HEAD 20

~Chapter 20~

Blake kept stroking the fur cloak that covered Lily.

He had to warm her up, no matter what.

He gently touched her cheek, brushed her shoulder.

“Please. Please… It’s not your time yet.”

He could still picture her, asking to stay for at least a year.

To be honest, Blake had been pretty optimistic.

A year felt long enough. It would give him plenty of time to sort out his heart.

That should have been enough to forget about his childhood feelings, so he hadn’t been in a rush.

But everything couldn’t just end like this.

Even if you die and return to the earth, that’s your fate. We accept our fate willingly.

He had told Lily that not long ago.

Fate had never felt so cruel as it did today.

Blake couldn’t accept it. No one was going to take Lily Hedwick from him.

No one could lay a finger on her—not as long as he was still holding on.

“So please…”

Winter Castle was too cold.

But thanks to his devotion, Lily’s temperature finally began to rise by the fireplace.

“Lily. Lily Hedwick.”

There was no answer.

Normally, she should have been allowed to sleep for days.

But Blake couldn’t wait any longer. Determined to wake her up, he kept rubbing her arm and calling her name.

“Come on, wake up. Show me those sharp eyes you used to glare at me with.”

There was still no reply.

“That’s an order!”

His fierce voice brought her mind back.

Her eyelids trembled. Slowly, a glimpse of blue showed through as her eyes opened.

“…Hoo.”

Lily let out a shaky sigh. She still wasn’t fully awake.

A few minutes passed with her somewhere between waking and dreaming.

Now, she could see things a bit more clearly.

Okay… let’s see… First, Blake is glaring at me.

His face looked so fierce! Lily misunderstood his expression.

And… the fireplace is on my left. Wait, is Blake holding me?

What on earth happened?

Lily’s last memory was from a few days before, when she collapsed.

Didn’t Blake go to wash up while I treated the others? Why does he look like he just came back from another battle?

And why was he holding her like a newborn baby?

“Mom…”

Lily whispered softly.

Blake turned his head slowly.

“Are you still not fully awake? Say something. Do you want to see your mother? Didn’t you say you weren’t close? Should I secretly have someone paint her portrait for you?”

“Mom…”

She couldn’t even move a finger. Instead, she beckoned Blake closer.

He bent his ear to hear her better.

“Now I can hear you, so say it again.”

“What’s with this overprotection, Mom? I’m an adult too… The days of being wrapped up like a baby are over.”

For a second, Blake nearly dropped her, even though she was sick.

“You don’t even know what happened while you were unconscious, and all you can do is joke! You damn woman!”

“Oh, so there’s another reason, huh? No wonder. There’s no way you’d just hold me for no reason. So… did I hatch, Mother Hen?”

He tried to scold her, but a smile broke through his tight lips.

Ha. How could she say exactly the thing he expected?

Blake still didn’t let her go.

The truth was, it took all Lily’s strength just to stay awake.

For a while, they sat by the fireplace in silence.

Then, almost mumbling, Blake asked,

“Do you know what ‘Uffus’—my family and clan’s name—means?”

“Isn’t it just a place name?”

“‘Uffus’ means wolf.”

And wolves were good at protecting what was theirs.

Blake still couldn’t define what Lily meant to him, but one thing was sure.

He was never sending her back to that den of devils.

The time limit of a year didn’t matter anymore. He was the leader and owner of Uffus.

Lily wanted to ask what he meant, but sleep overwhelmed her.

“Sorry, my eyes are closing.”

She whispered softly and drifted back to sleep.

In the next few days, the culprit—Sebastian—was caught.

Sebastian had crossed the line long ago. He was locked away in Winter Castle’s underground prison.

No one thought this was too harsh.

“He’s a disgrace to our people.”

A knight shook his head as he came up from the dungeon. Another replied,

“Hurting someone weak is already a sin, but to harm our savior? If he escapes execution, he’s lucky.”

“Most of us knights stay in the castle, but it’s sad for the servants. They’ve watched that kid grow up.”

“No one will forgive him. You can tell, since no one’s come to see him.”

During the days Lily slept, the people of Winter Castle agreed on one thing:

They would keep all this a secret from Lily.

Sebastian wouldn’t be mentioned at all. They just focused on making sure nothing ruined the upcoming party for Lily.

“Lady Lily! What do you think of this dress?”

Giana brought several possible gowns for the party.

“It’s a real traditional dress with fur! And gloves made from monster hide—we stitched them ourselves!”

“Giana’s got at least ten pricks on her hands! Hahaha!”

“Be quiet!”

The two maids bickered with their sewing needles, making Lily laugh.

She thought,

They’re really trying hard to hide what happened.

Sebastian must have tried to harm me.

She had several reasons for guessing the truth.

First, the people of Winter Castle were terrible liars.

Blake could lie with a lazy face, but the others creaked like poorly-oiled toys.

They’re nowhere near tricking me.

For Lily, who’d survived the social scene, these servants were easier to read than babies.

And that troublesome boy had disappeared completely.

When Lily asked around, nobody gave her a straight answer. They just changed the subject and praised her as a lifesaver.

Even though Lily was used to malice, the people of Winter Castle made a big fuss over her.

They look rough, but they’re the warmest people. So cute.

If I kissed one of them on the cheek, would they jump out of their skin?

Still, she really appreciated their care. So she tried not to think about the boy.

After all, her own life wasn’t that valuable to her…

“Lady Lily, why aren’t you picking a dress? You’re not planning to skip the party, are you? You don’t have to be fully recovered—just sit and watch.”

Lily decided to reward their good intentions. She agreed to attend the party as a way of accepting their white lies.

“Then, can I wear this one?”

“Oh! You mean you’ll come? This dress?”

“Giana, you even put thread on your belt that matches this dress. This one took the most work, right?”

“I definitely cleaned that up already!”

Once a year, Winter Castle’s big party was held.

And that party was only a few days away.

A huge dining hall was filled with hundreds of people eating and drinking as much as they wanted.

People sang, wrestled, and made a mess.

“Drink till we die!”

The annual party had begun.

Blake sat at the head table.

He wasn’t wearing his usual rough shirt.

Men of Uffus wore armor as formal wear. Blake had dressed up properly for the first time in a while… but it wasn’t really for the party.

Today, I’ll tell her.

He planned to say she could stay longer than just a year. That was enough for now.

But he was nervous.

What should he say?

Even if he told her she could stay for years, Lily would find it strange.

People would hear she was here, and eventually, word would reach the capital.

Then it could become a political problem. Her family or her ex-husband could sue the palace.

Blake knew all this. He was prepared to handle it.

The real problem was that Lily might ask, “Why?”

And he wouldn’t know how to answer.

“Haah…”

“Captain! Why are you sighing on such a good day?”

Should he just tell the truth?

I don’t really know, and neither does she, but apparently we were close as kids.

That’s why I feel drawn to her, and tried to kiss her. You don’t think I’m a pervert, right?

…Like that?

“She’ll think I’m crazy.”

“Me?”

“No. You just drink and be quiet.”

Anyway, Blake knew he had to think of an answer.

Maybe he could joke that he wanted to chop off the emperor’s head.

That would work!

Blake was losing his mind, unable to settle on anything.