The sun was up when Erus half-woke to a heavy, warm weight pressing against him. Choosing to rest had been the right decision; his energy felt fully recharged. Suddenly, a light drag across his navel sent an electric jolt through his veins. His brows furrowed, and his hand shot out instinctively, catching the culprit in a fast grip. He was stunned to find he was holding a small hand, not some intruding bug.
"Mmm..."
His brain short-circuited at the sound of that soft moan vibrating directly against his collarbone. Something shifted over his chest, and when he glanced down, he was met with a spill of long black hair resting right over his chest. He swallowed hard, frozen in place as the reality of his situation set in.
How had he ended up like this? He clearly remembered giving Cana the bed while he laid out a simple mattress for himself on the floor. How had she ended up sleeping with half her body draped over him? Had she fallen off the bed and crawled over to him in her sleep?
His heart began to beat erratically again, a reaction he desperately wanted to suppress before she noticed and woke up. Instinctively, his free arm wrapped around her waist, drawing her closer. As much as he despised being touched by anyone, especially women, Cana felt surprisingly comfortable. Still, the unexplainable way his body kept reacting to her made him uneasy, leaving him terrified of crossing a line and losing her trust.
Sure, she was bold with him sometimes, but those were just his own miscalculated thoughts. Cana was genuine about helping and protecting him, and he had never felt a single trace of malice from her. It almost made him believe in fate for bringing them together.
His lips curved upward, his gaze resting on her dark hair. He could not see her face, but he didn't need to, the image was burned clearly into his mind. Her soft, steady breathing slowly quieted his racing heart, settling the chaos in his chest.
Unlike his usual self, this was the first time he found himself wishing time would just stop, wishing he could stay like this a little longer.
But his delusion of peace was abruptly shattered when Cana shifted her legs, her thigh landing heavily right between his. He almost cursed aloud, fighting to hold his composure before he completely broke. He had to remember: she was his apprentice. Gritting his teeth, he let go of Cana's hand and carefully tried to pry her heavy leg off him.
His subtle movements only irritated her.
"Why do you keep moving? I'm still sleepy," she muttered, her eyes barely half-open.
"Cana," he grunted, trying to wake her. "Cana."
"I still want to sleep," she mumbled, only moving her hands back to his chest.
"You're killing me."
Cana's eyes snapped open. She quickly scrambled back to check on him, while Erus immediately rolled onto his side, curling inward to ease the agonizing pain. For the first time in his life, someone had managed to bring him down like this.
"Erus, what is happening?" she asked, panicking as she saw him doubled over.
"You happened," he answered, almost growling.
"What?" She blinked, completely confused. "Was I too heavy? I'm sorry. I didn't mean to," she added, realizing where she had been lying when she woke up.
But Erus didn't respond, which only spiked her worry.
"Is your stomach in pain? Let me see so I can help ease it."
"No!"
"Then what is it? Why are you crouching like that?"
"Just... Just give me a minute. I can handle this."
But Cana didn't listen. She simply dropped a tiny blue flame onto his upper body. It instantly enveloped him before sinking deep into his skin, and the pain vanished in a heartbeat.
Realizing the relief, Erus collapsed flat on the floor again, sighing in pure relief as the agony vanished. He was still sweating bullets.
"How do you feel now?" Cana asked, still looking worried.
"Better. What did you do?"
"Blue flame."
He sighed again. That explained why the pain had vanished so fast, and why he felt completely full even though he hadn't eaten yet.
"Was I the one who hurt you?"
"Who else? You smashed my..." He sat up and pointed directly between his thighs. "I almost saw hell just now. Are you trying to end my bloodline?"
Cana gasped, unable to believe that was what actually happened. Her face turned bright red in an instant, but sheer panic quickly set in over what Erus might do to her, especially since she had just struck the one place he never wanted anyone touching.
"No! Of course not. I didn't know. I'm really sorry! Are you going to kill me now?"
Erus shot her a glare lethal enough to drop a beast. "What kind of monster do you take me for?"
"I'm just asking! But if you kill me, no one will cook delicious food for you. No one will open all your energy paths. And no one as beautiful as me will follow you around anymore. Do you really want that?"
Erus felt his last remaining brain cell die on the spot. She wasn't actually afraid of him at all, she was sitting there listing off her own resume to stay alive. For a second, he had almost assumed she viewed him like the rest of those fools who saw nothing in him but a walking curse and a bloodthirsty tyrant.
