Chapter 19

Karina stepped back a beat too late. While she rubbed her forehead, Kaya approached, snorting angrily.

“You’re dead now. How dare you pee on my leg and run away?”

Kaya cracked her knuckles audibly and tilted her head.

“But why is there one more now?”

“One of them is mine.”

“Ugh? Then why are you giving it to me? Take it back.”

“Um, don’t my hands smell?”

Noah extended his hand beside Kaya, who grimaced in disgust. Karina quietly took a step away from him. The puppy that had been chased by Edel and Kaya seemed delighted to reunite with Edel, and they licked each other enthusiastically.

Only after calming the enraged Kaya could the three of them have a proper conversation.

“Oh, I thought you brought it here to dump it on me.”

“I had no such intention in the first place.”

Walking down the hallway with Noah, Karina replied in a bewildered tone. Only then did Kaya seem to understand, nodding as if the misunderstanding had been cleared up. It seemed she had been under a lot of stress from taking care of three puppies.

“You better be grateful I’m letting this go. If you cause trouble one more time, I swear…”

Kaya growled, and the puppy caught by the scruff of its neck growled back in response.

Despite her words, her touch and gaze were full of affection. Surprisingly, she seemed to have a soft spot for animals.

“Well, it’s understandable, Kaya. It’s still just a puppy.”

“You can say that because your pants didn’t get wet.”

“…Are you sure my hands don’t smell?”

Noah asked gloomily. Karina forced a laugh and shook her head.

The place the three headed to was not the previously empty room but a cozy area at the end of the central hallway on the third floor, complete with a fireplace and a sofa.

Karina, who had prepared herself to sit on the bare floor, looked around in surprise.

Though the entrance connected to the hallway was only covered by a curtain, the fireplace kept the space from being too cold. Above all, the soft carpet on the floor and the large, comfortable-looking sofa made the room feel inviting.

“Was this space always here?”

“Yes. The fireplace was a bit old, so we replaced it a few days ago.”

Noah responded proudly to her question.

‘Then why were they staying in that dirty room back then?’

Karina swallowed the question that popped into her mind. Everyone had their own preferences, after all.

While she admired the painting on the wall, Karina passed by Kaya, who was sprawled out on the carpet, and sat on the sofa.

‘There’s no way anyone could actually live in a place like that.’

To be honest, before coming here, Karina had imagined their living conditions to be quite poor. At least they were living like proper humans, so she figured the animals living with them were probably fine too.

“It was worth the effort decorating this place. Since we have new family members, we put some care into setting up their home.”

Noah shattered Karina’s assumptions in an unexpected way.

“…Isn’t this the room you two stay in?”

“Haha, no way. There’s no one in the world who would live in a place like this.”

His tone made it sound as if her question was absurd.

“No, but it seems perfectly livable.”

“What? But there’s no door here.”

“That’s why I told you we should install one.”

“We spent all the money on the sofa. What do you want me to do?”

“Are you two being serious right now?”

Noah and Kaya nodded solemnly, looking dejected. Karina was genuinely at a loss for words.

Even without a door, this place was far better than that storage-like room. However, even after hearing Karina’s reasoning, the two didn’t seem convinced.

“I’ll install a door for you. Will that solve the problem?”

“No, that would be too much trouble.”

“Please, just let me do it. I’m asking you.”

Rather than being frustrated and irritated, it was better to spend a little money. Besides, for Karina, it wasn’t even a significant expense.

As Karina let out a deep sigh filled with various emotions, Kaya yawned lazily.

“Please understand. We’ve been working non-stop for days while learning new skills.”

“I see. That must have been tough.”

It seemed they had even taken up jobs to earn money for the sofa. Karina felt a twinge of pity for them.

Kaya fell asleep surprisingly quickly. The crackling sound of the fireplace mixed with Kaya’s soft snores, creating a strangely harmonious atmosphere. Perhaps influenced by the mood, Karina felt her body growing drowsy. Just as her consciousness began to drift, she snapped back to reality.

‘I didn’t come here to do this.’

She was on the verge of dozing off. Karina quickly got up from her seat to shake herself awake. Sitting by the fireplace, Noah looked up at her and blinked.

“What’s wrong, Miss Karina?”

“I think it’s time for me to leave.”

Though she didn’t have any particular plans, she felt uneasy. To be more precise, she felt uncomfortable and out of place. Perhaps it was because she had never spent time so casually with people she didn’t know well.

It was contradictory, but that was exactly how she felt. Karina found the naturalness that enveloped her now to be awkward.

“Is something the matter?”

“No, not really…”

As she passed by Kaya, who was now snoring, and stepped outside, the cold wind at the entrance brushed against her face. Fully awake now, she turned around to see Noah leaning slightly and whispering softly.

“He just fell asleep.”

