Roxana
Chapter 91
Chapter 91
The Way to Protect the Female Lead’s Older Brother
Episode 91
While everything else remained uncertain, the single thing Cassis wanted from me was so glaringly clear it felt as though I could reach out and grasp it right now.
What I felt in that moment was an elation I could no longer deny.
At the same time, I could sense that what I perhaps wanted from Cassis was also shimmering like mist atop that unfamiliar emotion.
And so, inevitably, a faint smile crossed my lips.
“All right.”
His gaze, unwavering and direct, drew a little closer.
“Even if you go somewhere else, I will bring you back.”
“All right.”
I gave Cassis the exact same answer once more.
It was strange. If the one chasing after me was Cassis, I simply wanted to let myself be caught by him.
Surely, I would not feel this way toward just anyone.
Cassis kissed my lips as if biting into them.
For someone who treated me with such delicate care under normal circumstances, his kiss was as fierce and unrelenting as a raging storm, just as it had been last time.
What should I do…? Dying has suddenly become a bit of a shame.
Whenever I was with Cassis, I felt as though I were someone truly precious.
He made it seem as though someone like me was worth living in this world, and deserving of being loved by another.
Everyone I met here, rather than driving me out, welcomed me instead, making me wonder if perhaps it really was all right for me to stay.
Then… should I just take this man for myself? Even if it isn’t for very long, should I just keep him by my side until the day I die?
With that thought, I wound my arms around Cassis’s back and pulled him closer.
I was a selfish person anyway, a woman who had done whatever it took in her life to seize the things she desired.
So let us simply bury everything else lingering like grains of sand at the bottom of my heart, and let me act as my desires lead me…
Casting aside the hesitation that had held me until now, I finally made my decision.
With that, my heart—which had been floating weightlessly in the air like a drifting dandelion seed, unable to settle anywhere—took on weight and began a slow descent.
Yes. I will keep him after all.
Perhaps Cassis might come to regret his decision to choose me later on…
Regrettably, that was none of my concern.
* * *
The next day, I woke and rose from bed feeling more refreshed than I had in a long time.
Cassis was not in the annex again. It was hardly unusual, but today, I felt a slight twinge of discontent.
I stepped out onto the terrace of my room.
“Milady. Good afternoon.”
Ah, was it already afternoon? I hadn’t realized so much time had passed.
At Ollin’s greeting, my brow furrowed faintly.
Whenever unscheduled business arose while I was asleep, Cassis made a habit of informing Ollin in advance.
Knowing that I spoke with her from time to time, he had arranged it so I wouldn’t be left wondering.
“Where is Cassis?”
“He said he was going to meet with the Lord. He mentioned he would return before one o’clock, so he should be on his way back around now.”
Hearing this, I deliberated for a brief moment before making up my mind and taking my hands off the railing.
Noticing the subtle shift in me, Ollin asked,
“Are you planning to go out to meet him?”
“I just want to take a short walk.”
“Then I shall follow behind you.”
Leaving the building, I strolled along the lush, verdant path with Ollin.
Whether the claim of triple-layered guards around the annex was true, I encountered several sentries along the way.
They were thoroughly startled and flustered upon seeing me. While their efforts not to show it were admirable, their agitation was clearly palpable to me.
Even so, they bowed respectfully, even if they could not bring themselves to look directly at my face.
I returned their greetings as well. Afterward, I walked past them and made my way out of the annex grounds.
Stationing guards really did seem to be solely for the purpose of keeping Orca at bay.
They did not block my steps as I left the annex.
However, a few of the sentries began to trail behind me.
I found myself idly wondering just how many bizarre and unreasonable things Orca usually did to warrant such relentless vigilance.
Then again, having seen what I did in the novel, treating him as a person of prime concern made perfect sense.
Perhaps intending to keep his word about returning soon, it was not long after leaving the annex that I spotted Cassis.
Yet he was not alone. Blue hair resembling the clear summer sky cascaded in waves over a voluptuous figure.
Eyes like black obsidian smiled seductively toward Cassis. Cassis was with Pandora.
I wondered what they were discussing as they stood facing each other.
All the more so because Pandora had been smiling the entire time, as if engaged in an utterly delightful conversation.
Naturally, in sharp contrast to Pandora, Cassis’s expression was exceedingly dry and indifferent.
My eyes narrowed.
The intention laced within Pandora’s coquettish gestures and gaze was all too blatant.
She was undeniably a woman of voluptuous charm.
Had I seen her under different circumstances, I would have simply thought she was pretty without any personal feeling.
However, right now…
Just then, as if checking to see who was approaching, Cassis turned his head in my direction.
The moment our eyes met, the color of his warmthless golden eyes shifted.
Cassis had evidently never imagined he would encounter me at this moment. His eyes, which briefly flashed with surprise, settled as calm as still waters.
The emotion welling within them was sweet and soft, as if about to melt. Seeing that, a sense of satisfaction welled inside me.
Pandora, who had been watching Cassis’s face all along, seemed to witness the exact same thing.
Her black eyes, slipping away from Cassis to land on me, were stamped with unmistakable wariness.
Without rushing, I approached Cassis.
Immediately upon noticing me, Cassis abandoned Pandora and turned his steps straight toward me.
As a result, the distance he covered was far greater than the distance I had walked.
I could see Pandora following behind Cassis instead of turning back.
“Cassis.”
“Why are you outside? You shouldn’t be feeling well yet.”
We spoke almost at the same time.
A faint trace of concern for me spread across Cassis’s face as he looked down at me.
Instead of answering, I tilted my head toward him and asked a question of my own.
“Why did you just leave this morning? Without waking me.”
Hearing my voice, pitched sweeter and softer than usual, Cassis’s eyes twitched for a brief moment.
I did not stop there, placing my hand on his arm and leaning gently into him.
At that intimate contact, I felt the muscle beneath my touch stiffen slightly.
After a brief pause, Cassis parted his closed lips.
“……You were sleeping so soundly, I thought it best not to disturb you.”
At that, I let out a soft sigh and spoke in a faintly petulant tone.
“That’s only because you kept me up so late.”
In that instant, Cassis fell silent, and the air surrounding us grew distinctly hushed.
It was only natural, given that what had come out of my mouth was a suggestive remark more than capable of inviting scandalous suspicion.
It hadn’t been spoken loudly, so it wouldn’t have reached the ears of the subordinates standing at a distance, but Pandora, standing right nearby, had undoubtedly heard every word.
As proof, she stood with her mouth slightly open, looking back and forth between Cassis and me.
Of course, Cassis and I had done nothing last night that would warrant an age-restricted label.
Well, as the atmosphere had carried us along, we certainly did share a kiss of a rather dangerous intensity.
And in the heat of losing restraint, did we loosen the clothes covering our upper bodies a little, or didn’t we?
And I felt as though hands might have strayed where they shouldn’t have, or perhaps they hadn’t.
The reason I put it so vaguely was that after carrying on like that with Cassis for quite a while last night, a sudden fever flared up again, making my consciousness slip in and out.
Afterward, I had a faint recollection of Cassis channeling an immense amount of pure energy into me once again.
For that reason, I had slept completely dead to the world, only opening my eyes now when the sun was already high in the sky.
Which was also why, the moment he saw me, Cassis had spoken in such a worried tone.
In any case, the point was that Cassis and I had engaged in no dangerous games between adults last night. That was all.
“Yes…… I suppose I went too far last night. I will be more mindful next time.”