Chapter 147
While riding at full speed, Aesir sensed James’s persistent presence chasing after them and clicked his tongue. He gave an order to Marcel, who was running alongside him.
“We need to split up.”
“Yes.”
Even without further explanation, Marcel immediately understood and entered the fork in the road that led toward their territory. Aesir took the path into the mountain range, and then abandoned the horse.
“Wrap your arms tightly around my neck.”
Quietly held in his arms, Sia looked up at Aesir with vacant eyes. Seeing her completely lifeless state made Aesir feel irritated. When she heard that Duke Blois had died, she had at least shed tears, but now she showed no reaction at all, like a shell left behind.
He grabbed Sia’s arms and forced them around his neck. When she applied even a faint amount of strength, Aesir finally lifted the corner of his lips in satisfaction and pushed off the ground, leaping forward.
“Cough…”
“There’s a cabin inside the mountains where I stay whenever I come to hunt. We’ll rest there for a while, so please endure it a little longer.”
“……”
Sia heard Aesir’s words, but they did not register in her mind. She couldn’t believe that Nox was dead. What if it was a lie? But the man from earlier had looked too powerful. Even though she knew Nox was strong, she couldn’t shake the thought of what if.
Remembering the fierce pressure James had radiated, Sia tightened the arms around Aesir’s neck in fear. Feeling that, Aesir pulled her closer into his arms.
After going deep into the mountain range connected to his territory, Aesir found a hidden cabin and entered. He laid Sia down on the bed.
“Stay here for a moment.”
Aesir was about to leave to erase the traces they had inevitably left on the way, but he stopped when a hand tugged at his collar.
“…I’ll be back soon, Sia.”
The human’s name slipped from between his lips so softly that he paused for a moment. After saying it, he found that he quite liked the name. When Sia continued to clutch his clothes without letting go, he called her name again.
“Sia.”
It was really just an excuse. He simply wanted to say the human’s name once more.
Sia didn’t know what to do, afraid of being left alone. The man in front of her was someone she couldn’t trust either, but being left alone in an unfamiliar place was even worse. And she didn’t know when that frightening man might come again.
Feeling like she might cry again, she asked in a trembling voice,
“…Did Nox really die?”
That couldn’t be true. How could that be possible? Before leaving, he had promised several times that he would return soon, and had forced himself to go. She had even pushed him away herself. She had even said it was for the sake of the child.
“Wh-Why? Why would that man kill Nox?”
It was the wolf tribe that had invaded first, so why did Nox have to die? Was defending his own territory really such a terrible crime?
Sia grabbed Aesir’s collar with both hands and lifted her head when he did not answer. Aesir, who had been silently looking down at her the whole time, found himself staring at her black eyes as if entranced.
“N-No way… It’s not, because of me, right? Did I… send Nox… to his death?”
“……”
“Wh, Why aren’t you saying anything? When I didn’t want to hear it, you kept talking…”
Sia could feel her body temperature dropping in real time. She was so cold that her teeth began to chatter. Seeing her lips turning blue, Aesir realized that something was wrong.
“P-Please, answer me…”
“Sia!”
He caught her small body as it collapsed. Even through the thin nightclothes she was wearing, intense heat radiated from her body. Aesir quickly placed his hand against the back of her neck to check her temperature.
“Ha, what is this.”
It wasn’t the first time he had seen symptoms of a fever. He had seen it occasionally in those with severe injuries. But she wasn’t injured anywhere, so Aesir couldn’t understand how such a fever could suddenly appear.
Once again, he had no choice but to revise his plans. For someone who had never once failed to carry out a plan since birth, it was a day messy enough to remain in his memory for the rest of his life.
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