Chapter 22
Cynthia’s gaze drifted to Selene in his arms. Her lips opened slowly.
“You said you had a wife.”
Barath returned her gaze warily.
“Don’t get interested.”
She glanced distantly at her brother and smirked.
She never thought this burly brute would take a woman to bed in his arms like she was precious.
You’ve found the right woman.
***
Barath had no intention of letting Cynthia inside, and neither did she, so she decided to wait outside until her brother returned with his wife.
She leaned against the carriage and looked around the outside. Somehow, it looked similar to the last time she had seen it, and it hadn’t changed in nineteen years.
Time passed quickly as she compared it to her memories, looking for things that hadn’t changed. She heard her brother’s footsteps crunching the ground.
His footsteps cut through the silence as he approached.
“Why have you come?”
He asked, looking at the carriage she rode in, and she answered, her eyes still slowly taking in the outside world.
“I don’t need a reason to come to your home.”
They did not look at each other. Neither asked how she was.
“It seems a long way to come for no reason at all.”
“I heard news on the way. They’re looking for a witch?”
One eyebrow lifted at the sound of ‘witch’ coming out of her mouth.
“No such thing.”
Cynthia nodded at her brother’s dismissal of her offer of help.
It would be hard to find a witch of her caliber, much less one of his.
She’ll give it a try.
She changed the subject.
“You and your wife seem to be getting along well.”
Barath craned his neck once to clear it, then said the same thing as before.
“Don’t get interested.”
“She’s family now, I should know her face.”
“Pretend it doesn’t exist and live your life as you always have.”
“If we ever meet on the road and argue, I’d like to know her face so I don’t have to fight her by the hair.”
Her peaceful tone made Barath’s face crumple.
That meant she would fight her, no matter what, and that Selene was the reason she had come north.
He snarled like a beast baring its teeth.
“Don’t try any of your tricks. Unless you want me to set the palace on fire.”
He held his tongue because she was his sister.
He clenched and unclenched his fist slowly, as if he would grab her by the hair if she tried any more bullshit.
Cynthia wasn’t really in the mood to argue with her long-lost brother, so she glanced at Barath, who was getting nervous, before changing the subject.
“I wonder if you’ll survive the battlefield.”
He flicked his hands in agreement with her change of subject, relaxing his grip and crossing his arms.
“Fortunately.”
She gave a small nod and that was the end of their conversation.
Barath didn’t return the favor, so they just stood there in silence, each staring off into the distance, listening to the other’s breathing.
[Day 12]
Selene’s heart nearly skipped a beat this morning as she stirred in her blankets.
The first thing she saw when she opened her eyes was Barath leaning stiffly against the window.
The window was flooded with sunlight, and Barath, standing with his back to it, looked like a shadow. She squinted to make out his expression, which was hard to see in the shadows.
But her eyes were strange.
It was hard to open them wide, hard to squint, and they hurt like there was wind in them.
She felt like yawning because she had just woken up and her eyes were stiff. Wanting to hide herself, Selene pulled the blanket over her head.
Under the covers, she pressed her palm to her eye socket. How could she press down on the swollen eye to make it go down?
She thinks she fell asleep crying on his shoulder last night.
‘I hate to think what it must have been like, I hate it.’
She was embarrassed and upset. She must have been a teary, runny mess.
He didn’t think she was going to come out if he stalled her, so he slipped his eyes out of the duvet. Her eyes locked with Barath, who was still watching her.
He started by apologizing.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.”
Selene nodded, clutching the quilt tighter, and asked.
“What brings you here this morning?”
His mouth twitched for the umpteenth time. His jaw dropped as he said what he’d been preparing to say.
At first, he tried to be honest. There’s a dangerous witch in Velias right now, and she’s been waiting for an opportunity to get to her.
But he couldn’t say such a frightening thing to her, not with those rabbit-like eyes that freaked out at the sight of him and dampened the corners of her eyes.
She’s a coward, afraid of ghosts, and how much more so of a witch.
Of course, if she knew what he was thinking, she might protest that it was rude.
Sugar or bunny, she’s a witch after all.
But his sister was a different story entirely.
Even if she wasn’t a witch, she’s cruel by nature, and her tongue is so sharp, this innocent wouldn’t get a bite.
