"EEEEEEH!?!!" Angelique screamed, slamming her hands on the table. Ange covered his ears while Robin, Eve and Guiltia who were on the other side of the room winced.

"You're going to work part-time as Lost Eden's assistant!?!!" She leaned towards her brother. The news she learned after coming home from work during a stormy night was mind blowing.

"Mm." Ange smiled. "Saga and Mist approved of me after Beth sent me to their home."

"EEEEEEEH?!!!" The three behind the siblings winced again. Though, not Ange.

The raven grabbed Ange by the shoulder. There were stars in her eyes. "You went to Lost Eden's home!?!!"

"Mm." The boy smiled.

"You mean the place where Saga-sama, Beth-sama, Jack-kun and Mist-sama live!!?"

"Mm."

"And you're going to work for them!?"

"Temporarily. Mist said I can work there for a month."

"How did you actually end up there?"

"Well...I want to learn more about Lost Eden. And then Beth gave me their address."

She cocked her head to the side. "But I already told you all the information available about Lost Eden when you asked me about them."

Ange scratched his cheek with his index finger. He didn't want to tell her this. "That was. . . . you only fangirled over them."

"I...." I thought I kept my fangirling emotions under control. "Sorry."

"I was wondering why you were screaming so much, Angelique. So it's about Lost Eden,huh." Robin walked towards them.

"That's because Ange gets to work for Lost Eden!!" She turned her awestruck and sparkly gaze at Robin. "He can watch Lost Eden closely and be near them!!"

She hugged Ange and giggled. "Hnngh!! You're so lucky!! You can watch Lost Eden's daily life! You can watch Mist-sama in his daily life!" Ange patted her head with an angelic smile of his.

"Hey, I've been curious... Angelique, do you like Lost Eden's Mist-san?" Robin asked. "Out of everyone in Lost Eden and Eclipse, you seem to stare at Mist-san's profile the most."

"Well..." She flushed pink and smiled. "You can say that. He's. . ." She tried to confess. 

"Mist was Angelique's first love." Ange spoke out the complete unexpected.

Angelique blushed. Robin gasped. Pannya stopped swaying its tail. Eve paused scrolling through his phone. Guiltia's hands stopped but his coffee didn't stop filling the cup.

The one to break the silence was none other than Robin. "Eh!! When? How?? Why didn't you tell us???"

The girl shyly smiled. "Mm... You see, he's the reason why I got into Lost Eden and also discovered Eclipse." She shifted to a more comfortable position. "The first time I heard his voice, I found it really dreamy and charming. All of his performances are perfect. His manner of speaking is perfect. Mist-sama himself is perfect..."

"I never thought that he would be your first love, Angelique," Eve sat down on the chair in front of her.

"Surprising, right?" Robin chimed.

"Pannya." The cat settled on Eve's lap. Guiltia came out from behind the kitchen with his cup of coffee. He asked the question he was curious about. "Do you still have feelings for him?"

She tucked her wet hair behind her ears. "Honestly....I think it's in the past. My feelings for him now are admiration and respect. It was fleeting but the time when I was in love with him was very colourful and beautiful." I think it was more of a crush than first love.

"But," she flashed a shy grin, "even though I like everyone in Lost Eden and Eclipse equally, I know I'm still biassed towards Mist-sama."

 There's one thing I'm sad about. Mist-sama has never sung a solo song before. I really want to hear him sing his own song....

"Oh," Ange forgot to tell her one thing. "I told Mist and Saga that you're a huge fan of Lost Eden and that you already told me everything about Lost Eden when they asked why I wanted to work for them."

"Eh....You told them!?" Saga-sama already knew but not Mist-sama!! What did he think of it?? Aa, I'm feeling so embarrassed now!

.  .  .  . . .  .

Everything felt different. Angelique couldn't pinpoint it out but she felt strange. Her eyesight was hazy. She felt dizzy. There was hardly any strength in her body. Did I not sleep enough?

"Good morning, Angelique." Ange greeted when he saw her enter. "Breakfast is ready."

....Right, earlier, Ange said he wanted to make breakfast since he has to wake up earlier now.

"Good morning." Eve, Guiltia and Robin also greeted her over the breakfast table. Something seemed strange about her. Even while they were eating, she was acting strange.

Normally, if it was food cooked by Ange, Angelique wouldn't stop expressing her delight. However, she hardly ate anything today. 

