#35. Conversation
He seemed to be casually glancing around, yet even after the act was over, he didn’t let go of Ninia’s face.
Meanwhile, she found herself caught in the thought that she had inadvertently made him wait. More precisely, she was debating whether she should apologize or not.
‘I thought he didn’t like hearing apologies…’
Perhaps it was because he heard it too often from her and others. He didn’t seem to enjoy being apologized to. The more she hesitated, the drier her mouth felt. In the end, she asked something else instead of saying sorry.
“Um… did you perhaps sleep somewhere else? I feel like I may have made things uncomfortable.”
At her words, his eyes flickered strangely, and then a twisted smile escaped his lips. Ninia, unsure of the reason, looked at him with clear eyes.
‘What’s this about?’
There were two reasons for his laughter. One was that the idea itself was just funny—he had a bed big enough for several people to tumble around, yet she still thought that way. The other was that she hadn’t recalled her past memory.
He rubbed Ninia’s cheek with his thumb as he spoke.
“Even if I wanted to, you kept begging to be held. Clinging to my collar, you wouldn’t let go.”
His low voice made her blue eyes shimmer. Her expression went through a look of shock, then slowly flushed bright red from her ears to her neck.
“Did I… do that?”
Her trembling voice suggested she couldn’t believe what he said. Tarahan, who alone held the memory, had also anticipated that Ninia would ask like this.
“If you’re trying to call me a fraud, you’d better stop.”
The harsh warning stiffened her small body. Her large eyes, seemingly searching for an alternative, wavered and eventually sank downward.
“N-No, that’s not it… I just don’t remember well. It’s true.”
Her denial of labeling him a conman had shifted into an appeal to trust that the problem lay with her own memory.
‘Does she even know what she’s saying?’
Watching Ninia flounder helplessly, Tarahan found it somewhat amusing, even as he was slightly exasperated.
In truth, nothing had happened that would cause her to babble. After the doctor’s examination, he had intended to leave. Ninia, drowsy, had merely clutched his clothing instead of a blanket.
He looked down at her hand gripping his clothes and turned away. The weak grasp had no real hold; it came apart easily.
Tarahan had not returned to the bedroom due to outside commitments. Watching the clueless Ninia, his gaze turned cold.
“So you were trying to pin this on me? I don’t know about you, but I’m not a dog. I have no hobby of holding a woman who’s fainted like a corpse.”
It might have been her fault for reacting as she did, waking just as he was leaving. There was some exaggeration, but the fact that Ninia had grabbed him was not a lie.
Ninia fell silent under the barrage of words. Eventually, the words she had suppressed spilled out.
“Th-That… I’m sorry.”
Her memory still didn’t return clearly. She felt her anger rising again from her rambling, but she forced herself to regain composure. She hadn’t intended to treat Tarahan like a scoundrel, but she realized it might have sounded that way from his perspective.
‘He’ll probably get angry.’
In Ninia’s memories, he had always been that kind of person. Yet, contrary to her expectation, there was no sign of irritation on his face. Perhaps her eyes were mistaken? If not, maybe Tarahan was even angrier than she imagined.
But even as time passed, there was no growl. Instead…
“Well, it doesn’t matter. I suppose it’s not odd for a wife to cling to her husband.”
Tarahan, gazing at her lazily, rubbed his chin. It was an unnecessarily lenient judgment.
He didn’t dislike being apologized to; he simply couldn’t endure people hesitating or uttering meaningless words in front of him.
Even with just a few words exchanged, her stunned face had its own charm. Something in her pale cheeks and vacant gaze seemed to carry a heat.
‘Her temperature seems to be rising again.’
After just a brief conversation, she was about to feel unwell again. It felt as if she were a worthless piece of trash. She might truly have leaned more toward the “electronic” side than her husband, yet it was undeniable that his repeated reactions irritated her.
“You really are fragile.”
“…No.”
Tarahan clicked his tongue, and she immediately responded. The unexpected reply made his eyes widen briefly. Seizing that moment, Ninia emphasized again.
“It’s okay now. Really.”
She tried to cool the flush on her cheeks with the back of her hand. She rubbed several times, but her body temperature would not drop unless her body was somehow divided into pieces.
The heat hadn’t fully subsided. Observing her efforts, Tarahan commented with a crooked tone.
“Every word you say doesn’t sound genuine.”
He had no idea that Ninia’s best courage had been crushed by a single sentence. Her shoulders slumped. The rising heat made her body feel warmer. She could no longer deny his words; the unfairness bothered her.
“Still, I didn’t lie.”
Her words carried a defiant trembling, though in reality, it was as weak as a bird’s flutter.
Sensing her resistance, Tarahan raised an eyebrow. Seeing this, Ninia quickly changed the subject.
“I… I’ve relied on you too long. I think I can return to my room now.”
Her words were both an attempt to shift the topic and a genuine thought. She no longer had the pride to occupy his bed. Yet Tarahan responded to her sincere words with a smile.
“Your room?”
The tension around his eyes relaxed once more. He laughed as if he had picked up an amusing story.
His mouth curved up, revealing even teeth. That fierce man seemed like a different being. Ninia, staring at him wide-eyed, didn’t understand why he was laughing.
Tarahan seemed aware of her confusion. As a reward for making him laugh, he answered simply.
“Everything in this castle is mine. Including you.”
By the time he said this, his smile had faded. Ninia realized how ridiculous her words had been. Lentus Castle—and even the entire Danteor region—belonged to Tarahan.
“And you said you’ve relied on me, didn’t you?”
He leaned closer, and Ninia’s eyes darted around helplessly. Was he angry or not? She couldn’t tell.
His nose brushed her cheek. Leaving a trace near her ear, he whispered sweetly.
“Then you should give me something worthy.”
Ninia could not answer. Her body stiffened, her breathing uneven.
Tarahan’s gaze dropped. Her hands wandered until she gripped the blanket on her lap tightly. Her hesitant fingers recalled that early morning when she had clutched his sleeve, excited with heat.
“Well, we’ll think about that after you’re back to normal.”
He leaned his head back. The slight distance made her exhale in relief. It was easy to be relieved without knowing what would happen.
“…Yes. I will.”
“You answer well.”
His brows narrowed at her obedient reply. His previously relaxed tone sharpened again. Ninia’s eyes reflected her confusion. Tarahan silently scolded her with a furrowed gaze.
‘She would obediently follow anywhere.’
She would accept anything without resentment. He had no hobby of taming rebels. But seeing her gentle face repeatedly, he found himself irritated.
He recalled the scratch on his palm from a thorn. It wasn’t a sword wound, just a small cut, yet it had bled.
‘Too weak.’
That’s why he couldn’t contain his anger. His most hated target was excessively weak, with a face that seemed ready to die. Even a minor hand wound seemed terrible.
Her blue eyes, gazing up at him, were as clear as a beach reflecting sand beneath shallow water. And she had humiliated herself before him. Truly, he couldn’t trust this woman.
“I don’t want to see anything ridiculous in my domain. So don’t do anything silly, like offering your body to a goddess as some self-deprecating act.”
Ninia seemed not to understand his warning. But even if she didn’t understand now, she would soon.
“Give up one more thing. Like you’ve stopped praying.”
It was a merciful whisper. A vivid ripple ran through her blue eyes.
He wanted to lick the trembling corners of her eyes. The lifted corner burned with heat. He savored the mark he had left, feeling a sense of satisfaction.
