Chapter 39. In bed with Kayan Bayate
***
Ihedia barely held back the scream that threatened to erupt.
Was it because she was in bed with this man that she felt like she was hugging a fireball in her sleep?
She regretted that she hadn't resisted temptation last night and stayed in this room, even for a moment.
‘When the hell did I fall asleep?’
And why was this man here?
Ihedia tried to pull away from his embrace, but Kayan pulled her closer.
It was as if he was consciously keeping her from running away, even though he wasn't awake yet.
She looked out the window and saw that it was still dawn.
Now that it was daylight, there would be people moving around in the mansion.
If anyone saw her come out of Kayan’s bedroom, she would be arrested.......
She could only imagine the horror.
Ihedia pushed against him once more, but he was as immovable as a mountain.
Exhausted, she stopped all movement for a moment and contemplated the absurdity of the situation.
She was in bed with a stranger, Kayan Bayate.
She was still in a daze from the sleep that hadn't left her.
She felt like she was having a very, very strange dream.
The sound of the man's ragged breathing interrupted the silence.
It was unusual for someone with insomnia to sleep so soundly.
She wondered if the aloche incense was having any effect.
Ihedia found herself staring into Kayan's face.
Normally, she would have found it difficult to make eye contact, but now that he was asleep, she felt bold enough to examine his features.
He was the kind of handsome man a woman might have lusted after, even if she knew it.
It was also a far cry from the other rugged Anut men.
He didn't look like a savage, but more like a... noble, dignified gentleman.
If she had met a man like this in Elmir, she might have fallen in love with him herself.
At that moment, Ihedia came to her senses.
How dare she think such haunted thoughts in the presence of an Anut warrior.
Shame-stained, Ihedia tried to get out of the room.
Her pitiful struggles resumed, and slowly Kayan's grip loosened.
As Ihedia raised her upper body to leave the bed, she heard a faint moan from behind her.
It was coming from Kayan.
She wondered if he was having a bad dream.
He was on Aloche now, but if he'd been taking Itesol for a long time, side effects like anxiety and nightmares wouldn't go away immediately.
Perhaps his body wasn't adjusting to the abrupt discontinuation of Itesol.
In the meantime, Kayan's breathing became more unsteady.
Just as she was about to ignore it and stand up, Ihedia changed her mind and looked at him once more.
She carefully reached out and placed her hand on his chest.
The vibrant heat that surrounded Kayan's body instantly rose to her skin.
She slowly stroked his heart.
Just as her mother used to hold her in her arms and soothe her whenever the sound of thunder kept her awake at night as a child.
After her death, she thought of Evan, her brother, who could only sleep soundly with her by his side.
Ihedia pulled out a faded painting, soaked in the warmth of the past, and waited for Kayan's nightmare to end.
Then, like a lie, the muscles of his face softened.
Even his unsteady breathing resumed its normal pace.
Ihedia was able to stand up from the bed with a sense of relief.
But she felt a little strange.
The pain should have been worse after yesterday, but strangely, she felt energized, as if she hadn't been injured at all.
Ihedia gently touched her shoulder, then her arm, then her abdomen.
Nothing was wrong.
Somehow, it was a blessing in disguise that she was unharmed enough to need no medical attention.
Ihedia glanced at the sleeping Kayan and quietly left the room.
***
Half a day after Ihedia returned to the outbuilding, Doa came to visit her.
Doa was waiting for her in front of the cottage, looking very nervous.
"Doa?"
"Princess, are you still alive?"
"Yes, for now."
"I heard about what happened last night, and I know you've been in a lot of trouble with the Aselians, and it's hard to get a good night's sleep in Bayate these days."
"Thank you for your concern."
Doa's lips curled and uncurled, unable to keep his gaze fixed in one place.
Ihedia realized that his previous words were not to the point.
"Doa, is there something you would like to say?"
Doa swallowed dryly and asked what he wanted to know most.
"Is she okay?"
He was worried about Aurora.
Ihedia nodded with a faint smile, and Doa patted his chest.
