noses into other people's business.
Once the girls had disappeared around the corner, Cheryl gave the door a light knock, but heard no response from Lydia's room.
"No one's here," she thought. "Stay calm, Cheryl. Just do it quickly. Go in, take the potion, and leave. No one will notice anything."
Mustering her courage, Cheryl flung the door open and rushed toward the cabinet she needed.
Unlike the other rooms Cheryl cleaned, Aunt Lydia's chambers were furnished quite extravagantly. They were surpassed in luxury only by Lady Veronika's quarters, but Cheryl paid no attention to that.
She had never cared about material wealth or given it much thought. Her financial literacy was so poor that it had never even occurred to her to wonder why Aunt Lydia, despite being so wealthy, had been unable to buy her daughter out of slavery for so long.
All Cheryl knew how to do was save the few pennies she earned. Everything else had nothing to do with her.
Cheryl opened the second drawer and quickly took out the potion she needed. It looked similar to the ones Grey had distributed among his subordinates.
She slipped it into her pocket, took out a string of coins tied together from the same pocket, and carefully placed them where the potion had been. There were exactly nine copper coins stacked in a neat pile, all the savings she'd accumulated while working at the brothel.
Pressing her lips together with guilt, Cheryl closed the drawer, then resolutely slipped out of the room.
She returned to the sleeping Grey, unaware that she had driven an innocent rabbit to commit the first crime of her life.
As she listened to the silence in the room, Cheryl ignored all the moans coming from the other rooms.
Her attention was entirely focused on Grey's steady breathing.
Once again, she convinced herself that she was doing the right thing.
Cheryl uncorked the bottle and gently parted his lips to pour the healing potion into his mouth.
A tingling sensation ran through her body when she felt the softness beneath her fingertips. However, she forced herself to ignore it. Grey's health came first.
She lifted his head and poured the liquid that was supposed to heal his wounds into his mouth.
At that moment, Cheryl felt a sense of joy and relief at having fulfilled her duty unlike anything she had ever experienced before.
A relaxed sigh escaped her lips.
After making sure Grey had swallowed every last drop, she adjusted his position and covered him with the blanket again. Then she quietly changed the water in the basin beneath his bed.
She had done everything she could and knew she couldn't stay any longer, yet she still couldn't tear her eyes away from the handsome face that often appeared in her dreams.
She couldn't help recalling how he had sung that afternoon.
Her tender heart began to beat faster as she started singing him the lullaby her mother used to sing to her.
🎶🎵🎶
Sleep peacefully, sleep tight, I'll keep all your secrets safe
This world is poisoned by war, but don't be afraid, sleep safe
So much pain has fallen on you... You've had enough, just sleep safe
I'll guard your dreams from fear and guilt tonight
Close your eyes and see the ocean
Hear the waves and wind in their commotion
Let your grief be buried under white ash
Here, you don't have to pretend to be brave
Open up your hands, let come what may
We're alive, we're only human anyway
Tomorrow you'll be strong again, but for now
Let the clouds go wherever they are bound
This night will be long, so very long
Black as a raven, cold as the waves
Your heart still answers the call of duty
But there's no point in it anymore
Broken... There's only your skin left to tear away
Oh, God...
The lighthouses have gone dark, and so have you
With your last strength, you still light their way
Rest, at least for a little while
Sleep peacefully, sleep tight, I'll keep all your secrets safe
This world is poisoned by war, but don't be afraid, sleep safe
So much pain has fallen on you... You've had enough, just sleep safe
I'll guard your dreams from fear and guilt tonight
🎶🎵🎶
Cheryl finished singing, tears streaming down her chubby cheeks.
When she was a child, she'd simply thought the lullaby sounded pleasant, but now she found herself paying attention to the lyrics.
Cheryl didn't know who had originally written it, but she had a strong feeling that every line had been written specifically to describe Grey's situation.
A tired boy. A boy who had taken too much upon himself. A boy she liked.
Giving in to some irrational impulse, Cheryl leaned forward slightly and quickly pressed her lips against his, leaving a gentle, almost imperceptible kiss.
Realizing what she'd done, Cheryl covered her face with her hands, turned around, walked out the door, and carefully closed it behind her.
P.S.
Oh, damn, this is one of the sweetest scenes I've ever written.
Cheryl really is a very bad girl...
And song Mary Gu's — Колыбельная fits this scene so beautifully. https://open.spotify.com/track/02Kn1NJy52EUdnBQSwQPBi?si=74422af281cb493f
P.S.S.
Support me on Patreon so that bad girls get punished.
Leave likes so Grey can heal.
Write reviews so Cheryl doesn't get caught stealing.
Leave comments if you wish this cutie good luck.