I Became a Cat That Sleeps with an Obsessive Tyrant Every Night - Chapter 46

My face flushed with embarrassment, and I quickly pretended to be asleep, lying down on the bed with my eyes shut.

The door creaked open, and leisurely footsteps followed, stopping nearby.

“Seems like you’re asleep.”

It was Killian’s voice.

Gradually, I felt his hair brushing against my forehead as he bent down. Killian lowered himself to look at me.

“Reinette, you need to get up.”

As his hushed whisper gently resonated in my ears, I felt a ticklish sensation in the back of my neck. I strained to control my breathing and resisted the urge to laugh.

“Otherwise, you’ll be sleeping in your jacket.”

Why does he pause before speaking? Is it to make me curious?

A sinister and mocking voice lazily resonated, sending shivers down my spine.

“Is it better to pretend that I don’t know you’re awake?”

Startled, I scrambled to my feet and rolled onto my stomach, unconsciously pointing toward the ceiling.

“Your acting was terrible.”

As if Killian had known all along that I was only pretending to sleep, he lightly tapped my cheek and then rose from the crouched position.

“I told them to stop sending purified energy to Sanua once I confirmed your body temperature had returned to normal.”

Come to think of it, even when I briefly woke up yesterday, he was undoubtedly there.

It turned out Sanua had received assistance.

“Thanks to Sanua’s training, he managed to discern and purify the energy up to a certain point. Only for you, of course. Sustaining it for an extended period is still unstable. It’s quite remarkable for self-taught skills.”

As Killian finished speaking, a gentle breeze seemed to envelop me, and suddenly, I found myself seated in a comfortable chair, adorned in a silk shirt.

How could this be?

The energy I felt now was distinctly different from what I sensed when I was in the library with Killian in the castle.

“Did you sleep well?”

Killian’s greeting brought me abruptly back to my senses.

There was a subtle smile in his long, piercing gaze as he looked down at me.

Observing him in his jacket adorned with precious buttons and elegant, ornate embellishments, I couldn’t help but feel a dryness in my throat and subtly averted my gaze.

“Since I’m wearing the jacket. Should I keep waiting with my arms open?”

My mind spun wildly, and it felt like the room was tilting.

Am I going crazy? Is it okay for my heart to pound like this just because he mentioned waiting with his arms open?

“Wasn’t it scary?”

“What? Oh… I slept well.”

Instinctively, I nibbled on my dry lips, reminding myself that others had also arrived here.

Next to Baron, Sanua stood with a round face, and when our eyes met, there was a momentary pause.

“Sanua…?”

Was he okay afterward? Moreover, if he had been sending energy while I was unconscious, could there be any issues with his health?

In a hurry, I grabbed the long hem of my silk shirt from the bed and rushed down to approach Sanua.

I felt deeply sorry for not properly checking on him since the incident where he fainted while being transported in Baron’s carriage.

But the thought of him sending energy for three days while I was unconscious made me suddenly anxious about whether he was completely okay.

If something went wrong because of me, it would be a serious problem.

“Uh, what’s going on?”

As I grabbed Sanua and examined him, I panicked and shouted,

“Wait, Sanua! let me see if you’re okay!”

“Who said anything about being okay? I’m perfectly healthy! dude, why don’t you let go of me?”

Perhaps due to my thin and weak state, I felt even more apologetic as I shook Sanua like a paper doll, holding onto the hem of my shirt.

“What should I do? You don’t even look like you have any strength.”

“What? I’m not lacking in strength at all!”

“If you send energy like this, won’t it strain your body?”

Before Sanua could respond, a large hand suddenly entered my field of vision. Simultaneously, I felt myself being lifted away from Sanua.

“As you can see, Sanua is perfectly fine sending energy to you.”

It was Killian who had pulled me away from Sanua.

“Right. In fact, I’ve improved since then. I can purify energy on my own now. But what about you?”

As Sanua spoke with a sheepish grin, I could hear the sound of my concern for him prickling like thorns.

Why is it that people don’t easily change even when the environment does?

Sanua’s appearance had changed, but he was still the same man who had been screaming at the top of his lungs as he munched on the food at the inn.

I can’t blame him for helping me.

With no outlet for complaints, I reluctantly tasted the food again, and for some reason, Killian seemed subtly displeased.

“Good.”

He handed me a cup of water, speaking casually.

Feeling thirsty, I gratefully took the cup and drank.

“I didn’t know you were worried about Sanua Nelas’ well-being.”

“Oh, that’s… “

“Fortunately, now you can alleviate your worries, right?”

Killian lightly smiled and gently stroked my head.

What was that? Did I misinterpret the expression I just saw?

