Chapter 103
Sia felt suffocated because she couldn’t even go outside due to the Crown Prince. But she was worried that if she stepped out onto the balcony just to get some fresh air, she might end up making eye contact with him as he passed below, so she lay sprawled on the sofa in the sitting room instead.
Marie, who understood her frustration, didn’t scold her despite her unladylike demeanor. She simply stayed quietly at her side and brought whatever she needed in advance.
Just then, the door burst open roughly. There was only one person who would enter Sia’s room without knocking. Sia, who had been lying down, sprang up and looked toward the door. Nox, looking far from his usual neat appearance, strode in and said,
“Sia, I’m back.”
“…Lord Nox!”
Sia ran the distance he had just crossed and quickly threw herself into his arms. Nox easily supported her bottom with one hand and lifted her up. Still holding her, he walked over to the sofa.
As he went, he left a brief kiss on her cheek, then sat down and asked,
“Have you been doing well?”
“…I think I’ve been doing well, aside from causing a very small incident.”
Sia whispered cautiously, watching his expression. Am I going to be scolded…?
Nox slid his fingers through her hair he had missed and stroked it, replying in an unconcerned tone,
“I heard the general situation from Cedric. There’s nothing for you to worry about.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
His firm answer only made Sia worry instead. She was worried that he might overexert himself because of her.
“…Really?”
He read the concern lingering in her black eyes. Even at a moment like this, Sia was thinking of him first. That alone made the fatigue that had built up from riding here without rest seem to fade away.
Drawing a gentle smile, Nox hesitated for a moment before speaking quietly.
“…I think it is time I tell you as well.”
“Yes? Tell me what?”
Her round eyes widened with curiosity, and he found it unbearably adorable. He had felt guilty the whole time for not telling her the truth, yet the words didn’t come easily.
Even if she learned that all males desired her, would Sia still love him?
He recalled James, whom he had met on the battlefield. Though they shared the same hair color, that man didn’t seem to have lived the same unjust life as he had. Even with the same black hair, what if Sia preferred a confident man like that instead?
No, even if the man didn’t have black hair, if Sia wanted him, that person would surely accept her.
‘I have no one but you…’
The fear surged that she might not feel the same. Even so, he had to tell her the truth. He didn’t want to deceive her any longer, and he found himself hoping that even after learning everything, she would still love only him.
“A prophecy has come down from the temple. It is…”
He told her everything, from the contents of the prophecy to the fact that all races were searching for Sia, a human. After finishing, he gently tucked her slightly disheveled hair behind her ear and added,
“So there is no need for you to worry so much. Even if you don’t follow the customs of this nation, no one will be able to say anything to you…”
“…So that god didn’t come only for me.”
“That’s right.”
Sia, who had been worried the whole time about what she had said to the Crown Prince, felt her chest lighten. Then a thought suddenly occurred to her. When the Crown Prince had first come, Nox had hidden her. That meant he had lied to royalty.
‘What if Lord Nox suffers because of me?’
Now she understood why he hadn’t let her leave the room at that time. It sounded noble to call her a sacred human chosen by a prophecy, but on the flip side, she could easily become a slave or a hostage.
The contents of the prophecy also felt a little strange. It said that the race that obtained the human would continue its lineage longer than the others.
‘Does that mean… a union between human and beastkin?’
The wording of the prophecy was vague and confusing. If she prayed and asked, would she receive an answer? Still held in his arms, Sia was following that stray train of thought when a faint metallic smell reached her nose, making her wrinkle it slightly.
“…Lord Nox.”
“I’m sorry, for hiding it from you…”
Hearing her voice drop slightly, Nox tensed and apologized immediately. He felt embarrassed for not telling her the truth from the beginning, yet at the same time, he thought that even if he went back in time, he probably wouldn’t have told her then either.
The reason he could tell her now was because he believed that she loved him too.
“No, not that.”
“…I was wrong.”
“I’m not asking for an apology. Don’t you smell something like blood?”
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