CH 20

Blake continued to stroke the fur cloak that covered Lily. He had to get her temperature up somehow.

He patted Lily’s cheek and then patted her shoulder.

“Please, please…It’s not time for that yet.”

He still remembered Lily asking to stay for a year vividly. To be honest, the man was quite optimistic.

A year was quite a long time. It was enough time for Blake to clear up his troubled mind.

With that much time, he could easily forget about his childhood. So he was in no hurry. But everything shouldn’t end like this.

“Even if they stop breathing and return to the earth, it is our destiny. We gladly accept our fate.”

It was not long ago Blake told Lily that.

Never has that fate been as cruel as it is today.

Blake absolutely could not accept his fate. No one can take Lily Hedwick. 

No one can touch her.

At least, not while he was holding on to the wanderings of his mind.

“Please, I beg you.”

It was very cold in winter.

Still, perhaps because of him, Lily’s body temperature began to rise slightly in front of the fireplace.

“Lily, Lily, Lily Hedwick.”

“….”

Normally he would have to leave her alone to sleep more for a few days.

Blake couldn’t wait any longer. Under the determination to wake her up somehow, she kept touching her arm and making noises.

“Come back to your senses. I want you to show me those eyes that stared at me so fiercely.”

“….”

“That’s an order!”

Blake’s rough voice woke her spirit.

Lily’s eyelids trembled. Blue eyes gently shone through the slowly opening eyelids.

“Hmm….”

Lily sighed, unable to regain her senses.

Minutes passed in a state of being awake but not so awake.

Now she was looking at the situation quite fully.

‘Okay ……. Let’s see. ……..Lord Blake is staring at me.’

How grim the man’s face was! Lily misinterpreted it that way.

And… on the left was the fireplace, oh, Lily looked again and Blake was holding her.

“What’s wrong?”

Lily’s last memory had stopped a few days before she had passed out.

She was sure Blake went to take a bath while she was treating patients, but now why is he all messed up like he went to battle again?

Why did he embrace her like a baby?

”Mother…”

Lily whispered quietly.

Blake’s head shifted slowly.

“You’re still not awake? Do you want to see your mother? Didn’t you say you’re not close to your parents? Do you want me to order a portrait of her in secret?” (Blake)

“Mother…”

It was hard for her to move even a finger. Instead, she called Blake closer to her.

The man lowered his ears to hear what Lily had to say.

“Now that I can hear you properly, please repeat what you said.” (Blake)

“What kind of overprotection is this, mother? I’m an adult too….I’m past the period of being wrapped up in a bag like a baby.” (Lily)

(Lily called Blake ‘mother’ )

Blake ignored the fact that Lily was sick and almost threw her away.

“You don’t even know what happened while you were out cold, and all you say are jokes! You are a mean woman!”

“Oh, there was a different reason hidden. No wonder. There’s no way you’re holding me like an egg for no reason. But I hatched, mother chicken.”  

He was about to scold Lily, but a laugh escaped his stiff lips immediately.

Huh, how she joked around with the same words he had expected to hear.

Blake still didn’t let go of Lily.

In fact, he had his hands full just trying to keep her spirit alive.

They sat still for a while, staring at the fireplace.

Then he murmured to her.

“Do you know what my last name, Upus, means?”

“Isn’t it the name of a region?”

“Upus means wolf.”

And the wolf protected theirs very well.

Blake still couldn’t define what kind of relationship Lily and he had,  but one thing was for sure.

He wouldn’t let her go back to the Devil’s lair.

The one year deadline didn’t matter anymore. He was the captain and master of the Upus.

Lily wanted to ask him what he meant, but the sleepiness rushed in.

“I’m sorry, but my eyes are closing.”

She said in a low voice and went back to sleep.

****

In the meantime, the culprit Sebastian was caught.

Sebastian had long crossed the line of Blake’s forgiveness. He was trapped in the dungeon of winter castle. No one thought the treatment was serious.

“It’s a disgrace to the race.”

The knight shook his head as he came up from the prison. The others replied.

