Len's measured strides pressed into the plush carpet, advancing without a single sound until he came to a halt right beside the edge of the massive royal bed.
Beneath the heavy, silken folds of the blanket, the pale blue tint of dawn tracing across Astria's face was gradually shifting into the golden hue of morning. Len remained standing there, unmoving, his dark eyes silently absorbing every line of her peaceful visage.
Presently, he inclined his tall stature slightly downward. His face drew exceptionally close to her ears and the scattered, silken strands of her hair, where the warmth of his breath mingled with the chilly morning air.
Len parted his lips with immense delicacy. The harsh defiance and gravity of the previous night had completely vanished; dissolving his voice into an incredibly soft, low rustle of the wind, he whispered:
"Hey... morning has arrived."
The tone was so calm and velvety, like a leaf settling soundlessly onto a still pool of water—a profoundly gentle summons meant to draw Astria back into the waking world from the depths of her slumber without a single trace of startle or unrest.
Len's measured strides pressed into the plush carpet, advancing without a single sound until he came to a halt right beside the edge of the massive royal bed.
Beneath the heavy, silken folds of the blanket, the pale blue tint of dawn tracing across Astria's face was gradually shifting into the golden hue of morning. Len remained standing there, unmoving, his dark eyes silently absorbing every line of her peaceful visage.
Presently, he inclined his tall stature slightly downward. His face drew exceptionally close to her ears and the scattered, silken strands of her hair, where the warmth of his breath mingled with the chilly morning air. Len parted his lips with immense delicacy.
The harsh defiance and gravity of the previous night had completely vanished; dissolving his voice into an incredibly soft, low rustle of the wind, he whispered right beside her ear, "Hey... wake up, morning has arrived."
The tone was so calm and velvety, like a leaf settling soundlessly onto a still pool of water. Yet, not a single tremor passed through Astria's lashes; her long, dense needles of gold remained resting against her cheeks, her breathing maintaining its deep, slow cadence. The heavy cloak of slumber still held her entirely in its grasp.
Beholding this, Len shifted his lips away from her ear. Altering the angle of his posture, he positioned his frame directly over Astria's face.
The distance separating them narrowed to mere inches, where the subtle aroma of sandalwood rising from his damp hair began to weave into her breath. Pinning his dark gaze onto her closed eyes once more, he deepened his voice into a softer, more intimate murmur, "Hey... get up already."
This time, the sheer proximity and the warmth of his breath took effect. A microscopic movement stirred behind Astria's sealed lids. Her azure eyes drew open slowly, the lingering haze of sleep keeping her pupils unfocused for the first few fractions of a second.
The moment her consciousness fully returned, her gaze locked instantly onto Len's face, looming directly above her.
To witness a figure as stark and unyielding as Len hovering over her with such absolute familiarity in the quiet hours of dawn sent an unexpected jolt through Astria.
The sheer intimacy of the moment spiked her pulse in an instant, a faint, flustered blush tracing across her fair cheeks. Caught in a sudden whirlwind of astonishment and instinctual shyness, she bolted upright from the mattress with a sudden, panicked jerk.
However, she completely failed to realize that Len was still deeply inclined over her frame. As her body surged upward with sudden velocity, Len was not afforded even a fraction of a second to pull back. Consequently, their foreheads collided with a sharp, heavy thud.
The sudden impact resonated distinctly through the velvety silence of the chamber. The sharp, abrupt sting of the collision brought an immediate wince to both of their features.
Astria instantly brought both of her palms to clutch her forehead, a mixture of pain and absolute disbelief swirling within her azure eyes, while Len was forced back a pace, his composure momentarily broken by the unexpected strike.
The sharp resonance of the sudden impact still drifted through the chilly air of the chamber. Len lifted his right hand, resting his long, measured fingers against the precise spot on his brow where the impact had left its sting.
Not a single trace of anger or displeasure surfaced across his features; instead, a very slow, hidden glint of amusement played within the depths of his eyes. He narrowed his lids a fraction, but his gaze did not waver from the silhouette seated before him for even a single second.
His deep, unwavering eyes remained pinned directly onto Astria's face, who was currently pressing both of her palms against her own forehead.
"What exactly happened just now?" Len inquired. His voice harbored not a single shred of his usual harsh authority. His tone remained remarkably gentle, calm, and soft, as though this unexpected morning chaos had only added a layer of patience to his composure.
The velvety low quality of his voice began to dissolve the sudden sting of pain lingering within the room.
Astria lifted her deep azure eyes from beneath the shelter of her hands. The flush scattered across her fair cheeks had not yet entirely dissolved, and her breathing remained slightly rapid from the sudden whirlwind of events.
Inhaling a quiet breath, she actively attempted to anchor her inner composure.
Loosening her fingers slightly from her brow, she tried to re-establish her regal dignity upon her features, even if the residual shyness in her eyes refused to cooperate.
"It is nothing..." Astria murmured, carefully steadying her velvety tone. She averted her gaze a fraction away from Len's piercing eyes, directing her words toward the velvet framework of the sofa as she completed her thought, "You... you were simply far too close."
The subtle grievance and hesitation laced within her words vividly betrayed how heavily Len's unexpected proximity during these quiet hours of dawn had disrupted the rhythm of her pulse—a sudden rush she had desperately, and rather chaotically, tried to evade.