Greg was now all but certain that, although Wendy herself had no idea, she definitely had some connection to the Mother of the Clepsydra, one of the Outer Gods.
Otherwise, there was no explaining why that kiss had boosted his dark-attribute magic so dramatically, just like when the Broken Mother had fed him one of her fingers.
So when Nightmare said, "Someone might have deliberately left this pocket watch there to lure me over," Wendy's name quickly sprang to Greg's mind.
The Mother of the Clepsydra's powers were related to time, too. Greg suspected that this ability might have given Wendy some sort of advance warning, which was why she had used this method to lure Nightmare away beforehand.
"Did that expression mean thou hast thought of something?"
Nightmare keenly caught the change in his expression. She set down the pocket watch and turned her black, slit-pupiled eyes toward Greg.
Greg came back to his senses and shrugged. "Yeah. I accidentally thought of what you'd look like as an affectionate catgirl again."
Nightmare's tail stiffened for a moment, then she gave a low, disdainful snort.
"...Thou truly hast no intention of concealing thy desires."
Greg kept going. "I remember you saying that was one of my good points."
Nightmare ignored him and lowered her head again to study the pocket watch.
The smile on Greg's face gradually faded, too. He leaned back in his chair, gazed at the ceiling, and sank into thought.
He had no intention of telling Nightmare what had just occurred to him.
He remembered that, after making him eat her finger, the Broken Mother had used her power to forbid him from mentioning it to Nightmare. There might have been some hidden reason for that.
So if that pocket watch really did have something to do