Leash

Kyrie’s voluntary attempts grew increasingly intense. Finally, when she rushed to the wall and hit her head and a concussion came, Nathaniel, with dignity, decided to give up trying to stop Kyrie.

[Maybe my cat is crazy.]

He looked down at Kyrie lying in bed with a face full of energy. He blew the wind and shook the rope, and soon a servant came into the room.

“Did you call?”

[Bring it here.]

Kyrie watched a servant take out a long velvet ribbon on a silver platter.

“Wait.... Nathaniel?”

MarryAnne freaked out as soon as she saw the ribbon, and all she had left was Kyrie and Nathaniel. Plus, not a spoonful of food.

[For all those years.]

Nataniel spoke out and approached Kyrie with a ribbon in his hand.

[There was no one else who made me wait for the meal. It’s very new.]

“Wait....!”

[I think I’ve had enough of that.]

Kyrie tried to pull herself up, but Nathaniel was quick. He tied Kyrie’s wrists together so easily. The end of the ribbon stretched high on the bedpost.

[Are you satisfied?]

“.....”

With her arms tied up, Kyrie stared at Nathaniel, sprawled on the bed. Nathaniel smiled curiously, looking into her eyes, which were not discouraging at all.

[I didn’t realize Miss Kyrie Buchanan had a hobby of being tied up.]

(T/N: he is saying that he didn’t knew Kyrie had masochistic side in her)

“It’s your cup of tea.”

[I’ll let you go if you want to stop being such a bitch.]

“Then I’ll call it a day.”

Kyrie replied in a clear and fine voice. Nathaniel gave a pale cynicism with a ‘alright, then’ face. The outstanding Kyrie had already deceived him in the same way.

[I’m glad you’re smart, but there’s no way I’ll be fooled twice.]

“Then please leave because you have nothing to do.”

Kyrie turned her head coldly. Nathaniel breathed out a dry breath, and picked up the bowl next to him.

[I told you. I’m serving a meal?]

“.....”

[Open up.]

Rather, Nataniel murmured when he saw Kyrie, who kept her mouth shut.

[That’s a lot of trouble.]

He grabbed Kyrie’s face with just one hand and stuffed his finger into her mouth.

“....!”

Kyrie pulled up her teeth and bit his finger. For Nathaniel, it was a little less bothersome than dust sitting on his clothes.

[Eat.]

He smiled and opened Kyrie’s mouth with his fingers and stuffed a spoon into it.

“Cough, heuk, uh....!”

[More.]

“I, I don’t want to...”

[More.]

“Ugh.....”

At first, Kyrie, who struggled at the level of seizures, calmed down after a dozen minutes. The area around her mouth quickly became messy with saliva and food. Nathaniel’s brow narrowed, but he never stopped feeding Kyrie.

“Ugh, no more, no more.....”

[More.]

Kyrie began to feel nauseous. Nathaniel looked at Kyrie gasping with tearful eyes and turned to the bowl. There was still more than half a grain left in the bowl.

[Starvation is not a very good way to die. The dead (malnutritioned) body will be neat, but it is not easy to refuse the instinct.]

Instead of answering, Kyrie’s tooth bit Nathaniel’s finger. It wasn’t even itchy. Nathaniel smiled and tightened his fingers. The saliva in her mouth overflowed a little, but it didn’t feel very dirty. Rather, he thought it would be nice to be a mess.

[You are certainly different from Vallabriga. You don’t even think about destroying me.]

“.....”

[Why don’t you call the Emperor?]

Kyrie’s movement stopped, and her eyes widened.

[I thought you’d join hands with Orewinbridge to find the magic of Vallabriga to kill me, but you didn’t.]

After speaking, Nathaniel stared at Kyrie like a man trying to find an answer to her facial expression. Kyrie looked up at him with a strange expression.

“.....”

Her blistered lips opened slightly and she was about to say something, but then she closed her mouth.

Nathaniel breathed a sigh that had become more frequent these days, and pulled out his fingers.

[That’s it for today.]

Kyrie was already looking elsewhere. Seeing her looking at her ribbon with her arms tied, she seemed to be fooling around.

[Kyrie.]

When Nathaniel called her name, Kyrie glanced over him. Nathaniel warned quietly.

[I know how to put a leash on you this time if you do anything stupid again.]

The eyes of the two met for a moment.

But Kyrie looked away again and began to struggle to untie the ribbon. Nathaniel left the room thinking he was somehow tired.

***

It was almost midnight. Six people gathered in the small study of the Sel Palace. One was Nathaniel and the other was the owners of seven major families. Nathaniel leaned over the window frame in view of the window in Kyrie’s room.

[What about the people?]

“I’ve told you everything.”

The Duke of OldCiudad took a step forward. It was a meeting they were used to now, but it was still a quick answer. The rest of the nobles, as if they had spent all of their energy standing, did not say anything unless it was necessary.

