TWOTCL༘ ೀ⋆｡

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⭑. ݁ ˖₊˚✩.𖥔 ݁ ˖๋ ࣭ ⭑.𖥔 ݁ ˖₊˚✩.𖥔 ݁ ˖๋ ࣭

Anyway, as long as they were this close, she had assumed he would recognize her scent, no matter how well she hid behind the pillar.

However, the moment he called her name, Elysia felt as if someone had struck her head with a hammer, rendering her momentarily stuck.

At the same time, Elysia turned around, startled by the hot breath she felt so close to her ear.

“Heuk…!”

It was the beasts patrolling the mansion. Elysia witnessed the yellow eyes of the three lionesses, which had already approached right in front of her, gleaming as if they would tear her apart at any moment.

In the end, she had been caught by the mansion’s beastmen guards. Elysia’s legs gave way, and she collapsed in shock. Heavy footsteps approached her steadily. The beastmen, emitting a killing intent as if they were about to pounce on her, simultaneously turned their heads in one direction as if entranced by something.

At the same time, her heart began to pound, overwhelmed with a mix of incredible fear and contrasting relief.

He was coming. Elysia sensed it.

“…I didn’t know you had a hobby of watching me from hiding.”

Hadeon Lark, still with half-dried blood staining his white shirt, walked leisurely toward her.

Until his slow steps reached right in front of her, Elysia couldn’t take her eyes off him, as if he held her lifeline. And indeed, he was holding her life in his hands.

“It’s been a while, my lover.”

When Hadeon smiled gently at her, Elysia felt her breath stop.

“Y-Your Grace…”

Even as the beastmen naturally parted to let him through and he stepped closer to her, he took one more step forward. Elysia, barely managing to stand, instinctively raised her arms in a defensive posture as he leaned in close enough to hear her breathing. Anyone who had seen this man handle a beast like kneading dough would be terrified. Elysia felt the terror from the difference in species more than ever.

“Stay still.”

It was then that his strong body lowered his arms and pressed her against the wall. Elysia found herself trapped between his broad chest and the wall.

“…Don’t just tremble, show me your face. It’s been quite a while, hasn’t it?”

As if to soothe her, his low voice made Elysia instinctively lift her head.

The face she had longed to see for the past three days was right there.

I… was waiting for this man.

Even though she felt it was absurd, Elysia had to admit it honestly. Right after confirming his intense gaze fixed on her, Elysia felt a flood of relief, trembling, and, though hard to admit, joy.

However, what came out of her mouth was completely different.

“W-Where have you been?”

Elysia was surprised at how much her voice cracked.

“Three days have passed. I was trapped in my room. It was hard to step out because of the beastmen in the mansion.”

The moment she spoke, Elysia regretted those words. They sounded like something a complaining girlfriend would say to a late-coming boyfriend.