Chapter 116 

Alexa blinked.

“W-why…? Why are you calling me that all of a sudden…?”

“You raised me, Master…”

Ysildus tugged on Alexa’s hand. He rubbed his lips near her wrist, lifting his gaze slowly. The tears pooled in the corners of Alexa’s eyes spilled, clearing her vision. Their eyes met, his irises shimmering with a cold, moonlit glow.

“I-I did…?”

“Of course. And you protected me, too.”

Alexa slightly parted her lips. When Ysildus had been in the form of a wolf pup… had she raised and protected him? It seemed like she might have. Her eyes rolled slightly as she recalled the memory. She did remember trying to turn a troublesome puppy into a proper human being.

“Well, that’s…”

To be honest, she had done it for her own survival, too. Ysildus’s unexpected behavior had completely distracted her. She couldn’t even remember why she’d been crying in the first place. Alexa widened her eyes and tilted her head in confusion. She curled her fingers, which still held traces of his warmth. Her mind hazy, she shook her head.

“So I should repay that kindness. I can’t be an ungrateful wretch, can I?”

Ysildus tilted his head as he asked.

“K-kindness…? You don’t have to repay anything…”

She’d been paid for what she did, and he’d compensated her enough over the years. There was no need for him to say he owed her anything. Ysildus’s hand slid up from her forearm, gently stroking her soft skin as he spoke.

“You didn’t raise me to be that kind of person.”

So I did. Alexa realized she must’ve raised a tiger who repays kindness. She swallowed hard and quickly lowered her head to avoid Ysildus’s gaze.

“But I’ve already received everything… There’s nothing left for me to take.”

“Aha.”

Ysildus let go of her hand. Startled like a rabbit, Alexa jerked her head up. With a sly smile, Ysildus brought his hand to the buttons of his shirt. One by one, he undid them slowly and languidly murmured,

“If there’s no way to repay it otherwise… I’ll just repay it with my body.”

Wha… what??

Alexa instinctively backed away. But on a bed, there wasn’t exactly anywhere to run. Ysildus, now shirtless, approached her. His shadow loomed over her. The cute puppy had grown into a seductive wolf.

‘D**n it. I raised him! Just what exactly did I raise?’

* * * 

Click—

Everyone turned to face Ysildus as he exited Alexa’s room, shirt in hand. They had clearly been waiting just outside the door. Terrun frowned and asked. 

“Why the hell did you come out without a shirt?”

The light in the hallway cast sharp shadows along the defined muscles of his torso.

“Ah.”

Ysildus casually draped the shirt over his shoulders and replied, “Doesn’t it look like I did something?”

“Hey! I told you not to answer a question with another question!”

Terrun puffed up his cheeks and stomped his foot, but no answer came. Jeremiah also grumbled, voicing his displeasure.

“You didn’t do anything weird to someone who just woke up, did you?”

“Weird? What do you mean, weird?”

“Uh…”

Jeremiah was caught off guard and clammed up. Ysildus brushed past Alexa’s two followers who had been blocking the way. The reason they kept losing to him was simple. They weren’t as shameless.

The fact that Ysildus had chosen words he normally wouldn’t use, and even taken off his shirt, meant he understood Alexa that well. There was no way she would’ve answered if he’d asked why she was crying or why she was acting like that.

But if he changed the subject and flustered her? At the very least, he could get her to stop crying and help her calm down. Oh, and of course,it wasn’t as if there hadn’t been some self-interest involved.

Just as he intended, Alexa forgot everything and focused solely on the situation. Nestled in his warm embrace, she fidgeted a bit and fell back asleep. She must have been exhausted after crying so much and burning through her emotions.

‘No need to talk about all that, right?’

Misunderstandings like this only worked in his favor anyway.

“Ysildus.”

“Yes, Mother.”

“How’s Alexa? Karrolf has arrived. I think we need to examine her condition.”

“She’s asleep now. Let’s do it once she wakes up. She was really exhausted.”

“…Whatever happened in that dream of hers… At least she’s awake. That’s a relief.”

Essellia sighed in relief. She had been just as worried as everyone else that Alexa wouldn’t wake up. The bond between Ysildus and Alexa hadn’t broken. It continued to persist. Losing Alexa would’ve been devastating, but to lose Ysildus, too? Essellia had grown too used to their presence in Thersion to bear that.

