Chapter 193
“Don’t worry about it. It’s nothing.”
I hurriedly brushed it off. There was no way I could tell Isaac that these were marks Reno had left on me.
“Here. And here.”
Isaac touched my knee, then his hand slid down my back. Unlike the bruises scattered across my body, these were scrapes—wounds from being dragged against the ground that were only just healing.
“When did these happen?”
“About five days ago, I think?”
“Did Reno injure you?”
“Well—”
I trailed off. It was hard to say yes or no.
“It wasn’t on purpose. I’m partly to blame too. We didn’t expect things to turn out like this.”
I mean, who knew rolling around on the ground would leave me this scraped up?
“We agreed not to let it happen again, but…….”
My voice faltered as I looked at Isaac. His face, already sharp as a honed blade, grew even colder. My stomach dropped.
Did I say something wrong?
In that brief silence, I mentally replayed everything I’d just said—and then it hit me what misunderstanding Isaac might have jumped to.
“You’ve got it wrong. Reno would never deliberately hurt me and leave me like this.”
“Then may I ask again how these wounds came to be?”
His stern expression made evasion impossible. If I dodged the question just because it was awkward or embarrassing, Isaac would undoubtedly storm off and hold Reno accountable.
This man was obsessive about my—no, Nephelli’s—safety.
“First of all, it wasn’t anything threatening like you’re thinking. It’s just… we were ignorant, so…….”
Wrong approach. Isaac’s expression didn’t soften at all.
Explaining this myself was mortifying, but I had no choice. If I didn’t, Reno would definitely suffer for it.
I took a short breath and spoke decisively.
“I didn’t know the bed was that important.”
Isaac flinched. His puzzled look told me he hadn’t understood. Too vague, maybe?
“What I mean is… we didn’t know we shouldn’t do it elsewhere, so… I got scraped up.”
Surely that’s clear enough? Please, just let it be clear.
No matter how much he already knew, I didn’t want to spell out the details. And I especially didn’t want to discuss the intimacy I’d shared with someone else.
So, praying he’d get it, I looked up at him.
After a short silence, the fierceness in his face faded, replaced by his usual calm.
“I understand.”
Relief washed over me.
But my comfort was short-lived. Isaac rubbed the bruise on my waist and asked,
“Was this also because of Reno?”
“How did you— Ah.”
I reacted without thinking. Strange—he’d mistaken the bruise for a wound earlier. I thought he wouldn’t recognize it.
For a second, I tensed, watching his reaction—then relaxed. Isaac wouldn’t care. He was probably just curious.
“Are there others like this?”
“There probably are, but I’m not sure where—Hng!”
Isaac’s breath brushed my neck. Before I could react, his tongue—soft and wet—pressed firmly against my collarbone. Right where he’d been rubbing earlier. Right where Reno’s mark likely was.
Why—?
Sensations flickered over the damp spot. Pressure, licking, sucking—then finally, the shallow scrape of teeth.
“Ah—!”
A moan escaped as I grabbed his shoulders. Normally, he’d pull away, but instead, he bit down. This wasn’t the Isaac I knew.
“Isaac—Hngh—wait, hold on—”
I finally pushed against his chest, and he paused, looking down at me.
His blue eyes, calm as still water, and his face—framed by slightly disheveled black hair—were both striking and beautiful. So much so that I nearly forgot I’d just pushed him away.
“Did you dislike it?”
“It’s not that, but… this isn’t like you.”
I had asked Isaac to be gentler before, but that was it.
He never went beyond what I explicitly requested. He certainly never left marks like Reno did.
But now—
It felt like he was determined to leave his own. My skin tingled where he’d bitten and licked.
‘Is this… jealousy?’
The thought was absurd—but what else could explain his behavior?
Asking directly would be the fastest way to know, but his answer was predictable.
‘He’d deny it.’
Assuming things wasn’t fair, but the outcome felt so obvious that I couldn’t bring myself to ask. Yet ignoring it and continuing seemed impossible too.
Something told me that if I didn’t clarify this now, it’d cause problems later.
Just as I hesitated, Isaac spoke first.
“My apologies.”
“Huh?”
“You were right. I failed to control my personal feelings and acted inappropriately.”
“Personal feelings?”
“They are unworthy thoughts. Ones Your Highness should not burden yourself with.”
His tone was final, his expression unreadable. If this were when we’d first met, I would’ve backed off, intimidated.
But now, it sounded different.
This was Isaac. The man who’d seemed like a machine, operating only on command. For him to speak of feelings was unbelievable.
That rare glimpse of humanity sent a thrill through me, my heart fluttering.
“How can I know whether to concern myself unless you tell me? So explain. Why did you do that?”
“I…….”
Isaac’s gaze wavered. Seeing him so unsettled sent a strange heat simmering deep inside me.
Ah, now that I think about it, I’ve felt this before. When was it? The first time I touched him?
“I am Your Highness’s Guardian.”
“…….”
“Protecting and serving you is my duty and obligation.”
Had I misread him?
Just as my hopeful excitement began to fade—
“I thought maintaining that duty would always be simple. That it would never change.”
His words were cryptic. Neither confirmation nor denial.
“I…….”
“…….”
“I dared… to wish for equality with you.”
Isn’t that natural? Between people, equality is obvious—
But that was my perspective.
I remembered this world’s social hierarchy—its pride in class and race.
Isaac, despite his high status as a duke, had chosen to become my knight, willingly lowering himself. For him, this confession must have been incredibly difficult.
But what puzzled me was its timing. After acting so possessive, why bring up equality now?
‘Is there another meaning?’
Unlike Reno, who was blunt about his feelings, Isaac was harder to read—direct yet elusive.
“My apologies.”
Like now. What was he so apologetic for?
“I’ve committed something akin to a sin against Your Highness—”
“Isaac.”
I caught him as he tried to pull away.
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