MTEF 32

Chapter 32

As soon as he opened the door, Ronin Alistair looked up and met his gaze.

“You’re late.”

There was no hint of reproach in his voice, but Callion’s mood still soured.

To begin with, he wasn’t pleased about having to share a bedroom with Alistair. On top of that, Ronin’s attire was far too… comfortable.

Logically, he knew it. Ronin Alistair was simply wearing clothes that were easy to sleep in.

But the robe, as thin as silk, faintly revealed the outline of Ronin Alistair’s body. For instance, the small peaks raised by the cold.

Callion tightened his grip on his scabbard.

It was practically a lifeline. If Ronin Alistair suddenly lost his mind and lunged at him, Callion intended to subdue him with the scabbard. Against an ordinary man with no swordsmanship, there was no need to even draw his blade.

Even after noticing Callion’s hand resting on the scabbard, Ronin calmly asked,

“Which side would you like to sleep on?”

Still dressed in his robe, Ronin sat on one side of the bed. The blanket had been neatly folded.

Unable to tolerate it any longer, Callion spoke coldly.

“Our agreement never included the condition that we had to sleep in the same bed.”

He was exploiting a loophole in their promise.

It felt like a cheap trick, but he couldn’t allow himself to be led around by Ronin Alistair.

After hearing him, Ronin paused as if considering the matter before nodding.

“Sir Leofric is correct. What I requested was simply that we spend the night together. We don’t have to sleep in the same bed.”

His gaze never wavered.

Without taking his eyes off the scabbard, Ronin continued,

“To be honest, even if Sir Leofric broke his promise and left this room, I wouldn’t have the right to stop you. So please, do whatever makes you comfortable.”

Ronin’s gaze slowly lifted until it met Callion’s.

Eyes like moonlight suspended high in the night sky.

In an instant, countless emotions flickered through them.

Ronin watched as though savoring whatever emotions Callion was feeling.

Callion realized exactly what he was doing.

“…Ha.”

There was no doubt that Ronin Alistair was out of his mind.

Otherwise, there was no way he could behave so casually while alone with an Alpha—especially one who wasn’t even friendly toward him.

Step.

Step.

Callion strode toward the bed.

Ronin didn’t move an inch.

Finally, Callion stopped directly in front of him.

If he wanted, he could overpower Ronin with the scabbard.

No—even with one hand.

The difference in their physical strength was as vast as heaven and earth.

‘But that would be far too easy.’

Instead, Callion quietly lay down beside Ronin.

The scabbard remained fastened conspicuously at his waist.

‘I don’t know what scheme you’re plotting with Richard Alistair, but I’ll uncover every last one of your hidden intentions.’

As soon as Callion lay down, Ronin extinguished the light and lay beside him.

They rested on the same bed with their backs facing each other.

Only a handspan separated them.

One reach was enough to touch the other, yet the emotional distance between them was immeasurable.

Time passed.

With the lights out, the only sound in the room was breathing.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Listening to the steady rhythm behind him, Callion suddenly sensed movement.

‘Just as I thought… another motive.’

He spun around in one swift motion.

He had intended to restrain Ronin immediately, but the distance between them was much closer than expected.

Ronin had unknowingly closed the already narrow gap.

“…Huh?”

Callion couldn’t help letting out a disbelieving laugh when he found Ronin’s face only inches from his own.

Flinch.

At the sound, Ronin curled up slightly.

His face tightened into a faint frown.

His eyes remained closed.

In other words…

Ronin Alistair was asleep.

He had only shifted in his sleep.

Faced with such unbelievable carelessness, every trace of Callion’s fighting spirit vanished.

Until just before entering the room, Callion had assumed Ronin was remaining vigilant.

But once they climbed into bed, Ronin had completely lowered his guard and fallen asleep.

His expression was so relaxed it resembled that of a child.

For some reason, that fact made Callion deeply uncomfortable.

‘This is… far too careless.’

It was a kind of defenselessness he simply couldn’t understand.

If Ronin Alistair had planned even this, then Callion had truly been outplayed.

‘If that’s the case, then Ronin Alistair is far more dangerous than I imagined. But if not…’

If he had really just fallen asleep…

If that had truly been his only purpose all along…

Callion dismissed the thought almost as soon as it arose.

The possibility was so close to zero that it wasn’t worth entertaining.

To uncover Ronin Alistair’s true intentions, he had no choice but to endure this night.

Eventually, Callion closed his eyes again.

His sword still hung at his waist.

His sharpened senses continuously informed him of Ronin’s condition only inches away.

The steady breathing.

The gentle warmth.

A faint fragrance unlike pheromones.

Every tiny movement Ronin made in his sleep caused Callion to tense.

The simple, clumsy, utterly defenseless motions were impossible to predict.

“…Haa…”

“Mmm…”

As Callion let out a habitual sigh, the soft sleepy murmur that immediately followed made him clamp his mouth shut.

It felt as though his entire body had been bound by ropes that could never be untied.

‘How much longer am I supposed to lie here like this?’

He had no idea how much of the night remained.

He tried closing his eyes more tightly.

He even tried covering his ears.

But that only made Ronin’s breathing clearer and the pounding of his own heart louder.

More than anything else, it was the scent that unsettled him.

It wasn’t strong enough to be called a fragrance.

Nor was it crude enough to be called an odor.

It was neither the smell of wet grass nor dried flowers.

It lingered somewhere in between.

Without realizing it, Callion found himself concentrating on it.

Only then did he recognize the faintly bitter scent.

‘Medicinal herbs?’

Ronin Alistair smelled of medicinal herbs.

It wasn’t a familiar scent, yet it strangely soothed the heart.

Precisely because he became so aware of it, he couldn’t fall asleep.

In the end, Callion failed to get even a moment of rest.

He rose from the bed, and through the narrow gap in the window, he saw that dawn had already begun to brighten the sky.

‘So I have to go through this again tonight?’

This wouldn’t do.

He needed to be fully prepared before Richard Alistair arrived.

He couldn’t keep losing sleep like this.

With a conflicted expression, Callion looked down at the sleeping Ronin.

Unlike himself, Ronin slept peacefully, like a baby with not a single worry in the world.

Swallowing the sigh that had risen to the tip of his throat, Callion got out of bed.

Tonight, he vowed to return with a solution, no matter what.