Elina

I expected for Salem to chase me off. Argue that the bed was his. But he said nothing.

"We can share the bed, you know," I said.

He didn't blush. Didn't even blink. What a boring man.

Instead he sat down on the floor, back against the wall, sword in scabbard beside him.

"You're going to sleep like this?" I asked.

He nodded.

"Why?"

He said nothing.

I sighed and lay down again. "Are you mad that I ordered all that food?"

"No."

"Then what is it?"

Silence.

"Fine, I'll go to sleep then."

He said nothing. His eyes were on the door. Like he was expecting someone.

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I once heard that witch hunters never truly slept. That they slept lightly with one eye open, one ear vigilant. Because witch hunters who couldn't do that had all been killed.

I decided to put that to the test.

His breathing was light. His body still. Moonlight from the window washed over him, wrapping him in a veil of silver.

I slid off the bed and my feet touched the ground.

Nothing.

I kneeled down and looked at his face to make sure that he was truly asleep.

A frown on his brows, tension in his lips. Like he was fighting witches in his sleep. Like he could never get any rest.

I almost felt sorry for him. To be prepared to die every minute of every day. And yet he chose this life. Because he needed the money.

Before I kill him, I'll find out what drives him to go this far.

Hmm...but now that I finally get a closer look at him, he is quite handsome. Too bad that he is a witch hunter. But until death do us part, I'll have some fun with him.

It was time to do some research of my own.

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SALEM: There is a saying that witch hunters never truly sleep. That we sleep with one eye open, one ear vigilant.

That is false.

When a witch hunter is hunting a witch, he never sleeps.

When a witch hunter wants to lure a witch into a trap, he pretends to sleep.

And I pretended to sleep.

Elina slid off the bed and her feet touched the ground. Exactly what I was waiting for. I knew that she had something schemed. It shouldn't be anything too significant. Because her magic was sealed. But I still had to find out. Because a witch with a plan was dangerous.

She stepped towards me and knelt down.

I felt her warm breath as she examined my face. The soft tickle of strands of silver hair. The contemplation in her glowing eyes.

She seemed to be satisfied and stood up. She opened the door and stepped out. She left the door open. I followed her.

But it didn't sound like she was going to run away. Her steps were slow and gentle. Like she was looking for something.

She stayed on the second floor. She turned left, stepping into the second corridor for guest rooms. Her steps stopped. There was a voice.

"What are you doing here?" A man's voice. The voice of the knight from the Church of Deliverance. The green eye bastard's friend.

A chuckle. Elina's voice.

She said, "I was looking for you."

"How can I help?"

"My so-called husband lied to you. He didn't rescue me from a witch. My village owed him a debt and he took me as payment He wants to sell me into slavery."

The clinking noises of handcuffs. "See? I'm his prisoner."

Breaths of outrage. Righteous anger.

"I'm going to kill him," the knight said.

"Oh no...that would just cause more trouble, he has many friends who will avenge him."

"Then I will — "

This didn't make sense. If Elina wanted to get me killed, then she could've done so earlier. If she wanted to run away, she could do so without talking to the knight. If she wanted to get the gransia handcuffs off, she could've tried to take the key out of my pockets when I was pretending to sleep.

With my back against the wall, I glanced around the corner. Elina had her hands on his chest, her eyes gazing into his.