Chapter 40
To say something like that so casually.
I wanted to shut his mouth, but I couldn’t bring myself to touch him and only clenched my fists tightly.
“W-what are you talking about…! When did I ever?”
“I saw it clearly.”
“You didn’t see anything! Everyone’s wearing underclothes!”
Even the underclothes were thick garments worn under armor, fully covering, enough to be worn as outerwear.
Seeing my frustrated expression, Kallius smirked mischievously.
“So you admit you peeked.”
“I didn’t! And your voice is way too loud…!”
Though I whispered, lowering my voice, he didn’t.
“Denying won’t help.”
Then he turned around and shouted.
“Everyone heard that, right? My bride is sly, so make sure you all keep her in check.”
“Yes, my lord!”
The knights answered loudly.
I saw Utar’s chieftain and his family stifling laughter.
My face felt burning hot.
Unable to lie down, I avoided everyone’s gaze and collapsed leaning against Kallius’s big body like a wall. I pulled the blanket all the way up over my head.
The fur blanket smelled musty with the distinctive scent of leather and was heavy.
From outside the blanket, Kallius asked,
“Aren’t you going to change out of your outer clothes?”
“N-never, absolutely not.”
I tightened the leather clothes I was wearing.
I could feel Kallius quietly laughing.
“You should sleep early since you have to wake up early.”
I ignored him in annoyance, but after a while, he spoke again.
“Shall I give you a pillow with my arm?”
To refuse, I moved about a hand’s breadth toward Lamia’s side.
Then Kallius quickly pulled me back close and lay down right beside me.
I lowered the blanket a bit, glaring at him with only my eyes showing.
“Why are you coming so close?”
“Brentian has terrible sleeping habits.”
He gestured over his shoulder.
Brentian, lying with the blanket pulled up to his neck, said without much interest,
“I don’t have any sleeping habits.”
Kallius whispered to me quietly.
“Actually, that guy smells quite bad.”
“My aide has his honor, my lord.”
Kallius turned back and scolded Brentian sternly.
“It’s rude to eavesdrop on a couple’s private conversation, Viscount Creeph.”
“I was just talking behind your back… no, I’m sorry.”
Brentian started to protest but quickly backed down.
Lamia, having heard their conversation, giggled quietly.
Of course, everyone heard that too.
Brentian sighed deeply at Lamia’s laughter, and that was the trigger for everyone inside the ker to burst out laughing, trying to hold it in until then.
As the ker filled with laughter, the awkward atmosphere from the unfamiliar sleeping arrangements immediately dissolved.
‘Not as bad as I thought.’
I pulled the blanket down to below my neck and quietly stared at the ceiling.
The ceiling showed the wooden beams, with large chunks of ham hanging from ropes.
Below, the fire in the hearth crackled, spreading warm heat.
It was my first time sleeping somewhere other than a bed; although my body was a bit uncomfortable, I felt cozy and not bad.
“Have sweet dreams.”
Kallius whispered in my ear.
“You too, Kallius.”
I gave a brief reply and closed my eyes.
Soon, the sounds of snoring and deep breathing could be heard here and there.
Focusing on these sounds, I waited for everyone to fall asleep.
‘I must go ask Lassa clearly what she wanted to tell me.’
Eventually, the ker grew quiet.
Carefully, I slipped out from under the blanket.
Lamia and the maids, probably exhausted from the journey, were sound asleep, unaware of the world.
I tiptoed out of the ker, lifting my heels as much as possible.
Pushing open the thick cloth-covered door, a biting cold wind brushed my cheek.
‘Ugh, so cold.’
The ker was warm inside; I hadn’t realized the outside was this cold.
The heavy clothes were already burdensome, and with the strong snowstorm blowing, I kept stumbling and getting up every step I took.
Not far away was the ker where Lassa had taken Kallius separately. That was probably Lassa’s ker.
As I staggered toward it, someone tapped my shoulder.
“Where are you going?”
“…!”
Startled, I turned to see Kallius looking down at me.
‘I was definitely asleep.’
When had he woken up?
Still, I was glad it was Kallius who had followed me.
I honestly confessed,
“I want to… meet Lassa!”
My voice was muffled by the wind, so I cleared my throat and spoke louder.
“Lassa left me a prophecy.”
“Is that so?”
“She said she would tell me something through her actions, but I’m not sure if I interpreted it right. I want to secretly confirm!”
“Since you waited this late, it must be a secret.”
“Yes! But you don’t have to keep it secret from Kallius.”
As long as the Cabala’s spies didn’t know, I didn’t have to keep it from Kallius, who was my ally.
I grabbed his arm firmly with both hands and interlaced my fingers.
“Will you come with me? As you see, it’s a bit hard alone.”
“Call on me next time. Going alone is dangerous in many ways.”
I held his arm firmly and smiled brightly at him, squinting because of the wind.
“Thank you.”
“You say thank you quite often.”
‘Do I?’
I was puzzled by Kallius’s comment.
I had heard Andrea tell me, ‘Stop saying sorry so much. You sound like a broken record.’ But this was the first time someone said I say thank you too much.
“You must have a lot to be thankful for, Viscount.”
My small mutterings scattered on the wind.
Surely my voice was lost in the wind, but somehow, Kallius unexpectedly smiled, and I felt I had received a gentle reply.
Supported by him, I approached Lassa’s ker.
The Utar tribe lives with several families in one ker, but I heard Lassa uses her own ker alone.
Kallius cautiously pushed open the door and called,
“Lassa, are you sleeping?”
Warm air leaked out.
Looking around, Kallius let me inside.
“It seems Lassa is not here.”
The ker was empty.
The fire in the hearth was still alive, so it seemed she had just left not long ago.
We wiped the snow off our clothes at the entrance and sat on the cushions near the hearth, waiting for Lassa.
Kallius pointed to the innermost seat.
“She must have gone out.”
There was a sacred rope laid in Lassa’s seat.
It was a gold-colored rope threaded with colorful pebbles.
“This means the owner of the ker has temporarily gone out.”
“She went out alone in such cold? Where could she have gone?”
“I’m not sure, but since Lassa is a prophet with mysterious powers, there’s no need to worry.”
“That’s a relief.”
“Let’s wait here for a while.”
Because I had been outside briefly and was shivering as my body temperature dropped, Kallius suggested we move closer to the fire.
I didn’t refuse and sat by the hearth, warming my hands.
Because of the clothes designed so that I couldn’t take my hands out, the heat didn’t reach my skin directly, so I kept moving my hands closer to the fire, which smelled like burning leather.
“Be careful.”
Kallius noticed and pulled my arm to put some distance between me and the fire.
“Ah, thank you.”
Kallius smiled meaningfully, with a playful grin.
I understood what he meant and smiled with him.
“Kallius is right.”
Already thanking him again.
I quietly gazed at Kallius’s face.
The firelight cast deep shadows on his face, making his sharp features stand out.
The orange glow reflected in his eyes made his gaze feel very warm as he looked at me.
Like a magnet, my gaze stuck to him.
Unaware of what I was doing, I stared at him in a daze and confessed as if spellbound.
“Did you know Cabala sent me as a spy, Kallius?”