It didn’t seem like his emotions were disturbed; his smile was too relaxed to indicate any discomfort.

* * *

After finishing a meal of thinly boiled mushroom soup and grilled fish without much oil, which was a welcome change after a long period of an empty stomach, the stories I heard upon my return were half-known and half-completely unknown to me.

“His Highness mentioned that since Lady Viviane appeared, he no longer experiences nightmares. However, this time, both His Highness and Lady Viviane consumed the powder, and Lady Viviane had a nightmare.”

I had learned about my nightmares through Harrid, who opened my memories on Killian’s orders.

Baron mentioned that if my condition is normal, it seems that I am not affected by dark magic. However, in situations of mental shock or high physical exhaustion, like when I met Sanua last time and uncontrollably drew in energy, it may not be possible to avoid the influence of the surroundings.

“For now, Sanua’s ability seems to be categorized as communication with animals and, like Lady Viviane turning into a human, it is assumed that there is some inherent ability in Lady Viviane as well. While this ability might be related to purification or healing, further investigation is needed regarding why you dreamed on behalf of Lady Viviane.”

However, it was added that it is difficult to explain the part about nightmares spreading to others like a contagious disease, as dreaming on behalf of someone else is an area that seems impossible with any magic, including dark magic.

“As you commanded, I tested all the suspicious ingredients in the food for reactions with the stone, and one of the dark magic potions, Illumicatio, was detected.”

The name of that hard-to-pronounce dark magic potion was Illumicatio.

I explained as in the original work, absorbing the fears and terrors latent in the body of the one who consumed it, ultimately inducing destruction by showing the most surreal tragedy in nightmares, which eventually leads to seeking doom in reality.

Killian had been sitting in the winged chair with a serene expression until then.

“Illumicatio is also known as the curse of specters, and it’s something that cannot be created alone. Even with hundreds of people gathered, it’s impossible to attempt. This powder is extracted from plants that induce addiction, animals, and…”

Baron’s complexion, dark to the point of being strangely ominous, froze for a moment as he hesitated to continue.

“We need the frozen, dried skin of a demon.”

Killian’s complexion, which seemed frozen as if time had stopped, turned terrifyingly cold in response to Baron’s words.

“Baron, it has been over 500 years since a demon appeared in this empire. You must be aware of that, making such a claim?”

What? Come to think of it, there was no instance of demons appearing in the background of the original work, as Killian mentioned.

I had expected him to be angry about consuming demon skin, but his words surprised me.

But upon reflection, it was correct that there were no demons in this world.

Magicians and individuals with abilities like sorcerers are most effective when dealing with demons, but in a world without demons, their existence has become less crucial.

“I am aware. Therefore, that is my most significant concern as well.”

Baron’s response left a solemn atmosphere in the room.

Now, I understood why Baron had mentioned earlier that even with hundreds of people, they couldn’t create that dark magic potion. It was because obtaining demon skin, which had disappeared over 500 years ago, was an issue.

In the original work, Lady Gisela already had the dark magic potion from the beginning. She was portrayed as someone with ambitious intentions, seeking to manipulate the emperor and crown prince by ensnaring them in hallucinations to enhance her position in the imperial court.

But where did she obtain demon skin in the first place? Did she have the ability to acquire it?

“If Lady Gisela possesses the dark magic potion, she either made it herself, obtained it from somewhere, or received it from someone else. If she made it herself, it means Lady Gisela is someone with magical abilities.”

The revelation added another layer of mystery to the unfolding situation.

“If Lady Gisela had magical abilities, the Imperial Magical Affairs Department would likely have known in advance.”

“That’s correct. If Lady Gisela had formed an alliance with the Magical Affairs Department, there’s also the possibility that they turned a blind eye to that fact.”

Lady Gisela might have magical abilities?

I urgently tried to recall my memories of reading the original work.

Nowhere was it mentioned that Lady Gisela possessed magical abilities.

“If Lady Gisela has magical abilities, would she be able to detect even the faint external magic within the imperial palace?”

“Most likely.”

I remembered Lady Gisela sneaking into Killian’s bedroom not long ago.

“Then no, she doesn’t have magical abilities. She doesn’t.”

When I replied, Baron made a facial expression questioning how I could be so sure.

“Lady Gisela has sneaked into your chambers before. If she had magical abilities, she would have detected the magic on your clothes and started searching from there. That day, she was desperate to find anything that could be used against you.”

Lady Gisela had ordered the ladies to thoroughly search the chambers.

If she knew there was hidden magic in the crown prince’s room, she would have started there.

“Could it be that she avoided detecting magic to avoid getting caught?”

Harrid asked with a serious tone.