Chapter 95
As he grumbled, Louis shuddered as he recalled his father’s, the Emperor’s, nagging. As time passed, the uneasy feeling only grew stronger, so he sought counsel from the Emperor. From the existence of the black-haired woman he had seen in the Blois territory to the joke Dylan had thrown out.
After hearing everything in detail, the Emperor’s response had been, “Idiot.” Louis had seen his father speak a curse aloud exactly twice. Once was to a lord who had lost his territory to the serpent tribe and fled back alone, and the second time was to Louis himself.
“Does that mean I’m as stupid as someone who lost his territory… haah…”
“…I feel apologetic for no reason. I didn’t realize Your Highness would worry this much.”
“No, you did well to say it. It was a point I hadn’t considered at all, so it keeps coming back to me.”
“…If that woman really is human, what will you do?”
With his mind unsettled in many ways, Dylan couldn’t help but ask. At the same time, he resented the Duke.
What they had been trying to confirm at the imperial palace was whether our feline race could take possession of a human or not, not whether they would seize a human who was already being protected.
But the moment false information about a human’s whereabouts was reported to the imperial family, there was no way to predict which direction this matter would take. If the woman they had seen then truly was human, Duke Blois would not be able to escape the charge of deceiving the imperial family.
At Dylan’s question, Louis remained silent for a long while. He gazed quietly out the window, then tossed out an answer.
“I’ll think about it once it’s certain.”
This time, he intended to approach the matter carefully. After all, nothing had been revealed yet.
* * *
Sia woke early, and the emptiness beside her made her feel strange.
Lately, Nox had always been part of her daily life. When she opened her eyes like this, she shouldn’t be seeing pale bedding first, but a solid, toned chest. If she stared blankly at that chest, rising and falling evenly with each breath, a large hand would gently stroke her hair.
“Then after that, he would have asked if I slept well, in that sweet voice.”
Facing her second morning alone already, she felt as though she had no appetite for no reason. And it wasn’t as if he had left for some trivial errand. He had gone out to fight in a territorial defense battle, of all things.
“…He’s not going to come back hurt, right?”
She didn’t know exactly how the medical system in this world worked, but to her eyes, it inevitably seemed inadequate. If Nox were to suffer a serious injury in a place like this?
“Huu… let’s not do this. Words become seeds, and imagination is like watering them.”
Pulling herself together, Sia got up since she was already awake. It was earlier than her usual waking time, so Marie hadn’t arrived yet. For the first time in a while, Sia washed up by herself and changed into indoor clothes.
Feeling stifled, she stepped out onto the balcony and leaned against the railing, gazing at the dawn sky. As the sun rose, the gardeners came out and moved about busily. The breeze brushing against her nose felt just like early winter in Korea.
“Mornings are basically winter already.”
Muttering to herself, Sia noticed the iron gate in the distance opening. Resting her chin on her hand as she stared blankly, she suddenly jolted and hurried back into the room.
“It looks like Lord Nox has returned.”
Who else would come to the ducal manor at such an early hour, and with such a huge group marching along? Unable to hide her delight, Sia opened the door.
“Madam?”
Marie, who had just come up to the second-floor corridor, called out in surprise. Sia lifted her skirt with both hands as she ran and answered.
“Marie, Lord Nox has arrived!”
“…Pardon?”
Marie ran after the quickly disappearing Sia. It was something she shouldn’t do as a servant, but it couldn’t be helped. Before leaving, Nox had ordered her never to leave Sia’s side.
Just like that, the two rushed down to the first floor in an instant. Before Cedric could even call out upon spotting Sia, she headed straight for the estate entrance. She wanted to go out and greet him before he arrived.
She reached there in a flurry, but something felt off. Panting, Sia stared at the carriage approaching the entrance. Nox had clearly left riding a large black horse, not in a carriage.
“Why is it a carriage…”
“Madam, please wait a moment—”
After checking the emblem drawn on the carriage, Cedric went pale. He couldn’t understand why someone from the imperial palace had come without any prior notice. He hurried to try to stop Sia, but he was a step too late.
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