Chapter 136
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Sia’s fever would not go down, and she had no strength in her body, so she could do nothing but lie still. She did not even have the strength to lift her eyelids, that said everything.
But her ears were still open.
“Sia, Sia…”
Nox called her desperately every day, his voice sounding as if he were dying, and it pained her that she could not answer. Still, she was not very worried. She had expected that she would suffer through a severe bout of illness at least once.
Even when she was in Korea, she would fall sick every year during seasonal changes. She thought this was no different. It was just that the timing was particularly bad this time, so it felt more severe and lasted longer than usual.
A fever from exhaustion was the kind of illness that passed quickly once it ran its course.
Her tonsils were so swollen that she could barely produce a voice. Each time Nox called for her desperately, she reached out her hand. Then a large hand would quickly come and gently wrap around hers.
The way he held her hand, as if it were thin glass that might shatter at his touch, made her want to laugh, but to those watching it only sounded like her rough breathing. Just like Sia, Nox had hardly eaten for several days, and his complexion was in terrible condition.
As he waited anxiously for people from the temple to arrive, urgent news was delivered to him.
“Your Grace, a report has just arrived that Ezel Village has been occupied by the wolf tribe.”
It was not the news he had been waiting for.
“…What in the world was the garrison there doing?!”
Nox had long stationed ample guards along the border to defend the territory and had never spared support. Hearing that they had been breached so easily by another tribe made his temper flare. At a time like this, the wolf tribe’s invasion angered him, but he hated his own subordinates even more for failing to protect a single village.
“M-My apologies.”
Dennis, the Knight Commander who delivered the report, lowered his head, his face pale.
After that day, when he began undergoing the training ordered by Nox, Dennis had come to realize just how exceptional the lord he served truly was.
He secretly regretted having kept his distance from him because of superstition. He had believed his swordsmanship was second to none, yet he had turned away the chance to improve with his own hands.
And the fact that he still had no confidence in facing the wolf tribe without his lord’s help made him feel pathetic, so he could only keep his head bowed.
Nox spoke coldly.
“You will lead the troops and deploy.”
“However—”
“If you cannot even carry out something like this properly, then give up your position as Knight Commander. It does not matter if the next person is not more capable than you. Choose someone with courage and hand it over!”
Unable to keep his composure because of his female’s suffering, Nox did not restrain his anger and released his killing intent as it was.
Marie, who was in the same room, turned pale and pressed herself tightly against the door, and even Cedric could barely maintain his posture, his complexion poor.
Dennis, who took the full force of that pressure, broke out in a cold sweat and stood rigid. At that moment, slender fingers touched the hand of Nox, who was glaring with an expression as if he might kill someone.
“…Sia?”
The atmosphere had become so tense that she had no choice but to come to her senses. Besides, thanks to Nox’s devoted care, she had improved just a little. She could even speak.
“Cough… Go…”
“…Why should I?”
Ah, it’s hard enough to talk, why ask something so obvious.
With a faint pout, Sia whispered in a small voice. Even so, Nox understood every word.
“If someone… touches… what’s yours… cough… pay them back… ten-fold…”
Her nature had never allowed her to act that way, so in her relationships she had always been the one who suffered. Not only her family, but most people she grew close to had been like that. Perhaps part of the reason was her own fault.
She had considered it natural to give affection unilaterally and had never even thought about being repaid.
Remembering something he had repeatedly said during his rut, Sia managed to lift the corners of her lips and met Nox’s eyes. Then, forcing her throat to work, she spoke.
“So go… and come back… cough… you promised… you’d pass it… on properly… to our child…”
At her words, Nox closed his eyes tightly, looking as if he might cry.
Of course he should fulfill his female’s rightful request.
Then why did he not want to leave so badly?
An inexplicable unease filled his heart, and he was terribly afraid.
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