Chapter 38. She in his arms
****
Kayan's sword struck, and 3 fell to the ground.
Her hate-filled gaze lingered on Netira, and she soon died.
"Kayan!"
Netira screamed Kayan's name.
At the same time, Ihedia jerked to her feet.
Kayan's gaze flicked briefly to Ihedia, then to Netira's wound.
"Netira, are you okay?"
Kayan knelt down and examined Netira.
Then she burst into tears and threw her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly.
Kayan patted Netira's back.
She and Ihedia locked eyes, but Kayan soon pulled away and spoke soothingly to her.
"It's okay now, let's get you healed first."
Kayan shouted for someone, and a few moments later, servants rushed in.
A sobbing Netira and a woman's body with her heart pierced.
The servants were horrified at the unexpected carnage.
They all surrounded Netira and made a fuss.
Turning invisible, Ihedia quietly rose to her feet to leave the room.
She felt the eerie sensation of eyes following her every move, but her mind went blank as she felt a rush of pain.
She struggled to her feet, one step at a time, but this time she was hit with a violent dizziness that made her whole body sway.
Ihedia barely managed to cling to consciousness and staggered out of the bedroom.
Her whole body throbbed and she could hardly breathe.
Ihedia bit her lip and moved slowly.
Her stomach lurched with the sharp pain of shattered bones.
There was no way her limbs were still intact after taking the full force of the Three's wrath on Netira's behalf.
All she wanted to do was lean against something to rest, but the mere presence of a slave from the outbuilding, a plague den, in the main house would be enough to terrify people.
Ihedia leaned on the railing and shifted her feet carefully.
She was just about to step onto the stairs.
Her vision blurred again, and she felt dizzy.
She lost her grip on the railing and her slender arms flailed in the air.
At the same time, her foot twisted and she was about to roll down the stairs.
"...."
A hot, now familiar sensation enveloped her body.
Kayan, who was nowhere near her, pulled her around the waist.
Holding her from behind, he tilted his head slightly to study her face.
Then his eyes flicked down to the ground floor.
The servants were huddled together, murmuring at the sight of a dead body with a knife in its chest.
His gaze shifted back to the direction of Netira's bedroom.
Here, too, everyone was busy tending to the wounded Netira.
Without hesitation, Kayan swept Ihedia into a quick embrace.
Then he carried her to his bedroom.
He laid her down slowly on his bed.
His touch was uncharacteristically careful and gentle.
Panicked, Ihedia tried to pull away, but Kayan stopped her firmly.
"Hold still. By the looks of you, you'll be on the ground before we reach the outbuildings."
"...."
"Don't worry, no one will know you're here. No one's allowed in here anyway."
Normally, Ihedia would have refused his favor, but she felt like she was about to break.
Besides, the room was quiet, unlike the outbuildings, and she was itching to get some rest.
‘But being in the same room with Kayan is ridiculous…’
While Ihedia was torn, Kayan left the room without a word.
It was a timely move, whether he was avoiding the room on purpose or running errands.
She crouched down, staring at the spot where he had disappeared.
The soft, white bedspread seemed to hold her there, like an irresistible hand, holding her in place.
No one's here, so she thought she would just rest for a little while.
Just a little bit, since no one was supposed to be in this room anyway...................
Ihedia's eyelids threatened to close in on themselves as the storm of exhaustion washed over her.
She squeezed her eyes open, trying to keep from falling asleep.
Then she recognized a familiar scent in the distance.
"Aloche.”
Ihedia's gaze fell to the bedside table.
It was the sachet of Aloche she'd given Kayan.
She'd thought he'd thrown it away.
But when she saw it, an indescribable feeling came over her.
The scent of aloche wafted over her tired body.
Ihedia's eyelids slowly closed, unwillingly.
***
Netira was unharmed, except for a little trauma.
“That wench said my father cut off her daughter's head and hung it on the city wall. She was planning to get back at me from the beginning.”
From Netira's account, the woman was from Aselia.
