Chapter 91: Restless Hearts
After taking a bath Kael changed into a deep brown shirt and a black trouser, his usual messy hair clung heavily to his forehead as wet as ever. It almost looked as though he had not even tried to dry himself at all, the water dripping still from the ends of his locks, sliding down along his neck, gleaming faintly in the lamplight. It gave the impression that he had simply stepped out of the bath and walked straight here without a thought of wiping himself properly.
Seraphina glanced at him as he stood by the table preparing dinner, his movements catching her attention for reasons she could not explain. There was something slightly different in the way his hands moved, something in the manner of his shoulders as he leaned over the boiling pot. The droplets of water around his neck glimmered persistently, and no matter how much she tried not to let her eyes wander in that direction they always found their way back.
Breaking the silence at last, she spoke, her voice steady yet curious, "Kael... what happened to your training with Arwyn?"
At first he did not answer, as though his mind had been elsewhere, lost in thoughts he did not share. Then at length he glanced toward her with a strange look on his face, one that carried something different, something she could not quite name. He forced a smile and replied, "Oh, you mean with that psycho girl. Well, I guess fine. She did tell me a few things about magic, about my mana core and all that. But it looks like I am going to be coming home late from now on. Will you be alright with it?" His words were casual, but he did not dare mention the details of her behaviour or her attire, and that silence weighed behind his smile.
Seraphina raised her eyebrow, considering for a moment before she spoke again, "I see. But, where exactly did you train with her?"
Kael poured something into the simmering meat, his voice plain, "Where else? Her mansion of course."
Her voice repeated with a sharper edge, "Her mansion, huh?" Her eyes widened slightly as the thought struck her, and then she shot a quick look toward him, "What? Her mansion? You were in her mansion?"
Kael lifted his brow at her tone, "Oh, you did not know about that? I thought you would have, since you are her close friend. Guess I forgot you cannot really ask her those things."
Seraphina took in a deep exhale before answering, her tone calm yet holding an undertone he could not mistake, "Sure. And did you have any trouble with her? The way she acts around you... I mean, like a princess trying to boss you about."
For a moment Kael grew silent, his face shifting into a strange unreadable expression, though inside his thoughts raced without pause. "Princess? What kind of princess behaves like that? She leaned so close she nearly kissed my ear, she asked if I wanted to join her in the bath, and as if that was not enough she appeared in a gown so tight it showed every curve, showing those long legs of hers as though it was nothing at all. There is no princess who acts like that. She is more of a baddie than a princess. I cannot lie, she is hot, she is actually very hot." His eyes slid briefly toward Seraphina and another thought stirred in him, "But what do her curves look like, I wonder. Is she even more alluring than that lunatic, or not? Fool. Of course she is. She is more beautiful than anyone I have seen, and yet here I am comparing them. If she ever knew what went through my head I would be dead on the spot."
He dismissed the thought quickly and answered aloud with a simple smile, "Not at all. She was very generous actually."
Seraphina studied his expression but pressed no further. Soon after, the food was served, and they ate together, but amidst the silence Seraphina kept watching him, noticing that Kael's manner carried something unfamiliar. He was quieter than usual, less dramatic in the way he spoke, and it struck her that he almost seemed to have matured in some way.
She thought to herself, "What is wrong with him? He is not even acting like himself, not pulling the foolish dramatics he always does. He is acting so normal, so... different. It feels almost as if he has grown up all of a sudden."
Her thoughts were broken by his sudden words as he leaned slightly closer with a smirk curling across his lips, "What is wrong, darling? Why are you staring at me like that, hmm? Woo... don't tell me... you were thinking about me, perhaps wondering if I looked a little handsome tonight? Or maybe... maybe these drops of water running down my skin are making you blush? Did I look this hot to you with them?"
The words struck her like an arrow, and she felt her composure slip for a breath before she gathered it again. "Alright, I take that back," she thought with exasperation. "I spoke far too soon. There is no way he has matured. If there is one thing that will never happen to him, it is maturity."
Her eyes sharpened and she replied coldly, though with that hidden hint of fluster, "Shut up, you idiot."
Kael chuckled softly at her glare, yet let the silence settle once again. They finished their tea quietly, but even after his teasing had passed Seraphina kept noticing that beneath his usual tone there was still something different in him. She realised it had been there from the moment he returned that evening, something lingering in his expression, though she could not tell what. Later, when they retired for the night, that thought stayed with her.
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Kael was lying on his side, his eyes fixed on the ceiling while one hand rested on his temple, his body heavy and restless at the same time. Beside him Seraphina also lay straight as if in some silent competition of who could ignore the other more completely. To Kael this had already become something he accepted, for it had been a week since she started sleeping beside him in this manner.
At first he had asked her why, but whenever he did she would brush away his words without a response, and so he eventually gave up on asking. It was not as if it truly bothered him, for he was already used to her cold ways. Yet what was unusual was not her silence but rather the fact that she slept so near to him now, something she had never done before, and somehow in the passing nights he had grown accustomed to it as if it were the most natural thing.
