Sister, I Hit You Because There Was a Ghost Behind You - Chapter 11

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 11. The Basics of Taming Beasts is “Patience”
A tense silence stretched between the two men.
In the Castle Courtyard of the Grand Duke’s Castle, where a blizzard raged, there was a massive, muscular naked man looming above me—Kairic—and above him, a Holy Knight radiating murderous intent while draping his coat over us: Demian.
In this absurd sandwich situation, only one thought crossed my mind.
‘…It’s warm?’
Two human furnaces above me, and from the coat draped over us came Demian’s signature cool herbal scent. I couldn’t feel the bitter northern wind at all.
“I said move.”
Demian spat the words out. His hand gripped Kairic’s nape as if he might crush it. The usually composed Knight Commander was nowhere to be found—only a territorial male beast whose domain had been invaded.
But Kairic was no pushover. He swatted Demian’s hand away as if brushing off an annoying fly, growling.
“Shut up. Smelly bastard.”
Even as he spoke, Kairic’s crimson eyes remained fixed on me. A gaze pure wildness itself. Yet within it flickered a strange obsession and curiosity.
“Warm. Mine.”
He pulled me tighter against his chest and rubbed his face against me. Like a large dog finding its owner. Or rather, more like a wolf discovering a delicious snack.
“Damn… this insane beast.”
Veins bulged across Demian’s forehead. He was reaching for a dagger from within his coat when—
“Wait. Time out.”
I thrust my hand out from beneath the coat and struck both men’s chests simultaneously with a sharp slap.
“Ugh!”
“Kgh!”
Both men gasped and stumbled apart. I seized the moment to push myself up. Brushing back my disheveled hair, I looked between them alternately.
“Everyone, calm down. What is this, a dogfighting pit?”
I fastened my mink coat and spoke to Demian.
“Commander, sheathe your blade. You shouldn’t brandish weapons at a patient who’s just recovered.”
“But that man was—!”
“I’m not dead. In fact, I was quite warm and comfortable.”
I smiled brazenly and turned my gaze toward the ruler of the Northern Region, Grand Duke Kairic, who sat sprawled in the snow.
He showed no shame whatsoever at his nakedness, staring only at me with an intensity that burned. Snowflakes melted against his taut muscles. His wet black hair, crimson eyes, and feral physique—it was certainly… easy on the eyes.
“And Your Majesty.”
As I called to him, Kairic’s ears—human ears though they were—seemed to perk up.
“Perhaps you should put some clothes on. There are many eyes watching.”
I gestured with my chin toward the surroundings. The knights and attendants of the Grand Duke’s Castle stood with their mouths agape, witnessing their lord rolling naked in the snow.
“…Clothes?”
Only then did Kairic seem to notice his state, looking down at himself. But he showed no embarrassment whatsoever. Instead, he looked at me with shameless audacity and spoke.
“You dress me.”
“…Excuse me?”
“Your hands were warm. You dress me.”
Unbelievable. This man’s obstinacy knew no bounds. Did his brain cells melt along with the curse?
Demian could no longer contain himself and stepped forward.
“Such insolence…! Miss Violetta is the Emperor’s special envoy! Show proper respect at once!”
Demian retrieved his coat from the ground and threw it roughly at Kairic. Kairic caught it, sniffed it, then frowned and tossed it back to the ground.
“A revolting stench. Clean it up.”
“I…!”
The situation teetered on the knife’s edge. I exhaled a weary sigh and picked up Demian’s coat from the floor, then brushed it off and draped it across Kairik’s shoulders.
“Put it on. Otherwise….”
I withdrew the three-section staff from my waist and snapped it open with a sharp metallic sound. At the end of the silver rod, an ominous blue holy light flickered threateningly.
“I can put you back to sleep. Permanently.”
Kairik’s crimson eyes fixed on the three-section staff, and they gleamed with an odd intensity. It wasn’t fear. It was intrigue. He tilted the corner of his mouth upward and obediently accepted the coat’s hem from my hand.
“…I like your ferocity.”
