The surge of desire that rushed in with that realization left Rishi bewildered. It was a sensation she had never experienced before, and she had no idea how to react.
Without thinking, she shoved Kay’s head away with both hands, hard enough to tilt his neck back.
*Oh no.*
She hadn’t meant to reject him like that.
Fortunately, Kay didn’t seem offended; he simply rolled off her and lay down beside her. He stretched one arm out toward her, glanced at it as if asking what she was doing, then met her gaze.
She couldn’t tell what he wanted. She stared at him blankly until Kay tapped his arm and said, “What are you doing? Not lying down?”
However, Kay’s arm had crossed over into her space, leaving no room for her to settle.
As Rishi tried to gauge where she should go, she retreated to the very edge where his reach couldn’t touch her.
Kay burst into laughter. “Rishi, do you know that sometimes you’re completely unpredictable?”
Rishi, clueless as to why he was laughing, looked at him with a puzzled expression.
Kay slid closer, tucked his arm under her head, and pulled her into his embrace.
“I meant for you to lie like this, Rishi. Don’t you know what a pillowing is? A pillowing?”
Of course she knew.
But she had no memory of ever experiencing anything so sweet while in her right mind.
With her face pressed against his chest, his scent washed over her—intense and grounding.
The smell of the forest, the grass, the damp earth.
A refreshing scent that reminded her of a clear, cool lake.
“You smell like earth, Kay.”
“Didn’t you know? I turn into a wolf before I sleep and roll around in the dirt before I come back.”
“Really? If so, I’d like to see it sometime.”
“I’m joking, Rishi.”
He kissed the top of her head.
His arms were firm, but Rishi found herself wanting to be held even tighter. She felt as though she might suffocate if he held her any closer, yet she still craved something more.
“Go to sleep, Rishi.”
“I can’t.”
“In that case…”
He took the Sleeve Stone from his pocket.
Rishi didn’t want to fall asleep yet. She wanted to savor the sensation of being held in his arms a little longer.
But before she could protest, the stone brushed against her temple. In an instant, the tension in her body dissolved, and she drifted into a deep slumber.
Kay put the stone away and stared quietly at Rishi, who slept, utterly defenseless, in his arms.
Even now, he felt a constant sense of lack.
Would this thirst be quenched if he held her as tightly as he truly wanted?
*’No, Rishi would break.’*
Her skin was so soft and delicate that he feared she might crumble like pudding under too much pressure. It was his first time holding such a fragile being; he had no gauge for what was acceptable.
He wanted to crush her to him, but it would be a disaster if he shattered her.
Rishi wore a faint smile, perhaps lost in a pleasant dream.
Kay lost track of time gazing down at her, finding joy in the simple act of watching her sleep.
The shadows were waiting, he knew, but it was agonizing to pull himself away from the bed.
“Why isn’t the Captain coming?”
“Maybe he fell asleep with his wife?”
“No way. The Captain told us not to sleep and to wait. He wouldn’t be the kind of scoundrel to doze off while we’re on duty.”
The shadows’ conversation reached Kay’s sharp ears.
*’I really have to get up.’*
Kay carefully freed his arm so as not to wake her and climbed out of bed. He stood by the bedside, lingering with regret, and was about to turn away when—
“Ahing…”
A charming, nasal whimper caught his attention.
*’Ahing?’*
Kay whipped his head around.
Rishi’s eyes were still closed, but she was smiling even more deeply now.
“Ahing, don’t do that…”
Rishi’s red, plump lips moved as she murmured.
It was a voice full of *aegyo*—a side of her she had never once shown him.
“You shouldn’t do that, *hnnng*.”
*Gulp.*
Kay swallowed hard.
What on earth could she be dreaming of that would make his wife make such sounds?
*’It has to be a dream about me, obviously.’*
Kay was confident.
Dreams were a product of the subconscious. He believed that the only person to whom Rishi would reveal the *aegyo* she kept so tightly locked away was himself, Count Kaybrant Green.
Someday, Rishi would be this sweet to him in reality, too.
*’I’ll make sure that happens soon.’*
Just as Kay was resolving this and turning to leave:
“Mmm, you’re so cute, Windy.”
***
As the guardian of the Holy Relic, Kay had much to do.
The previous guardian, the old Count Wyvern Green, had not been very active in hunting down and retrieving relics.
*—If you collect such dangerous items in one place, something is bound to go wrong.*
If the old Count found a relic, he would leave it be unless it posed an immediate threat.
Kay followed a similar policy, but he was far more proactive in tracking their locations.
When the time came to fight for the freedom of the beastmen, these artifacts would be invaluable. He hadn’t found anyone capable of wielding a relic yet, but he hoped that by traveling the continent, he might eventually meet someone who could channel even a fraction of their power.
In an age where mages were nearly extinct, that would be a formidable advantage.
Identifying places on the continent where strange phenomena occurred and holding late-night meetings was second nature to Kay’s shadows.
But tonight, there was something off in the meeting room.
It was Kay’s melancholic expression.
