Chapter 37
“Lord Kaisa will be with Alex. There’s a mountain of reports he has to go through. Don’t worry about it, my lady—please have your meal first.”
With that, Edwin tore into a greasy chicken leg, juices dripping down as he ate with unrestrained appetite.
He certainly enjoyed his food. Loyalty and appetite, it seemed, were two entirely separate things.
Sharie watched him through narrowed eyes, then turned her head away.
“…I’ve eaten enough.”
She rose as if to leave, when Anette eagerly offered,
“Would you like to bathe right away, my lady? You must feel stiff and weary.”
The suggestion was perfectly timed. She longed to sink into hot water and let her body loosen.
Even with the chill of the season, trekking through mountains left her sticky with sweat, and the faint smell clung to her skin uncomfortably.
“Yes, right now—”
Sharie started to agree, then froze.
“Wait… I’m supposed to bathe alone?”
She knew how absurd the thought was. But Kaisa’s voice echoed in her mind—his ridiculous insistence back at the fortress that a married couple should, of course, bathe together.
“Then… are we supposed to bathe together again?”
Naturally, the thought led to what came after.
The memory of that night—the two of them stepping into the tub wearing nothing but undergarments. The water lapping, the heat of his breath at her ear, her palm against his firm chest.
Her nape grew hot the instant the images surfaced.
It had only been a short while ago, yet it already felt like a distant past.
“What was I thinking, going into the same bath with him… dressed like that?”
“Um… well…”
If something like that were to happen again—
“Is there still food left?”
The familiar voice startled her. She turned.
Kaisa had entered the dining hall, striding in with his usual confidence. When his eyes found her standing there, he lifted the corner of his lips.
The middle-aged innkeeper blushed, and even the male attendants looked red-faced, like flustered adolescents.
“And you, Sharie?”
“She was just about to bathe,” Anette replied on her behalf, though Sharie hadn’t given an answer yet.
Kaisa nodded easily.
“Good. A soak in hot water will ease your fatigue.”
He patted Sharie lightly on the back, then pulled out a chair and dropped into it with casual grace.
“Prepare a meal for me as well. I haven’t had a proper one in some time.”
“Right away, sir!”
The innkeeper practically sprinted to the kitchen.
“Baths are this way, my lady,” Anette reminded her.
And so, flustered and uncertain, Sharie found herself walking off to bathe alone.
Sharie entered the tent, carrying soap and a change of clothes offered by the villagers.
The wooden tub inside was modest compared to the grand marble baths of the fortress. Two people could never fit inside at once.
“Still…”
Her shoulders slumped without her realizing.
“I could’ve waited until he finished eating…”
Back then, she had been the one insisting they bathe together. Why was he acting differently now?
Sharie caught herself pouting and flinched.
“What am I doing… I look like someone desperate to share a bath.”
“Bathing alone is easier anyway. Peaceful.”
Shaking off the odd pang of disappointment crawling up her shoulders, she hurried to undress and slipped into the steaming water.
The heat enveloped her like heaven itself.
A soft, feline purr escaped her lips.
“Ahh…”
She soaked for a long while, scrubbing herself more thoroughly than usual, until the bath lasted far longer than it normally did. Yet even after rinsing, she didn’t feel like getting out.
When the water cooled to lukewarm, she splashed it over her face and found her gaze drifting toward the tent’s flap.
Kaisa’s behavior earlier lingered in her mind. There was something strangely distant about him today.
“I’m imagining things… surely.”
She tried to reassure herself, but it didn’t ease the sting.
He was always warm, always close, like a tongue rolling around inside one’s mouth. But today, it felt as if he’d drawn a line between them.
“Was I the only one happy to see him again? Maybe I clung too obviously.”
Sullen, Sharie hugged her knees to her chest, resting her forehead against them.
Just then, a shadow flickered across the canvas wall.
“Ah—I must’ve stayed too long.”
“There’s someone inside. I’ll be out soon!” she called, quickly rising.
But the voice that answered stopped her cold.
“Stay. It’s fine.”
Kaisa.
Sharie dropped back into a crouch, her bare upper body vanishing beneath the water in a flash. Her ears burned scarlet. Her heart pounded.
“Ka–Kaisa? Why are you—”
Had he come straight after eating? To bathe with her? Right now?
What do I do…?
She was far too embarrassed to look at him—yet, strangely, she felt no desire to refuse.
As she struggled with herself, her throat dry, he spoke again:
“I only came to talk with you for a moment.”
His tall silhouette stood at the entrance. He made no move to enter.
Sharie’s chest deflated like a balloon pricked by a pin.
“…Talk? About what?”
Even to her own ears, her voice sounded limp.
“Do you remember what I once told you?”
She hesitated, confused. Then Kaisa’s voice grew more urgent.
“It doesn’t matter if you don’t. Yesterday, I realized your feelings. Now that I know your heart, there’s nothing left between us to hold back.”
“My… feelings?”
Like a predator cornering prey, he pressed forward with his words—until suddenly, he stopped short.
“We spoke last night. Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten already?”
Sharie poked her head out from the tub, blinking.
She did vaguely recall a hazy, dreamlike conversation with him—but half-asleep, the details were lost.
The silence that followed was so heavy, it felt like ice in the air.
She must have forgotten something terribly important.
“I’ll remember—I promise I can!” she blurted desperately.
But there was no reply.
“Kaisa…?”
The canvas fluttered in the breeze. The shadow beyond blurred with the branches, impossible to tell apart.
Had he left?
Panicking, forgetting entirely that she was naked, Sharie bolted out of the tub—
Only to be seized in a sudden grip.
A strong arm snatched her through the flap and pulled her hard against a solid chest.
Her feet lifted off the ground with the force of it.
It was a crushing embrace, wild and desperate.
And she was bare, utterly bare—every inch of skin pressed to his clothes, to the heat of his body.
“You can’t drive me to madness and then run away.”
“Ah—!”
The fine hairs of her body stood on end. Each breath against her cheek made her shiver uncontrollably.
Kaisa’s hot exhale traced along her face, declaring the limit of his restraint.
“Tonight, I will take you.”
His voice was low, rich, dangerous—whispered right into her ear.
“Ahh…!”
His lips roamed her, more insistent than ever.
Over her flushed cheeks. Her sensitive ears. Down the soft curve of her neck.
Everywhere he touched, he marked, sucking and nipping until she trembled.
Smack— A loud, wet sound as his mouth latched at her neck, leaving proof.
It was deliberate. He wanted to brand her body as his.
Her mind grew hazy.
The damp of her skin spread onto him, soaking his shirt, outlining the ridges of his powerful muscles.
Everywhere they touched, she felt him sharply, vividly.
She lost track of how long she shook in his grasp. At last, Kaisa pulled back, lips parted in a satisfied smile.
“Don’t forget what I’ve said.”
His fingers brushed the mark he had left on her neck.
“Finish your bath, and come out to me.”
With that, he let her go, stepped out, and vanished beyond the tent.
Sharie stood frozen, still trembling. When her knees finally gave way, she collapsed in a heap.
“Hhh—hahh…”
Her face felt as if it would explode from heat.
She had no idea how she finished bathing—her body moved on instinct alone.
But no matter how she tried, Kaisa’s words repeated in her head.
“Tonight…”
What would tonight bring?
A shiver ran down her spine, somewhere between fear and anticipation.
✨ End of Chapter 37
