Chapter 232
‧₊˚ ☁️⋅♡𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ☾.
For some reason, I felt like he was about to leave, just like that. Leaving our bedroom. Leaving me. Forever.
‘No!’
It was an absurd thought, but fear gripped me. I threw the door wide open and grabbed him.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
“Dana, shh…”
He seemed completely unaware that I’d been watching him at the door. Flustered, he tried to cover my mouth.
“Come inside.”
The man, twice my weight, was easily pulled along by my hand. Perhaps he was distracted by the footsteps of others on the stairs below, or maybe…
‘The smell of alcohol?’
Was he so drunk that he could barely stand?
‘You were drinking, leaving me alone here?’
Once I got him inside the bedroom, I slammed the door and let go. I crossed my arms tightly, showing how furious I was.
“What have you been doing, coming back only now?”
Killian didn’t answer. He fiddled with his wrist, the one I had been holding. Did I grip too hard? No, there was no way he could be in pain from my hold.
“Didn’t you hear me? I asked where you’ve been!”
I glared at him, eyes wide, and asked again. This time, he slightly lifted the corner of his mouth in a nearly invisible smile.
‘Are you happy that I’m angry? Ridiculous.’
But seeing the sadness in his eyes, I realized he wasn’t smiling just out of pleasure.
‘Sad? About what?’
Finally, putting anger and complaints aside, I asked why, and Killian’s gaze softened. He answered my already-forgotten question.
“My conversation with Lieutenant O’Brien ran longer than I expected. I’m really sorry.”
“Oh… it wasn’t a big deal.”
“…….”
“Did you have dinner?”
“Yes, with the lieutenant.”
The moment I heard that, the anger I’d momentarily forgotten surged again.
“You had dinner with Lieutenant O’Brien? While I went hungry?”
He hadn’t come when I was waiting, and instead had dinner—and drank late into the evening—with the lieutenant?
“Why did you go hungry? I ask the lieutenant to prepare a separate dinner for you? Surely…”
“The soldier came to ask about dinner, but I said that since you were coming, I’d eat with you.”
“He said I was on my way?”
“Yes, that’s what the soldier in charge of this place said.”
“…Me?”
So the soldier must have misunderstood. Killian hadn’t forgotten me; it was just a miscommunication during the handoff. Nothing to be mad about.
“Dana, what exactly did you ask him?”
By now, I was calming down, but Killian looked serious.
“I asked where you were. He said you were on your way. He misheard too…”
“Repeat exactly what you said to him.”
Was it really necessary to parse it so meticulously…?
“Uh… ‘Do you know where my husband is?’ I asked. He said the lord is on his way.”
Dazed, I answered exactly as instructed, as best I could remember.
“Oh, that’s right! He called you ‘lord,’ not ‘sir.’ He must have been quite flustered.”
I answered cautiously, worried Killian might scold the soldier immediately. Just the thought made me shiver; his expression was intimidating.
“So… what did you say?”
“Uh…”
Do I have to tell him everything? I don’t even remember the next words clearly
“Then I said I’ll wait to eat until my husband arrives… and the soldier was startled…”
Throughout my retelling, Killian’s expression shifted constantly—first tense, then relieved, and finally tinged with sadness.
“Killian… what’s wrong?”
“…There must’ve been some confusion. And yet, you waited all this time, hungry… you’re something else.”
“I didn’t have an appetite because you weren’t here.”
Killian seated me at the table where the soldier had left fruit and snacks, murmuring with a sigh.
“I need to break your habit of going hungry when I’m gone…”
“You said nobles don’t work. And now you’ll be with me all day. No need to fix that, right?”
Earlier today, I had acted with pride, staying by his side not out of love but because it was the right thing to do.
How foolish. In truth, the one who can’t be without Killian is me. I don’t even fully know myself.
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