"Ah..."
A look of disappointment flashed across Thalia's face for a moment.
Thalia shrugged her shoulders with a coy expression as if to hide it, then tucked her stray hairs behind her ears and spoke.
"I just asked to double-check."
Then she stood up from the chair and crossed the room. He immediately chased after her.
Thalia wore a somewhat dejected expression, as if she had been hoping he might return today. Her sullen look stirred up complex emotions.
He was glad that she had missed him so much. However, at the same time, a strange jealousy arose within him. It was an emotion he could not understand, even to himself. Wasn't the person she was waiting for so anxiously none other than himself? So why was he feeling this unpleasantness?
To turn her attention to him, he pressed himself close to her side and lifted her lightly powdered cheek. She tilted her head to the side and glared at him.
"What are you doing? Being so ill-mannered..."
Then, she playfully tugged at his ear.
He gazed with satisfaction at the way her blue eyes sparkled toward him. Having seen nothing but her dangerously unstable side for some time, he even welcomed the sight of her frowning and scolding him.
"Is it because I haven't been able to pay attention to you for a while?"
As she chuckled and gently stroked the nape of his neck, Thalia suddenly wrinkled the bridge of her nose.
He soon realized the reason. The downy hairs that had grown densely throughout the winter had fallen off in clumps.
She looked down at the gray fur on her hand with a serious expression, then turned toward the stairs and led them, saying.
"I can't take this anymore. You need to take a proper bath for the first time in a while."
He felt an instinctive sense of repulsion and hesitated, taking a step back. At that, the corners of Thalia's eyes easily curled up.
"Aren't you coming along quickly?"
He immediately lowered his tail and followed her closely.
She instructed her attendant to bring a stiff brush and soap, then picked them up herself and went down the stairs. Upon reaching the entrance of the mansion, she saw the guards hesitating and stepping back.
He glanced sideways at them, tightly gripping the spear shaft, then followed her toward the rear garden as if nothing were wrong.
After passing the walking path built behind the castle and walking a short distance through the dense trees, a small spring came into view. She approached it and gestured toward him.
"Come here."
He immersed himself in the water with his ears drooping. As if she had been waiting for this, she grabbed the nape of his neck and began rubbing his body with a stiff brush.
He reflexively turned away from her. It was a futile resistance. She had spread her legs and tightened her grip around his waist. He stiffened his body and stared at her with helpless eyes.
"It's no use looking at me like that."
Thalia lightly smacked the bridge of his nose as he growled softly, took out a bottle of soap, and poured it onto his back.
He gave up resisting and obediently bowed his head. Thalia, finding the sight amusing, let out a small laugh and began to gently rub his neck, back, and abdomen, creating lather.
It was an experience he could never get used to, no matter how many times he repeated it. He tensed his entire body like steel and struggled to avert his gaze. However, the wolf's keen senses felt her warm touch and sweet scent in his consciousness painfully vividly.
Suddenly, a bewildered urge to swallow her whole surged within him.
He hurriedly plunged his head into the water. An unidentifiable impulse swelled uncontrollably, and faint convulsions spread through his chest and stomach. Thalia looked at him worriedly, as if mistaking his reaction for the cold.
"What's wrong? Is the water that cold?"
He tilted his head back. He felt as though he would suddenly bite her if he didn't.
Startled by the impulse he felt for the first time since inhabiting the beast's body, he recoiled. Then Thalia, who had jumped into the water, pulled him to her chest.
"Good boy. Stay still."
Then, she scooped up some water and gently washed his ears.
He twisted his head this way and that to avoid her touch. But she paid no heed and began rubbing his neck and face vigorously with a stiff brush.
He crept stealthily toward the water's edge to escape his wife's merciless grasp. However, before his front paws could even touch the water, he was grabbed by the scruff of the neck.
“No way!”
Thalia, who was on top of him, burst into laughter, giggling like a mischievous girl.
He was looking at that innocent face with a bit of resentment when suddenly a faint rustling sound reached his ears.
He looked up at the face that was once his own, engulfed in the illusion that an old memory had come back to life as reality right before his eyes.
The man stood in the deep shade of a tree, staring at her intently. His icy eyes emitted a strange light over a face that was so refined it felt devoid of life.
He held his breath, realizing it was longing and obsession. He had never imagined his emotions had been so blatantly revealed. The man looked as if he were afraid the scene before his eyes might vanish.
"I... I was told you wouldn't arrive for another four days..."
Just as the man was about to walk out from the bushes, Thalia, who had been stiffening up, hurriedly hid behind him and stammered out a word. The man's eyes froze cold as he watched her.
He seemed quite hurt by her reaction. However, the voice that followed showed no emotional turmoil.
It was incredibly dry, as if it had never felt anything.
"I hurried back because I heard there was a problem."
Then Thalia, who had been hunched over, lifted her head and raised her voice.
“There is no such thing as a problem!”
Then, she wrapped her arms tightly around him as if to protect him, and glared at him warily.
"I don't know what anyone was saying, but it's all lies. They're just picking fights for no reason to drive Khan out..."
"Khan?"
Only then did the man's cold gaze touch him.
Thalia muttered as she fiddled with his ear.
"His name is Khan..."
A sudden flash of intense jealousy flickered in the man's eyes. He was startled, as he had not even realized at the time that he was feeling such emotions.
The man clenched his fist tightly as if suppressing something and gave instructions in a cold tone.
"Please leave there first. Let's go back to the castle and talk."
Thalia, who had been nervously fiddling with the back of his neck, reluctantly walked out into the water.
He hurriedly stood between the man and her when he saw her pulling at the hem of her wet skirt to cover the scar on her leg. Then, searching eyes began to scrutinize him from head to toe.
He also examined the man.
Standing in the light, Barcas Raedgo Sheerkhan looked even colder and more heartless. With his long hair swept back and standing rigidly, there was not a trace of disarray to be found in his posture; perhaps because everything—from his smooth forehead and straight nose to his tightly closed lips—was composed of excessively precise lines, he did not appear like a living person.
What on earth was it about this man that captivated her so strongly?
This man is nothing but an empty corpse. A human being who has cast aside what is most important in his life and devoted it to things that do not matter.
Suddenly, an intense urge to crush the man's cold face surged within him.
Unable to suppress the murderous intent boiling up inside him, he bared his teeth. At that moment, with a slap, a stinging shock struck the bridge of his nose.
"Don't do that, Khan!"
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