Chapter 178

Reika's POV

Slowly, I blinked my eyes open to the familiar confines of Ileus' bedroom. His large arms were wrapped tightly around me like he knew what I was planning… like he knew I was going to kill him this morning.

I stared up at his face and he was still in deep slumber, as if he had no care for the dangers of the world, snoring faintly.

My chest tightened with so much pain that for a moment it seemed like my heart had stopped beating and I had to open my mouth to draw air in. I quickly averted my gaze from him, my eyes burning with tears.

I needed no soothsayer to tell me that Archer would have been worried sick and waiting for me. He'd probably think that I had been captured. So, I needed to leave as soon as possible.

Gently, I removed his arms from around me before pushing myself off him. I quickly threw on my clothes that were sprawled across the floor, then tiptoed towards the bedstand where I had hidden the dagger last night.

Opening the drawer slowly, my hands reached in to retrieve the dagger but there was nothing. No… that wasn't possible. My shaky hands reached around inside the drawer, but still there was nothing.

My pulse roared loudly as I quickly dropped to my knees and looked into the drawer. It was completely empty. I froze. No… it was like the world blurred out.

No… that can't be. I definitely hid the dagger inside this drawer last night, so where could it have gone?

My brows furrowed in confusion as I tried to replay the scene over again and it was crystal clear in my mind that I had definitely hidden the dagger in the drawer. Nowhere else.

Wait….

I raised my head to look at Ileus who was still sleeping.

Did he discover it by any chance and hide it?

But if he did discover it, then I'm sure he wouldn't still be sleeping like nothing had happened. He would be awake, questioning me already on why I had a dagger with me in his room. It was not like it was a sex toy or something.

Immense fear coursed through me as I tried to think of other scenarios that could have happened but then only the fact that he might have discovered it came to mind. The dagger wouldn't have developed legs and walked out on its own, could it?

Crawling to the other side of the bedstand which was his, I searched the drawer too but there was nothing.

Oh… now, I was sure that Ileus must have found and hidden it.

“Are you looking for something?” Ileus’ voice came from above me.

I shrieked with fear and stumbled back, my eyes meeting his piercing gaze that was still clouded with sleep. My breathing was heavy.

“Oh, my lady,” he said, slipping out of bed and crouching lower in front of me, his hands touching the small of my back. “I do not mean to scare you. I'm sorry. I just wanted to know if you were looking for something… maybe I might be able to help you find it.”

I parted my lips several times but no words came through. What was I supposed to say exactly? Tell him I was looking for a dagger?

I stared at him intensely and his soft, concerned gaze looked nothing like that of a man who knew anything about the dagger. Now, I was convinced that he might not have it.

“You are sweating, Lilith.” He pressed his palm to my forehead to wipe off the sweat. “All I did was ask if you were looking for something. I didn't know you would be this scared.”

I sprang up to my feet. “No, I'm not looking for anything. I just… saw a cockroach and wanted to kill it but it flew off,” I lied, hoping I didn't sound suspicious right now.

He pressed his lips together and nodded. “Okay then.”

A moment of silence lingered between us before he stepped closer. He wrapped his arms tightly around my waist and pressed a kiss to my forehead.

“You were amazing last night,” he murmured. “Thank you for sharing a part of yourself that is so precious and valuable with me. I love you so much, Lilith.”

Definitely he did not know about the dagger, because if he did, there was no way on earth he would say this. But where did the dagger go?

Either way, I tried to calm down. I managed a smile at him. “I love you too, Ileus,” I whispered, cupping his cheeks. “I really do.”

Our gaze was intense, intimate and nerve-wracking before he smirked. “I can't wait for everything to be over and for you to be officially mine.”

“Me too.”

He kissed my hands and then my forehead again.

“I should leave now.”

“See you tonight?”

I hesitated, not knowing if I could come here tonight after my missing dagger. “See you tonight,” I finally responded.

I turned and walked out of the room, my legs shaky beneath me but I pushed forward. I did not stop until I was at my chamber with several questions running through my mind.

By the corridor, Archer waited there, leaning against the door.

“Goddess, Reika,” he exclaimed, closing the distance between us in seconds. He held my hands, fear and concern flickering in his eyes. “I have been sick with worry about you but then… I was hopeful that you were safe because the palace was still quiet. What happened? You look tired and shaken.”

I let out a shaky breath that I did not even realise I was holding. “Let’s go in. I will explain everything to you.”

He nodded and led me into the room.

Inside, we sat by the bed and I began explaining everything to him, starting from my weakness at the door to earlier when Ileus still made love confessions to me. But I left out the part that I had an opportunity to kill him last night but I couldn't.

“You couldn't find the dagger?” He exclaimed, his eyes wide with terror.

“Yes… and I don't think he has it.”

Archer scoffed bitterly. “Of course, he does.”

“But he did—”

“He did not act like he has it?”

I nodded. “Yes.”

“He is just fooling you, Reika, because he wants to catch you red-handed to know what you are exactly.”