The Cat Who Weeps in the Dark - Chapter 55

“Brother, Brother! It hurts! I said it hurts!”

“Go tell your mother. To figure out the number of my guards on her own. She’s an exceptionally capable woman, so she’ll surely manage that without any trouble. Don’t I have plenty of spies planted in my palace?”

Helion threw him out the door as if he were discarding trash. Damian landed on his a*s on the hard marble floor of the hallway, sprawling out.

“And it’s already too late.”

“Ugh. W-What’s too late?”

“Katie. I don’t even have time to explain, so go back to your palace and find out the details yourself.”

* * *

A spotlessly clean bathroom, not a single drop of water anywhere. Katie sat on the edge of the bathtub, biting her lip.

“I’m insane. You’re definitely insane, Katie.”

The previous night, Helion had been aroused by her wet shirt. Katie had thought showing the same thing again would do the trick.

She had drenched her shirt in the dormitory bathroom, then put her jacket on over it. The jacket was both a way to avoid the knights’ gazes as she walked down the hall and a kind of twist. When she took off the neatly buttoned outer garment, her thoroughly soaked, body-clinging shirt would be revealed.

However, it seemed her eagerness had gotten the better of her. She was so consumed with seducing Helion that she failed to look around. Of all people, why did Damian have to be there?!

‘I am not a prostitute.’ ‘Treat me as a knight.’ She said these things every time, but in front of Helion, she put on a stripping show in that kind of outfit.

She didn’t even need to ask, it was obvious what Damian must have been thinking. He was probably calling her a hypocritical b***h.

“Seriously, why did I do something I never do? I should have just stayed put.”

Well, she could ignore Damian, she supposed. But Helion was different.

Katie had never seen him make that kind of face before. Completely stiff, his eyes gleaming menacingly, it was the face of someone who wanted to tear her apart and kill her right then and there.

And she supposed he had every right to.

In the middle of an important conversation, his escort knight suddenly entered and took off her clothes without permission. A subordinate’s reckless behavior instantly shames the superior. Beyond just losing face in front of Damian, it must have been the ultimate humiliation.

Katie buried her face in her hands. The plan was a complete failure. If only she could go back to before she hatched this absurd scheme.

How many minutes had passed while she wallowed in self-reproach? The tightly closed bathroom door finally opened.

Katie quickly stood up from where she was sitting and assumed a rigid posture. Because she had done something wrong, a perfectly disciplined stance came naturally.

“I apologize.”

Katie bowed deeply at the waist. She couldn’t bring herself to look Helion in the face. Even setting aside her fear of confronting his anger, she was simply too ashamed.

In truth, since the man she considered an enemy had been humiliated, it should have been satisfying for Katie. However, the reason she felt uncomfortable was probably because this act was self-destructive, shaming herself more than Helion.

Helion leaned casually against the wall right outside the bathroom door, watching Katie. His gaze slowly traced her body. Usually, he was the one undressed and she was dressed, but today the situation was reversed. Of course, that fact wasn’t exactly pleasant.

“Look up.”

Katie squeezed her eyes shut, then slowly lifted her head. Her face was directed forward, but her gaze was still cast downwards, showing just how embarrassed she was by what had just happened.

“You know an apology won’t make this go away, right? What exactly were you thinking, pulling a stunt like that?”

“That’s…”

Katie hesitated, unable to tell him the truth.

I was trying to seduce Your Highness. That was the answer, but she didn’t have the courage to say it. She was always like this. It was easier to act than to speak. This was probably due to a knight’s mindset of ‘actions speak louder than words’ being ingrained in her.

“You always tell me to strip when I enter… so I just acted first today.”

In the end, this was all that came out. Even as she said it, Katie knew it wasn’t right. But she couldn’t take back words already spoken.

“Ah-ha. So you’re saying it’s my fault for giving such orders?”

“That’s not… I’m sorry.”

“An apology doesn’t undo what happened. You really manage to piss people off in all sorts of ways, with both your body and your mouth.”

Helion let out a scoffing laugh, then approached her. How was it that even the way this man walked was menacing? The dense muscles on his bare upper body rippled fiercely with his movements.

Helion, now right in front of her, raised an arm. Katie instinctively tensed her body and squeezed her eyes shut.

He’s going to hit me. He’s definitely going to hit me.

However, what awaited her wasn’t violent pain, but a light touch.