Chapter 28
Chapter 3 – A Hollow Return
I’m not one for deep sleep, a consequence of a life lived on edge. Even mid-slumber, the slightest unusual sound would jolt me awake. So, when an unfamiliar pressure roused me, my eyes snapped open instantly.
A tightness in my chest pulled me from sleep, and I frowned at the dim dawn light before looking down at myself. My body was firmly held captive. A thick forearm lay across my stomach, a large hand cupping my bre*st. The solid warmth of a body pressed against my back sent a jolt through me, and I instinctively tried to push away, but the hold was unyielding.
“Haahm. Awake, Adelina?”
The familiar, sleep-laced voice froze me. A warm kiss brushed my ear, as hot as the body against my back. Meanwhile, the hand on my bre*st tightened subtly.
“L-Let go of me!”
“Don’t wanna. Sleep more. It’s still dawn.”
“Reynard Mason!”
I wrestled free with a pinch and a yell, turning to face a red-haired, handsome man with emerald green eyes, watching me with a lazy smile. I huddled as far into the corner as I could, pointing at him accusingly.
“What are you doing here! And why are you nak*d?!”
“I always sleep nak*d. Though I kept my bottoms on for your sake.”
Reynard shrugged, his demeanor as casual as ever. Even though he’d won a title at fifteen for his swordsmanship, his years as a mercenary hadn’t been erased. His unrefined speech and behavior often became fodder for gossip among the nobles.
Though now, after his history-making subjugation, no one would dare criticize his manners. As I thought this, his large, scar-ridden body moved towards me with the languid grace of a well-fed leopard.
What was the point of wearing pants if the prominent bulge beneath the loose fabric made it feel like he wasn’t wearing any at all? It was mortifying.
“Don’t come any closer! Go to another room and strip nak*d by yourself!”
“Don’t wanna.”
“You… oof!”
His large frame closed the distance in an instant. Both Seikan and Helion were half a head taller than the average man. Reynard was half a head taller than both of them. In a crowd, if someone yelled, “Gather around Reynard!”, everyone would know exactly where to go.
He was that tall. And it wasn’t just his height. His physique was officially recognized in the original story as the most imposing of all the knights. He’d even given Hestia a hard time more than once, thanks to his size.
His mere presence was intimidating. I averted my gaze from his bare chest, etched with the scars of a rough-and-tumble childhood. When I was oblivious, I hadn’t thought much of it, but now, knowing their feelings for me, I couldn’t look at their nak*d bodies with the same nonchalance.
“Adelina. Don’t look away.”
“….”
“You always ran to me first to apply medicine when I was injured. You’d lift my clothes and treat me even when I protested. It’s the same body, so why are you looking away now?”
“Back then, you! Hmph!”
I’d been about to shout, ‘Back then, I didn’t know you had such l*wd thoughts about me!’ but the words caught in my throat. It was because of those green eyes, now inches from my face.
“Back then, what? Hmm?”
A subtle desire laced the fingers gently stroking my chin. His voice, coaxing and questioning, made his green eyes gleam. It was hot, even though we were alone in the room. It must be because Reynard had a high body temperature. It had to be.
“…It’s nothing. Just get dressed.”
“Oh dear, that didn’t work? I was hoping to get some sympathy with this. Look at this, this. I almost died from a gut wound.”
“Huh?”
I looked instinctively, and Reynard pointed to a deep scar on his abdomen.
“I almost kicked the bucket when I crossed through a wyvern nest. It was so hard. I went through all that, and you won’t even comfort me?”
His long fingers pointed to a red scar, where flesh had been torn and crudely healed. Even a glance told me it wasn’t a small wound. A wound of that size… and from a wyvern’s claw? He really could have died. How much must it have hurt?
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