Edel was nestled among a pile of cushions by the fireplace, sleeping peacefully with his mother and siblings.

The mother dog, the only one still awake, rubbed her head against Noah’s hand. Karina unconsciously moved closer.

“His wounds haven’t fully healed yet, have they?”

Noah, crouching right next to her, nodded with his head lowered when she asked.

“Yes. But it seems like it will heal quickly. It’s already much better now.”

“That’s a relief. I hope it heals soon.”

“Feel free to come by and check on when you have time.”

Karina lifted her face from her knees. Noah, following her, hugged his knees as he spoke.

“Even if you’re just bored or have nothing to do, that’s fine.”

Perhaps because his head was tilted slightly, his eyes appeared particularly deep. His pale water-colored eyes were quietly calm. As Karina held his gaze for a while, her lips slowly parted. It was something she wanted to say at this moment.

“Your eyes are really beautiful.”

It was a casual remark without much meaning. Karina shifted her gaze downward again.

Edel, fast asleep, looked more lovable than ever. It seemed impossible to leave right away.

***

Phyllis headed to the office with the report he had finished organizing only after noon. His father had not yet returned, but he wanted to leave it there in advance. He didn’t want to create a situation where they might run into each other.

“…Cornell?”

However, when he opened the office door and entered, he saw a face he hadn’t seen in a while, sitting on the sofa.

As soon as Cornell met Phyllis’s eyes, she closed the document she had been reading.

“When did you get back?”

“Last night. I thought I’d see you in the morning since you’d be asleep.”

On the table were documents and reports that seemed to have been brought by Cornell.

“You’ve worked hard. You must be tired after finishing late at night.”

“No, not at all. Did you organize that from this morning?”

“Yes. I wanted to finish it quickly.”

Phyllis neatly placed the report he had brought on the desk. Just looking at it made his eyes feel tired.

It was a report he had written after receiving the interim results of clinical trials conducted by the research institute.

Since it was a type of content he had encountered for the first time, it had been quite challenging, but he couldn’t show it in front of Cornell.

“You should’ve taken your time. I could’ve helped since I’m here.”

Cornell was one of the Head of the Academy members conducting that research. Phyllis gave a bitter smile and shook his head.

“No, I finished it quickly.”

“Well, that’s good to hear.”

As he made an effort to hide his fatigue and sat down on the sofa, Cornell began tidying up the table. With her small hands moving quickly, she gathered the scattered documents into one place.

“Shouldn’t you take a break? You haven’t even slept properly.”

“No, I got plenty of sleep at dawn.”

“Your under-eyes are dark. You’re lying, aren’t you?”

“Oh, really?”

At the playful remark, Cornell made a sulky face and covered her face with her hands. Phyllis laughed and said it was a joke.

Cornell, still glaring, picked up the sorted documents and stood up from the sofa. Phyllis was pressing his stiff eyes with his fingers when a somewhat unexpected topic came up.

“By the way, Phyllis. About that Noah person.”

At the sudden mention of the name, Phyllis lowered his hand. Cornell, who had returned to her seat, continued speaking nonchalantly.

“He doesn’t seem to be as suspicious as we thought.”

Phyllis’s mouth opened slightly before closing again.

“After the meeting, I stopped by the research lab for a moment, and I saw him training with the soldiers.”

“…Training?”

“Yes. From what I heard, it seems he hasn’t been a knight for very long.”

Phyllis already knew that Noah was a knight. Even though the Crown Prince hadn’t gone into detail during the introduction, his appearance on that day had already made it evident.

However, what Phyllis was concerned about wasn’t something as trivial as that. Even if he was a knight of commoner origin, there were too many aspects of the man’s behavior that were incomprehensible. As if to dispel Phyllis’s doubts, Cornell added another comment.

“There was the northern expedition this summer, right? I heard he was of great help to His Highness the Crown Prince there, and His Highness personally brought him back.”

The timeline seemed to match up when thinking about the expedition. Karina had also said she first saw him at Celine’s party. Moreover, considering the distance from the north, there could be differences in behavior or thought processes.

‘But even so, what kind of knight gets into street fights?’

Shaking his head at the thought, Phyllis suddenly recalled Karina’s words from a few days ago.

‘At the very least, I know more about Noah than you do.’

The resolute look in her eyes lingered in his memory. Remembering that moment, he felt his strength drain from his body. She was right. He didn’t know anything about the man named Noah Velcarid. He was the one being childish and stubborn. With a complicated feeling, Phyllis bit the flesh inside his mouth.

“So, I don’t think you need to worry too much. His Highness the Crown Prince seemed to treasure him quite a bit as well.”

“…You’re right. I guess I’ve been overreacting.”

Cornell held his hands tightly as if to say it was understandable.

Phyllis forced a smile. Complicated feelings were something he had to resolve on his own.