Chapter 194 - Chloe Spends the Night Beside Nathan

  I woke up with my body still ag, a stant reminder of what I had retly endured. My training as an assassin taught me to endure pain, but that didn’t make it any less excruciating. Ahetics didn’t work on me, which made sleeping more a matter of survival tha.

  Cyl, my faithful panion, still couldn’t heal me, and she wasn’t yet advanced enough in the Aspect of Life to remove only my pain. Additionally, she was hiding the fact that she was exhausted. Staying in her form as a Moon Panther cub was likely draining her mana stantly to keep the Aspect of Body active. I felt guilty seeing her like this, knowing that this form demanded a lot from her. She preteo be strong, but I knew she was tired and maybe even in pain.

  It was obvious that remaining in her reduced form all the time was causing disfort. As a phoenix, or even in her bestial dragon form, she o let loose every on a while, but she maintaihis smaller form to stay by my side. I had sidered suggesting that she revert to her phoenix form, but deep down, I knew she probably couldn’t do so without first transf into her dragon form. She was holding herself back, and I khat sooner or ter, I’d have to vihat stubborn dragon to return to the duchy.

  At least there, she could transform freely ihe castle's cavern.

  I slowly opened my eyes, expeg to see Cyl beside me, but she wasn’t there. Instead, by my bedside, on a chair, I saw a surprising sight. Chloe was sitting there, holding my hand while she slept.

  I tried to sit up but couldn’t. It wasn’t because of the pain or the heaviness of my damaged muscles, but because her hand was holding miightly. Chloe gripped my hand as if, even in her sleep, she didn’t want to let go.

  I let out a small smile, seeing her like this. Sometimes, I’m amazed by how much these people love me, just as much as I love them.

  Chloe stretched and yawned. She slowly opened her eyes, still groggy.

  “Good m…” I said softly.

  Good m, Nate,” she replied, rubbing her eye.

  She paused for a moment, surveying the room, then looked down at her hand still holding mine. Her gaze lifted to meet mine.

  “Nate!” She jumped and gave me a tight hug.

  “Wait! Easy!” I pleaded, feeling the pressure on my injured body. “My wounds…”

  She quickly pulled back, realizing what she had done.

  “Sorry…” she said, embarrassed.

  I chuckled.

  Sometimes, I fet that my cousin is a bit of a brute.

  “I was so worried about you,” she fessed, holding my hand again.

  Chloe got up from the chair and, with the familiarity of someone who had always been by my side, climbed onto the bed and sat beside me. Her eyes examined my bandaged arms, and she gently ran her hand over them.

  “You’re an idiot, you know that?” she scolded, though her voice was soft.

  Chloe rested her head on my shoulder, and I felt the f weight of her presence.

  “I’m in a bit of pain…” I tried to say, but she ignored me, ing me in a gentle embrace.

  “I know you could handle everything, but I was really worried,” Chloe admitted, her voice muffled against my shirt. “I kept hoping you’d give the signal a me help you.”

  I nodded, knowing she was right. With effort, I reached up and began to stroke her hair.

  “We spent years fighting against the Legacies in life-or-death situations as training. I know when to ask for help. And you all did the most important part for me,” I said, trying to reassure her.

  “I know,” she replied, her voice softer. “We had to watch the area and look for other assassins. We couldn’t reveal ourselves… But I was worried. I don’t care if you’re my personal guard; I want to protect you too.”

  This time, Chloe hugged me tighter, and even though it caused pain to my wounds, I didn’t mind. Because, in the end, the most important part wasn’t to support me in case of dahe most important part was keeping them safe, because I value all of them more than anything.

  I want to know as soon as possible what Martha mao extract from that guy.

  I stroked my cousin's head, feeling a silent relief knowing they hadn’t o fa enemy or a sed team of assassins. A part of me was gd I mao avoid that. That’s why I made sure to start the fight in a pletely random location. If there was a sed team, it would throw them off bah any pn they had.

  That was the reason I chose that spot for the battle. You ’t walk right into an assassin’s hands. You have to be uable and act beyond expectations. Meanwhile, they were on standby. You might wonder why they didn’t act impulsively to help me, but know that even the slightest mistake be fatal, and we are mentally prepared for that.

  In my family, a battle is sacred. For them, a fight represents two flig cepts: life ah. This is the core of an assassin. It doesn’t matter if you eliminate your target stealthily or in a rge-scale battle; it always es down to a baween life ah.

  When I decided to face the assassins alone, my family respected my decision. However, they remained on standby, ready to intervene if things went wrong. From the start, it was clear that these mages were not ordinary. They were powerful assassins, above the usual level, which required extreme caution.

  During the frontation, they revealed their true power, which prompted us to analyze the situation carefully. We o gather as muformation as possible. The first discovery was clear: I was the target, and they wouldn’t stop until I was dead. This alone indicated the severity of the situation. Additionally, they seemed prepared to face my thunder, suggesting that the tractor was someone from the nobility with access to privileged information.

  As I fought, my family remained in the shadows, watg and searg fns of other assassins. Just as they were hidden, there could be more enemies lurking. Revealing themselves before firming this would give a dangerous advao any hidden oppos, ready to unch a surprise attack. My family only emerged after I eliminated one of the assassins, firming that, at least at that moment, there was no nearby enemy with the io strike.

  If a sed team had been lying in ambush, they would certainly have acted to prevent me from killing the female assassin. After all, in a battle between high-level mages, numerical superiority be the decisive factor for victory.

  “Martha didn’t let me e to see you yesterday while she was treating your injuries. I was anxious, so I went to fetch Cyl, but when we arrived, I noticed she was angry, so I didn’t want to interfere. I came to see you after Aunt Katie left, but you were already asleep.”

  “You stayed with me all night?” I asked, surprised.

  “I did…” she admitted.

  I wasn’t sure how to respond. It was such a simple gesture, yet it carried a tremendous weight of and affe.

  “And I’ll stay the whole weekend too, until you’re better,” she added, determined.

  I smiled at her, unsure of what to say, but knowing that her presence made everything feel a little less painful.

  Though having her head resting on my shoulder does hurt a bit…