“Then I’ll go with you to cut wood from now on. I should at least carry an axe, so I can get some muscles on my arms. I want arms like that too.”

Axel frowned as he imagined Jade’s torso with his arms attached to it.

“You’ll probably chop your feet instead of the wood. No way. Just carry and bring the water jug.”

“That’s not enough!”

“Just add more water. Your jug is always more than half empty anyway.”

“There’s a reason I don’t have a threatening build like you. What do you know!”

They kept talking non-stop. The luxurious and thick stew was prone to burning at the bottom, so it needed to be stirred for a very long time, but they didn’t feel tired as they chatted while doing it.

The distance between the two had somehow narrowed to the point where their shoulders were almost touching. Of course, given their height difference, they could never actually make contact, but it was close enough to clearly feel each other’s warmth.

Compared to the first day, with a bit of exaggeration, it was almost like they were hugging, but they didn’t realize anything strange about it at all. That was probably because intimacy had seeped between them very slowly. Like meat fat soaking into vegetables, very slowly.

And so, the luxury stew that had been simmering for hours turned out to be delicious.

Even after finishing the meal, it seemed Axel wasn’t going out hunting today. Well, with this wind blowing, no animals would be out anyway.

Thanks to that, as soon as they finished the long meal and washed up, Jade was dragged outside.

“What a packed schedule.”

Axel chuckled at Jade’s mumbling and opened a small door.

It was a space she had never entered before. In fact, she didn’t even know such a place existed.

A place that seemed to be attached to the back of the house. She thought it was just a part to support the wall, but it turned out to be a storage room.

The air inside was very cold, but strangely it didn’t feel damp at all, rather giving a refreshing feeling.

Axel lit the oil lamp attached to the inside.

Along with the soft light spreading around, what appeared were boxes piled up inside. Not crudely made wooden boxes, but sturdy ones with proper hinges, and those hinges had an elegant finish.

Jade suppressed her rising suspicion about his background once again and asked.

“What’s all this?”

“To be honest… I don’t know everything either.”

Axel looked around as if perplexed.

“Someone dumped these on me saying they weren’t needed. I haven’t checked them properly. Just a moment…”

He checked a few boxes and said.

“You look through this one.”

“What am I looking for?”

“Things that might be useful in winter.”

After saying just that, Axel went to the back and started messing with other boxes. Soon, the surroundings were filled with crashing, thumping, and banging sounds.

Jade opened the first box.

It was full of tableware. They already had enough plates and cups, so it was useless.

Still, out of curiosity, she lifted a flat bowl wrapped in cloth, and even in the dim light, she could see soft golden lines around the edges.

Could this be gold plating?

Jade blinked and searched deeper inside. There were knives and forks that appeared to be made of silver.

At this point, it would be foolish not to be suspicious. This meant he had lived a life where such things were commonplace. I guarantee, he’s at least an abandoned child from some rich family. He’s probably not a thief, after all.

She stared at the broad back as wide as a door panel with drowsy eyes and shook her head.

“There’s only tableware here.”

“Useless. Push it aside.”

“Okay…”

It’s just that the useless stuff happens to be made of gold and silver.

Bang, she closed it and moved on to the next box. As she opened the latch…

“Oh?”

It was full of clothes.

Jade’s eyes lit up, as she was currently in the position of borrowing Axel’s clothes.

Most of his clothes were too big, even excessively so, and there was the problem of risking nudity with just one step if not tightly tied with strings.

Moreover, this wasn’t some noble house outside, and he didn’t have many spare clothes, so she always felt sorry for taking his clothes to wear.

“What luck! There are so many clothes here!”

“Ah, that box… Pick out anything you can wear.”

Axel said while emptying another box.

“There should be other winter items in there too. Things suitable for a frail magician to wear.”

Somehow, there seemed to be an excessive emphasis on pronouncing the ‘frail’ part. Jade glared mercilessly at the back of Axel’s head.

“People can get sick sometimes, you know? It’s much colder here than where I used to live!”

“Who said anything? I just told you to look for things that might be needed for frail magicians. Why, are you that frail magician?”

