– Your husband has come home from a hard day’s work, and instead of greeting him with a bright smile, you’re making a gloomy face?

As always, the demon returned home drunk that day and assaulted his mother.

– I’m sorry, darling. It’s all my fault.

Although she had done nothing wrong, the mother shed tears and begged for forgiveness, but the demon did not stop his violence and verbal abuse.

Irene wanted to stop the demon, but sadly, there was nothing she could do.

She remembered being severely punished when she tried to stop him before, so she couldn’t move even more now.

Irene crouched in a corner out of the demon’s sight, squeezing her eyes shut and trembling, waiting for the demon’s anger to subside.

– Darling, please…

– Shut up!

– Ah!

A faint scream was drowned out by the harsh shout.

Then there was a thud, the sound of something falling, followed by silence. Irene opened her tightly shut eyes.

She saw her mother lying in front of the old table. The demon was looking down at her with an obviously bewildered expression.

A terrible fishy smell stung her nose as blood flowed profusely around her mother’s head.

Seeing this, Irene’s face turned as white as someone who hadn’t eaten a bowl of soup.

– Mom…

Irene rushed to her mother in one step, shaking her shoulders hard, not minding the blood staining her hands and clothes.

– Open your eyes.

– …

– Please, please wake up! Mom, Mom!

No matter how desperately she called, the long eyelashes didn’t move.

She could feel the body that had always warmly embraced her growing cold.

Mom is dead.

The demon… he finally killed Mom.

The moment her mind registered this fact, Irene’s vision went white.

The constant alternation of light and darkness was so disorienting that she forgot where she was. To make matters worse, her consciousness gradually faded.

The last thing Irene saw as she struggled to hold onto consciousness was the demon rushing towards her with bloodshot eyes, as if to kill her.

*

“Don’t come!”

Waking up from the nightmare with a scream, Irene gasped for breath. Her eyes, still not free from the afterimage of the nightmare, anxiously scanned her surroundings.

But it was dark, and she couldn’t see anything. While it was a great relief not to see the demon, being in such pitch darkness where she couldn’t even see her own hand was a bit frightening.

“Ah, is anyone there?”

For the first time since meeting Kalos, Irene desperately called for him, but there was no answer. Judging by the lack of any other response, it seemed there was no one else either.

The heavy silence and the fact that she was alone fueled the fear burning in Irene’s heart.

“…”

Irene felt a scream rising to her throat, but she swallowed it down. If she screamed and caused a bigger problem, it would be terrible.

Feeling she should first assess her situation, she focused all her senses on her fingertips and felt around her surroundings.

The soft cushion of a chair, smooth fabric likely to be curtains, a low ceiling, and a floor covered with a soft carpet – it was definitely the carriage she had ridden with Kalos.

And it was certain that there was no one else besides her.

‘Where did that man go?’

And why was it so dark inside the carriage? Irene reached out, groping, and pulled aside what she thought was a curtain. She expected it to get brighter, but it remained dark.

As the situation of not being able to see even an inch in front of her continued, her fear grew. Irene tried to open the door and get out, but it wouldn’t open. It just rattled as if something was blocking it.

Panicked by this, she was trying her best to open the door, even pushing against it with her body, when at that moment.

“My lady?”

Dewey’s voice was heard from outside the door. Irene’s face brightened at the fact that she wasn’t alone.

“Please open the door!”

“Ah…”

The earnest request was met with a troubled exclamation. Darkness crept back into her brightened face.

“Why… What’s wrong?”

“I’m sorry, but I can’t open the door until the Grand Duke returns.”

Dewey continued.

“He probably knew you’d be anxious, so he’ll be back soon. I’ll open it as soon as he returns, so please wait just a little longer.”

“…Alright.”

Irene wanted to get out right away, but she decided to trust and wait, knowing that forcing the issue wouldn’t make them open the door.

“Is there any problem?”

Hearing Irene’s dejected voice, Dewey asked worriedly.

“There’s no particular problem… It’s just a bit dark.”

“Come to think of it, there’s no lighting in the carriage. I should have prepared for that, I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. You said you’d open the door soon if I wait a little.”

Irene subtly signaled that she wanted to get out quickly.

Seeming to catch on immediately, Dewey laughed.

“Yes. I’ll open it as soon as the Grand Duke returns.”

“Where… did he go?”

“He stepped out briefly to check on something.”

Check on something? Irene suddenly recalled the strange rabbit that had attacked her. Was that rabbit a monster? This was her first direct encounter with a monster, so she wasn’t sure.

“It must be scary to stay still in a dark place, so I’ll keep you company until the Grand Duke arrives.”

“Thank you.”

“No need for thanks. I’m just doing what I should.”

