Chapter 99. You’re like a whimpering puppy who's lost his master
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Kayan hadn't been to the West Palace in a while.
Ever since Ihedia met Adeline, he'd been under scrutiny.
Even though it was something he had allowed to happen.
The gossipers had been saying that the Emperor had finally come to his senses and moved on from the tempting woman, but they were wrong.
He was only physically in the palace, but Kayan had been thinking about her all day.
Of course, he would be willing to come if Ihedia called him first, but of course she didn't seek him out.
It had always been that way.
It was always him looking for her.
This time, he wasn't going to be swayed easily.
Never.
Never...................
Yeah, but...............
‘This is incredibly annoying.'
The least she could do was thank him for letting her see the daughter she missed so much.
"It's so annoying..............."
"Your Majesty?"
Doa frowned at Kayan, who had been listening to him report the entire time, and suddenly muttered something nonsensical.
For days, Kayan had been like this.
There was a mountain of work to be done, but his attention was elsewhere.
He must be thinking about the woman in the West Palace again.
The reason the two of them were at odds was probably because of Adeline.
For all his affection for Ihedia, Kayan was cold to the child she had bored.
Well, it couldn’t be helped when the father was a bastard.
Still, in Doa's eyes, Adeline was just a tiny, cute little creature that he feared would blow away in the wind.
How could anyone want to kill such an angelic baby?
Even though it was his homeland, he couldn’t stand this barbaric country sometimes.
Doa looked with trepidation at Kayan, their emperor.
Whenever he spoke of Adeline, he saw the coldness in his eyes, and he couldn't help but feel a twinge of distaste.
It would be different when he saw with his own eyes how much the child resembled her mother.
It was almost as if he was jealous of the younger one, mixed with anger.
Doa wondered if wolves were naturally possessive.
"Maybe you should go see for yourself."
"What?"
"The West Palace."
Kayan's eyes widened at Doa's direct mention of the West Palace.
Perhaps he had hit the nail on the head.
"Do you realize you're like a whimpering puppy who's lost his master?"
"What, me?"
Doa shrugged as Kayan pouted.
The nape of his neck felt hot, like he'd let him in on a secret.
This wasn't going to work.
Exhausting all his patience, Kayan jumped to his feet.
"Ha................"
Doa sighed softly as he watched Kayan storm out of the office.
So that was what the wolf imprint was like.
Kayan seemed to have forgotten all about what Ihedia had done to him.
He knew, but perhaps he had swept it under the rug.
Adeline's presence was the spark that triggered the painful memories, which was why he was so reluctant to see her.
Several times a day, he was bombarded with requests from his deputies to get rid of Hashad's flesh and blood.
The law of the land dictated that, if not to kill it, at least to enslave it.
If the child was sold into slavery, it was unlikely that she would survive.
However, the daughter of a traitor was living in the palace in favorable circumstances, and everyone had reason to be suspicious.
It would be a great stain on Ihedia's reputation as Kayan’s Lady.
The ministers could no longer mention killing Ihedia as they were afraid of the emperor’s wrath, so they sought to place all the blame on her daughter.
The fact that Hashad had not yet been captured also played a part.
The people, as well as the ministers, would not be satisfied until Hashad's head was on a stake.
As the child grew older, the resentment would only intensify.
Doa's stomach sank as he remembered that not everyone in Anut welcomed the child's presence.
Doa thought long and hard about what he could do to save Adeline, but he had no answer.
***
Ihedia sat on an outdoor bench in the West Palace, trying to organize her muddled thoughts.
The night air was chilly, but it seemed to clear her mind.
"His Majesty is the black wolf Hirpus, the spirit of Anut."
Garel's words stuck in her mind.
If she had heard this story before she met Lucas, she would have dismissed it as nonsense.
She wouldn't have believed there were wolves in the world that could communicate with humans.
But it was actually a human in wolf form.
Or rather, a wolf in human form.
Even more bizarre was the realization that the creature she'd thought was her friend and had even given him a name was actually Kayan.
She had always heard that the ancestors who founded Anut had been wolves, but she'd never believed it was true.
