Chapter 146
A hunger strike, huh. Isaac felt a slight headache.
He was currently pretending to be the doting uncle who imprisoned his niece, acting as if he hadn’t been affected by Liena’s blessing at all.
By the rules of the act, he should beg and coax Liena into eating—or, failing that, feed her by force.
The problem was, he didn’t feel like putting in that much effort.
On top of that, Liena’s audacious act of threatening him with her own mouth—refusing to eat—was infuriating.
Looking at her now, he knew he wouldn’t be able to simply feed her and leave it at that.
“What to do…”
Isaac stared at the firmly locked door for a moment, then smirked.
“All right. I’ve decided.”
Meanwhile, inside the room, Liena pressed her ear against the door, listening carefully for Isaac’s reaction.
Confident with her secret weapon—the hunger strike—she felt sure of herself.
Over the past decade or so, Liena had used hunger strikes to get what she wanted multiple times.
She remembered when she had secured official approval from her father and two older brothers to be with Mihail.
“Liena! Your dad lost!”
“Your brother lost too!”
“I’m sorry for being disrespectful to His Highness the Crown Prince!”
“I won’t do it again, just bring me a spoonful of soup, please!”
“You’ve already skipped a meal. If you keep this up, you’ll be in serious trouble!”
“Stop abusing your body—just hit me instead! I’ll gladly take it!”
The three would take turns, or sometimes all at once, pleading with Liena to end her hunger strike.
She would wait until they genuinely showed remorse before reluctantly forgiving them.
Afterward, although they looked displeased, Liena’s strike kept them from openly opposing her spending time with Mihail.
Heh, reminiscing about those happy days with her family, Liena couldn’t help smiling.
‘It was so nice back then…’
Compared to the present, the memory made her feel a little melancholic, so she shook her head resolutely.
She would never submit to Idel and would reclaim that happiness with her own hands.
First, though, Isaac had to come to his senses and open the door.
“Liena.”
Finally, Isaac’s voice came from the other side.
“The thought of you refusing to eat pains this uncle’s heart.”
“See? Then hurry up and open the door—”
“But if this is truly your will, I must respect it as your uncle.”
“Huh?”
“You’re an adult now. You can decide for yourself whether to eat.”
“Wait, uncle!”
“I’ll bring your meal. But don’t starve yourself too long—try to moderate your hunger strike.”
“Wait! If you really respect my will, then get me out of here! I want to leave!”
Liena pounded on the door, shouting, but Isaac’s reply was resolute.
“That’s not possible. It’s dangerous outside.”
“Then you’re not respecting my will!”
“Sorry. I can’t grant that. But I will honor your intent to fast.”
“What?”
“Then fast diligently.”
“No, that logic is off. You claim to respect me, so why won’t you let me go outside but still allow me to fast?”
Liena argued, but Isaac repeated the same words like a parrot.
“I’ll return when you’re ready to eat again. I have work, so see you later.”
“Uncle? Uncle!”
His footsteps slowly faded away.
“What are you trying to do?!”
Frustrated, Liena kicked over the nearby trash bin.
She’d never encountered someone so stubborn and unreasonable.
She’d heard that Isaac’s temperament rivaled Roland’s, but experiencing it firsthand was something else entirely.
“…Could it be… Uncle too?”
A bad premonition crept in, but she pushed the thought aside.
No, it couldn’t be. This was the same Isaac who had stormed into the Cassius townhouse and rescued her before she was dragged to the hospital.
“He’s probably just overdoing his affection for me. He’s always had a twisted streak.”
Several times, he’d tried to claim her as his daughter, infuriating the Duke of Cassius.
Just wait—he may talk about respect, but he wouldn’t stand by while she went hungry.
Within a few hours, she imagined Isaac rushing up to the room, worried about her.
“Hmph! I won’t let him get away with this!”
She glared at the desk clock, bracing herself.
Time passed relentlessly.
One hour. Isaac hadn’t come.
Two hours. Still no sign.
Three, four, five hours…
“I’m hungry.”
Liena muttered weakly from the sofa, collapsed in hunger.
Her stomach ached painfully.
I was drifting somewhere.
Something warm and soft was enveloping me.
What was this? Water? Not quite water… whatever. It felt good.
I wasn’t thinking. I intended to keep not thinking as I floated along.
Then—thump thump thump. A low, somewhat rapid sound grabbed my consciousness.
I hadn’t intended to respond, yet hearing it stirred my emotions.
It was a calm, pleasant sound, yet it aroused a strange tension that kept me from falling asleep.
I felt an immediate sense of duty to rise and leave.
“Idel.”
A soft voice fell by my ear.
“Open your eyes now.”
It called to me. I clung to it and slowly rose.
Before me appeared a man with a playful smile.
“You’re awake?”
I blinked repeatedly, unsure of the situation.
Why were Terence and I lying together on the sofa, clutching each other?
“Master! You lost consciousness after receiving the prince’s power.”
Lucy appeared and explained.
“…Me?”
“Yes, but it wasn’t as serious as when you received my power, so there’s no need to worry.”
Ah, that’s right. I had sought Terence’s help to increase my divine power.
Memories of the tense moments before losing consciousness returned.
Following Lucy’s instructions, we had pressed our bodies together, struggling to relax.
‘It was really embarrassing.’
Finally, Lucy ordered us to stay that way until we both calmed down.
Though it felt outrageous, even Terence was enduring the inconvenience, so I couldn’t complain.
Thus, we spent a long time in extreme awkwardness.
“Ah, sorry! I moved when I shouldn’t have.”
“…No problem.”
Every time I fidgeted, Terence twitched, which was mortifying.
Yet humans adapt. Hours passed with us sipping tea and reading books while still in contact, and the awkwardness gradually faded.
Not completely, but enough to transfer divine power.
“Now, slowly release your power. Gently, so nothing is harmed.”
Following Lucy’s guidance, Terence infused me with his dark-red energy.
Feeling his power enter my body was a mystical experience.
Previously, Terence’s power had seemed ominous or strange, but this time it was warm and pleasant.
It must have meant he carefully controlled his power for my sake.
After receiving the divine power, I inadvertently fell asleep.
Terence tucked my hair behind my ear and, following Lucy, explained:
“Converting my power into your divine power consumed your energy, so your consciousness was temporarily suspended to focus on the process.”
“I see… how about your body?”
“I’m fine.”
This was strange too. Normally, I would have jumped up, embarrassed by our position, yet now I calmly spoke with him.
I was still groggy, so I didn’t feel much embarrassment. More than that…
Thump thump thump—Terence’s heartbeat nearby. I wanted to keep hearing it.
Boldly, I buried my face against his chest and murmured,
“I could hear this while asleep.”
“Really? The divine beast said that having me, the master of the power, close to you would stabilize it. Perhaps that’s why.”
Ah, so that explained our position.
I smiled, understanding it.
“Seems so. Hearing your heartbeat makes me feel like I need to wake up.”
Previously, the goddess Miela had reached out to rescue me from unconsciousness; this time, it was Terence’s heartbeat guiding me.
Then, my stomach growled.
“Ah… I’m hungry.”
Terence smiled warmly.
“It’s already night. You missed both lunch and dinner while asleep.”
“No wonder I’m so hungry.”
“Late, but shall we eat something together?”
It was the most welcome suggestion.
“Sure.”
“I anticipated this, so I asked the kitchen to prepare a feast.”
This man knew me too well.
“Let’s go.”
Soon, I enjoyed a pleasant meal with Terence.
Though the drowsiness had finally worn off, I couldn’t bring myself to look at his face properly.
