Pushing through thorny bushes and trees that were beginning to thin out, Kael moved his legs as quickly as possible. The worry weighing on his chest made what should have been an ordinary journey feel incredibly long.
It felt as though he were running through a labyrinth, running for what seemed like ages, yet somehow feeling as if hardly any time had passed at all. A deeply familiar anxiety struck him once again, that same uneasiness that always surfaced whenever he feared losing the people who mattered to him.
Kael’s steps came to an abrupt halt when he reached the edge of a small hill. His eyes widened.
Before him stretched a valley dozens of meters wide, filled with green grass and colorful wildflowers. At its center lay a small, perfectly round lake resembling a mirror, reflecting the golden glow of sunlight filtering through gaps in the foliage. It was an extraordinarily breathtaking sight.
Kael stood on the higher ground, his chest rising and falling as he scanned every corner of the valley.
Where was Lizzy?
Before he could even turn around to check behind him, the cold tip of a sharp knife suddenly pressed against his neck. Its edge dug slightly into his skin, drawing a tiny trickle of warm blood that ran down his neck.
"So... this is your weakness, huh? How adorable~"
A soft whisper slipped right beside his ear, sending a strange yet pleasant tickling sensation through him.
Lizzy was standing directly behind Kael. At that very moment, she had a golden opportunity to take her husband’s life. However, she knew she would never be able to do it because she didn’t want to lose Kael. Just the sensation of having him under her control and pressing a knife against his neck was enough to give her an incredible, almost maddening sense of satisfaction.
"I’ll consider this little wound payback... for always managing to dodge every one of my previous attacks, darling," Lizzy whispered again.
She slowly withdrew her knife. With a few light leaps as graceful as drifting feathers, Lizzy landed elegantly in front of Kael, displaying her signature wide grin.
"Next time... I hope I can actually kill you."
Seeing Lizzy standing before him, completely unharmed and perfectly fine, Kael let out a long breath. A quiet laugh escaped his throat, sounding somewhat bitter yet amused.
"You’ll never be able to do that, Lizzy," Kael said. His previously tense expression suddenly changed, becoming slightly mischievous, radiating a confident, dominant charm of its own. "...Because you’ll never be able to live without me."
Lizzy’s eyes widened. Her triumphant expression instantly turned scarlet red. Her heart pounded so violently that her chest felt tight, and her entire body froze stiff as scorching heat coursed through her.
She had never expected that Kael, who was always so calm and serious, could display such a dangerously seductive expression!
The sudden emotional shock overloaded Lizzy’s mind. Her body abruptly lost its support, and she felt as though she were about to faint and collapse onto the ground.
But before Lizzy could fall, Kael’s sturdy arms swiftly caught her around the waist. The mischievous, seductive aura on his face vanished instantly, replaced by a sincere gaze filled with panic. This story is hosted at novelping.com.
"Huh? What’s wrong all of a sudden, Lizzy? Does something hurt?"
With a soft, resigned voice, Lizzy rested her forehead against Kael’s chest.
"Yeah... I guess I’ll really never be able to live without you..."
Lizzy reached out with both arms and wrapped them tightly around Kael’s neck.
"Please... just hold me for a little while."
Kael raised one eyebrow, confused by his wife’s sudden change in attitude, but he still wrapped both arms around her and gently stroked her back. One minute passed, then five, and eventually nearly an hour, yet Lizzy showed absolutely no sign of wanting to let go.
"Have you had enough, Lizzy?" Kael asked with a soft chuckle.
"Not yet... Please don’t let go of me just yet. It feels so nice," Lizzy murmured affectionately against Kael’s chest.
Kael simply let her be, allowing her to use his chest as a pillow. His gaze drifted toward the small lake below. Suddenly, his eyes caught movement behind the tall grass.
