The Nymph Wants to be Plundered - Chapter 19
Ugh, I don’t know! What does water and a towel have to do with being held by a man? Does wiping yourself down with a damp cloth beforehand make it easier? Rubbing myself raw sounds like it would just hurt and sting.
Lost in endless fretting, she couldn’t bring herself to climb onto the plush bed. Instead, she buried her face into the edge of the sofa. With nothing immediately in sight, her eyes gradually closed, and her mind began to settle.
Time passed effortlessly, even as she remained still.
While waiting for Cassis’s return, two elves came and went. Both were women, and each time, Evelyn’s sleeping form was shaken awake. The first elf brought a basket of food and drink, along with a change of clothes. The second handed her a small book and a round object—a identification badge used within Jupiter, she explained.
“…..”
The time spent alone, lost in her thoughts, had been far better. Awoken twice, Evelyn was now in a slightly gloomy state, unable to muster the energy to even glance at the book she’d been given. Her fingers aimlessly scratched at the soft surface of the sofa before dropping limply to her side.
I’ll be living here from now on, so I’ll probably see them often, she thought, trying to strike up a friendly conversation. But the results were far from pleasant.
Don’t touch me.
Don’t speak to me unless necessary.
Both spoke in identical, cold tones, as cold as winter frost. Their demeanor was starkly different from Cassis’s, and Evelyn felt thoroughly intimidated. They touched me first when they woke me up, so why…? Why won’t they allow me to do the same?
Did I do something wrong?
Perhaps there was some taboo among the elves that she had unknowingly violated. But with Cassis absent, there was no one to ask for clarification, leaving her frustrated and anxious. Of course, she didn’t have the courage to chase after the two elves who had just left.
In the end, her only hope lay in Cassis’s return.
Evelyn sat with her knees pressed tightly together, her head bowed as she waited for his return. The moment she recalled how tenderly he had treated her, a wave of loneliness washed over her. Compared to the people in the village she had lived in—save for the village chief, his wife, and Fey—he had been unusually kind. Even the faint trace of his scent lingering in the air couldn’t shield her from the sudden onslaught of solitude.
Before long, she drifted into an uneasy sleep, her posture awkward and uncomfortable. Someone gently grasped her shoulder and began to stroke it softly, a stark contrast to the two abrupt awakenings earlier. It felt as though she were a beloved cat being pampered, and a sweet, drowsy sigh escaped her as a sugary warmth pooled in her throat.
This feels nice. So warm… keep touching me…. Just as she was about to sink deeper into the sweet, languid haze, a voice calling her name jolted her awake.
“…Evelyn? Evelyn? Are you asleep?”
It was him. Cassis.
“Ah, no…!”
She lifted her head sluggishly, revealing a red mark pressed into her forehead. But what caught his attention first were her glistening eyes. The tears welling up seemed suspicious for someone who had merely been sleeping.
His golden brows twitched with displeasure.
“Were you crying?”
“N-no, I wasn’t.”
Her reply was immediate, but her voice was as lifeless as a leaf boiled limp in water. He quickly discerned the lie and silently studied her.
Her eyes are brimming with tears, yet she denies it. She’s not even good at lying.
But Cassis didn’t press for an explanation or offer comforting words. There was no time for such indulgences, nor was the situation conducive to tenderness.
Cassis stopped in the library behind his office on his way back to Evelyn.
Just one more corridor, and he would reach the bedroom where she was waiting for him, entirely alone. It was a natural thought, but it stirred an odd feeling within him. At the edge of his steadily beating heart, a strange sensation bloomed, like a red sprout pushing through the soil.
“…..’’
Even if he returned now, there would be no optimistic outlook to offer her. After a moment of contemplation, Cassis decided to delay his return a little longer. It seemed better to search for something—anything—that might help.
Turning away from the closed door behind which Evelyn waited, he opened a book in the library that he had read only once, decades ago, and never touched again.
[For the Ancient Guardians of the World Tree.]
When Cassis had been the only one summoned by the World Tree from among the knights of the Blackthorn Order, he had realized he was different—special, even. The title of “Ancient Guardian,” now a faint memory even among the elves, had elevated him to a lofty position, as if he were perched high above the clouds, all because of that archaic prefix, “Ancient.”