"Seraphina..." Kael whispered softly, his voice almost carried away by the gentle flutter of the curtains as the cool night wind slid through the room. Moonlight spilled inside, laying a pale silver veil over the chamber, and for a fleeting moment the scene felt dreamlike, almost unreal.
"What is it?" Seraphina replied in her light, distant tone, her body remaining perfectly still.
When Kael turned his gaze toward her he found the moonlight already tangled in her long silver hair, brushing across the line of her cheek and illuminating her with a beauty that seemed untouchable. Yet her eyes remained closed, almost as though she had no intention of granting him more than a single word.
He lingered on her face before speaking again, his tone carrying something fragile, "Can you… tell me goodnight, darling? For some reason I cannot sleep, and perhaps if you said it I might find some rest."
This time she opened her eyes, only the slightest movement in her lids as she turned them toward him. The moonlight reflected in those cold blue depths as she regarded him silently before answering, "What is wrong with you all of a sudden? You are acting unlike yourself. Did that monster hurt you after all, is that it?"
Kael let his gaze drift back to the ceiling as if he were trying to avoid the weight of her eyes, his voice carrying a strange heaviness, "No… not that. It is difficult to explain. Everything feels strange to me. Empty somehow. My head aches, and even though I try to close my eyes and drift away the sleep refuses to come. It feels as if something is pressing on me and I do not know what."
Seraphina studied him quietly, then with a faint shift of her head asked, "Are you afraid of something?"
His reply came almost hollow, "I do not know. Perhaps. Or perhaps it is nothing at all. I cannot describe it. So please, just tell me goodnight. Maybe that will ease it."
Her eyes lingered on him, and though her expression remained unreadable her thoughts swirled, "He is acting strangely. Perhaps some hidden wound remains. Or is it a scar left on his mind by that A-rank beast? He claims he won with cleverness, but his words never quite ring with truth. He lies so easily it is impossible to know what is real and what is false. Should I believe him this time? Or should I keep doubting as always?"
Without warning she pushed the blanket aside and sat upright, leaning her back against the cold wall of the bed.
Kael turned his head toward her in surprise, watching her pale face glow faintly under the moonlight. He could not understand why she suddenly moved, but he kept watching her quietly, caught once again by how ethereal she looked in that soft silver hue.
Then, without a word, he felt a cool hand settle upon his head. Slender fingers wove through his hair with slow patience, gliding gently as though tracing some secret rhythm. The touch was cold at first yet it carried with it an unexpected warmth, a comfort that slipped through his chest and tightened something inside him. His heart skipped when he realized those fingers belonged to Seraphina herself.
He had not expected this. Not from her. He had thought she would dismiss his request as nonsense, perhaps even scold him for speaking so foolishly. Yet here she was, her delicate hand in his hair, as if trying to give him the comfort he himself had not been able to ask for properly.
When he lifted his eyes toward her, his breath caught. She was half-turned away, her long silver hair spilling forward to shield her face. It could only hide so much, and through the curtain of silver strands he noticed the faintest shade of pink burning at the tips of her ears. The sight froze his heart, for in that moment she seemed less like the cold, unshakable Seraphina he knew and more like a ice queen trying in vain to conceal her embarrassment.
She said nothing for a long while, her fingers continuing their quiet movements through his hair. Kael could not look away, and though the silence stretched, he felt no need to break it.
At last, from between the veil of hair, her blue eyes glowed faintly and her voice came low and cold, "You bastard… making me do things like this. If you try to act dramatic even for a moment I will kill you right now."
A small, quiet smile tugged at Kael's lips, "I never asked you to do this. But since you are, then at least stop talking. It is difficult to enjoy your trembling voice and your sweet hand in my hair at the same time."
Her gaze sharpened, colder than before, "Should I pull my hand back then? You look perfectly fine to me. Or was all of this only an act to gain my attention? If so, you're going to pay for this badly, Kael."
He waited, but when she did not withdraw her hand another smile flickered across his face and he thought, "That is just so much like her. She acts as if she does not care, but she is too soft underneath."
Out loud, he spoke in his usual teasing tone, "Mrs., you seem to have forgotten to withdraw your hand."
Her fingers suddenly tightened, and he felt a sharp pull at his hair, forcing his head slightly upward. He turned toward her as her hair shifted aside, revealing an angry expression on her ethereal face, which in the moonlight looked almost unreal. Her glare was cold and unyielding, and her grip showed no mercy. Yet inside his head, his thoughts betrayed him, "She is… she is unbearably cute."
She tugged again, this time with such strength that Kael almost felt as though his very hair would be torn straight from his head, and no matter how much he tried to hold back the sound, a cry escaped his lips, broken and helpless, "Stop, honey… not there… ahh… no… ahhh…"
Yet Seraphina's grip did not soften in the slightest.
Kael's face twisted with pain while in his mind he shouted at himself, "Oh crap, this is it, I am completely done for. That is not the kind of sound a man should make when he gets hurt, right? But well, who cares, as long as it gets her angry I am fine with it."
