n

n

n

"Oh, did I get it wrong?

" I said, feeling sheepish.

nHis eyes narrowed dangerously, a sign that he's about to go off and threaten me.

n

"Little cat, you have been getting on my nerves for some time now. Do you want to die that much?

"

nI bet. I mean, I may or may not have been bugging him off intentionally these days…

n

"You won't kill me though…

"

nLukas raised one of his brows.

n

"Hoh? Are you so confident?

"

n

"Well, fifty-fifty?

" and then blinked at him for effect.

nAs I have said, I am this brave to banter with him because I know for a fact that he won't do anything to me no matter how I irk him. Anyway, as long as I am not pushing all of his buttons and get on his bad side, I'm relatively safe.

n

"You should be thankful that I'm being kind enough to not throw you out of the window right now,

" he cautioned.

nOops… Time to shut my mouth then. I may have grown a bit courageous lately but I'm still scared of seriously annoying Lukas so I just bother him from time to time. This is how I survive boredom by spending my days bothering him to not make my life seem so bland. I don't do anything but roll around, drown in tea and read books.

nI'm truly a failure as a noble lady… It's more like the marquis household is raising a pet rather than a daughter, you know.

nBut what can I do? I am currently being pursued by dark forces. I can't do more than that, much less leave the house unsupervised and meet with other people. At least there are some sparks left and I don't completely feel dead all the time.

nI wonder if I would have to continue living my life like this? Ughh, how devastatingly pathetic! Maybe if I wasn't so optimistic, I might have lost my mind long ago.

nMy eyes absentmindedly lingered on the passing scenery as I thought about my future struggles while looking outside the window, sighing to myself. Kuro felt my distress and was naturally affected by it as a spirit familiar, laying flat beside me with zero energy.

nAfter some time, I looked back at Lukas and saw him leaning on the wall with his eyes closed, seemingly asleep.

nFor these past few weeks, Lukas had been constantly hanging around me because of his 'guard duty'. He doesn't go home nor does he take some time off to rest. Now that I'm thinking about it, he was just there most of the time.

nAnd I meant, most of the time.

nThis guy even invades my room at night when I was just about to go to bed. And yes, he is still doing that despite my plea and warnings. Shameless, I tell you.

n

"You really don't have a life, do you?

" I grumbled absentmindedly.

n

"...

" Lukas had remained silent, not even fazed by my remark.

n

"Are you not tired of guarding me? Do you even rest?

"

nThose had been my questions for a long time now, seeing that he never has a day where he's not present.

n

"You have a lot of questions,

" Lukas muttered with his eyes still firmly closed.

n

"I'm curious. Where do you stay at night? Where do you sleep?

"

nDoes he even sleep? I only see him napping during the journey from time to time just like this.

n

"On your balcony,

" he honestly replied.

n

"What?

"

nLukas opened his eyes,

"I rest on your balcony.

"

n

"But why? How is that even comfortable…

"

n

"It's not.

"

n

"Then why don't you go home or something…

" That doesn't sound ideal at all. Is he always like this during missions?

n

"I'm doing my job.

"

n

"But why?

"

nLukas snickered.

n

"Why am I doing my job?

"

n

"No, I meant, why do you do that? My brother is at home and so is my father. You don't have to be around all the time,

" I reasoned out.

nIf his concern is my safety then he should know that aside from him, Nathaniel was tasked to look after me.

nBut then again, I remembered that one time when the conquisitors attacked the mansion which caught us off-guard. Good thing that Lukas had sensed them as soon as they appeared in his perception and had immediately taken action.

nHmm, him sticking around did help us so… I guess that's a plus?

n

"Little cat, I am trying to get some sleep so can you be silent?

" Lukas suddenly expressed.

nHe looked somewhat tired that I instantly felt guilty.

n

"Ohh… okay…

"

nHe then closed his eyes again and assumed his posture from earlier, ready to doze off, I guess. And I did try to be quiet and leave him alone but I just couldn't help but be nosy when I'm brimming with curiosity. Especially when I know something about him.

n

"But how are you able to sleep with all the noises you hear in your head?

"

nLukas immediately opened his eyes in annoyance.

n

"You—

"

nI blinked at him,

"It must be so terrible to not have a moment of peace. I can't even imagine having to hear everything at once.

"

nThe novel said that he has heightened senses which are evident for his fast reflexes and being the first one to be able to notice everything before it happens.

n

"You sure have such a convenient skill huh. You even know that?

" Lukas grumbled cynically.

n

"My anima likes to gossip, I guess…

" I shrugged.

nHe said nothing but just squinted at me in suspicion.

n

"Anyway, I'm just curious… Like how do you manage that? Are you really able to sleep? Aren't the voices loud?

"

nHe did say he was trying to take a nap earlier, hence, I couldn't help but wonder if he could.

n

"I'm used to it,

" was his tepid response. Just then, he looked at me for a full second before smirking,

"Surprisingly, it's much more bearable around you. The noises die down... Well until you open your mouth,

" he snorted.

n

"What do you mean?

" I frowned.

n

"I'm going to sleep. Be silent or I will throw you off the cliff,

" he said, completely ignoring my question.

nI pouted internally in my head, grumbling about his empty threats. He kept saying he was going to throw me out of whatever but never really does it… not like I want him to, though. I'm just bummed he didn't answer my inquiry.

nAnyways, I'm now sleepy as well.

n