Holy Night: My Husband is Definitely a Paladin - Chapter 174
āMichael. Your face.ā
Irene reached out and pressed her fingers against his furrowed brow.
āYouāve got a handsome face, so relax it a little, will you?ā
āā¦Understood.ā
Michael seemed to enjoy hearing Irene call him handsome, as he didnāt deny it and let his tense expression relax slightly.
Just then, a maid returned with tea, and the atmosphere eased further.
Once the maid left, Irene resumed the topic of the monster.
āHow do you think a monster got out of the dungeon? And I canāt help but wonder if it followed us hereā¦ Should I be impressed it managed to find its way to us? Still, Iām worried about what might happen if it shows up again and causes harm.ā
Based on todayās events, it seemed the tentacle monster could hide itself at will.
That also meant it could reappear wherever it wanted.
āThere was no damage today, but I doubt weāll be so lucky next time.ā
It was a monsterāa creature inherently hostile toward humans.
āBut why did it seem soā¦ friendly toward me?ā
No matter how she tried to make sense of it, she couldnāt.
As Irene mulled over the events, Michaelās gaze shifted to the books on the table.
āAre you planning to go somewhere?ā
āOh, theseā¦ā
Irene hesitated, then spoke with a hint of embarrassment.
āIāve been thinking about where to live once I leave the fortress. The countās estate, where I was raised, is so warm Iāve never even seen snow. I thought I might go to a snowy countryā¦ But Iāve also never seen the ocean, so I was considering living somewhere by the sea.ā
Resting her chin on her hand, she stared at the books as if deep in thought. Then she looked at Michael and smiled.
āWhat about you, Michael? Where do you think would be nice?ā
Her casual expectation of his input made him smile in return.
āIt doesnāt matter to me where it is. As long as youāre there.ā
* * *
Click.
After closing the door behind him, Michael adjusted his slightly disheveled clothing.
His red tongue swept over a small cut on his lipāa mark left from kissing Irene before leaving the room.
With the knightsā numbers reduced, he had been too busy with dungeon subjugations to spend much time with Irene.
If it were up to him, heād forget about all the dungeons and spend every moment by her side.
āā¦Itās my fault, so Iāll take care of it.ā
This yearās unusually high number of dungeonsāall of it was because of him.
The monsters, creatures that should have remained confined within dungeons, were pursuing him.
Even the distortion dungeon had appeared earlier than expected for the same reason.
He could have ignored it all, but Michael diligently cleared the dungeons to prevent Irene from getting caught up in the chaos.
He had held her countless times, leaving her with his scent. By now, the monsters would undoubtedly recognize it on her.
āSo theyāre following Irene.ā
The monsters, sensing their kingās indifference to them, had likely sought out their queen to beg her to persuade him.
The problem was that to humans, their āpleasā appeared as nothing more than deadly attacks.
āBut following her outside the dungeon? Thatās impossible.ā
Monsters couldnāt survive long outside their dungeons, yet one had appeared in the fortress, among people, and fled.
āIt must have rooted itself here somehow.ā
Michael pondered deeply.
A tentacle alone couldnāt do such a thing. Which meantā¦
āSomeone must have created a space here where the monster can survive.ā
* * *
Ceciliaās room was sealed tightly, with even the shutters closed, allowing not a single ray of sunlight to enter.
She picked up the tea left by a maid hours ago.
It was long cold.
In the past, she wouldnāt have touched such a thing, but now, she drank it with relish.
Sipping the cold tea, Cecilia glanced toward the corner of the room.
There, something stood facing the wall, its back turned.
āWilhelmina.ā
At Ceciliaās call, it turned around.
The front of Wilhelminaās figure was entirely red, as though sculpted from crimson clay.
Instead of being startled, Cecilia smiled in satisfaction and murmured,
āItās time for you to visit Irene Rhodiam again today.ā
