Irene’s body stiffened like stone at the sudden and embarrassing act.

“Huh.”

For a moment, as a strange sensation spread from the area he had touched, Irene unknowingly let out a moan. Her grip on her clothes tightened even more.

Is he finally going to show me why he brought me here?

Although she had suspected this might happen, it wasn’t surprising, but she still disliked it. It was also devastating.

Irene wanted to push him away and run away immediately.

But having already failed to escape once, and with his threat that things wouldn’t end like this if she tried to run away again seared into her mind, she couldn’t do it.

It would be better to sleep with him than to die.

…Is that really better?

While Irene was wavering, his fingers, which had been tracing her shoulder blades, soon traveled down along her straight spine to her waist.

Feeling an ominous premonition that if left alone, they would go down to places where others’ hands should never touch, Irene cried out urgently.

“S-stop…!”

This time, as if her desperate voice had reached him, the fingers tormenting her fell away.

Irene exhaled the breath she had been holding and looked at Kalos reflected in the mirror.

‘He’s… smiling?’

Not just a simple smile, but a bright one as if he was extremely happy.

So he was a man who could smile like that. It was surprising, having only seen his expressionless face all the time.

With a radiant smile blooming on his handsome face, he seemed to be shining brightly.

Irene stared at his reflection in the mirror, half dazed by his too beautiful appearance.

“…”

Perhaps sensing her gaze, Kalos erased the smile from his lips and looked down at her.

Finally coming to her senses, Irene hurriedly lowered her head.

A cool voice was heard above her head.

“Didn’t you say there were no tattoos on your body?”

As Irene nodded, Kalos placed his cold palm on her back.

Her small shoulders hunched as goosebumps rose all over.

“Then what’s this? There’s a tattoo here.”

A tattoo?

Irene turned her head in confusion, but unfortunately, she couldn’t directly see the state of her own back.

As she struggled to try to see it somehow, Kalos brought over a small hand mirror from the dressing table.

He then reflected her back with the hand mirror and showed it in the full-length mirror.

Thanks to this, Irene’s eyes widened as she saw the flower branch tattoo engraved on her back.

On the long branch were 4 flower buds and 3 fully bloomed flowers.

“Seems like you’re seeing it for the first time today.”

“…Yes.”

How many times in life does one directly see their own back?

Moreover, since Irene’s house only had one mirror, it was impossible to see her back like this.

Even if that wasn’t the case, Irene thought it didn’t make sense that she had a tattoo on her back.

She had no memory of getting a tattoo.

If it had been there since birth, her mother or nominal father would have mentioned it, but they never did.

So when did this tattoo appear?

And why did Kalos react that way when he saw this tattoo?

She was curious. It seemed like it might be deeply related to the reason he brought her here, so she wanted to know even more.

“Um…”

She had just mustered up the courage to speak when a large coat fell over her shoulders. It was the coat Kalos had been wearing.

Unable to say what she had intended due to this, Irene slowly blinked her eyes and looked up at Kalos.

Adjusting the coat that was slipping off her small shoulders, Kalos said,

“Don’t tell anyone except me that you have this tattoo. Don’t show it either.”

The somewhat commanding tone and content gave her certainty.

So it is related to this tattoo after all.

Now that she knew the reason she was brought here, her anxious heart calmed a little, while at the same time, she became anxious again because of the unidentified flower branch tattoo.

It felt like she had really become a witch.

“I’d like an answer.”

Irene nodded.

Even if he hadn’t said that, she had no intention of showing the tattoo to others since she’d have to undress to do so.

The only thing that bothered her was that he said ‘except me’.

That meant he intended to see this tattoo.

Thinking about being half-naked in front of him again, Irene blushed with embarrassment.

Kalos straightened his knees that he had bent to match her eye level and stood up.

“Then finish getting dressed and come down. We need to leave now.”

As he turned and walked towards the door, he suddenly stopped in front of it as if he had just remembered something.

He turned his head and looked down at Irene, who was still sitting on the floor.

“I’m sorry for barging in.”

What did he just say…?

Surprised by the words that made her doubt her ears, Irene looked at Kalos through the mirror.

He frowned his nose bridge as if something displeased him or as if he felt awkward, then quickly went out.

Left alone, Irene was puzzled by Kalos’s incomprehensible behavior, but thought that perhaps he might not be as scary a person as she had thought.

*

When Kalos, who had gone to fetch Irene, came down alone, Dewey asked curiously.

“Where is the young lady?”

“In the room. She hasn’t finished changing yet.”

“Is that so?”

It seemed like he had given her enough time, but seeing that she still hadn’t changed, it must be difficult for her to dress alone.

“Then I should go help her.”

As Dewey muttered to himself and tried to go upstairs, Kalos roughly grabbed him by the nape of his neck.

Thud−.

Dewey, who fell because of this, looked up at Kalos while rubbing his sore bottom.

His expression looked like he had a lot to say, but not a single word came out of his mouth.

He just looked at Kalos with a tearful face, then soon shook his head with a deep sigh.

“If you don’t like what I’m doing, please tell me with words.”

Kalos nodded halfheartedly and said,

“We need medicine for wounds.”

“Pardon?”

Since ‘medicine for wounds’ was a phrase completely unrelated to Kalos, it took Dewey several seconds to interpret his words.

“Ah. It seems the young lady is injured.”

