Chapter 135 – Thaw
Streams of water flowed down from the broad shoulders that had suddenly blocked the moonlight.
Drip, drip.
Water splashed in every direction.
The familiar black hair, firm chest, and sharply defined abs below it—!
“Annette?”
Loic looked startled as he brushed his wet black hair back.
“Why are you here…?”
His dark eyes shook as much as mine.
Even then, drops of water rolled down his sharp jawline, trailing over his thick chest.
Those drops followed the grooves of his abs downward—!
Noticing my gaze, Loic quickly grabbed the knot of the towel tied around his waist.
“I—I felt your energy from this side! I swear I wasn’t trying to look on purpose—!”
“It’s alright.”
I raised my hand awkwardly to cover my chest, still wrapped in the towel.
“I think… the two sides are connected.”
Loic’s eyes flickered down for a brief second before he hastily turned his head away.
“I… see.”
We both stood frozen, unable to speak.
Splash!
A sudden sound echoed—someone had jumped into the water.
“Hey! It’s huge in here!”
“A hot spring in Fogen? What a luxury!”
“The temperature’s perfect too!”
The knights’ voices rang clearly through the quiet night.
Loic’s face hardened.
“Wait, didn’t the Commander get in first? Where did he go?”
That was Leon’s voice.
“Commander! Are you there?”
Splash, splash.
Footsteps and ripples came closer from behind the trees.
Suddenly, Loic took a big step forward and pulled me tightly into his arms, shielding me.
“Get out!”
He straightened his shoulders and shouted behind him.
“Commander?”
The confused voice was close—too close.
“I said get out! Didn’t you hear me? Get out of the spring right now!”
Silence fell.
“Uh… let’s go,” one of the knights stammered.
I heard them splashing awkwardly away through the water.
Loic held me firmly, wrapping one thick arm around my shoulders so not even a glimpse of me could be seen.
The heat from his wet skin pressed against mine.
The warmth spread like fire, his powerful aura brushing over me until it tingled all over my body.
‘This feels… strange.’
I tried to steady my breathing.
After a moment, the sounds outside faded completely—the knights must have left.
Loic slowly loosened his hold.
With droplets running down his face, the lines of his neck and collarbone looked striking under the light.
When our eyes met, his gaze trembled again.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hold you that tightly…”
His Adam’s apple moved up and down sharply.
“I just didn’t want them to see you.”
Cold drops fell from his hair onto my collarbone, sending a shiver down my skin.
Loic’s gaze lowered naturally to Annette’s trembling body.
The towel she wore clung to her, showing faint glimpses of her soft white skin, glistening with moisture.
The water that had fallen from his face trickled down her collarbone, tracing a gentle curve before pooling between her breasts.
The sight made a burning heat flare in his lower body.
“Ugh.”
“W-what’s wrong?”
“Nothing…”
Sight, sound, touch—if he didn’t shut down at least one of them, he felt like he would lose control.
Loic squeezed his eyes shut.
But that only made it worse—without vision, the feel of her damp, smooth skin brushing his rough hand became even more vivid.
A shiver shot through him from head to toe.
He opened his eyes quickly and stepped back.
“I’ll… stand guard outside while you bathe.”
“There’s no need.”
“There is. Someone might come again. It’s safer if I stay.”
He spoke firmly and turned his back to her.
“I won’t look, so please relax.”
Annette’s soft voice murmured something, but it was too quiet to catch.
“If you’re uncomfortable, I can move farther away,” he added.
But just as he began to step away, a cold hand lightly touched his arm.
It wasn’t a firm grip—just a gentle brush—but Loic stopped instantly.
“Can’t we just stay together?”
Her sweet voice made his ears burn.
She whispered that it was dark, and she felt a little scared being alone.
He almost said that he was far more dangerous than anything around them—but he bit his tongue.
“…Very well.”
He let her guide him to a flat rock where the water reached their waists.
They sat close, their shoulders nearly touching.
Even the sound of him swallowing seemed too loud.
‘How can she be so white…’
He remembered how her soft skin had felt against his chest just moments ago—smooth and warm, like milk pudding.
‘It must be incredibly soft…’
Just imagining how it might feel against his lips made his breath roughen.
Loic forced himself to breathe deeply, trying to clear his head.
Then—
“Huh?”
Annette’s sharp gasp broke the silence.
“What’s this?”
She pointed at a long scar along his side.
Loic flinched and quickly covered his waist with his hand.
His body was covered in scars—on his sides, his back, everywhere.
To knights, they were badges of honor, but to Annette, they would surely look hideous.
“It’s just an old scar. You don’t need to worry.”
He tried to brush it off.
“That must have hurt a lot.”
Her voice was soft with sympathy, and his hand fell away without meaning to.
She gently touched the scar, tracing it with her fingers.
“Was this from a beast?”
“It’s nothing.”
The long, jagged scar across his flank had come from a monster attack early in his career.
He barely remembered it now.
“My parents had just died then… I was young and inexperienced…”
He could defeat such a creature easily now—but back then, everything had been terrifying.
“And this one?”
She pointed to a larger scar above it.
“That… was when my power first went out of control. My skin tore apart—”
Seeing the shock in Annette’s eyes, Loic hurried to add,
“It doesn’t happen anymore. Not since Enolius joined me.”
He explained each scar one by one: one from killing a flying beast, another from shielding Norton from a fatal stab, another from fighting off assassins.
The more he talked, the less it seemed to matter.
Truly, it didn’t anymore.
Those wounds had once made him miserable, but now—with Annette beside him—they no longer hurt at all.
It didn’t even matter when or how he had gotten them.
Not when she looked at him with such sorrow.
Loic had always wished for this—
That Annette would feel sympathy for him.
That her gaze would linger on him just a little longer.
That her care would eventually bind her to him, so she could never leave.
Seeing that pity in her eyes—
‘Does she know how much that pleases me?’
He hid his dark thoughts behind a soft smile.
Then suddenly, Annette’s small body leaned forward and wrapped around him tightly.
“Annette?”
The sudden closeness startled him, but his entire body tingled with happiness.
“I’m sorry.”
He wasn’t sure if she was apologizing for bringing it up or for the pain he had endured.
“You have nothing to be sorry for. It all happened because I was… lacking.”
The word “lacking” was the safest one he could choose.
He couldn’t bring himself to tell her that he saw himself as cursed, incomplete—a man far less than ordinary.
Annette’s arms tightened around him.
“You’re not lacking, Loic.”
“Is that so?”
He smiled faintly at her gentle reassurance.
“I mean it.”
She pulled back slightly, looking straight into his eyes. Her voice was firm.
“Loic, you’re perfect.”
“….”
In her blue eyes, bright as guiding stars, a pure light shimmered.
“At least to me, Loic—you’re perfect.”
And the moment those words touched his heart, something inside him melted away completely.
