Chapter 149
After reorganizing his equipment, Nox mounted his horse. Instead of heading toward the manor, he rode toward the residence of Marquis Kris. He intended to travel on horseback only until he reached the vicinity, and from there move on his own.
His vision darkened with rage at those who had dared to covet his female, yet at the same time he couldn’t bear the thought of Sia being alone. The last time he had seen her, she had been in a state where she couldn’t even get up.
“They dared to kidnap my ill female?”
Even tearing them limb from limb would not be enough. Inside him, all kinds of emotions were already raging. Like the eye of a storm, only his outward appearance seemed calm.
Without resting or sleeping, he rode nonstop and arrived at the city of Blois territory, where he met Cedric, who had been waiting for him.
“Master!”
Even after seeing Nox, Cedric did not apologize first. The urgent matter came before anything else.
“According to the knights who were sent ahead, it appears that Madam was taken toward the direction of Kris territory.”
He rapidly listed the information he had gathered before Nox’s arrival while fastening a pouch of dried meat and a waterskin onto a fresh horse. Without saying anything, Nox took the water Cedric handed him and quenched his thirst.
“And the High Priest left this message.”
“…What is it?”
“He said that God respects the human’s will above all else, so if the human wishes it, she will return.”
“……”
After finishing all the prepared water, Nox mounted the horse without a word. As he turned Cedric’s words over in his mind, he left a brief instruction before departing.
“Prepare a room for the Duchess.”
“…Yes, I will prepare it splendidly.”
At Cedric’s reply, Nox lifted the corner of his lips for the first time in a while. Setting off in haste, he intended to help his female return to him.
He did not even need the power of God. It would take only a day to reach Kris territory.
* * *
After many twists and turns, Aesir arrived at his marquisal residence and attended to Sia before himself. He hurriedly took her to the marquis’s bedroom and called the physician. After entrusting her examination to him, he called for Marcel.
“We need to strengthen security.”
“Yes, understood.”
“Post guard knights in front of my room as well.”
“…May I ask the reason?”
Since Marcel had never questioned him like this before, Aesir looked at him with mild surprise, but still answered properly.
“Sia found out everything. That bastard kept shouting while chasing us to the end.”
Aesir felt sick just thinking about James. As he recalled the man yelling nonstop while stubbornly pursuing him, his teeth ground together. If there was any consolation, it was that Sia had fainted below the cliff and hadn’t heard James’s shouting afterward.
After listening quietly, Marcel spoke in a low voice.
“I am concerned, Your Excellency. Shouldn’t you have gained the human’s heart first?”
Strangely enough, every plan had gone wrong from the very beginning. Because of that, he could no longer gain the human’s heart even through deception as he had planned. But to let the human go now…
“…What if it’s already ruined?”
“Yes?”
“Even so, can I give up?”
“……”
Marcel felt a subtle sense of unease from Aesir. He had always been the type to keep a certain distance and observe situations, yet now he was openly showing interest in a specific individual.
Just as his lord had said, the plan had completely gone off course.
“In any case, reinforce the territory’s security. I have a bad feeling.”
“Yes, understood.”
Marcel felt uneasy as well, but he had no intention of disobeying his lord’s orders, so he bowed quietly and withdrew.
Returning to his room, Aesir felt a slight irritation at the physician’s words.
“You don’t know the cause?”
“…I am sorry, but that is correct.”
“She has such a high fever, and you’re saying you don’t know the cause?”
“This is a common symptom in those who are naturally weak. So I believe it may be an illness she already had.”
“……”
He had heard that humans were fragile, so it wasn’t entirely wrong. In the end, the physician concluded that the only option was to wipe her sweat with lukewarm water to bring the fever down. Aesir called a maid and had her wipe Sia’s body.
Waiting in the sitting room, Aesir entered the bedroom after the maids came out. Sitting beside Sia, who had been changed into fresh clothes and was lying down, he took hold of the ends of her black hair spread across the white bedding.
Lifting the strands slightly and bringing them to his nose, he frowned at the lingering pheromones of Duke Blois that still remained.
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