And then, without warning, Seraphina froze completely. Her cold eyes lingered on his light brown face and in that moment her thoughts turned restless, "Did he… did he just… moan? This idiot… he really doesn't even know when to shout what, does he? Surely this time he didn't do it on purpose… no, wait." Her gaze caught the faint smirk already tugging at his lips and her entire expression darkened, "This bastard… he definitely did it on purpose. What is he, a masochist?"
Kael waited, expecting her to reply, but she said nothing. Instead, what he felt was an even harsher pull on his hair, sharp enough that it almost seemed strands would be ripped from his scalp. His lips parted again and he could not stop himself as he cried lightly, "Honey… ahh… slower!"
Seraphina's eyes narrowed, her expression caught somewhere between bewilderment and fury, frozen with a strangeness that she herself could not untangle. Her mind whispered bitterly, "He truly has no sense of decency at all, he does not even know where to shout what. Fool." Yet before she could push away the thought, another crept in uninvited, "Wait… didn't he also make sounds like this in his sleep once before? Does that mean… back then he really was not thinking of any inappropriate dreams about me? If that is true…" Her free hand moved instinctively, pressing against her temple as her veiled face twisted with embarrassment, "I hate my mind. How far have I allowed myself to think about that moment? Lately I have been doing so many inappropriate things, and now I cannot even deny it anymore, I truly must be a pervert. Stupid, foolish idiot."
And then, in the quiet of her shame, she remembered the words written by her mother in that letter, words she had tried to dismiss but that now echoed clearly, "It may be that you have grown desires you never expected to know, my daughter."
A faint tremor ran through her chest and her breath caught unevenly. Her cheeks, usually pale and cold, carried the faintest shade of warmth. "Ugh… no, there is no way in hell I would ever gain those kinds of feelings for him. It is not like that at all. Mother simply did not understand. Whatever, I can think about it later. For now, I need to deal with him."
At last, she let go of him. Kael exhaled softly through his nose, his relief escaping in a sound almost like contentment, though he did not dare to meet her eyes because he knew with absolute certainty that she was staring at him with murderous intent.
"Hey, don't kill me yet, I still haven't fulfilled my dream," Kael said with a chuckle, though inside his thoughts twisted differently, "Great… she has not left yet. It is so relaxing when she is petting me like that."
Her lips curled faintly, the coldest trace of amusement on her face, "Dream? What kind of dream could that be?"
Kael's face heated and he quickly looked aside, "It is a very very secret dream. There is no way I am telling you. Hmph."
Her fingers slipped once more through his hair, this time more lightly, and she gave a small, cold chuckle, "Actually, I am not interested."
Kael said nothing. In truth, he did not want to say anything, because there was no possible way he could ever reveal to her what exactly he wanted to see. If she were to find out somehow, he had no doubt he would end up buried in a grave of his own making. Still, in that silence, his heart felt a little lighter.
Without realizing, his hand moved down to his side and, slipping quietly through the gap of his shirt, it wandered across his stomach, slow and careful so that the shirt did not rise with it. It slid past his belt until it rested there, and he lifted his eyes to look at her with a faint smile.
"I will find it again. But first, I need a little sleep," he thought hazily.
But Seraphina had sharp eyes, and of course she noticed the subtle movement of his hand beneath his shirt. Her face twisted with disgust and fury as her voice rose in an angry shout, "Bastard… what the hell do you think you are doing right in front of me? How dare you use my touch like that… disgusting!"
Kael blinked in horror, realizing too late that he had almost drifted into sleep and let his hand wander without thought. He pulled it back as quickly as he could and his whole face erupted in bright red, as though it had just burst into flames.
"Crap… crap… crap… I am completely screwed. What the hell is wrong with me today?"
The sound of flesh striking flesh cracked through the stillness as Seraphina's hand flew across his cheek, the slap sharp and merciless. Before he could even process it, she had already turned, lying down at incredible speed and pulling her blanket over herself in one swift motion, every movement carrying that cold precision of hers.
Kael remained lying there, staring at the ceiling while his fingers rubbed at the stinging mark on his face. And instead of cursing or crying, he let a small smile play on his lips, his thoughts drifting softly, "Yeah… I actually needed that to clear my head. Thank you, Seraphina. But it is not what you think it is."
He was about to close his eyes when her voice came, faint and breaking slightly, "Stupid bastard."
"I suppose I am," he murmured in reply.
She did not answer, not directly, but soon a whisper slipped past her lips, soft enough to almost be lost to the silence, "Whatever… just go to sleep and do not you dare speak to me again. Good night."
Kael's eyes fluttered shut as he whispered back, "Hm… good night, darling."
And as his thoughts drifted, he remembered what had happened earlier in the bath... the reason for not being dramatic, the reason for his slight daydreaming, the reason he could not sleep, and the reason he sought a little comfort... all of his strange behavior since then.
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(Chapter Ended)
To be continued...