Eve spoke out, concerned to see the girl spaced out. "Angelique, are you okay? You look pale."

"Huh?" His voice snapped her out of her trance. She closed her eyes and weakly smiled. "I'm okay. I simply have a bad headache."

"Then you should eat up and take medicines." Ange urged. "Come on, eat up."

She put her chopsticks down. "I'm sorry, Ange. I don't have an appetite." She stood up. "I think the headache will go away if I rest for a while."

Ange opened his mouth to speak but then closed his mouth. He and the others watched her make her way out of the room when...

*THUD*

"Oww..." Angelique clutched her forehead from pain.

"She literally bumped straight into the wall!" Robin exclaimed, finding it hard to believe how the girl walked straight towards the wall and then slammed into it.

"Angelique!" Ange came to her in a rush. Who wouldn't be worried when his sister bumps right into a wall? He held her by her shoulders. "Are you okay?"

Eve came rushing after Ange while Guiltia and Robin followed him.

"....Mm..." She nodded and rubbed her nose. "I'm fine."

"You're not fine! What's the matter with you?" Ange urged, his grey eyes filled with worry.

She confessed, "Actually, I'm feeling a bit dizzy."

"Dizzy?" Frowning, he touched her face. "Oh my! Angelique, you're burning up!"

"Oh..."

Eve gently touched her hot forehead. "You have a high fever. It must be because you were soaked in the rain last night."

"Mm..."

"Come on, you need to rest, Angelique." Ange took her hand and started guiding her upstairs. The others followed them.

"You should take the day off from work, Angelique. You can't go to work in this state," Robin advised.

"I'll do that." She agreed easily.

"I'll take today off too. I need to take care of Angelique today."

As soon as the brunette said those words, Angelique stopped. "No! You can't!" She frowned and scolded him.

"It doesn't matter. You're sick." he argued back.

"...Absolutely not." She stuck to her decision stubbornly. "Don't cause trouble for Lost Eden because of me. I'll be fine. The others will be home."

"Mm." Robin nodded. "I'll be back in the afternoon right after completing my scheduled interview. Till then Eve-san and Guil-san will be with her."

"Don't worry, Ange. We'll take care of Angelique." Eve assured with his kind smile.

After their persuasion, Ange finally accepted. "....Fine."

.  . .  . . .  .

A cool hand. . . . . It feels really nice....  When she no longer felt the hand against her cheek, she whined. No, don't go...

Slowly, Angelique lifted her eyelids. Her hazy vision settled down and she saw a familiar pair of lavender eyes.

"....Guil-san?" Her voice sounded hoarse.

"Sorry, did I wake you up? I simply wanted to check your temperature," said the blonde. She noticed his gloveless right hand. So, it was Guil-san's hand.

Shaking her head, she lifted her body to sit up on the bed. Her body still felt heavy and weak. Eve had made her eat breakfast and then gave medicines before letting her sleep. "What time is it....?"

"It's almost lunchtime." Guiltia told her. "Eve has prepared your meal before he left."

"?" She tilted her head quizzically. "Where did he go?"

"Eve went to buy groceries. We've run out of fresh fruits." Nodding to his words, she tried to climb out of bed. I'm still feeling dizzy...

Immediately after she stood up, she lost her balance. !!! Fortunately, Guiltia was right beside her and caught her arm in time. He frowned upon her actions. "Where are you going?"

With his help, she stood up straight and lifted her head to look at him. "...Downstairs...for lunch."

Guiltia looked displeased. He could easily notice her flushed cheeks and uneven breathing. Moreover, she lost her balance just now. And she thought she could use the stairs in her current state?

"All you need to do is stay here. I'll bring you your meal."

"B-But..."

His stern look was enough for her to keep her mouth shut. He left no room for disagreement. And so, Guiltia brought a tray with her food and monitored her to make sure she ate well.

"Your fever still hasn't gone down," Guiltia claimed, having placed his right hand on her forehead after removing his red glove. Angelique closed her eyes. It's so cool....

".... Don't worry," she mumbled and opened her eyes. "Despite how weak I may seem, I've never had such a high fever before." She brought her hands in front of her in a cheerful manner. She beamed and proudly claimed, "That means I don't lose to fever easily."

Guiltia shook his head at her childish logic. Despite that, he had a fond smile on his face. It was nice to see her cheerful as always. Unknowingly, his hand moved from her forehead and rested on top of her head. "Then rest plenty and get well soon."