“Bullying a weak person is something that should be punished. But if that person is our savior, it’s even worse. What will happen to Sebastian?”

“He will be lucky to escape the death penalty.”

The knights did not stay at the castle much, but their employees were a little disappointed. Most of them had seen the boy since he was a child.

“No one will ever forgive him. Don’t you see that there’s no one coming to see him?”

In the days before Lily woke up, the Winter Castle family had come to some sort of agreement.

They agreed not to tell Lily anything. 

They didn’t mention Sebastian. However, the banquet to entertain Lily turned up the heat so that it would not be hindered because of this incident.

“Miss Lily! How do you like these outfits?”

Gianna lifted up some of Lily’s potential banquet clothes.

“How about our traditional dress with fur? And now even gloves made out of lots of monster’s skins! We did our best with sewing, which we don’t even have the skills for.”

“I have at least ten needle marks on my hands! hahahahaha!”

“We can’t be quiet!”

Lily burst out laughing as the two servants fought with their weapons. Lily thought.

Their efforts to pretend to be unaware of the series of events was incredible.

‘Sebastian must have tried to harm me.’

There were many reasons to find out the truth.

First of all, the people at the Winter Castle were terrible liars.

Blake skillfully lied with a languid look on his face, but the others were as awkward as toys that had not yet been greased.

‘You have a long way to go to deceive my eyes.’

To Lily, who struggled in social situations, employees were easier to grasp than babies. Otherwise, the boy, who had been fighting with her from time to time, was not visible at all.

They never answered properly when Lily asked. They just rambled on about how Lily saved their lives and averted their gaze.

Even though Lily had finally gotten used to human malice, the people of Winter Nature were still in an uproar.

‘They’re the warmest people I’ve ever met, even though they look rough.’

A kiss on the cheek and they’d all fly away, wouldn’t they? Anyway, Lily appreciated their consideration. So she tried not to think about the boy.

It was Lily’s own life, anyway, and it wasn’t worth much……

“Lily, why don’t you pick out some clothes? You’re really not going to attend the banquet? Of course, you’re not fully recovered from your condition, but you can attend and just sit down…….”

Lilly appreciated their efforts.

She decided to attend the banquet as a reward for their good faith lies.

“Then may I wear this dress?”

“Oh! You’re going to attend! This outfit?”

“There is also a thread of the same color of this dress on Gianna’s waist. You’ve put the most effort into this, haven’t you?”

“Well, I definitely did!”

It was the Winter Castle’s banquet, held once a year.

That banquet was just a few days away.

***

Hundreds of people gathered in a very large dining hall and drank and ate to their heart’s content. They sang songs, danced, and fought as they pleased, and it became a mess.

“Let’s drink ourselves to death!”

It was the beginning of the annual banquet.

Blake was sitting in the most upper seat.

He wasn’t wearing his usual rough shirt.

The Upus man’s suit was armor. It had been a while since the man dressed up properly…… Actually, it wasn’t for a banquet.

‘I have to tell the Lady today.’

He intended to let Lily stay longer than a year. He also had mixed feelings about it, so it was enough for now.

But he was nervous.

What could he say?

Lily would think he was crazy if he told her to stay here comfortably, even for a long time. The fact that she was here would reach the capital someday.

Then it would turn into a political issue. It was a matter of Lilly’s family and her ex-husband filing a lawsuit against him.

Blake knew. He was ready to handle it.

The real difficulty was that if she would ask him why he decided that.

Even the man himself could not answer.

“Hmmm…”

“Captain! Why are you sighing on such a good day?”

Should he tell her the truth?

‘I don’t know much about it, and I’m sure you don’t either, but we were actually close when we were little.’

‘That’s why I felt an unknown attraction and tried to kiss the lady. You didn’t think it was because I’m a pervert, did you?’

…like this? 

“She’d think I’m crazy.”

“Me?” (Knight)

“No, you should be quiet and drink.”

Anyway, Blake had to prepare to answer in any way he could. Should he take this opportunity to say that he wants to cut the emperor’s head off?

‘That would be great!’

Blake was going crazy, unable to make a decision.