Either Dewey had moved closer to the carriage, or he was speaking louder, as his voice sounded clearer.

“Now, what should we talk about? Ah, shall I tell you about the Esper territory where you’ll be staying from now on?”

For some reason, the word ‘staying’ made Irene’s heart flutter, and she clasped her hands together over her chest.

“Yes, please.”

“First of all, the Esper territory is a vast domain located in the northern realm of the Luman Empire. In terms of land size alone, it’s larger than the capital, but since a third of it is snow-capped mountains, the habitable area is actually smaller than the capital.”

Was it just her imagination, or did he seem to emphasize the ‘habitable’ part?

“Being a cold territory, crops like wheat, barley, and corn are hardly produced, but instead, there are many rare minerals and herbs. There are also many monster and magical beast trophies.”

The fact that there were many trophies meant that there were many monsters and magical beasts living around the territory.

“Isn’t it dangerous to live in such a place?”

“Not at all. We don’t hunt monsters and magical beasts, but coexist with them to obtain trophies.”

“Is that possible?”

The common knowledge was that monsters and magical beasts should be killed on sight.

But coexisting with them? Unable to understand, she asked again, and Dewey replied with a laughing voice.

“You’ll see it’s possible when you actually visit the Esper territory.”

*

Dewey’s voice, which had been explaining various things about the Esper territory, suddenly cut off.

With the chattering voice gone, the darkness surrounding her felt even more apparent.

“Hello? Where did you go? Please answer me.”

Just as Irene was desperately calling for Dewey, clinging to the door, it suddenly opened. Her body, losing its support, fell helplessly forward.

“…!”

Irene reached out her hands in surprise. Soon, something solid was caught. Thanks to grabbing it tightly, she was able to avoid the misfortune of kissing the ground.

“Huk.”

Relieved at this fact, Irene soon realized that what she had grabbed was Kalos’s arm, and she hurriedly let go.

Kalos glanced indifferently at Irene and then climbed into the carriage.

Irene tried to get out of the carriage, but Dewey blocked her way.

“I’m sorry, but we need to depart right away. We should reach the village before it gets darker to avoid sleeping outdoors.”

“…Alright.”

Forced to return to her seat, Irene glanced sideways at Kalos sitting opposite her.

He had his arms crossed and his head leaning against the carriage wall. His face, with eyes gently closed, looked very tired.

Then I should be quiet and not disturb him. As she was trying to be as quiet as possible, as if she wasn’t there, unexpectedly, Kalos spoke first.

“Your injuries?”

Only then did Irene remember that she was injured and looked down at her ankle. At first, it hurt so much that she couldn’t even step on it properly, but now it just stung a little.

“It’s fine. Thank you for your concern.”

“I wasn’t really worried.”

At this curt reply, Irene lost her words and closed her mouth, lowering her gaze.

Kalos, who had opened his eyes by now, stared at Irene for a while before continuing.

“Baron Silas is dead.”

“What?”

What is this about now? Irene looked back at Kalos in surprise. He continued nonchalantly.

“Not just Baron Silas, but his entire family died in a fire, they say.”

Irene was shocked not only by the sudden death of Baron Silas, who had been fine until she left the territory, but even more appalled that they had died in a fire.

After all, the reason she had been accused of being a witch was because of fire.

What if people think the reason Baron Silas and his family died in a fire is because of me?

As Irene became anxious and was about to ask Kalos for more details about the situation in Silas’s territory, suddenly his body appeared semi-transparent, as if he had become a ghost.

What’s this? Irene rubbed her eyes and checked again, thinking she must have seen wrong, but his body was still semi-transparent.

In fact, it was becoming more transparent, and she became frightened, thinking he might disappear if left alone.

Normally, she should be happy if Kalos, who binds her like a noose, disappeared, but she didn’t know why she felt afraid.

At this moment, the only thing she was certain of was that she couldn’t let him disappear.

Thinking she had to stop it somehow, Irene hurriedly reached out and grabbed his arm, which had become so transparent that the chair cushion could be seen through it.

At that moment, all the strength drained from her body. As Irene, feeling something was wrong, tried to let go.

“…!”

Kalos pulled her arm in return. Irene’s eyes widened like saucers as she found herself in his arms. Her body stiffened like a rock.

Kalos, unperturbed, buried his face in her shoulder and took a deep breath.

Then his semi-transparent body gradually became clearer. Irene, stunned by this strange phenomenon, felt dizzy and dropped her head. A faint moan escaped her parted lips.

“Ah…”

At that moment, Kalos’s hand, which had been holding her waist, fell away. Irene looked up at him with clouded eyes, breathing heavily.

“Don’t look.”

Then a large hand covered her eyes. Along with the deep darkness, a husky voice flowed into her mind.

“Because it’s hard to endure.”