Chapter 164: Chapter 83.2

cassian felt conflicted as he gripped her waist with one hand.

he looked up at yernia as his mind warred between keeping a distance or bringing her even closer.

cassian shouldn’t do the latter.

“you can.”

in the end, his heart’s desire won.

“alright, i’ll get off——— what?”

“you can do it for a while but if you doze off, you’ll be in big trouble.”

“really?”

somehow, yernia’s gorgeous smile threatened to drive him insane. he shouldn’t let his resolution get messed up. every time he saw yernia, he just wanted to be greedy and forget the bad things he had done.  seeing yernia——-who had been looking depressed recently——-smile despite distancing himself, he felt even more skeptical about his sacrifices.

“do you like it that much?”

“when did i ever like it? it’s your illusion. illusion!”

that’s what she said, but honestly, yernia seemed happy. she thought it was impossible to reconcile forever due to the awkwardness but it was a relief.

“shall i guide you? i’m worried because it’s been a long time since i have done it.”

until now, guidance was only limited to holding hands as if it had been the first time. even if yernia offered a hug, cassian would probably refuse. this was her chance to offer it again. she wanted to guide him in secret but she was afraid that cassian would suddenly change his mind. however, he cradled her cheeks as his thumbs swept her lips slowly.

“do you want to do it?” he asked vaguely. did he know what she wanted to do? was he asking for guidance or a kiss?

“yes.”

“what?”

“you heard me.”

she did want both so she told him the truth.

cassian grimaced. “you don’t even know what you’re talking about.”

“i know.”

“ha! you don’t.”

then he suddenly jumped at her. she tried to say something but cassian came first. the moment his lips licked hers——

bang!

someone knocked on the window as if it had been a punch rather than a tap.

“cassian! wait! there’s someone——”

surprised, yernia slightly pulled the velvet curtains on the carriage window aside but there was no one there. she couldn’t see who did it. cassian grabbed yernia’s chin and turned it towards him.

“don’t worry about it.”

“how can you not care——”

ugh.

yernia’s words got cut off when cassian devoured her mouth. as he showered her with torrid kisses, she even thought it was a dream since he had been indifferent and cold to her this entire time.

*boom*

*boom*

*boom*

the deeper the kiss, the louder the knocks became. even if she wanted to ignore it, she just couldn’t. as yernia kept pushing his shoulders off her, cassian withdrew his lips in concern. with brows furrowed, he nervously opened the curtains.

“help me! help me! help me!”

as soon as he opened the window, she began to hear voices that she couldn’t hear earlier.

“what is it?”

“i’m sorry. a woman suddenly appeared——-”

the knight, who held the woman’s arm, kept his head down. the other knight also tried to restrain the woman, but she was too clever. she bit their hands and kicked her legs while clinging to the carriage.

“s—save me.”

yernia made eye contact with the woman who placed her hand on the open window. at that moment, yernia’s face paled. as if the woman hadn’t washed for weeks, oil coated every strand of her hair as dirt covered her face. nevertheless, she knew that the woman was beautiful as she cried.

“please save me.”

as the knights surrounded her, the hand reaching out into the carriage window almost touched yernia but cassian was already on it.

“you’re unpleasant.”

“i’ll clean it up.”

“wait. were you run over by our carriage?”

“i’m sorry! i should have paid attention, but…! sir, please help me!”

“there we go. don’t make such a fuss. it doesn’t look like you’re seriously injured.”

“take him to the hospital.”

the woman cried at cassian’s chilly remark. the falling snow made her more miserable.

“yes, sir.”

still, yernia couldn’t close the window not when the woman kept crying while fending off the knights who wanted to capture her.

“no! no hospitals!”

“this woman! can you stop clinging to the window?”

“no hospital! please.  please have mercy. anywhere is fine as long as it’s not a hospital. i’ll do anything. i mean…”

tears streamed down the woman’s face. yernia’s eyes glanced at the woman’s ankles and saw a tight shackle attached to one. was she a slave?

“please don’t send me to the hospital.” the cool hand coming back through the half-closed window caught yernia’s hand. the desperation of the woman clutching her wrist was conveyed. she was just a shackled slave run over by cassian’s carriage. even if she was having a hard time, she was still determined to catch everyone’s attention.

“please hide me.”

she couldn’t help but pretend she didn’t know even if she didn’t want to. this was a situation that she didn’t want to happen in her life.

“your name is——-”

“what?”

yernia spoke absently.

“your name is——-” whether it was because she was too surprised or because she was confronted by an unexpected situation, she couldn’t even continue. if she was right, she should be——

“it’s herena! herena!”

it was cassian’s one and only love.

the female protagonist in this novel.