────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
With her mouth open, Angelica bent her neck as she struggled to breathe the air. However, her chest did not rise and fall.
Painful as she could not breathe, she raised her nails to her own neck and scratched them. Seeing that, he grabbed her hand at once and removed it before grabbing her wrist. The next moment, he climbed onto her and kissed her.
Surprised, Angelica bit his lips fiercely. She twisted her body as if it were seizures. Nonetheless, Raniero did not care and breathed into her mouth. Only after receiving his breath did her chest slowly inflate and sink.
Pitifully, she was trembling like a branch.
At that moment, Raniero with blood dripping from his lips, it seemed that Angelica was the only woman who had left scars on his body.
Still suppressed by him, she mumbled softly.
"Dream…"
"Yes."
"The prey… chased after me with their head cut off, with an axe."
"Yes."
"Scary…"
"Yes."
Still engulfed in her dreams, she looked more afraid of the prey in the notion of chasing after her than in the eyes of her ominous husband.
Indeed, the hunting left Angelica with neither guilt nor self-loathing. Instead, it had stimulated her survival instinct somewhere deep.
She was really prey to the bone.
As she wriggled and twisted her hand, which was caught by Raniero, he let go, wanting to see what she would do. The next moment, his body leaned towards her. It was because Angelica hugged him.
Raniero widened his eyes a little and held her breath. His eyes rolled sideways. She was hugging him so tightly that all he could see was her pale pink hair and white ears. Even more worrisome, she fell back asleep again while hugging him like that.
He wrapped and pressed Angelica's body, blinking slowly. Placing her chin on his shoulder and hugging him, she seemed to believe that the godson of Actilla would dispel her nightmares. In fact, he might even be a nightmare himself.
There was no trace of pain on her face as he lifted her body up slightly.
In the end, he could not help but lay down next to her as well. The other side of the sky that he could see through the small window was turning blue little by little. The Emperor's bedroom, which was empty from early morning to night, was facing eastward.
Raniero, who had once again slept for a moment at the sound of Angelica's deep breathing, awoke as the horizon turned golden. Opening his eyes, he grimaced. Perhaps, he did not like the warm morning sun.
Meanwhile, she was lying on her side with her back to the sun.
'She is going to get freckles on her back if she stays here like this.'
Raniero got ready more leisurely than usual. There was a small elevator with primitive pulleys from the bathroom to the bedroom. At this time, the Emperor's wash water would arrive there.
Washing his face and mouth, he then ruffled his wet hand through his hair before glancing at the bed. Nevertheless, Angelica showed no sign of waking up. She was still sleeping with her back to the sunlight that burned her white skin.
"Angie."
He suddenly remembered the name she had told him.
Raniero walked over to the bed with the name in his mouth. A few strands of long hair hanging over the bed were wrapped around his fingertips and pulled lightly. Angelica curled up with a thin summer duvet draped around her waist, groaning.
He allowed her to do so for some time. It was because he had been distracted by touching the thin, soft hair for a while. But, he soon got tired of it. He had seen the sleeping wife enough. Now, he longed to see Angelica awake.
"Angie."
Burying his lips in her earlobe, he whispered. This time, there was a reaction. Her fingertips twitched slightly and her gaze fixed.
Seeing that, there was a slight furrow in Raniero's brow.
"You're not listening."
Only after mixing irritation with his voice did Angelica spring up.
When he looked down at her with a displeased look, she hurriedly covered her chest with her thin blanket. Then, she glanced at him with an unusual expression on her face before backing away slightly.
"Sorry, I'm sorry."
And, as usual, she spat out an apology and started bowing her head.
"You woke me up, but I couldn't hear you…"
After quickly attaching the reason for the apology, Angelica peered up at him slightly with her head down. However, her expression turned into a tearful look as Raniero's expression was still not good. Had it not been for him here still, she would have already burst out crying like a child at any moment.
Raniero smirked.
He could not believe this woman was now recognized by everyone and became the object of admiration for the 'Actilus' people.' Though, perhaps because he was surprised, the irritation disappeared like snow melting.
"Wash your face and get ready to apologize. I can't leave you here all the time."
As soon as he gave her instructions, a look of relief spread across her face, who was about to cry.
The more he gazed at it, the more ridiculous it was. Because of that, Raniero looked at her face, stared into it, and looked at her over and over again.
—
Thank you so much for always supporting the novels I work on, even if you don't buy me a coffee, I really do appreciate it a lot. ❤︎
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────