'So you were hiding your identity and purposely pretending to be a wolf then............’
The wolf she knew spoke like a human.
Lucas's injury happened while Kayan was away from the mansion, so it all fit together.
It was no wonder she was caught when she was fleeing the Bayate, since she'd confessed her plan to escape without knowing.
And...................
'I've made a ridiculous misunderstanding.’
She had met Lucas the night she had witnessed Netira making love to someone.
It wasn't Kayan Netira had a relationship with that night.
She was not sure why Netira had called her hidden lover Kayan.
Did she have some weird sexual hobby, like calling her secret lover Kayan and performing rituals?
At the time, Netira's head turned and Ihedia quickly moved away, perhaps realizing she was being watched.
Perhaps that was why Netira sent the messenger bird to put a wedge between Ihedia and Kayan.
In retrospect, the bird always flew to the second floor where she was staying.
'He never abandoned me,' Ihedia thought.
It was a misunderstanding, but she felt deep regret that she hadn't realized Kayan's true feelings.
It was then.
A sound from somewhere made Ihedia's head snap around.
And there, in her line of sight, stood the blue-eyed wolf that had haunted her ever since.
"You-----."
-Long time no see.
Ihedia held her tongue for a moment, unsure of what to say.
This wolf was Kayan, wasn't it?
Kayan stepped closer to her as she blinked rapidly in bewilderment.
-Were you surprised?
For some reason, Kayan seemed to want to keep his identity a secret.
Ihedia decided to play along, for now.
"How did you get here?"
-I'm the spirit of Anut, so there's no place on earth I can't go.
"How do you know I'm here?"
-I can find you wherever you are.
"That's because you're a mystical spirit, I suppose?"
-yes.
In the old days, she would have taken that at face value.
Ihedia realized with a start that Lucas sounded a lot like Kayan.
It made her feel a little indignant for having been fooled by him.
Why did he come looking like that when he could have just come to her?
Resisting the urge to ask him directly, Ihedia stroked the wolf's nape as if she didn't know any better.
Feeling better, he blinked his eyelids lazily.
-I missed you, Ihedia.
"I missed you, too, Lucas."
Even this unusual heat was unmistakably Kayan's.
Lucas's tail wagged as Iheda stroked his soft fur as she had before.
Then a small smile tugged at the corners of Ihedia's mouth.
The expression on her dull face brightened, and Kayan realized he was glad he'd come in this form.
He took a seat beside her and sat down.
He laid his head in her lap.
Whenever he was in his true form, Kayan found himself acting like a puppy to Ihedia.
Ihedia stroked the wolf's head and said.
"Don't you think everyone would be surprised to find such a large wolf in the palace?"
-They might be a little surprised, but the Anut hold wolves sacred, so it won't matter.
"What if they catch you alive and bring you to the emperor?"
-Well, I don't think the Emperor would want a beast like me.
Suddenly, Kayan licked the back of Ihedia's hand.
-Your hand is cold. What are you doing out here in the cold?
"Just. I feel suffocated inside."
-But it's still too cold for you.
"When the sun was shining, I used to go for a walk every chance I got. It's a shame it's already gone."
The blessing of the sun had already passed.
It just happened to coincide with an eventful period of war.
People hadn't had a chance to enjoy it as much as they had in previous years.
As if by promise, the two became silent at the same time.
They reminisced about the street festivals they had spent with each other.
Bittersweetly, Kayan's mind also recalled the painful memories of Ihedia trying to run away from him and go back to Elmir.
-I wonder if you would have been less tempted to run away to Elmir if Anut had been blessed with the sun all year round?
Ihedia stopped stroking Kayan's head.
Kayan was still afraid she would leave.
Even being trapped in the palace like this didn't seem to ease his anxiety.
The wolf's eyes seemed to droop downward.
Ihedia tapped the tip of Kayan's nose playfully.
"I'm not leaving, Lucas."
-....
"I don't hate Anut’s winters so much when I'm holding you."
Ihedia leaned down and hugged him tightly.
"I'll always be where you can find me."
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