Stay a Little Longer
The fingers that had been stroking her hair trailed down along the nape of her neck.
Thalia tilted her head back without thinking. The tongue that so often spat out cruel words now swept gently through every corner of her mouth.
Her breath grew steadily rougher, her vision swimming. She could feel their joined bodies burning so hot it was almost unbearable—yet she could not stop.
She moved her tongue thickly, following Barcas.
How long did they remain like that? Around the time her lips began to sting, he lifted his head.
Thalia looked up at him, gasping shallow breaths. Unlike the flesh that throbbed with heat, the silent face gazing down at her held not a single trace of desire. That incomprehensible gulf unsettled her.
Steadying her ragged breathing, Thalia quietly turned her body.
"I should… go now."
Just as she was about to leave the bed, he wrapped an arm around her waist.
"Stay a little longer."
The sweet low voice pouring into her ear felt as if it would melt her bones. The man pressed flush against her from behind set his lips to the nape of her neck.
Thalia went rigid with tension.
The reason she had come here was to secure an heir for the Grand Ducal house.
Surrendering her body to him in the dark was nothing more than a procedure to accept him without pain.
Those lies, so close to self-hypnosis, threatened to collapse at a single soft touch. She desperately steeled her will.
"There's no reason for me to be here."
"There's no reason for you not to stay, either."
He spoke while stroking her hair.
"I'm a patient, aren't I? Just stay by my side until I fall asleep."
At the slightly languid tone in his voice, Thalia bit her lip.
Why do you want me beside you?
She wanted to demand an answer, but she was afraid of a disappointing reply.
Hesitating, Thalia finally only muttered something else.
"…Then go to sleep quickly."
She felt his lips shift minutely.
Had he smiled?
No, that couldn't be. Those were the corners of a mouth that never moved except when sneering or letting out a cold laugh.
Suppressing the urge to look back, she stared hard at the window where raindrops splattered. Just then a flash of light flickered, and a sound like a growl rolled through the air.
"Are you afraid of thunder?"
He asked suddenly.
Only then did Thalia realize she was trembling.
She had never once felt fear of storms or lightning, but she did not bother to deny it. She did not want him to discover that she was shaken by the feelings he stirred in her.
A short while later, even breathing reached her ears. The dull thud of his heart gradually slowed as well.
Had he fallen asleep?
But he might not have.
She dragged out the time, guessing at a fact she could confirm simply by turning her body, until sleep came surging in like a tidal wave.
She sank little by little toward the border between consciousness and unconsciousness. Then at some point she was sucked down as if plunging into dense darkness.
The warmth that had pleasantly wrapped her body vanished in an instant, and the blackness became a sledgehammer that crushed her entire body.
She thrashed to move toward the light, but only the clatter of shattered bones rang out pitifully. Then a growling breath mixed into that sound.
She saw two eyes flashing in the dark.
A red-eyed monster crawled slowly toward her to devour her. The hideous form of a beast wrapped in scales was faintly visible. The monster opened its jaws and chewed on her ruined lower body. Not even a scream came out.
With eyes stricken by terror, Thalia watched the monster submerged in darkness tear into her flesh.
But something was strange. The monster's form gradually shrank and transformed into a shape that was somehow familiar.
A woman with a strange smile at the corners of her mouth embraced Thalia's blood-soaked upper body with hands that glowed pale. Then she parted blood-wet lips and tore flesh from the nape of her neck.
At last Thalia could recognize the monster's face.
It was her mother.
Senebier slowly ate away what little remained of her body.
Reduced in an instant to only a head, Thalia shed tears.
Beautiful hands lifted the severed head.
Poor thing.
As if truly sorry, Senebier whispered and pressed her mouth to the wet cheek.
"Thalia!"
Then someone shook her body violently.
Thalia snapped her eyes open, desperately gulping air like someone just hauled from underwater.
Into her panic-stricken vision came the dark landscape of the bedroom. For a moment she could not clearly grasp where she was.
As she shook like an aspen leaf, someone stroked her hair.
"Shh, shh… It's all right."
Thalia turned her head. She saw a beautiful face clouded with concern.
He cupped her cheeks in both hands and brushed her wet eyes with his thumbs.
"Calm down. It was only a dream."
"…A dream?"
Chasing the afterimage of Senebier stuck to her retinas, Thalia rolled her eyes and let her shoulders droop. But the trembling would not easily subside.
He held her tightly in both arms and stroked her back in a steady rhythm. The heart that had been thrashing so roughly it seemed ready to leap from her mouth gradually found its own beat again.
She murmured in a voice mixed with tears.
"Have you ever had nightmares too?"
The hand patting her back paused for a moment.
"A very long time ago."
"What kind of dream was it?"
"Well…"
Noticing that his voice had sunk a little, she was about to lift her head when his hand pressed down on the back of her skull.
"It was so long ago I don't remember well."
But you clearly remember the fact that you had a nightmare. It must have been a terribly painful dream.
"Sleep more. If another nightmare seems to be coming, I'll wake you."
He whispered as he drew the blanket up over her shoulders. Thalia naturally burrowed into his arms.
The thought struck her that she had never intended to sleep here in the first place, but she erased it at once. Right now she simply could not leave these arms.
She closed her eyes with her cheek pressed to his bare chest.
The next day, she learned clearly how he had come to be injured.
A large box containing well-groomed silver fur had been placed before her door.
The servant who had carried it over himself explained proudly.
"This is the belly hide of a Drakar that His Grace the Grand Duke personally hunted. It is a material of the highest grade that does not burn even in fire and perfectly blocks the midwinter's cutting wind. He ordered that a coat be made from it for Her Highness the Grand Duchess."
The nanny stroked the fur with trembling hands, her mouth hanging open.
The silk-like white fur caught the sunlight and gave off a subtle blue sheen.
"My goodness, it's so beautiful."
The maids who had come to help with her toilette also burst into admiration.
And well they might. The Drakar ranked among the highest of dragon-subspecies magical beasts. Its only weakness was the soft-furred abdomen.
To obtain an undamaged, clean pelt, even first-rate hunters had to risk their lives. Even her mother had likely never seen a material of this supreme quality.
But Thalia's face as she looked down at that precious treasure was frozen like ice. Remembering that he had fought a reckless battle for something like this sent fury surging to the top of her head.
She cast a frigid gaze toward the servants.
"Where is His Grace the Grand Duke now?"
"Well… he should be attending to official business in his study."
Sensing that her mood was foul, the servant answered with a deflated face.
Thalia left the room without delay. She intended to berate him that she had no need of a gift like this and that he was never to do anything so pointless again.
But when she descended the stairs, a scene that seemed to mock such anger unfolded before her eyes.