Four men had died at her hands.
It was amazing how easily she overpowered strong men with a woman's body, and the marks on her hands from holding a sword for so long...................
She had heard it was common for women to hold swords in Aselia in the past.
And if one was publicly executed and his head hung on the city walls, there was only one answer.
"A knight of Aselia.”
During the war to conquer Aselia, Hulkan's father had been killed by a knight's bow instead of his master.
He was familiar with the story of his master's public execution of the entire family of the Knights of Aselia in retaliation.
There was only one question Kayan wanted to know.
How she had come to Bayate.
There had already been a number of Aselians in the manor, but the string of unfortunate events did not seem to be a mere coincidence.
Emperor Hashad.
Kayan wanted peace in Anut more than anyone, but he could not stand idly by and let anyone destroy the Black Wolf, even if it was his own lord.
He was willing to accept anything that would remove him from power and curb the Black Wolf's influence, but he could not tolerate this kind of insolent provocation.
He pushed his thoughts aside and tidied up the mess in the main house.
Netira fell asleep, exhausted from crying.
Only after the body had been recovered and the servants dispersed was Kayan allowed to return to his bedroom.
"She's probably gone already.”
He had deliberately avoided Ihedia, knowing she'd be uncomfortable, but she wasn't in the mood to listen to him.
Perhaps she would have been stubborn enough to drag her heavy body to the outbuilding as soon as he was gone.
Kayan opened the door with a grim face.
"..."
Ihedia was curled up in her bed, sleeping soundly.
Kayan closed the door softly behind him with uncharacteristically careful movements.
His footsteps muffled, he sat down on the couch.
When he heard Netira's screams and ran to her, Ihedia was being trampled by the assassin.
At that moment, a strong feeling of heat spread through Kayan's heart like wildfire.
This was not the first time he had felt this way.
He had felt the same thing when he had seen Ihedia being molested by Hulkan not long before.
He wondered if he had grown to hate her because he had been seeing her scowling face in his dreams every night.
Kayan's jaw clenched, and he stared at her sleeping form with impassive eyes.
"Mmm................"
Ihedia made a pained sound and grimaced, perhaps she was having a nightmare.
Kayan rose from his seat and moved closer to her.
He placed his hand gently on her cool forehead.
Just like the time he'd placed her hand on his forehead to examine him.
The woman's skin was still as cold as the winter wind.
Ihedia's expression slowly softened at the warmth from the contact.
When Kayan tried to pull his hand away, Ihedia grasped it with her hand, as if she didn't like it moving away.
It was an embarrassingly weak grip, but somehow Kayan couldn't pull away.
He sat down next to Ihedia.
Ihedia, perhaps feeling the cold, pressed a little closer to him, covered in heat.
Kayan lay down beside her, his head buried in her hair, his arms wrapped around her face.
Ihedia laid her other hand on top of his, gripping his hand even tighter, as if she didn't want to miss the warmth that had returned.
A light smile tugged at the corners of Kayan's mouth.
Then Ihedia hugged him, as if craving more warmth.
In an instant, the smile on Kayan's face vanished.
His breathing also stopped for a moment.
The woman was sleeping soundly, unaware of anything.
Ihedia's lips touched his shoulder as Kayan stiffened, unable to move.
They'd kissed before, and almost done worse.
Kayan couldn't believe he was feeling embarrassed by this.
He hated to admit it, but he was secretly nervous because he wasn't used to being touched first.
As if drawn by something, Kayan brushed a stray strand of hair away from her face.
It wouldn't hurt to share a little of his energy with her.
Like when he'd carried her across the black plains in his arms.
Kayan had unleashed a secret power of his that others did not know about.
A mystical aura flowed from him and enveloped Ihedia's body.
The color returned to Ihedia's pale face.
Drawn to his revitalizing aura, she wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her face in his neck.
Kayan didn't shy away from her, but pulled her into his arms.
He fell into the deepest sleep he'd had in a very long time.
***
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