"Glad you know that. Now fix yourself up. We'll be leaving soon."
"How about breakfast?"
"Of course."
After the chaotic morning, they finally left the room. Upon reaching the lobby counter, Erus tossed his payment to the cashier without a word. Cana couldn't believe how arrogantly he acted, but the cashier didn't show a hint of irritation, even when she failed to catch the pouch. She simply bowed and thanked him.
Was it because the cashier was female, or was this just his usual attitude?
Cana followed close behind as they stepped out of the inn. She also noticed the guard at the gate staring in shock, his eyes fixed on her as if he were seeing a ghost. He had given her that exact same look last night.
"Do I look weird?" Cana asked Erus as they walked down the street.
"You're only asking that now?"
Realizing what Erus meant, she shut her mouth. This was her choice, so she had to get used to these kinds of stares while by Erus' side. Everyone on the street threw them looks that said it was impossible for the two of them to co-exist.
"Master," she called out to him, a subtle flirtatious edge in her voice.
It made Erus halt, glaring at her in utter disbelief. "Why call me that?"
Without a word, Cana reached for his arm and clung to it like they were a lovey-dovey couple on a stroll.
"He... hey! What are you doing? Do you want to die?"
"Nope. I just want to make it up to you for hurting you earlier, so I'll make them suffer on your behalf," she whispered, giving him a playful wink.
Erus had no idea what she was pulling. She wanted them to suffer for him, but why grab onto him like this? Was she out of her mind? People were going to badmouth her if they saw this, and he didn't want her suffering a mental breakdown over petty gossip.
"Master, I'm hungry," she added, keeping that same flirty tone.
If Cana could see how utterly confused his face was right now, she would have laughed her head off. Confusion and disbelief were written all over him. In trying to make the town suffer, it seemed he was the primary victim suffering from her stunt.
While she had no idea what the man beside her was going through, she took immense pleasure in watching the horror on the faces around them. One onlooker even fainted outright at the sight of them. If the world had always seen him as a monster, she swore she would rewrite Erus' narrative. Not always with force or violence, sometimes, simple mind games like this were more than enough.
"Why not use that tone when we're alone in the room instead of out here in public?"
"Ha?" Cana blinked, genuinely caught off guard and confused by his question. "What do you mean?"
"Now, that's better," Erus commented as her voice instantly returned to normal. "Let's go find some food. You must be starving if you're pulling crazy stunts like this."
As he resumed walking, Cana stayed right beside him, her hands still wrapped around his arm. He didn't bother pushing her away this time. He simply let her be, she wasn't a hindrance to his path, after all.
Stepping into the dining hall, Cana's mouth hung open as her eyes scanned the room. The space was massive, with generous gaps separating every set of tables. It was a luxurious hall, crammed with people draped in far too much matching jewelry, none of it particularly shiny or pleasing to the eye. Most of the women wore it as if they simply wanted extra weight on their shoulders, paired with outrageously flashy dresses.
She glanced down at the dress Erus had told her to wear that morning. It was light blue and made of thin fabric, the hem reaching mid-thigh. It was completely sleeveless, and the thin straps felt like they were one snap away from leaving her exposed. Fortunately, he had made her wear his coat over it.
Erus, on the other hand, wore his usual gear, looking entirely ready for battle.
"Why are we here?" Cana asked. Erus hadn't mentioned anything about attending a party.
"To eat breakfast," he casually answered.
"You mean, this is a restaurant?"
Erus paused for a second before answering. "This is a dining hall. Its name is Ancestral Feast."
"Oh," Cana nodded.
That confirmed his hunch was right. The unfamiliar word 'restaurant' actually meant a dining hall.
The moment they entered, every eye in the room fell on them. But here, the looks they received were different, their faces twisted in disgust. They clearly didn't like what they were seeing, which felt strange to Cana.
"Why is he even here?"
"Maybe trying to get attention because the second prince just caught the cursed beast."
"Really? So, that explains it."
Cana's brows furrowed. The voices belonged to two women sitting at a table not too far away. Their eyes were locked on them as they gossiped, meaning they were definitely talking about Erus.
Cana looked up at him, but before she could say a word, Erus untied the knot of the cloak at her chest. He removed it with practiced ease, folded it in two, and draped it over his arm.
