CHAPTER 146: CHAPTER-146

After Kaya finished talking with the fox beastmen, it didn’t take them long to spring into action. Just as Rean had promised, they worked quickly—clever, efficient, and oddly intuitive.

Kaya had only needed to gesture here and there, pointing out how she wanted the kitchen—where the hearth should be, how the ventilation should run—and they were already drafting layouts in the dirt, sketching blueprints with practiced ease. And for anything they didn’t immediately grasp, Kaya explained it once, and they adjusted without missing a beat.

But something still nagged at her.

Since early morning, her left eye had been twitching. A small thing—but she knew better than to ignore it. It never meant anything good. Some omen—silent, stubborn, and frustratingly familiar—lingered just outside her reach.

She didn’t know what was coming, only that it was coming.

Half of the fox tribe’s flying team had already been sent to gather the supplies she’d stashed earlier—bundles of dried leaves, fruits, and herbs stored in a nearby grove.

Then it happened.

A sharp flutter of wings cut through the air, loud and erratic. The kind of sound that didn’t belong to careful fox flyers. It sent a ripple of tension through the workers.

Kaya looked up instinctively, her hand already pausing mid-motion.

The fox tribe stiffened. Some even trembled.

Her brows drew together. That sound... it didn’t feel right.

She glanced skyward, half-expecting her gathering team returning with supplies.

But no.

What she saw instead made her freeze—not from fear, but from sheer disbelief wrapped tightly in annoyance.

There, in the open sky, descending like a showy bird who thought the world was his stage—was Veer.

Still in his human form, his enormous wings spread wide behind him like a cloak of arrogance. His silhouette cut sharply against the pale sky, the sun catching in the edges of his feathers, making him look far too radiant for someone this irritating.

From down here, he looked like the devil himself—sinfully handsome and tragically aware of it.

He landed softly, theatrically, like he rehearsed it for an audience he imagined was always watching.

With an exaggerated grin, he spread his arms and called out in a too-loud voice, "Oh sweetheart, miss me?"

Kaya didn’t even flinch.

But his smile quickly twisted into a grimace as his eyes caught the fox tribe behind her. His expression soured as if he’d just sniffed spoiled meat.

Then, with a childish pout, he tilted his head toward her and muttered, "Darling... I didn’t know you were into those things."

The fox tribe stiffened.

Kaya stood still for a heartbeat. Then another. Her arms crossed slowly, her eyes rising to meet his without the slightest flicker of amusement. Cold. Steady. Lethal.

Then came her voice—low and clear, slicing through the air sharper than any blade.

"And I didn’t know you were still flying around unsupervised. Didn’t they leash you after the last time you set a nest on fire just to see how fast it’d burn?"

The "nest and fire" Kaya mentioned referred to that absurd incident in the market not too long ago. Apparently, Veer had gotten into some heated argument with a member of the Peacock tribe. And instead of handling it like a normal being, he lost his temper and tried to set the tribe member’s nest on fire—using oil from a nearby stall and a torch.

Kaya had heard about it from Rean during a casual conversation at the market. Because of that reckless outburst, Veer had been dragged off for "reform" for a few days. Which, now that she thought about it, explained why the past few days had been unusually peaceful.

Silence.

It hit.

Hard.

Even the wind seemed to pause.

One of the younger fox beastmen coughed awkwardly and looked away. Another tried not to laugh—and failed, snorting before quickly pretending to cough.

Veer blinked, his grin faltering for the first time. Just slightly. His wings twitched behind him as he shifted his stance, masking the sting with an exaggerated gasp.

"Ouch," he said, clutching his chest dramatically. "So heartless."

Kaya didn’t blink. "Flames belong in the hearth. Not in idiots’ hands."

And with that, she turned away, calm and unaffected, like he was nothing more than a noisy cloud she’d walked through.

Veer, of course, didn’t know when to quit.

He hurried after Kaya, long strides catching up to her as she walked away. With a playful nudge of his shoulder against hers, he flashed that cocky, infuriating grin.

"Ohoho~ I leave for a few days and you already miss me this much?" he teased, leaning in slightly. "You even went digging for news about me so restlessly, huh, sweetheart?"

Kaya stopped.

She turned her head slowly, looking at him—not with anger, not even annoyance anymore—but with something worse: disbelief. The kind of expression that said, how is this creature even real?

Then, with a small smile—dangerously sweet—she replied,

"Yeah. I miss a lot of things."

A pause.

"Like... a man. Oh wait—sorry—a bird-man... with a brain."

She turned back, not sparing him another glance, focusing instead on the fox beastmen digging into the earth, laying the base for the house.

Veer’s smile twitched.

But he wasn’t done.

Seeing her ignore him again, he followed her gaze, lips curling with mock pity as he looked at the hard-working beastmen.

"Even though they’re beggars who can’t give you anything—still, you’re living in broken huts with them?" he said loudly, stepping in front of her, blocking her view. "Why, baby?" He leaned in slightly, his smile wide and stupid. "Haven’t you heard the saying? Spouses stick together in sickness and health, in huts and caves, right?"

He gave a dramatic wink.

"So how about this—you stay in my cave this winter, and I’ll stay in your little hut in summer. Nice and cozy, hmm?"

He was still talking when the air around them shifted.

A sudden stillness.

A sharp chill—like winter itself had exhaled.

Kaya’s eyes slowly rose to meet his, her hand clenched into a fist by her side. Her voice dropped low and steady, slicing through the air like frost biting bare skin.

"Who. Is. Your. Spouse?"