Chapter 43: The Capital (2)

Chapter 43: The Capital (2)

PR: Badman



How did they get here?

Elric thought, as he lay erect in Tyrias bed, staring at the ceiling.

Then, he sighed inwardly.

Why on earth?!

It was all because the legs of his bed had been broken.

There was nothing else to say.

Elrics resentment toward the cleaning company began to rise.

You should start sleeping. Youll have to get up early and diligently move around tomorrow.

Tyria said.

He glanced over and saw that she was lying in the same uptight position that he was in.

Even her sleeping position was aristocratic!

After a brief moment of admiration, a thought flashed through Elrics mind.

Dont you feel uncomfortable with me here?

What do you mean?

Milady usually sleeps curled up, so perhaps she finds sleeping due to me uncomfortable, right?

It was a habit hed noticed and remembered while caring for her.

How Tyria always slept curled up in a ball.

He wondered if this upright position was uncomfortable for her, because even when he tried to straighten her up, shed be back to sleeping like a shrimp in less than ten minutes.

Tyria was silent for a moment before answering.

Its okay, and the bed is large, so it doesnt really matter.

I see. Im surprised the bed is so big.

The former head of the household took care of that.

My father?

Yes.

Elrics head snapped up.

It was rare for her to bring up his father first.

The frustration hed been feeling since entering the mansion deepened.

Elric asked, his voice tinged with longing.

Can you tell me more about my father?

Perhaps he could get a sense of his fathers intentions, which he hadnt figured out until now.

Hed have been lying if he said that he didnt feel any anticipation.

At first, he hadnt thought that she and his father would have shared anything personal with each other, but it had been ten years.

Although, it was a likely possibility that they hadnt talked at all.

Tyria hesitated, then answered in a small voice.

The former patriarch mentioned in passing that if you were to return, I would need a larger bed for you.

He flinched, and Elrics fingertips trembled.

Did he think I would return, that man?

I dont know. The former patriarch was a man of contingencies, so I suppose that was just part of his nature.

His frown deepened.

It was a plausible explanation, given his fathers proclivities in life; but his inheritance made him think otherwise.

Perhaps he had been waiting for him.

Elric had already shaken the thought off, but it had somehow creeped up on him again.

When Tyrias gaze shifted from the ceiling to him, Elric forced a smile, hoping it would show in his expression.

Of course it was.

Elric tried to look like he was okay.

Tyria didnt say anything right away.

She held his gaze and remained silent, and Elric felt strangely relieved.

Sometimes, a moment of silence was more comforting than a hundred words.

The words came to his mind, and he felt wonderful for some reason.

There was more.

Green.

Even in the unlit room, Tyrias eyes glowed a pale green.

And the hair that covered the nape of her neck was dazzlingly gold.New novel chapters are published on

It was strange how the color didnt change even when it had been shadowed in a dark environment.

Then, his gaze suddenly fell onto her bare skin.

Ah! He blushed.

The gentleness of her soft flesh overlaid his taste of death.

That was not the end of it.

Her gentle, fresh breath would pierce his body more intensely than a bullet cutting through the wind.

It was driving Elric crazy.

Hed rather just sleep.

Closing his eyes tightly and steadying his breathing, Elric began his relentless effort to fall asleep.

To say the least, he succeeded.

It was uncomfortable, but somehow, hed managed to shut down his mind and fall asleep.

And,

For some reason, Elric didnt have any nightmares that night.

Or, well, he did have a nightmare.

But he, who had always roamed through the battlefield in his nightmares without a single exception when he dreamt, dreamed today not of the battlefield, but of struggling within a slimes belly.

It had been a gentle nightmare indeed.



Tyria opened her eyes as soon as her entire body felt refreshed.

Then she stiffened.

Unn!

Within reach of her nose was a pale-complexioned, groaning Elric.

Her arms were wrapped around his rigid body, and for some reason, Tyria was in the corner of the bed with Elric.

Her first thought was, Is this a dream?

It was too stimulating to be real, so she started to deny it.

But the sensations she felt were too vivid to be that of a dreams.

She needed to take some time to understand the situation.

Why did she wake up in this state?

Tyria eventually came to one conclusion.

You must be a bad sleeper, Milord.

She must have tucked herself in and drifted off to sleep.

She had to have.

Otherwise, she would be so embarrassed that she would want to hang himself.

Elrics arm was around her shoulders, too.

Tyrias face flushed into a blush.

Her breathing became ragged, like waves in the middle of a stormy sea.

Yet, she couldnt bring herself to move.

No, she didnt want to move.

The composition of their bodies carried a tension in it.

Despite her embarrassment, Tyria remembered a memory from her childhood.

The day shed spent the night with him in the tent under the bridge, this was what shed woken up to.

She was both happy and excited.

Her body tensed unnecessarily, whilst her mind melted like cotton candy in water.

She stared at him in a daze, thinking his whimpers were adorable.

Unnn!

Elrics eyes snapped open.

Then, in three, two, one

Wah!

Thump!

Elric flopped like a live fish and rolled to the foot of the bed.

Barely centering herself on the bed, Tyria felt her heart sink.

She was embarrassed to have been caught spying on a sleeping man.

Quickly rising to her feet, Tyria straightened her clothes and calmed her complexion.

Turning away from him, she muttered an excuse.

I couldnt get out of it. My lord seems to be a heavy sleeper.

She couldnt tell him that she had been distracted by the sight of his face and stayed in that position.

So her only answer had been to shift the blame.

Meanwhile, despair and resentment washed over Elrics face.

My sleeping habits?

Of course, Tyria, who had turned her head away, didnt answer.

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