He sent a message to the imperial palace at dawn, and soon they would come to take his sister away. Until then, he had no choice but to hold on to her.
When she asked what was going on, the answer was puzzling.
What possible reason could there be for the Grand Duke and Duchess to be stuck together all day?
Just as Selene’s glare was about to turn pointed, the wind picked up and rattled the window.
She whipped her head around like a deer spotted its natural enemy and stared at the rattling window.
Seeing her so alert gave him a brilliant excuse.
Once the wind had passed and it was quiet, Selene naturally turned to Barath and raised one eyebrow as if to answer the question she had asked earlier.
He began to lie, not even bothering to wipe his mouth.
“I don’t want to scare you, but I think you should know.”
Selene nodded, confirming that she was listening, and Barath continued.
“Nephthys has disappeared since we left yesterday. Perhaps he liked you.”
She took a long moment to think about what this meant, her head tilting this way and that, like a little doll trying to figure it out.
Selene was starting to get confused. He was saying something that was obviously a joke, but he was saying it as if he was serious.
Yesterday she had been frightened by the spooky atmosphere, but today, in the light of day, she realized that it was all a lot of scary.
I’m sure there are more talking mice or cooking foxes than tea. At least they had bodies.
She wanted to think he was playing a prank, but why?
It didn’t make sense that a grown man would play a prank on her, especially after coming to her in the morning to apologize. There was no reason.
The more she thought about it, the more confused she became, so she finally asked him.
“Are you sure you weren’t kidding about the ghost story yesterday?”
Immediately, a thin snort of laughter escaped his lips. As if he wasn’t praying.
“Why would I make such a joke?”
Selene didn’t think Barath would make such a joke.
She asked, hoping it was just a joke.
She swallowed hard and recalled what she had just heard.
“What did you mean about Nephthys disappearing? And what did he mean by saying he liked me?”
Barath pulled out a small chair by the window and sat down, facing Selene’s bed.
Then he resumed the white lie he had begun earlier.
“There is a servant who watches over Nephthys, but he disappears at dawn. It often targets women who are alone and try to take their flesh.”
He stopped mid-sentence and looked at Selene.
She was pulling the covers around herself and stepping out of bed.
“What are you doing?”
She shook her head as if it was no big deal.
“Just. So you’re saying I shouldn’t be alone?”
Carrying a heavy quilt, she arrived at Barath’s side.
He looked at her questioningly, and she looked back at him as if to ask what was wrong.
Barath stood up slowly and offered her the chair he had been sitting in.
“Have a seat.”
He was about to make his way to the chair across from him when Selene spoke to the back of his head.
“Where are you going?”
He turned around, feeling a little weird.
He had only taken two or three steps and was further forward than where she had been standing. Instead of stopping there, the sugar bunny came closer and closer, until she lifted her head and locked eyes with him.
Her slightly trembling pupils seemed to indicate impatience, as if she was afraid she was going somewhere.
“Uh, where are you going?”
Barath was at a loss for words for a moment. The sugar bunny felt for a moment like a sugar duck.
He thought he felt a tickle in his chest, a small sensation that had grown until it was now palpable.
Someone had tucked a feather inside him.
“I’m not going anywhere.”
Hearing the answer, Selene nodded and gathered up the blankets in disbelief.
Barath repeated his question from earlier.
“What are you doing?”
Her face flushed, and she stammered.
Watching, Selene’s face grew redder and redder, and she turned her head away and coughed.
Yesterday she had fallen asleep crying, so Anna must have taken off her dress.
And she hadn’t had time to put something on, since he’d been at her side since dawn.
So why is she following him around in that heavy thing when she could be lying still in the duvet?
‘Maybe…’
Barath glanced down at her stammering and took a step backwards.
Then he stepped in front of her, looking startled.
His eyes flicked down to the crown of Selene’s head and he spoke quietly.
“Uh. There’s something…”
And before he could finish, she was in front of him, pressed up against him. No, she snuggled up to him.
He slowly closed his eyes and shut his mouth, because if he didn’t, he was going to cheer.
The smile he hadn’t been able to suppress finally broke through and caught at the corners of his mouth.
‘This woman,’ Barath thought.
‘This woman can scare the bejesus out of any ghost, no matter the time or place. This… If I’m lucky, I’ll be able to tuck her in every night.’
He liked that she was a coward.