She was left thoroughly confused. Why take it off here in public? But when she glared up at him, she caught a naughty glint in his narrowed eyes. He was actually grinning at her, and he even threw in a playful wink.
"Make them suffer even more. Will you do it for me?" Erus bent down slightly and whispered near her ear.
Cana glanced around the room and saw the sheer shock painted on the faces in the dining hall, it was as if they had just seen Death descend from his throne to visit the mortal realm. They were completely frozen, their eyes glued to her.
A beauty that no princess or queen in the mortal realm could ever hope to match. To them, she looked like an ethereal, glowing goddess. Too flawless and too perfect for anyone to deserve.
Finally catching on to what Erus was playing at, Cana grinned back at those stunned faces, with absolute grace. Knowing he had planned this all along made it infinitely more interesting.
If she had to play her part, then she was going to play it very well.
"All for you," she answered Erus with a sweet yet vicious smile, though her eyes softened as she looked at him.
Erus had to blink just to make sure he wasn't seeing things. Did her lunatic persona take over again?
Either way, he brushed it off since she was willing to play along. Guiding her toward a vacant table, his hand traced gently down her back to her waist, secretly testing if she would kick him for it. Instead, Cana closed the distance between them and wrapped her arms around his waist first.
It felt completely awkward, and not right at all.
"Who... Who is she? It's my first time seeing her here."
"Which noble family is she from? And why is she with that cursed monster?"
"She might be beautiful, but she clearly has no taste."
"That bastard must have bewitched her. Such a beauty doesn't deserve the likes of him."
"She deserves someone like the princes!"
"Really?"
The noblewoman who had just claimed Cana deserved the princes almost had a heart attack when Cana suddenly appeared right in front of her, wearing a predatory smile full of bloodlust.
"How do you know they deserve someone who isn't even in their league? Are they really as perfect as my Erus?"
"You... You..."
Cana slapped her, not even that hard yet the woman spat blood and collapsed onto the floor.
"Oh, good thing I didn't use any actual force, or you wouldn't have survived a second," Cana told the woman sarcastically. "Anyone else who wants the same fate as her, just fall in line," she announced, her voice echoing across the entire hall.
"How could she act like that? That monster really did brainwash her. What a poor girl..." a middle-aged noblewoman chimed in, putting on a teary-eyed show.
"Aren't you a bit too old to be dragging your old fossils around just to flaunt your filthy body in places like this?" Cana threw out the spicy insult as she sauntered toward the woman.
Meanwhile, Erus just stood where Cana had left him, trying to figure out why she was suddenly acting like this. As satisfying as it was to watch, she was being a bit too spicy right now. Still, he could hear every single insult she spat at the so-called noble ladies.
The middle-aged lady, having just been called old with a filthy body, went instantly into rage mode. Her fingers trembled violently as she pointed at Cana, looking like she was on the verge of passing out.
"You bitch! Don't you know who I am?!"
Cana grinned. "Why ask me? Don't you have companions to remind you of your identity whenever your rotting brain forgets?"
"How dare you insult my mother!" a young lady shouted at Cana.
Cana stopped at their table and looked down at her. "Would you still defend her if I told you she's been bedding men, young and old, even beggars, just to scratch that itch down there?"
"Wh... at?" The young lady gasped, turning to her mother. In fact, most of the people who overheard turned to stare at the middle-aged woman as well.
"No! That isn't true! I don't even know you, so why are you slandering me?!" the woman cried out, her rage instantly replaced by sheer terror as she looked at Cana.
"Oh? And do you fully know the man I'm with before calling him names and slandering him?" Cana leaned in, whispering the last part with chilling precision. "Of course not. How could lowly mortals like you ever deserve to see his face, let alone know his true identity?"
Erus frowned when he couldn't hear what Cana said. She had erected a thin sound barrier around them, then dissolved it just as quickly.
"You're too frail. I won't even lift a finger against you," Cana said with a smirk. "Just a piece of advice, have a physician examine you before it worsens."
The middle-aged woman snapped her mouth shut. She was far too terrified that her next words would seal her doom. She could feel that terrifying aura radiating off Cana, the oppressive, heavy presence of death itself. And Cana dropping her darkest secret like casual gossip was more than enough warning never to cross her again.