Kalos nodded, recalling the wounds on her back and arms.

Judging by the scabs that had only recently hardened, she must have been injured recently.

Probably when she was imprisoned after being accused of being a witch.

From their perspective, Irene was a witch, so it was quite possible, but he still didn’t like it.

If something had happened to her, he would have had to wait endlessly again.

He didn’t want any more waiting.

There wasn’t much time left either.

“Was it called the Silos territory?”

“It’s the Silas territory.”

Dewey corrected the wrong part and carefully asked,

“Shall I clean it up?”

By ‘clean up’, he meant completely wiping out not only the Silas territory but also the Silas family.

Kalos looked up at the second floor where Irene was, then nodded.

“I hope I never hear that name again.”

Just as Dewey bowed his head in understanding, a sound like a dog howling was heard from somewhere.

*

When Irene came down after changing her clothes, Kalos held out the medicine for wounds that Dewey had obtained.

Why this? She looked at him, puzzled by the unexpected action, and Kalos said,

“Apply it.”

“Am I… injured?”

“You didn’t know?”

As Irene nodded, Kalos let out a hollow laugh.

With so many wounds, she didn’t know? She was unusually insensitive.

Or perhaps she was used to pain.

Kalos thought it might be the latter.

After all, her body had many old wounds and scars. They were clearly marks of beating, not just from falling or such reasons.

I should have asked for medicine to remove scars too.

Kalos thought he should mention it when they return to the castle, as he placed the medicine in Irene’s hand.

Irene blinked slowly while looking at the medicine, then said in a small voice,

“Thank… you.”

There was no answer. Irene fiddled with the medicine for wounds before putting it in her pocket, then held out his neatly folded coat.

“It’ll be cold if we go further north, so keep it on.”

“It’s okay…”

“Keep it on.”

As if showing his will to absolutely not accept it, Kalos quickly walked away.

Irene looked at his retreating figure with a dazed expression, then hurriedly followed.

A carriage was prepared in front of the inn.

This time too, Dewey sat in the driver’s seat, and only Kalos and Irene rode in the carriage.

Feeling burdened by this, Irene quietly asked Dewey if she could sit in the driver’s seat, but was refused.

The reason was that he couldn’t let her sit in such a dangerous place.

Then was it okay for Dewey and the driver to sit in the dangerous driver’s seat?

Irene was puzzled, but since Dewey said it was absolutely not allowed, she had no choice but to get into the carriage.

And throughout the ride through the forest, she kept her head tucked in like a turtle and watched Kalos sitting opposite her.

Although she had thought he might not be as scary as she initially thought, she was still afraid of him.

The tightly drawn string of tension gradually loosened as time passed and nothing happened.

Irene, who had found relatively more peace of mind than when she first rode the carriage, looked out the window.

There, she saw a beautiful lake like a painting. The lake, bathed in warm sunlight, sparkled as if fairies were flying around it.

Irene, half entranced by the scenery she was seeing for the first time in her life, stared at the lake.

Seeing this, Kalos thought for a moment, then knocked on the window connected to the driver’s seat.

Shortly after, the carriage stopped, and Dewey opened the door.

“Did you call, sir?”

“Let’s take a short break.”

At those words, Dewey’s gaze naturally turned to Irene.

There was no way Kalos would be tired at this level, so it must be for her sake that he suggested resting.

Irene, who had no way of knowing this fact, was delighted that she could admire the beautiful lake a little more.

Of course, she didn’t show it outwardly, only rejoicing inwardly.

But she couldn’t stop the corners of her mouth from rising slightly and her gaze from turning towards the lakeside.

Kalos glanced at her like that, then said to Dewey,

“We’ll need water to drink on the way.”

The quick-witted Dewey immediately understood what he wanted and replied with a smile,

“I think I need to maintain the carriage, so it would be better to entrust the young lady with fetching water.”

Kalos’s gaze shifted to Irene.

“That’s what he says, will you go?”

“Yes, yes!”

Irene readily agreed. It was a good opportunity to see the beautiful lake up close, so there was no reason to refuse.

“Here’s the water container.”

As she got out of the carriage, Dewey held out a water container.

Irene hugged the container tightly as if it were a precious treasure.

“It’ll take at least an hour to maintain the carriage, so while you’re at it, take a look around the lake.”

“Is that okay?”

“Of course.”

Irene’s face brightened. It was the first bright expression she had shown since meeting Kalos.

“Then I’ll be going.”

Irene bowed slightly, then quickly ran towards the lake.

Dewey watched until Irene’s figure disappeared from view, then turned around.

And he asked Kalos, who had just gotten out of the carriage,

“Is it alright to let the young lady go alone?”

What if she runs away?

To this question with an implicit meaning, Kalos glanced in the direction where Irene had disappeared, then answered,

“There’s no choice. I can’t send you, and I can’t follow her myself.”

Dewey had said he would maintain the carriage, so it was impossible for him to follow her, and if Kalos followed, Irene would be uncomfortable, so he couldn’t do that.

“If she runs away, we’ll just catch her again.”

Is it just catching her?

Dewey smiled.

“It seems you’ve taken a liking to the young lady.”

Kalos snorted and leaned against the carriage wall.

“Nonsense.”

Being nice to Irene was purely to avoid repeating the same mistake.

Yes. It was just that.