Something large slowly emerged and made its way toward the water’s edge. From behind the thick grass appeared four sturdy legs with large bones, covered in dense white fur. Its body was far larger than that of an ordinary sheep. The animal possessed a pair of thick, sharply curved horns and clear, intimidating eyes.
"Wild sheep!" The words slipped out of Kael’s mouth before he could stop himself. He patted Lizzy’s shoulder gently but urgently.
"Lizzy, look over there! There’s a wild sheep!"
Lizzy didn’t even bother lifting her head.
"Is that unimportant animal more important than me, hm? Besides... I’ve already got some, you know."
Kael could only stare at his indifferent wife with a blank expression and narrowed eyes.
They had been standing there for nearly three hours! Lizzy had continued clinging to him, kissing him, giving him little bites, and sniffing his scent with an abnormally delighted expression.
"I love your natural scent... I really want it to cling to my skin all day long, too!" she whispered affectionately.
When Lizzy finally began to release her embrace, she proudly gazed at Kael’s cheeks, neck, and shoulders, which were now covered in red marks from her warm kisses and several small bite wounds.
Lizzy cupped both her own cheeks, her eyes sparkling with crazed delight.
"Kyaa~! You’re absolutely enchanting! I almost feel like skinning that handsome face of yours so that no other woman can ever look at it except me!" New chapters come out on g.com first.
Kael’s expression immediately darkened, radiating a weary, helpless look that was somehow amusing.
"You said earlier... that you’d already gotten the sheep’s wool, right? Where is it?"
Lizzy flinched slightly and tilted her head as though she’d only just remembered. She turned around and trotted toward the space behind two trees with wrinkled trunks and unusual rectangular leaves.
Behind those trees, Lizzy pulled out a large bundle of something and raised it high above her head, her face filled with triumph.
"Look at this! I got so many bundles of wild sheep’s wool! This is definitely more than enough to make a soft mattress!"
Kael walked closer, but his brow furrowed in confusion.
"Wait a minute... You only brought back bundles of wool? Then where are the hide, meat, horns, and internal organs? Did you go hunting just to shear its wool?"
Under his questioning, Lizzy’s gaze suddenly shifted awkwardly to the right.
"A-actually... I found this pile of wool lying on the ground while I was chasing that wild sheep earlier... But if I didn’t hunt it myself, does that mean I won’t get any praise and won’t be allowed to act spoiled with you anymore, Kael?"
Seeing the worried and slightly guilty expression on his wife’s face, Kael let out a gentle sigh. He reached out and ruffled Lizzy’s white hair as though treating her like a little child.
"You found it, huh? It’s fine. I’m still proud of you, and I’ll praise you for making the effort. But as for letting you cling to me like you did earlier... hmm, I’ll have to think about that."
"Why?! Just let me hug you for a little while and kiss you until I’ve had enough!" Lizzy protested, pouting in irritation.
However, Kael merely chuckled, turned around, and started walking ahead of her, forcing Lizzy to hurry after him with quick little steps to catch up.
Rubbing his shoulders and neck, which felt somewhat sore from Lizzy’s bites, Kael quietly sighed inwardly.
"At this rate, I might die not from an enemy’s blade, but from all the little wounds piling up because of my own wife..."
As they made their way back toward the cabin, Kael’s thoughts raced. The strange discovery of this neatly piled-up wool suddenly brought his mind back to the wolf.
"I was wrong..." Kael thought, his eyes narrowing sharply. "I thought that wolf was stalking me because it intended to attack me when I was alone. But it seems... that creature really is focused solely on targeting me. Whenever I’m with Lizzy, it never makes a single move to attack."
Recalling all the claw marks and tracks the creature had left around the forest’s boundaries, Kael realized something. They weren’t merely territorial markings left by an ordinary wild beast. They were threatening messages directed specifically at him.
Kael slowly shook his head. He was certain there was an invisible connection between that wolf, this pile of sheep’s wool, and his wife’s past.
"Damn annoying stalker of a mutt...", Kael cursed inwardly.