Chapter 206. Night Visit (2)

Translator: Atlas / Editor: Regan

Lying in bed, she couldn’t sleep, even though she was incredibly tired. After staring blankly at the ceiling for a long time, she slowly got up.

She was too hungry to sleep. Thinking of what she had eaten that day, Leah realized all she had managed to keep down was fruit and water, since everything else made her nauseous. And she hadn’t even wanted to eat that; she had only eaten so that she wouldn’t die.

Pacing anxiously up and down the length of the room, she could only walk for a little bit before she had to sit down in an armchair. Physically and mentally, she just didn’t feel well. She wanted to eat, but she couldn’t, and she felt so weak.

She wanted dates. Just thinking of them made the memory come back so vividly, painfully sharp and haunting. She chewed her lip at the thought of that taste. Ishakan had lied to her, he had promised to bring her more, but then he had disappeared. She had even agreed to kiss him because she had wanted to eat them so much.

I’m hungry…

Wretched, she hugged a cushion to her belly as if that would satisfy her hunger. She was hungry, but she couldn’t have the one thing she wanted, and she was so hungry that she was losing control of her emotions.

She was so hungry, she was nauseous again. Her stomach churned, so terribly empty.

Maybe fresh air would help. Moving slowly, she pushed open the glass door and stepped out onto the balcony. As she gazed at the nighttime palace, resting her hands on the railing, she thought she smelled a fresh scent. When she turned her head toward it, she almost screamed.

Her eyes met the eyes of a man sitting in a nearby tree, smoking a cigar. His golden eyes glinted mischievously.

“Oops, you caught me,” he said, and exhaled the smoke with a smile. “I just wanted to smoke a little.”

She was so shocked she couldn’t speak. Ishakan pinched out the cigar and stood, clutching a small sack in one hand as he hopped agilely from the tree to the balcony. Though it was a considerable distance, he landed easily, and straightened up in front of her.

“…Leah?”

Suddenly, her eyes filled with tears. There was something far more important than the fact that he had once again slipped past security and into the palace of the Princess of Estia.

“Dates…” She said, with her eyes burning. Ishakan blinked at her, bewildered. “You said you would give them to me!” She cried out, fighting to keep her tears from escaping. “Why didn’t you?!”

“……”

Ishakan extended the sack toward her, looking confused. The whole sack was filled with small boxes of dates, and Leah snatched one instantly, bolting down the dates inside. Opening another box, she ate half, satisfying the worst craving in her stomach, and then went straight into her bedroom to hide the rest, stashing the little boxes all over the room.

The mere thought of having them later made her feel better. Like a squirrel, stockpiling food for the winter. It was only after the boxes were hidden that she realized what she was doing, and she looked back at Ishakan awkwardly.

“…Ah.”

Her face burned with embarrassment and she lowered her head. This was twice that she had behaved like a glutton in front of this man. She couldn’t imagine what he must think of her. But though she waited a long time, he didn’t speak. And when she slowly raised her eyes, she didn’t see the mockery she had expected in his face.

“Are you starving yourself just to fit into a dress?” He asked, interrupting her thoughts.

“No, it’s just…I haven’t had an appetite lately…”

Ishakan frowned.

“Why don’t you have an appetite?” He asked, his voice sombering.

She didn’t know why. When she ate anything other than dates, it made her nauseous and she ended up vomiting everything up. It was ridiculous, and she couldn’t even try to explain it. And though she didn’t answer, Ishakan didn’t press her.

“You’re losing weight,” he muttered in disgust, and clicked his tongue. “It’s nice outside, why don’t we take an evening walk together?”

Once again, he was speaking utter nonsense, but there was no point in reproaching him. If he had ever cared about that, he wouldn’t have come in the first place. As Leah wondered how she could refuse and make him leave, he gently caught her chin.

“I’ll give you lots of dates,” he said, and his long fingers touched her lips, gently wiping away the little bit of stickiness from the dates at the corners of her mouth. His tongue flicked out to lick his fingertips. “And I’ll give you some other delicious things.”