"Actually, all the Black Wolf warriors were supposed to be on probation, but I had an excuse to come here. Haha, it's not usually my job to do this kind of nagging, but I thought I'd stop by and see her, and maybe even see the princess..............."
Doa smiled awkwardly, as if he was embarrassed.
"By the way, Princess, you should go to the Wolf Forest Hut right now."
"Me?"
Doa said, lowering his voice slightly.
"Lord Kayan has secretly brought a slave from the South with him, and since we have very few records of the South, it's for the best for now."
After listening to Doa’s words, Ihedia hurried off into the wolf forest.
When she arrived at the hut some time later, she saw an old woman with a cloth over her eyes standing with Kayan.
She had heard that the Emperor's army had now sealed off Bayate.
And yet, an outsider had entered this place..................
‘I wonder if there is a secret passage in the Wolf Forest.’
Perhaps that's why the old woman was blindfolded, so she wouldn't know the way.
If she had more than one life to live, she would have already searched it, even at the risk of being eaten by wolves.
Putting the thought of the secret passage behind her, Ihedia approached them.
"This old woman has information about Rantol."
Ihedia turned to the old woman and asked her directly, afraid to let Kayan finish.
"Have you ever been afflicted with that disease?"
"I was lucky enough to escape it, but my mother died because of it, and it wasn't until later that a cure was found."
Hearing the old woman's answer, a bright light flashed in Ihedia's eyes.
"................"
"Is there a problem?"
"The herb disappeared from the world a long time ago, so I'm not sure if we can get it now."
"You mean it's an extinct herb?"
"Yes. As far as I know, it only grows in very unique conditions. It's so rare that even horticultural magic can't grow it, and even if it could, the seeds wouldn't be available right away, and it would take quite a while to grow, so we'd probably only be able to use it after the plague has spread throughout the capital."
"Ah................"
A sigh escaped Ihedia's lips.
She had expected it to be a rare herb that she had never seen before, but it was already extinct and couldn't be grown with magic.
Ihedia couldn't hide her disappointment.
‘I wonder if I should just sit on my hands.’
It wasn't until she heard the old woman's next words that the despair in her eyes turned to hope.
"It's an herb that only grows in cold, uninhabited places, and even back then, it was a prized commodity. This is the north, where winters never end, so perhaps it's hidden somewhere in the Anut Forest."
Ihedia's ears perked up at the old woman's comforting words.
If the herbs fit the criteria she mentioned...................
‘Maybe it's Fennek.’
She wondered if there was something about Fennek that she didn't remember that was relevant to treating this plague.
She tried again to remember how she and Aurora hadn't gotten infected, despite sharing a room with the first person to show symptoms, 3.
"It's a good herb for your body. I found it while wandering around the manor, and if you take it, it will boost your immunity to the point where you won't catch a single cold in this weather."
Ihedia's heart thumped with hope.
"Do you happen to know what that herb looks like?"
"It's such a rare herb that I've never actually seen it, so I don't know what it looks like. All I know is that it has a sweet smell that could be mistaken for a fruit."
As soon as the old woman had finished speaking, Ihedia looked at Kayan with a rush of excitement.
"I think I have found the cure."
Kayan's eyes lit up at Ihedia's words.
"What is it?"
Instead of answering the question, Ihedia grabbed Kayan's wrist.
The suddenness of her action caused Kayan to stiffen for a moment, but Ihedia simply pulled his wrist away, heading somewhere.
She ran with Kayan to where the Fennek was.
Still out of breath, Ihedia made a ragged breathing sound and opened one of the pouches, holding it out to Kayan.
"Smell it."
Kayan did as she said, taking it and smelling the scent.
The plant, so rare that it could be mistaken for a poisonous herb, smelled of grapes.
"It has a strong sweet smell, like fruit…”
And since this was a forbidden area, the herb fit the conditions the old woman had described, growing only in cold, uninhabited places.
Kayan raised his head.
Ihedia, still breathless and flushed, was waiting for his response, her eyes twinkling with a mixture of anticipation and excitement.
The sight of her delight left Kayan speechless for a moment.
***
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