Chapter 126
Zen was one of the knights working at the Magic Tower. He was also one of the few who knew the identity of her and Cardel as they were human beings who accepted the prohibition not to divulge what they knew.
“Zen.”
“Isn’t this too much? The Tower Master also visited in the morning.”
‘Don’t the two of you originally have different eating dates?’, the muttering continued.
“A little bit.”
“Then, please go down to the mountains with me later.”
Zen would ask for favors whenever he gave blood. He was not even a wizard, yet he seemed to have something else he wanted to experiment with in the Jericho mountains. Because of that, Elysia wondered if their conversation would be too long.
She raised her arm and spoke.
“Tell Cardel, I’m busy.”
“Are you going to do it yourself?”
Elysia gave a sloppy nod and raised her fangs.
As expected, it didn’t taste good. While she felt sorry for Zen, it was worse for her as she was stuck with Cassian. Elysia solved her acute hunger, and she immediately took her lips off before snapping her fingers and casting a sleep spell on Zen.
“Thank you.”
She didn’t really want to see him blush at the sight of her because of her sucking his blood. She let out a sigh at the shallow satiety and headed back to the Imperial Palace.
As soon as she entered the bedroom, her body was caught in a tight embrace.
“Oh, when did you wake up?”
“…About an hour ago.”
“Did it take that long?”
It seemed like he woke up right after she went to the Magic Tower. He was fast, too.
“I went out for a while.”
“May I ask where you have been?”
“Magic Tower.”
She didn’t want to tell small lies. Even though she didn’t know if it was true, Cassian used to say that she couldn’t lie, so she was used to that. Besides, what if lies don’t work in front of him?
Elysia rubbed her face, pushing a little off his shirt, which had several buttons undone.
“I like bare skin better.”
The body has been responding honestly. How could he not get tired? She soon slipped away and gazed at his face.
“Cassian.”
“…Yes.”
As Elysia kissed him and called out his name once more, he clenched his chin and frowned.
“Uumm?”
“Are you hurt?”
“No.”
“I smell blood.”
She even drank water beforehand, how did he know? Cassian rubbed her lips with his finger. He then kissed her lips and ran it all over her mouth.
“Ah, huht?”
“You’re not hurt. It’s strange.”
Elysia rolled her eyes as he looked at her, gauging her.
“Later.”
“Later…?”
“I will tell you.”
Cassian was making a displeased face. She thought about moving on to another conversation before reaching out her hand.
“Ugh…”
“Does it hurt?”
Red marks were all over his shoulder line. There were blue bruises from how badly she had bullied him. Feeling apologetic all over again, Elysia looked at him and wept at her.
“…It’s okay.”
“I’m sorry.”
“You don’t have to worry about it.”
When he supported her waist with both of his hands, holding her back, she laughed and removed Cassian’s bangs.
“It’s because I’ve been patient too long.”
“Then, can I stay by your side now?”
“What?”
Cassian hesitated. Elysia, who had been chewing on his words for a moment, opened her eyes wide.
“You don’t want to?”
“How can it be?”
“What do you want to do next? Do you want a successor position, or just me and you in a quiet place…?”
Elysia was fiddling with his hair as she asked. Cassian, who had been crouching down with his eyes closed, cleared his throat.
“It’s too much of an option.”
“Um. Really? I thought you’d like it.”
It was a question she asked because it seemed that there was no longer a need to hold him in the Imperial Palace. She didn’t want to stay like this forever, and there were things that often got on her nerves, so she didn’t want to stay here forever… things like the maids glancing at him.
Anyway, there was nothing she liked in the Imperial Palace since before.
“Would you like to go back? Think about where you’ll be staying, and let me know when you decide.”
“I don’t want it.”
Cassian lifted the corners of his lips into a smile and tilted his head. The corners of his raised mouth curled languidly.
“I have no thoughts of separating from you.”
Then, he bit her lip and withdrew.
Elysia avoided his gaze and furrowed her eyebrows. Seeing that smile reminded her of a time in the past when he deliberately used that smile, knowing what expressions she was weak against.
It must be an illusion.
“Are you doing this on purpose?”
“What do you mean?”
“…No.”
“Like this.”
Cassian leaned his head close to her face again.
“Are you laughing?”
A low laugh followed, seemingly in a good mood. As he tucked her hair behind her ears and ran his fingers through her hair, his fingers ran down the length of her hair.
“I want to swallow them all.”
Elysia looked at him with astonishment.
“Me, too. I will do more.”
He would be surprised if he knew. She couldn’t believe he had said that in front of her. At that moment, Elysia smiled as she slipped her hand on his chest.
“Ah.”
She could see it was red and swollen from how much she had been scratching it last night. Tightening her fingers even as she looked at him, the touch of her fingernails created wrinkles between his straight brows.
“It hurts?”
“…A little bit.”
“But, why are you like this?”
Elysia smiled as she slid her hand further down. Cassian’s face turned red. It was a big problem if she enjoyed teasing him like this, but since he was so cute, it just kept happening. Still, she thought it would be better to be patient a little longer.
The hunger was gone. However, because she had just sucked blood, his scent was approaching more stimulatingly.
“What?”
He suddenly picked her up and left the bedroom.
“Is it fun to tease me like that?”
“Yes. A lot.”
“Since you keep provoking me like that, I want to respond.”
“Try it.”
Elysia slipped her hand through his shirt with a weird smile.
* * *
Cassian felt Elysia dig deeper into his arms as he woke up first. She was full of red marks that hadn’t faded yet from last night’s affairs.
His fingers moved as he traced the traces, lost in thought.
He has yet to answer her question about what he wants to do in the future. It was right that they couldn’t continue like this. Even though he fully sensed that Elysia’s feelings towards him were not false, he also felt that when she saw him, she suddenly remembered that man.
“…Cassian?”
“Yes.”
Cassian smiled kindly at Elysia, who had just woken up.
Even if she thought of him as a replacement, he couldn’t let go of her. It was strange. No matter how much he waited for her, could he have such a deep heart? It was incomprehensible when he took a step back and looked at himself.
“Um?”
Elysia frowned as if she was puzzled by the way he looked at her.
“You’re not sleeping anymore.”
“That’s right. I need more rest.”
There was a small resentment in Elysia’s voice. Seeing that, Cassian smiled and pressed his lips to her forehead. She burrowed under the covers as if she really wanted to sleep more, then opened her mouth as if she almost forgot.
“Cassian. Your aide has been looking for you for a few days. I gave him permission to enter.”
“…..Is that so.”
He met Rand a week ago when Elysia was away and ordered Rand to investigate more closely about the man in the portrait in detail in Esteban’s estate.
The only thing Elysia mentioned to him about the future was whether it would be good to find a separate townhouse in the capital, a family mansion, or the magic tower, and literally, she wanted to stay.
She never talked about the promise to always be with him or what kind of relationship they were having, or if she wanted to be with him. He might as well bring it out first, but he was not sure. Could he really be tied to her as a lover or in marriage?
He wasn’t sure about that either.
“Yes. He’s probably waiting.”
“Then, I’ll get going for a while.”
So, he had to know… exactly what kind of relationship she had with that man. And, as he expected, if it was true that the man could no longer be by her side.
No matter how much Elysia missed that man, he had to see with his own eyes that only he could take that place. He was going to let her make full use of him if it was true that he was the only one who could take that place, regardless of her intention.