Chapter 40
Alnazir smiled with his eyes, interlacing his fingers with one of Fay’s hands while his other hand gently caressed her arm.
The tingling sensation that shot up her skin was impossible to resist, no matter how hard she tried. Fay swallowed, forcing a smile to steady herself.
“Don’t mind me. I plan to use this big tub too, you know.”
“You do?”
“Uh, I mean for washing, of course! Don’t get the wrong idea—I wouldn’t want to disrupt your sleep.”
She said it as a joke, not expecting him to take it seriously.
But Alnazir’s eyes glinted slyly. He tugged Fay’s arm and pulled her, fully clothed, right into the tub beside him. Water sloshed everywhere as she landed with a splash.
“W-What are you doing all of a sudden?”
Fay stammered, flustered by the ambush. As she looked up, she saw his wet shoulders, chest, and that faint, amused smirk.
“In recognition of your effort, I’ll allow it. From now on, you can share my sleeping spot.”
“You mean… you want me to sleep here right now?”
“Yes.”
“N-no, I—!”
It wasn’t permission, it was a command. When she tried to escape, Alnazir pressed her shoulders down, settling her firmly between his legs.
With his chest pressed against her back, that hollow emptiness he’d been feeling finally faded away.
“This is it.”
He murmured, nuzzling her nape and ear with his nose. Now that the emptiness was gone, he felt like he could finally sleep.
Alnazir sighed and relaxed, closing his eyes. But Fay kept wriggling and pleading to let her go, disturbing the peaceful surface of the water.
“What do you mean, ‘this is it’? My clothes are soaked! There’s no way I can sleep in here!”
A crease formed in Alnazir’s usually smooth brow. Her resistance annoyed him. He’d gone so far as to forgive a human for the first time in his life, and here she was complaining about a little wet clothing.
“Fay, why did you pretend to be a witch instead of a human?”
He brought up the topic he’d been holding onto, as if to remind her this wasn’t the time to complain.
“Let go of me… What do you mean, ‘pretend’?”
“That you’re human.”
“I was pretending? Wait, you really didn’t know?”
Fay stopped resisting and looked around, bewildered.
“You really didn’t realize?”
She seemed more puzzled by his ignorance than anything else, double-checking his expression.
“But that’s something even other invoked would know—it’s common sense… Alnazir, did you really not know?”
“No.”
“So why did you answer my summons?”
“You called my name.”
“If someone calls your name, do you always come running?”
“How insulting. I’m not some mutt that comes wagging its tail. You’re the first.”
His face darkened, but Fay’s cheeks flushed bright red.
“The first…”
Realizing they were each other’s first contract, Fay’s heart began to pound so hard she didn’t even have to put a hand to her chest to feel it.
“Entering a contract with someone you knew nothing about… how reckless.”
She’d only learned the details of the contract after the fact. She really had been careless. What had she been thinking?
“So, what made you accept the contract, anyway?”
Alnazir tilted his head, finding the question were odd.
“What else was there to see, besides you?”
“Well, yes, but…”
He smiled gently, as if ready to listen to whatever she had to say.
Suddenly, Fay felt overheated. Maybe the water was just too hot.
How does he sleep in water this warm? Doesn’t it make him dizzy?
While she tried to distract herself with other thoughts, Alnazir immediately noticed. He called her name softly, drawing her attention back.
Fay fidgeted, then finally spoke, her voice barely above a whisper.
“A-Alnazir, there’s something I want to ask you.”
“All right. Go ahead.”
His words brushed her ear, making it burn even though it wasn’t underwater. For some reason, she felt so shy she couldn’t even look him in the face. She squeezed her eyes shut.
“Do you… like me?”
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