if her opponent had been easy, she would have gained information right away after subduing him. however, her intuition told her the manâs skills werenât normal.
even though he stood carelessly, she couldnât seem to find an opening. besides that, she couldnât believe that she couldnât discern his presence behind her.
âheâs probably at master-level or higher,â she thought at the back of her mind.
by far, baron was the only person she found difficult to read when she first met him. if this mysterious man was that capable, then she needed to be careful.
seira climbed into the bed and sharpened her senses.
ââ¦â
she had no choice but to lie down with the manâs persistent gaze, and he strode toward her.
âwhat is he going to do now?â
all the worst things flashed inside her head.
âwait, we can talk this out, okay?â seira yelled urgently as she saw him reach for her feet, âi donât know what you wantâ¦â
her sentence wasnât even finished and her words faded. the man suddenly took off her shoes and put them neatly on the floor. after that, seira raised her body as he pulled out the blanket beneath her.
âwhy does he want to take that?â
her body tensed up as his cold fingertips touched her forehead. he pushed seira to lay on the bed.
then, the man covered her with the blanket he took earlier. he tucked her in neatly without any folds, and sat beside her. what he did next caught her completely off guard.
âsleep, sleep.â
âhe can talk?â
he could hear and talk normally, but he kept his mouth shut up until now.
âthis is crazy. if he wants me to sleep, then he shouldâve just used sleeping pills instead!â
even his hand gestures like patting her on the blanket and his words spoken in a harsh voice were very clumsy. besides, what was with his expressionless face that totally contradicted his behavior?
âno, heyâ¦â
seira tried several times to talk to him, but he shook his head firmly and continued his attempt to put her to sleep.
âthis is confusing me, really,â she thought.
âhush, hush, my baby, sleep,â the man said.
it wasnât the worst thing she could think of, but her situation just blew seiraâs mind.
âwho is the baby? me?â
anyway, before she could even fall asleep, seira decided to pretend for now since he seemed like he wouldnât quit. she closed her eyes, slowed down her breathing, and relaxed her entire bodyâs muscles.
she wondered if it even lasted for five minutes.
âhushâ¦â
as if he knew, the man didnât stop trying to put her to sleep. it was proof that his senses were superior to hers.
âiâm sure heâll eventually fall for itâ¦â she hoped.
seira shook her head as she barely calmed down her rising irritation.
âletâs stay calm. thereâs no need to rush.â
it was fine if someone was trying to sabotage her from attending the conference as louis feared. she didnât know if a day had passed by now, but there were still at least less than four days left until the conference.
there were plenty of opportunities. for now, what she needed was to rest and regain her power. even if the manâs skills overwhelmed her, seira was confident she could escape. as always, any crisis would just pass if one kept calm and cleverly looked for a way out.
this time around, seira slept for real.
from signing the contract with louis to meeting baron, to pretending to be lovers. so much had happened within a day, and her mental fatigue seemed to have accumulated. contrary to what she expected, her eyelids sank heavily and she fell fast asleep.
âmy men⦠what if they couldnât even eat meat because i went missing?â
amid her fading consciousness, the manâs voice clumsily lulling her to sleep faded away.
* * *
early in the morning, baron parked his carriage by askanâs mansion walls and waited. alec dissuaded him thinking it wasnât right, but it wasnât enough to stop him. he was anxious to meet seira as soon as possible.
âthat fox revived dewsâ¦â
he couldnât guess what trick louis used. baron had tried to find a way as well. the revival of askan estate was the key to seiraâs heart.
if some miracle happened where even the best wizards shook their heads, there was only one possibility.
âit means the answer lies with his power.â
the moment he reached such a conclusion, baron felt helpless. his power only specialized in breaking and destroying crimes.
âwhat a useless bloodline.â
he didnât like his unnecessarily large size and fierce appearance, but even his own power didnât help. at the very least, it was fortunate that he had the ability to heal as the direct descendant of viseltium.
âi have no choice but to use it to be appealing,â he thought at the back of his mind.