He had arrived late, and he had been wearing a sulky look from the moment he walked through the door.
*’What’s gotten into him?’* Nathan asked Jamie with his eyes.
*’Am I supposed to know what you don’t?’* Jamie replied.
Eugene sat silently, waiting for the Captain to speak.
And Willas was—
“Captain. Did you get dumped by your wife?”
He was, as always, tactless.
A deep crease formed between Kay’s brows.
Nathan poked Willas in the ribs to shut him up, but Willas took it as a prompt to continue.
“What is it? Tell us. Did your wife say you weren’t good enough? Or were you trying to force something on her and…”
“Willas. You really need to shut your mouth.”
As Kay’s expression darkened further, Jamie cut him off.
Willas looked around at everyone, bewildered. “What? Did I say something wrong?”
“Captain. What on earth happened?” Jamie asked, turning to Kay.
Kay, who had been glaring at the table, finally spoke.
“I lost to Windy.”
“Pardon?”
“I used the Sleeve Stone on Rishi, and she dreamed of Windy.”
“…Pardon?”
“She looked so happy. She made sounds she never lets me hear…”
Because Kay was glaring at the table, he didn’t see the expressions of the shadows turning vicious.
“How do you all feel about the fact that my wife likes some unicorn more than me?”
“I feel like I want to slap you, Captain.”
At Jamie’s words, Kay lifted his head sharply.
“Jamie, even if you say that, saying you want to slap Rishi…!”
“Not Lady Iris, Captain. You. The back of your head!”
Jamie’s blue eyes were burning.
Only then did Kay realize that the other shadows were no different. Everyone in the room looked ready to draw their weapons and smack the Captain right then and there.
“You make us wait until this hour… and for what? You’re sulking because Lady Iris dreamed of Windy? Oh my, is that so? Are you really that upset because your wife was happy dreaming of a unicorn? Huh?”
“No, that’s not it… It’s just, it’s a voice she’s never shown me once…”
“Ugh, I see. You’re upset because our Captain is so damn unappealing that he couldn’t even appear in his own wife’s dream.”
“Jamie. Your language—”
“That’s a bit much.”
“Is what I said too much?”
Jamie looked back at the others. They all shook their heads.
“They say it’s not, Captain.”
I could understand the others, but even Eugene, who rarely showed emotion, was looking at Kay as if to say, *’What a pathetic fellow.’*
Kay let out a deep sigh.
“My apologies.”
Jamie tucked the dagger he had half-drawn from his bosom back into place.
“Jamie, were you really planning to cut me?”
“Why would you think otherwise?”
“……Right. My bad. This one was my fault.”
“As long as you know.”
“Pwahahahaha!”
Suddenly, Wallace burst into laughter.
“Why are you laughing?”
“Kwahahaha. The Captain is… the Captain is jealous of a unicorn. The Captain is… hahahaha. Honestly… hahahaha. You look really stupid, our Captain. Hahahaha. Ah, I’m dying of laughter.”
Nathan and Eugene’s lips twitched as well.
Having become the laughingstock, Kay quickly spread out a map of the continent to pivot.
“According to the information that just came in…….”
“Pfft… k-k-k-kek. So the mistress dreamt of a unicorn…… kek……. Ah, so funny……”
“Wallace, can you stop laughing?”
“Pwahahahaha. It’s no use trying to act dignified, Captain. A unicorn…… pwahahaha. To be jealous of little Windy…… hahahaha. I’ll have to tell Jen tomorrow.”
“Wallace! I believe I told you that you aren’t to speak of what happens in the conference room to those outside.”
Kay scolded him with as much dignity as he could muster.
“Captain, what’s with the ‘dignity’ act now? Your jealousy of a young unicorn is already common knowledge.”
Nathan took Wallace’s side.
Eugene, who had been struggling to keep a straight face, finally spoke.
“I plan on meeting with the Count and Countess tomorrow.”
“Why you, too……?”
“Because I need to find out how their son grew up to be this way.”
“Ha.”
Kay buried his face in his hands.
“Do you all just live your lives planning to tease me the moment you find something to mock me with?”
“Hey, Captain. ‘Rest of your days’? No way. This one…… hmm. Nathan, how long do you think this one will last?”
Wallace looked at Nathan for a professional assessment.
“Something like this? Maybe about five years? But if it’s Jen, she’ll probably tease him for ten.”
“It won’t take ten years.” Jamie said firmly. “Because the Captain will likely do even stupider things than this in the future.”
Jamie was right. Even as he was being teased, Kay was busy having foolish thoughts.
*’What should I do to make Rishi dream of me?’*
He looked back at the shadows, who were still mocking him.
His shadows hadn’t started families, but they were popular with women.
Right, the meeting was a lost cause anyway.
The truly important thing right now wasn’t finding the location of the holy relic.
Kay slammed both hands down on the table.
“Everyone, stop!”
The giggling shadows fell silent and looked at him.
After surveying his precious, reliable, and utterly insufferable subordinates, Kay opened his mouth.
“What do women like to receive?”