“It took a little while, but it was done without a problem.”

[We’ll see if there’s really no problem.]

Nathaniel said low. With his arms folded, he looked again at the window of Kyrie’s room.

[Anything else?]

“The Marquis of Vermont is still uncooperative.....”

[Now that he has returned to his estate, he’s ready for the army. It’s not boring, it’s nice.]

“Actually, the move to buy military supplies has been captured.....”

Replied the Duke of Edenhall, nearly seventy. Edenhall, which led inland trade, cannot be false. Nathaniel smiled coldly.

[It’s alright, it’s within the table.]

Then Count Archibold stepped up cautiously.

“Sir, why don’t you ask for the cooperation of Count, no Duke Buchanan?”

Nathaniel tilted his head.

[Cesar Buchanan?]

“Yes, I think it would be easier for you to plan with the help of Duke Buchanan.”

Nathaniel lowered his eyes. In response, Count Archibold swept his chest inwardly. Fortunately, he didn’t seem to think it was presumptuous.

[Leave him alone.]

“But I think the only person in charge of defence is the Duke.”

Count Archibold sweated and swallowed his saliva anxiously. Only then did Nathaniel give him a look.

[Well, if he’s the person in charge of defence, it will be in a different region.]

All the people held their breath in the movement, which was just turning their heads straight. As the translucent white curtains shook and reflected the moonlight, the scene was now believable to any royal portrait.

Count Archibold stuttered for a moment forgetting the previous conversation.

“D, different region..”

[Yes.]

“But.. it can’t happen. Who would object to your order? For a very long time.. You’ve prepared it.”

Nathaniel smiled a little.

[Perfect is beyond the horizon of events.]

The Count became mute. It was said that there was truth beyond the horizon. Of course, it was an area beyond human reach. The weight of the words silenced the count.

“Could you tell me what the person in charge is?”

At that time, the marquis of Fort Ducane, who had not loosened his face the entire time, stepped forward.

Nathaniel stared at the marquis with a deep, mellow look. He said with an innocent smile as the Marquis’s arms and legs became stiff with tension.

[Fort Ducane. Your daughter is fine.]

“....!”

Sparks flashed in the eyes of the Marquis of Fort Ducane. The same was true of the Duke of OldCiudad.

It was already famous that Maria OldCiudad and Laura Fort Ducane were held hostage in the royal palace. There began a sharp tension in the study. The Marquis of Fort Ducane immediately lowered his head with a face that he wanted to slap the person in front of him with an ax.

“Of course.. I believe you’ll take good care of her, I don’t doubt it....”

Nataniel chuckled that he was amused by the sound of teeth in the middle. His bent blue eyes glistened brilliantly.

[If you’re good at what you’re told to do, she will be fine. Actually, I don’t like to kill anyone.]

The nobles denied Nathaniel’s words in silence. Nathaniel made a rather playful face and tilted his head to one side.

[Do you think I’m joking? Kyrie was the only one who believed this.]

When Kyrie Buchanan’s name came out, his eyes became noticeably softer. Nathaniel’s gaze again turned to the window of Kyrie’s room. Seeing the lights flutter inside the window, he stood up leaning against the window.

[That’s it for today.]

Each of the householders withdrew with eyes filled with hatred or fear.

Nathaniel, who was bitten by people, walked down the hall. He was unobstructed in the lightless darkness. Black shoes headed for Kyrie’s bedroom.

Nataniel, who passed through the drawing room to the front of the bedroom, grabbed the doorknob. He paused in that state, then stepped aside and hid himself in the dark.

Click.

“Whoo...”

Soon, Kyrie, carrying a brass lamp, came out looking around. She kept pressing her mouth, so she bit the ribbon with her teeth. She looked through the bookshelf and drawers with a nervous face.

“Something sharp..Isn’t there any of it? Did he really clean it all up...”

She murmured for a long time. Of course, he put that away a long time ago. Nathaniel thought Kyrie would cut it loose, but she didn’t.

Kyrie’s eyes, which had been wandering around for a long time, touched the chessboard. Purple eyes narrowed as if to gauge something.

“Can I grind it.....”

Kyrie’s finger picked up a white king. It was a chess game made of ivory. She carefully tucked it in her sleeve and hesitated, looking at the rest of the horses. But soon, like the Snow Queen, she poured the rest of the horses into the trash and returned to her bedroom.

Nathaniel stared at the abandoned chess horses for a long time after she disappeared.

‘Where is the lab? Why don’t you go ahead first and destroy it?’

[You have a very destructive disposition.]

‘Oh, my. Did I get caught? I have no choice but to show you my destructive look.’

It was not until the sound of Kyrie’s even breathing that Nathaniel, who walked out of the dark, suddenly looked out of the window.

It was snowing.

Nathaniel looked at it with an expressionless face and turned his head.

It was nothing but winter.