He murmured in a low voice.
“You pass. As my bride.”
“…What?”
“What did you just say?”
Demian and I spoke simultaneously in disbelief. Instead of answering, Kairik grinned wickedly and rose to his feet. Behind his form, now loosely draped in the coat, the phantom image of a wolf seemed to overlap.
“Follow me. I’ll feed you.”
He turned coolly and walked toward the castle. The audacity of someone walking with such confidence while wearing nothing but a coat.
I turned to Demian with an expression of utter bewilderment. His face had gone pale, and he remained trapped by the single word he’d just heard: “bride.”
“…Sir? Snap out of it.”
“A bride…. That beast just now… how dare he….”
“He’s probably just talking nonsense. Dogs naturally like whoever feeds them, after all.”
I grabbed Demian’s arm and pulled him along.
“Let’s go. He said he’d feed us. Even the most beautiful mountain loses its charm on an empty stomach—we might as well see what this wolf has to offer when we’re properly fed.”
Grand Duke’s Castle, Grand Banquet Hall.
The long table was laden with delicacies crafted from the Northern Region’s finest specialties. Thick steaks, stew steaming with fragrant heat, and aromatic wine. Yet the atmosphere around the table was more somber than a funeral.
At the head of the table sat Kairik, now properly clothed. With the buttons of his black shirt half-undone, he tore into the meat with his bare hands, forgoing a knife entirely. Across from him sat Demian, who watched Kairik’s abysmal table manners with disgust, merely toying with his water glass.
And seated between them was I….
“Mmm! Delicious!”
I wielded fork and knife in both hands, attacking the steak with militant precision. Excessive use of holy power left me famished, and the calories I’d burned pummeling cannibals on the train had been substantial. Whether others glared or not, filling my stomach took priority.
“You eat well.”
Kairik rested his chin on his hand and stared at me intently.
“Bring more.”
At a single gesture from him, the servants swiftly refilled my plate.
“Thank you, Your Majesty. The Northern Region’s hospitality is impressive.”
“Don’t call me that.”
Kairik swirled his wine glass as he spoke.
“Call me Kairik. You saved my life, after all.”
“Then I’ll call you by your name too, Kairik.”
I didn’t hesitate. My position in this world was secure—I was the Emperor’s special envoy and inspector. I had nothing to lose.
“Yes, Violetta.”
The shape of his lips as he spoke my name was oddly sensual. Then came a sharp, metallic clang—the sound of Demian setting his fork down roughly against his plate.
“This casual conversation is rather lengthy. Shall we move to the matter at hand?”
Demian fixed Kairik with a cold, penetrating stare.
“Your Grace, the Grand Duke. Who placed that collar around your neck?”
The air at the table grew heavy in an instant. Kairik’s crimson eyes turned glacial. He unconsciously reached up to touch his own throat. A vivid red mark remained clearly visible.
“…I don’t remember.”
“You don’t remember? Surely you didn’t put it on yourself.”
“I fell asleep and woke to find it already fastened around my neck. After that… my memories scattered like broken glass. When I opened my eyes, you were on top of me.”
Kairik gestured toward me with a peculiar smile. Demian’s brow twitched.
“Do not lie, Your Grace. Are you saying the Grand Duke’s Castle’s defenses have been breached?”
“The Northern Region is now a sieve—full of holes.”
Kairik laughed bitterly and drained his wine in one long gulp.
“The breach widens by the day. Demonic beasts pour through like a flood, and my knights fall dead by the dozen. Someone inside—a traitor—must have opened the gates.”
An insider. Someone within these walls who conspired with Archbishop Cassius. The realization struck like ice water.
“Where is this breach located?”
At my question, Kairik pointed northward through the window. Beyond the towering Snow Mountains, the sky seemed to tear open, and a dark crimson aurora writhed and undulated.
“There. The Canyon of Screams.”
My eyes perceived what lay beyond: tens of thousands of malevolent spirits pouring through that aurora, and coiled at their center—something so monstrously vast that the mind recoiled from comprehending it.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————