The Cat Who Weeps in the Dark - Chapter 32

What did he want to do with Katie?

If he was aroused, he could just take her. But conversely, he also didn’t want to take her. That was why, even after bringing her in as his escort knight and keeping her by his side, he hadn’t touched her with even a fingertip since that night.

As much as this newfound interest was welcome, he wanted to hold onto it for as long as possible. Once this brief passion cooled, only a desolate world, just as it had always been, would unfold before him.

‘For now, I’ll have to wait and see.’

The conclusion was back to square one. He had to wait. The hungrier one was, the greater the euphoria when catching prey. Even if it was an emotion that would vanish once everything was digested. Even if what lay at the end was another long, agonizing hunger.

“Aren’t you leaving? We can’t go home until we escort Your Highness to your bedroom.”

“I’m not a child. I can go by myself just fine.”

“What if an assassin appears!”

“In war, I cut down hundreds of soldiers worse than assassins. Why would I be afraid of one or two mere assassins?”

“I know that… Ugh, fine. What can I even say to Your Highness?”

Cheche, who had been urging him, finally gave up, shaking his head with a crestfallen face. Helion savored his expression for a moment, then stood up.

“I’ll go now.”

“No, when I told you to go, you wouldn’t, but now that I said it’s fine, you want to go?”

Cheche stared at him with an exasperated look.

“You know that’s a terrible habit, don’t you? Is tormenting your subordinates that much fun?”

Helion ignored him and swayed out the door with a languid gait. In truth, only his body swayed, his steps were elegantly straight.

“If he’s going to walk so gracefully, how much better would it be if he did something about his upper body too?”

Cheche grumbled as he followed behind him. He occasionally wondered if Helion’s spine was made of liquid. What was even more surprising was that even walking so casually, his steps were brisk. Perhaps because his legs were long, his strides were so large that shorter knights often had to scurry to keep up with him.

Walking like that, they were already in the bedroom. As Helion approached, the attendants who had arrived earlier and were waiting opened the door for him.

Normally, Cheche would have gone in first to check for danger, but not today. Katie had gone ahead.

But something was off.

“Sir Katie is not visible.”

As Edward said, Katie wasn’t there. To think she had grown tired of waiting and gone to rest was unlikely; it was already past ten. She wasn’t the type of person to disappear without a word during duty hours.

Helion stopped at the door and tilted his head. His eyes, which could appear as brilliant golden like the sun depending on the direction of the light, or as chilling yellow like the eyes of a beast in the dark, narrowed instantly.

“Everyone, get out.”

“Yes?”

Cheche and Edward, along with the other guards who had arrived for the shift change, widened their eyes.

“No, Your Highness. It’s dangerous.”

“As I said before, I’m perfectly capable of protecting myself. So, understand that and get the hell out.”

It was a dismissal so cold it was chilling. Cheche grumbled but still ushered the guards out the door. Helion’s stubbornness was not something a person could break. Even if they said no a hundred times, the result would be the same, so it was better to just get out as quickly as possible as ordered, rather than waste emotional energy.