Seeing Ciel's eyes flutter open, Isiah maintained a stern, serious expression as he finished fastening the final button on the child's shirt.
Deep down, a sudden wave of relief washed over him at the sight, but he found himself completely unable to offer a smile or a comforting word.
He failed to notice the sheer terror locked within the child's wide, vacant stare. Leaning down, Isiah reached out to place his cold palm against the boy's forehead to check if the fever had truly broken.
The moment his skin grazed Ciel's face, the child violently recoiled.
Ciel scrambled backward in sheer panic until his spine slammed against the cold wall behind the mattress, his small hands clutching his shirt collar tight. "What...??? What are you doing?"
Isiah froze, his hand suspended in midair as the realization struck him. The child was deeply, inexplicably terrified of him.