Thump.

Angelique didn't know what to make of his sudden affectionate gesture. It had been the first time he did this. And with that gentle smile as well. Truly a beautiful sight.

However, when he was about to move away, his hand slipped from her head. Before she knew it, her body reacted on its own and grabbed his hand. Her comparatively small hands weakly held him to get his attention.

Guiltia looked at her when she suddenly stopped him. He could see her sulking. "...You're leaving already...?"

 I don't want to be alone.... Perhaps it was the fever that was making her be so honest. If it were any other time, she would've kept her wishes to herself. I don't like being alone and lonely.

She requested, her grey eyes filled with hope that he wouldn't reject her wish. "....Don't go. It'll become lonely…"

Guiltia didn't have a choice, did he? Not when she looked like this. It was plastered on her face that she'd become really sad and lonely if he left.

Besides that, the man was concerned about her health as well. How could he leave her alone when she looked so fragile and small?

In order to assure her, he showed her a small smile. "I won't leave if that's what you want."

Immediately, a bright smile stretched across her face. It wasn't less bright than the sun. "Really?"

He nodded. "I'll stay till you fall asleep."

He hadn't expected her to look this happy. Contrary to before when she was sulking, now she had a dazzling smile. Her cheeks were flushed, though he wasn't sure if it was because of her fever or she was simply that happy. Whatever was the reason, he couldn't deny that she looked completely adorable.

Happily, she lay down on the bed and snuggled under the blanket. Honestly, I don't want to fall asleep because Guil-san will go away if I do that... But I feel sleepy now that I'm lying down..... Okay then! Let's try to stay awake!

She watched the blonde take a chair and sit down next to the bed. Looking at him made her remember something from the past.

"You know Guil-san, Ange used to easily get sick when he was younger. Back then I used to stay by his side like this."

"Did you? That was nice of you." He nodded.

The fever made her talkative. "I was scared that something bad might happen to him. That's why, I always held his hand so that he couldn't leave me." It made her chuckle dryly.

"Thinking back, I was really dumb and naive to think like that when it was nothing serious."

Closing his eyes, Guiltia replied as if it were the most obvious answer, "But knowing Ange, it must have made him happy to have you by his side."

"True... it feels a lot safer and assuring when you can feel someone's warmth." She flashed a close eyed smile in gratitude. "Thank you for staying by my side, Guil-san."

She turned to lie on her side while facing him. "Now that Ange has awakened as a vampire, he won't get sick anymore right?"

"Mm."

"That's really good to hear." She sighed in relief. "It was always worrisome when he was sick. Now I don't have to worry about passing off my cold to him anymore."

"The reason Ange used to get sick easily might have to do with the fact that he's a dhampir. His body was having trouble adjusting to human lifestyle."

The blonde smiled at her warmly. "You've been a good sister, Angelique. You're always looking out for Ange." He wasn't aware of how his words could affect her. "Ange is truly blessed to have a sister like you."

Angelique felt her heart skip a beat. The sudden compliment from him made her shy. Her cheeks suddenly felt hot. She tried to bury her reddening face in the pillow.

She shut her eyes and mumbled softly. "...It's nothing, really..."

My world has always revolved around Ange. But... She took a little peek at the man's face.I think that meeting everyone has slowly but surely changed my world....

In a matter of seconds, Angelique passed out. Her breathing became sound and even. Still, Guiltia didn't leave right away. He said he'd stay till she fell asleep but it wouldn't hurt to stay longer. He wanted to make sure she slept comfortably.

Thinking about it, it had been the first time he had been in Ange and Angelique's room. While having a look around, the thing that caught his attention was the shelf.

It was filled with OZ, Lost Eden and Eclipse's merchandise. A glimmer of happiness was born in his crystallised heart when he saw that she showed her endless support for OZ by keeping them at the top. Other than that, there were some musical books and books on composing music.

Guiltia knew how both the siblings were working hard to make their dreams come true. It was obvious that he had a special fondness for them. They were connected by music after all. 

His lavender eyes returned back to Angelique's peaceful sleeping face. Simply looking at her was enough to warm his frozen heart. Was this because she resembled them so much?

The smile that bloomed on his lips was uncharacteristically gentle. So were his eyes and whisper.

"The two of you have grown up to be such warm and lovely persons.... If Yutaka and Kotomi were still alive, they would've been proud of you."

To be continued...