Chapter 25
What should I say? Should I be honest with him that it\'s just because I got in trouble?
But what if he gets angry because I lied earlier?
I was swallowing dry saliva, fidgeting all nervous, but he opened his mouth again.
"No, it\'s fine…… That\'s not the point."
Huh?
He put me down from his lap and got up and picked up the robe he had taken off.
He just put on his gown again and left……… I thought, but I just lay down on one side of the bed.
He didn\'t say anything or do anything. He just lay silent with one arm over his forehead.
It was a very unusual atmosphere, so I was scared to talk to him.
As I stared at the outline of the man with a clear sign of annoyance, darkness came over me.
Ah, I totally screwed up again. What should I do now that my life and death are at stake in this event?
No wonder it was going so smoothly! He must be sure I lied to him!
No, I can\'t be branded as a liar any more.
I crept up to his knees and curled up beside him.
"I\'m sorry, I didn\'t mean to hide it. I was so embarrassed that I couldn\'t help but……."
"What?"
"I-I\'m so embarrassed to tell you that I was a foolish troublemaker…… Hic, I won\'t do that again. I\'m really helpless. I\'m sorry. Next time, I\'ll confess in advance, hic!"
Hiccups kept coming out, so I put my finger in my mouth and tried to press down on my tongue, but Isaac suddenly grabbed my hand. I raised my head in surprise.
"Stop talking."
"Hic……?"
"I told you it wasn\'t like that."
His predatory gaze looked even more dangerous. As I flinched and closed my mouth, he let out a deep sigh.
"Come here."
I was dragged gently by him, pulled down to lay down.
It felt very strange to lie down, with my head resting on his shoulder, and imprisoned in his iron forearms.
The heavy silence that descended was unsettling.
What the hell is he trying to convey?
I lifted my head slightly, and he was also looking at me. Hic, we made eye contact.
"I don\'t know why you always stop breathing all together. Does that stop the hiccups?"
"Hic! I-I-I think you\'ve misunderstood me as a liar……."
"I hate lies."
"Hic."
"If you were a liar, I wouldn\'t be lieing down here with you."
I see, so he doesn\'t think of me that way yet.
Huu, that took ten years from me. But then why did he suddenly stop?
"Then…"
"It\'s not because of you. It\'s just… I think another day will be better."
A soft, low voice Of course, it didn\'t feel soft, but it wasn\'t cold or cynical either.
Can I put my guard down? Will another day really come?
Oh, right. It\'s his first time, too, and I don\'t want to push him in a hurry.
The plate had already been turned upside down, and I thought it would only irritate him if I whined more here, and I think it would be better to just aim for the next opportunity.
Yes, another day will come. I\'m going to put the ball in again and make a big deal next time. Let\'s not lose hope!
With such determination, I gently placed my chin on his chest and opened my eyes.
"Then you don\'t hate me, do you? You didn\'t hate me, right?
"Does having me make you so anxious?"
It was an odd answer.
What does he mean by that? It was absurd, but the low-pitched voice felt somehow bitter, so I changed the subject.
"If you\'re going to sleep here, should I go out?"
"No."
"Can I sleep with you?"
"Do as you please."
"Really?"
"……Yes."
What\'s up with this arrogant man? Why are you coming out so smoothly? Is this a trap?
It was surprising, but at the same time, I thought I was asking for nothing.
There\'s no way I can sleep peacefully in this monster\'s side.
Without any other choice, I rolled my body calmly and closed my eyes tightly.
How long since I have been doing that?
I couldn\'t sleep, so I opened my eyes again and looked up, and it seemed my husband was the only one to be asleep with his eyelids closed.
Even his sleeping face was arrogant. Look at those long eyelashes. It looked like he got an extension.
For some reason, I think he looks younger than usual.
Seriously, if this was back in Madrid, he would be at an age where he would be overwhelmed about graduating from university and preparing for a job.
He pretended to be so mature that he sometimes forgets that he\'s still a young man.
I wriggled cautiously, grabbing his hand from his body and staring at it.
It is twice the size of my hand and he will stab me with this hand later.
No, I\'m not going die. I\'ll live for sure. There\'s still hope…….
I let go of his hand and gently leaned my head against his muscular chest.
Thump, thump. There was a clear thumping sound, a violent beating of the vitality of the steel-like body.
"Like a fool…."
