Chapter 89
Having eaten her fill of cake, pudding, and ice cream, Sia grew drowsy and lay down, resting her head on Nox’s thigh. The magic device sitting on her stomach was still warm, so it felt like she wouldn’t need any other cover.
“If you’re sleepy, get some rest.”
At his gentle words, Sia couldn’t help but smile. This man kept fussing over her and bringing her things just because she was doubled over from menstrual pain. He was just so endearingly sweet it was almost unbearable.
She also felt a deep gratitude toward Marie and Cedric. Could being cared for by others really warm and steady the heart this much?
When you feel grateful to someone, it’s only natural to want to repay them. Lying there, Sia thought about what gift she could give them, and the answer came quickly.
Cedric had just told her the answer himself.
“Mm…”
She thought of the leftover catnip. About half the pouch remained, but it wasn’t a lot. Ah… this was why she had wanted so badly to visit Korea again, at least once.
She remembered the day that plan had been ruined by Nox’s misunderstanding and wondered why Cola hadn’t shown up as promised.
Could it be… gods break promises too?
Then would she never be able to return to Korea?
As Sia lay there, lost in these thoughts, and Nox gently patted her back, Cola appeared behind him, slinking along as if to answer her worries, letting out a long, low meow.
It was Nox who heard Cola first. A cat’s cry like that was something you almost never heard within the Duke’s estate.
“…What is that?”
But he couldn’t move. Sia had fallen asleep while using his thigh as a pillow.
To make things worse, Marie had quietly withdrawn, so there was no one he could send. So all Nox could do was turn his head slightly toward the sound.
“You…”
Below the balcony window, a black cat was prowling. Nox recognized it instantly.
A male cat with fur the same color as his own.
Most likely the cat Sia had been searching for.
At the same time, the words of the oracle surfaced in his mind.
“God’s messenger…”
Without taking his eyes off Cola, Nox tightened the arm holding Sia’s shoulders. Even though she had assured him it was a misunderstanding, the thought of her leaving his side—even briefly—to go back to her homeland made him uneasy.
What if she went back and her heart changed?
By now he was addicted to her, so much so he couldn’t imagine daily life without Sia. He wanted her to be the first thing he saw every morning when he woke and the last face he saw every night before sleep.
For him, those who could take Sia away weren’t just other males. No. That divine messenger was male too, so perhaps it counted the same.
So he glared at Cola and reached up to cover Sia’s ears with his large hands, blocking out the male cat’s cry so it wouldn’t reach her.
Cola prowled a few steps, then stopped and stared directly at Nox. The strange stillness of the moment made Nox’s shoulders twitch despite himself, but he forced his gaze to harden, unwilling to back down.
The two locked eyes in silence for a while. Then Cola lashed its tail sharply once, as if in frustration, and slipped away, disappearing from sight.
“…Haa.”
Only after Cola was gone could Nox finally exhale. He realized he hadn’t even been breathing. Quietly wiping the sweat that had gathered on his brow, he stared intently at the still-sleeping Sia lying on him.
His hand on her shoulder tightened unconsciously.
“I’ll never give you up.”
Not even to a divine emissary.
No. Even if God Himself tried to take her, he was ready to fight back.
Gently, he smoothed Sia’s messy hair and murmured,
“I love you, Sia. More than my own life…”
His gaze, thick with possessiveness, slowly traced her from head to toe.
Discussion
0 CommentsReactions
No comments yet.