And that wasn’t just true for Essellia. Most of the wolves living in Thersion felt the same. With one heart, they had all prayed for Alexa’s recovery. Whether it was their devotion that paid off or not, Alexa had safely returned to them.

“She’s not going to fall back into a coma tomorrow, right?”

Terrun clung to Ysildus with a worried expression.

“Of course not.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because Alexa and I are connected. I guess you wouldn’t understand.”

“Y-you d**n fox!!”

As if that were the worst insult in the world. Ysildus smirked and turned away from Terrun. This wasn’t the time for petty chatter. He turned to Carlisle and asked. 

“Do we have any of the Red Clan held within the city?”

“Why are you looking for the Red Clan?”

Carlisle, who had been silently observing the situation, asked. He had been waiting outside until Ysildus emerged, which was proof of how much he cared for Alexa.

“I think they’re involved. The Red Clan, the Wolf God, and Temperchi.”

The only one of the Temperchi standing in Thersion’s domain perked up in alarm, ears twitching.

“Did Alexa say that?”

“Yes. They made her cry, so they’ll have to pay for that. Right, Jeremiah?”

“Uh, uh? Of course!”

Jeremiah stammered, caught off guard but agreeing reflexively. Ysildus whipped his head toward him with a sharp glare, enough to make his heart drop.

“Since we’re all in agreement, that adds one more task to the list.”

Ysildus smiled sweetly.

* * * 

Alexa slowly opened her eyes and looked around.

“Whew.”

Relieved to find no one else around, she shot up. Alexa curled into herself. Her mind had been in a mess from what Dephensores had said, and she’d been so overwhelmed with tears she couldn’t even speak… but the scene that followed was so shocking she forgot all of it.

Ysildus had grinned so wickedly while whispering, ‘Master…’ that her soul had nearly flown out of her body. Her tears dried instantly, and Ysildus was all she could see. Even now, she couldn’t remember the conversation with Dephensores, only Ysildus lingered in her mind. But… something seemed different about him…

Did he… get bigger? A lot bigger? Alexa tilted her head as she cautiously looked over her knees. Then she glanced around again. Something felt off. How much time had passed? Her heart pounded. She remembered them saying time moved differently in that realm. From her memory, she’d only been there for, at most, six days. As she got out of bed and reached for the door to her room… 

“Alexa.”

“Wh-what?”

Ysildus’s voice came from behind her. But no one had been there a second ago…? Startled, Alexa pressed herself against the door and whipped around. Ysildus was confidently emerging from the bathroom, pulling a towel from his head. He raised his lips in a soft smile and asked,

“What’s wrong?”

“Wh-what???”

Alexa swallowed, pressing herself all the way against the door. Why was he coming out of there…? Her trembling eyes followed him across the room as he casually draped the towel over a chair. Her eyelids twitched. Why would he hang it there of all places…? Alexa decided to gather her courage. She had been keeping her lips tightly shut, but now she cautiously called out to him.

“Ysu…?”

“Hm?”

“Why are you… here…?”

“Hm?”

“I mean… Ysildus. Why are you… coming out from there?”

“Why are you asking the obvious, Alexa? This is my room too, remember?”

Ysildus smiled sweetly. Alexa opened her mouth, then closed it again. Well, yes, that had been the case. Still, she couldn’t shake the feeling that something was… off. She was practically fused to the door now, unable to move any closer to it. Ysildus approached her and placed his hand gently atop her head, tilting his head to meet her gaze.

“Alexa.”

“Y-yeah…?”

“Is there something wrong?”

Plenty, actually. But most importantly…

“How old are you now?”

“Mm. Twenty.”

He casually held up two fingers and whispered with ease.

“I’ve just become an adult, Alexa.”

Twenty?

‘Then… I’ve been asleep for five whole years?’

And twenty meant he was now officially an adult… yet he was still staying in her room? Alexa looked up at Ysildus in disbelief.

“I’m a grown man now. So it’s okay, whatever I do…”

Ysildus stepped even closer. At a distance where their lips might touch, he softly whispered, “What do you want to do first?”

……

T/N: (⸝⸝ᵕᴗᵕ⸝⸝)