Reborn as a Mind-Reading Empress

Arabella promised to help him choose but they haven’t had the chance yet.

Count Morbal and Count Sibruh even added to the workload.

Ferdinand was fine without sleep for days but Arabella did not like him doing that. She reiterated that his human body, though already well-trained, was still a human body, and thus would be easily strained if he did not take good care of it.

She kept telling him to sleep every night even if just for a few hours so Ferdinand was no longer spending several nights without sleep. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

Moreover, Ferdinand would not let the opportunity to lavish Arabella and sleep beside her pass.

They were riddled with work the whole day so they had no time for it yet. Thankfully, Raymond and Alwin had already helped Ferdinand pick general gifts he would bring with him tomorrow night.

Specific gifts for Arabella’s siblings were not yet picked though.

Ferdinand thought of gifting a sword to Benjamin but it would seem half-hearted if it was just a random sword that did not suit him. Thus, he saved that idea for later.

Since Arabella promised she would help him pick gifts, Ferdinand was assured that she would choose things that her sibling would like.

’Perhaps, tomorrow morning,’ Ferdinand thought as he headed to the bath to clean up.

When he was clean and ready for bed, he finally headed to his wife’s room.

Rendell was guarding outside Arabella’s room since Ferdinand was away.

Alwin was also nearby.

"What time did she retire to her room?" Ferdinand inquired since his wife tended to work too hard. She was still so young but it was as if she was chasing after something.

It was making Ferdinand fret that she might have an illness she was hiding but he had repeatedly examined her, himself when they were in Estrella.

She was perfectly healthy, especially after he began giving her mana. So, it puzzled Ferdinand even now, why she seemed to always be in a hurry to achieve things.

He understood that she might be feeling pressured since she was from a smaller territory when compared to Valeria. He had tried assuring her repeatedly but she still kept working so hard that he had to disturb her just so she would stop working.

"Past midnight, Your Majesty," Rendell replied.

Ferdinand frowned at that.

"Does she always do this when I am not around?"

"Not always, but most of the time," Rendell reported.

Ferdinand sighed and said, "I see. Alright, you are dismissed."

"Yes, Your Majesty," Rendell bowed and walked away.

Alwin teleported in front of Arabella’s room and did his daily report. There was nothing amiss so once he was done with his report, Alwin said, "Then, I will take my leave too."

"Wait, did Arabella ask about me before retiring for the night?" Ferdinand inquired. Somehow he wanted to know.

"Yes, Your Majesty. She asked about you before retiring for the night," Alwin nodded.

Ferdinand was delighted by that. One realization that hit Ferdinand when he fell in love with Arabella was that he could be happy about every little thing. And this was one of those times.

"I see. You should go and rest too, Alwin."

"I shall take my leave then," Alwin said and teleported to the Magic Tower.

With Rendell and Alwin gone, Ferdinand finally entered Arabella’s room with a smile on his face.

Her scent greeted him nicely when he opened the door. He could already hear her soft breathing so he knew she was asleep.

’Did she miss me? I missed her a lot even if it was just a few hours apart.’

Ferdinand undid his outer robe and only let his sleeping clothes remain. He preferred sleeping naked; but with Arabella with him, he was too sensitive to everything so it was better to remain clothed.

He was about to go to bed but froze when he gazed at her.

Arabella was sleeping so soundly.

’What if I end up waking her? She needed her rest.’

Ferdinand gulped and glanced at the couch.

’Should I just sleep there?’

He could simply return to his own room but after getting a taste of being allowed to sleep in Arabella’s room almost every night, sleeping in his own room was almost like a punishment.

Ferdinand would rather sleep on the couch than sleep in a different room from Arabella’s; especially when she looked this adorable when she was asleep.

He smiled when he noticed that she was facing his side of the bed.

’Did she think about me before going to bed?’

Ferdinand was delighted by that. After hesitating for several minutes and just gazing at her, he finally decided to sleep in the bed with her when she pulled the sheets up to her head as if she was feeling cold.

Or was it because he gazed at her too much?

Ferdinand worried that Arabella might not be able to breathe with the sheets covering her fully like that so he slowly and gently got onto the bed until he was lying beside her.

He gently pulled down the sheets so they would not cover even her lovely face.

He wrapped her in his arms and he smiled when she welcomed it and hugged him back even in her sleep. She buried her face on his chest.

"Sweet dreams, My Love," Ferdinand kissed her forehead and held her a bit tighter.

One thing Ferdinand was secretly delighted about was that he knew that Arabella slept better in his arms.

Perhaps because as her maid Aletha said, she was sensitive to the cold and it was warm to hold each other like this. Or maybe, it was simply because Arabella liked him that much and loved his warmth and presence right beside her, like how he felt towards her.

Ferdinand enjoyed gazing at Arabella’s sleeping face before he was lulled to sleep by the sound of her breathing.

However, he woke up just a few hours later when he felt Arabella move.

Ferdinand yawned and lazily opened his eyes. He frowned when he realized that Arabella had turned her back towards him. He preferred sleeping while facing each other. She usually slept facing him too.

’Is she angry at me by any chance for not informing her before departing to Morbal?’