Chapter 110
I couldn’t forget Cade’s eyes, filled with contempt and terror as she looked at me.
Trying not to show my unease, I asked Karden.
“But… Lady Cade saw the shapeshifter, didn’t she?”
“Lady Cade was completely intoxicated.”
“What?”
“According to reports, Lady Cade had consumed excessive wine. She testified that she saw hallucinations due to being drunk.”
“Ah, I see.”
I inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. A blessing in disguise.
I can only hope that Cade thinks what she witnessed was just a drunken hallucination.
“I was worried Lady Cade might tell the nobles about the shapeshifter incident, but that’s fortunate.”
“Yudis has arranged to keep special watch over Lady Cade, so don’t worry. Just rest well without any concerns, Shuvelia.”
I silently nodded.
Belatedly, I noticed Karden’s condition. He looked so haggard. Could it be that he’s been nursing me since I collapsed?
“But, Your Grace, is it alright for you to be by my side? Aren’t you busy with the ball incident?”
Karden dipped a handkerchief in the water basin on the bedside table and wiped the sweat from my forehead.
His touch was delicate and tender.
“Nothing is more important than staying by your side.”
His devoted gaze was always directed at me. I stared up at him blankly.
That single sentence ignited something within me.
The extreme tension and excitement I felt at the ball had subsided, and now my entire body felt languidly tired while hunger crept in.
Until now, I had managed without magic power, but suddenly I felt its absence acutely.
I hadn’t wanted to consume Karden’s magic power anymore. I had been holding back because I feared that if I kept eating his magic, I would want even more.
But after the night of the ball, I felt my carefully maintained restraint shattering.
I’m hungry. I want to eat.
The voice echoing in my head was whining like a child.
Unconsciously, I reached out and caressed his straight cheekbone. Hard bone and soft skin.
When my touch landed, Karden’s body instinctively stiffened.
How cute. So cute, I could devour him.
Slowly, I lowered my hand to stroke his sharp jaw, then buried my nose in his thick neck and inhaled deeply.
Ah, the sweet scent. Karden always smelled sweet.
From the first time we met.
I had always loved his scent, his body fragrance, but deliberately ignored it.
I was afraid of being enchanted and falling into the magic power mixed within his scent.
“Shuvelia……”
Karden let out a groan tinged with lament, calling my name in a husky voice.
With my lips against his Adam’s apple, I whined.
“I want… to eat you. Please give me… your magic power.”
I could see his masculine Adam’s apple bobbing prominently.
I clearly felt his strong body becoming even firmer with tension.
Through our closely pressed upper bodies, I could feel his heart beating rapidly.
I sensed his gaze darkening as he watched me.
Karden enclosed me in his arms and laid me down on the bed. In the blink of an eye, I was pinned beneath his body.
His gaze, looking down at me, was intense, and his eyes were deepening with burning heat.
“Shuvelia, don’t hesitate to eat me. I’ll always be your food.”
Karden’s voice was husky and low. His eyes, exhaling rough breaths, were dyed a deep color.
“Karden……”
Strangely, I wasn’t afraid seeing Karden openly displaying his desire.
Rather, I wanted to press my heart against his and share his breath.
I kissed his lips first.
His lips were soft yet simultaneously hot as fire and sweet.
At that moment, Karden grabbed me hungrily and began to fiercely explore my lips.
Our hot breaths and lips collided roughly and intertwined.
With each exploration of his lips, sweet magic power flowed continuously into me.
I had no choice but to cling to his back as if hanging from a cliff.
I fully accepted all of him and his magic power, like a ball of fire, deep into my body.
Am I truly desiring Karden right now?
The more I wanted him, the more I loathed myself for becoming greedier for his magic power.
Hot tears flowed down my cheeks. But even those tears were gently wiped away by Karden’s lips.
With that tender kiss, my heart grew infinitely warm while simultaneously collapsing with guilt.
***
The next morning, when I opened my eyes in a daze, the space beside me in bed was empty.
The events of last night felt like a dream, leaving me in a haze.
I had fallen asleep in Karden’s arms; perhaps he had risen earlier at dawn.
Just then, the door opened and my chambermaid entered with washing water.
“Lady Shuvelia, how are you feeling? Should I call for a physician?”
“Ah, I’m fine now. By the way, did His Grace and Lady Yudis come down for breakfast?”
At the villa, gathering for breakfast every morning had become something of a promise.
With Karden busy with palace affairs and Yudis occupied with merchant guild matters, having dinner together was difficult.
So Yudis had established a rule that we must have breakfast together and become a family that shares conversations.
The maid smiled gently as she placed the towel and washing water on the dressing table.
“His Grace and Lady Yudis went to the palace early this morning. They asked us to take good care of you when you woke up.”
“I see.”
I washed and dressed with the maid’s help. While I was having my hair styled after changing into a neat dress, the head butler approached carefully with a report.
“Lady Shuvelia. Excuse me, but a visitor has come for you this morning.”
“For me? Who is it?”
I tilted my head in confusion. Who would visit me so early in the morning?
“Doctor James has come to visit. He’s waiting in the drawing room.”
Why would Uncle come so early in the morning?
As soon as I finished getting ready, I hurried down to the first-floor drawing room.
Uncle, who had been drinking tea, stood up immediately when I entered.
“Shuvelia, are you alright?”
“Uncle, what brings you here?”
Uncle James approached me and examined me with a concerned expression, checking if I was hurt anywhere.
Then, after making sure no servants were around, he spoke in a low voice.
“I heard about yesterday’s incident from the Grand Duke. I heard you inhaled Turba fragrance and your condition worsened. How are you now?”
“I’m fine now. You don’t need to worry.”
So Uncle heard about yesterday’s ball incident. That’s why he came to check on me first thing in the morning.
Uncle sighed deeply and slumped into his seat.
“Shuvelia, why did you get involved in such a dangerous situation? Turba flowers at the royal ball and a shapeshifter going berserk. You could have been caught up in it.”
“It was a situation no one anticipated, Uncle. But fortunately, nothing happened.”
Uncle James clicked his tongue and shook his head.
“You may have been safe yesterday, but who knows when such an incident might happen again. As long as you stay in this kingdom, you could face such dangers anytime. When I heard about yesterday’s accident, I wanted to take you away from this land immediately.”
I approached Uncle and smiled brightly.
“Uncle, I’m really fine. Truly. And I know you can’t leave the kingdom.”
“What do you mean?”
“Uncle, you’re a doctor who cares for and looks after shapeshifters more than anyone. I heard from Lady Yudis that you’re constantly researching antidotes because you’re worried they might suffer from Turba addiction.”
I had learned about this by chance from Yudis.
I heard that Uncle James, while working as a physician for nobles, secretly runs a clinic for shapeshifters at night, helping them discreetly.
Apparently, Uncle’s clinic is where shapeshifters from the Helleon Merchant Guild go when they’re sick or injured.
“That’s just fulfilling my minimal duty because I couldn’t turn my back on my own kind.”
Uncle James averted his gaze, speaking as if making excuses. I wanted to laugh seeing Uncle being so dishonest, but I held it in.
“Uncle, we can’t go into exile, but could I stay at your house instead?”
“Wait, what did you just say?”
Uncle’s eyes widened in surprise. I clasped my hands together and shared the decision I had made yesterday dawn.
“I want to stay at your house for a while and help with the clinic work. I want to help find ways to prevent shapeshifters from becoming addicted to Turba. I can’t rely on His Grace forever.”
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