You\'re the main character. The main character who can do whatever he wants.
Why do you keep hesitating?
If you were Cesare, if you were my family, if you were the same kind of person I\'ve survived from, if you were clear in what you were asking for…… It would have been easier if you had been like that.
I wouldn\'t have felt so unfamiliar and wrong-footed.
"Good night…"
Good night, my twisted straw.
Have some sweet dreams about me.
* * *
The breakfast table was literally a feast.
Reindeer meat marinated in various seasonings, raw ham melon, rabbit stew, grilled herring and lamb sausage are very…….
It was the diet of carnivores itself. A person who could digest such a diet early in the morning must be a very healthy person.
And the best paladin in the north was, of course, an over-healthy guy.
"You have no appetite."
"No, I just wanted to savor my meal."
If I answered incorrectly, I felt like I would be in the same situation as the poor meat, so I automatically said such sweet words.
But my ruthless husband squinted at me as if he doubted the sincerity of my words.
"You only been playing with your food since earlier"
"Hahaha, that\'s……."
"Empty the bowl. You\'re too skinny."
Now even you… I obediently grabbed a spoon and started pushing my share of the stew.
As it was my first meal with my cold husband, I tried my best not to look like I was a picky eater, but it was hard to pour greasy meat soup into my small stomach from the morning.
It\'s hard not to throw up.
While I was barely halfway through the stew, Isaac had already finished the stew and herring in a much larger bowl than mine, and was slaughtering the whole cut reindeer.
It seems that being a simple man has nothing to do with eating. How can all that go in his stomach?
"Shall I bring you the moonshine [1], milord?"
"No, I\'m done."
While we sat alone for breakfast, the servants attended to us diligently.
Even the sound of breathing was careful and their appearance of being nervous seemed like they were completely different beings. It feels different from when I eat with Ellenia.
Ellenia was an unexpectedly generous lady.
It was obvious that we did not had the first night, so I was once again staying put, but nevertheless, it was not very bad to sleep in one room with him and wake up together and have breakfast together.
I honestly thought he\'d be gone before I woke up. What the hell is he thinking?
As I emptied the stew, I glanced at my husband sitting across from me.
He looked no different than usual, dressed in black armor and slaughtering the flesh, ready to take charge of the city\'s security at any time, but he was somehow tired and looked toughtful.
I\'m the one who couldn\'t sleep because of the feeling of a chick next to a monster, but I didn\'t know why he looks like a lump.
Besides, why is the atmosphere so tensed? Phew, a tough guy anyway. Arrogant. Always twisted…….
"Is the meal properly unseasoned for you?"
"N-No."
"Then hurry up and eat."
Right, I chewed the reindeer meat with tears in my eyes. It\'s a hard work.
"Well, anyway."
"What?"
"Can you eat with me like this? Father just came back……."
"Pretend having upset stomach in the morning."
"You?"
"No, you."
I see. Is it so bad that third party has to fake an upset stomach every morning?
Well, as far as I remember, Isaac\'s relationship with his father has completely gone awry since his mother\'s suicide.
In addition, according to Ellenia\'s testimony, Isaac was not an ordinary person who would avoid someone he doesn\'t like.
If the bandit-like father and my husband, come together with a person like Cesare……….
In addition, Isaac is the king\'s favorite nephew.
The king\'s beloved elder sister\'s son.
After the suicide of Duchess Omerta, the antagonism between the Duke, who was maintaining subtle grievances with the royal family, and the king\'s twisted nephew, Isaac, was natural.
"What else are you curious about?"
Are you even using mind reading now because you don\'t have to use night vision? I smiled as innocently as I could and shook my head.
"I\'m sorry. I suddenly got a silly question."
"What is it?"
"As I have never seen one in the South before,…… Can the monsters understand people?"
After finishing the reindeer meat in an instant, the man who was mercilessly mashing the lamb sausage in one bite, looked up at me.
Why is he opening his eyes like that? Is he pitying me?
"No. And I\'m glad it\'s not."
"Oh……."
"Why all of a sudden?"
"I\'ve read such a stupid novel."
This makes it a bit clear. Either Popo is unique or I am unique.
The latter is something to be very, very careful with. If I could communicate with other monsters besides Popo……….
Isaac was looking at me, who was smiling like a child for a while, but then he turned his eyes again and focused on sausages.
[1] That\'s an alcohol