She almost missed the days when he ignored most of what she said. In the end, having nothing to retort, she rummaged through the box with a sulky touch.

The box was full of clothes made of high-quality fabric. There were no decorative elements at all, but the cut itself felt excellent.

The stitching was sturdy, with no tears or frayed parts anywhere, and it wasn’t moth-eaten, probably due to the dry interior.

Taking one out, it was a blue top with a wide fit. Not something you’d wear to a banquet, but too nice to wear for chopping wood.

Even at a glance, it looked like it would suit Axel perfectly. Well, with his good physique and long limbs, what wouldn’t suit him?

“This is nice. Why didn’t you wear it and left it here?”

Axel ignored her question.

“If the material is good, you wear it with the waist tied. Return what you’ve been wearing.”

Searching more diligently inside, there was a good harvest. Pants that could be cut to fit, a thick shawl good for draping, high-quality mufflers and gloves, and so on.

Jade was moved by the thought that she could now look like a fairly decent person.

In the meantime, she found a fur hat of a strange shape and threw it behind her, but Axel picked it up again and tossed it into her arms.

“It’s ugly!”

“It suits you very well.”

“I said I don’t want it!”

“Are you a child? Just wear it because it’s cold.”

Axel put the white fur hat on Jade’s head in one swift motion with his large hand.

“…Hmm.”

Although her eyes were covered and she couldn’t see, she could feel his laughter that he was suppressing with a cough. Jade fumed.

“You’re laughing right now, aren’t you?”

“No, you’re mistaken.”

Jade quickly pushed his hand away and lifted the fur hat up. She was about to throw a tantrum, saying he put it on her arbitrarily and then laughed at her, but she suddenly stopped.

It wasn’t just because of the face so close their noses could almost touch.

The slightly curved eyes and loosely curled-up corners of his mouth. The clear and vivid gray eyes, like a mirror reflecting Jade.

It wasn’t the first time she had seen him smile. Their relationship had developed remarkably compared to their first meeting. They had exchanged not only necessary conversations but also unnecessary ones, so it was only natural for laughter to seep in between.

But even so, it was the first time she had faced him smiling this close.

Truly, it was a face with overwhelming impact. The eye corners that always drew cold angles were now softly relaxed, looking really wonderful, and she even had the silly thought that she’d like to see more of it.

So she unconsciously asked an absurd question.

“Do, do you like it?”

“Yes. It really suits you well, so just wear it. I smiled because it looks so warm.”

His voice still carried a gentle hint of laughter.

Of course, it must be a lie. If Axel was smiling like this, she must look ridiculously bear-like.

But even knowing this, Jade just hugged the hat to her chest and quickly turned away.

Thankfully it’s dark. He wouldn’t have noticed how red she had become, up to her nape.

Yes, if you’re born with a face like that, it’s only natural to get tired of the outside world. How many people must have clung to him and confessed their love?

Even when he sent deep gazes lost in other thoughts, women would have felt their hearts flutter with hope, and even at his polite smiles, they would have gone home to write marriage proposals.

How do I know? Because I’m thinking of wearing this ridiculous hat. Just because he said it looks good!

While Jade was sinking into despair—was I always someone who cared so much about looks?—Axel wanted a definite answer.

“You’re wearing that.”

It must have been really funny. Damn it.

“I said okay.”

Jade mumbled, pretending to focus back on the box. After that, Axel also turned his attention back to where he had been organizing.

At the very bottom of the box were clothes that were clearly useless in the forest. Things with overly stiff fabric and sharp angles.

Jade was about to close the box when she saw something glittering in the faint light at the corner of the box and reached for it.

What came out in her hand was a silver piece hanging on a silk string.

She gently traced it with her finger. A bird with unusually large wings. Each feather was so meticulously crafted that it looked like it could take flight at any moment.

A family crest?

Many places used the image of a large bird as their family emblem. But she had never seen one exactly like this before.

Most cases where Jade knew family crests were for very prominent houses, so this could be the crest of a smaller family under a larger house.

But it looked too magnificent to be just that.

Its luster, unchanged despite long neglect, didn’t look like mere silver, and the bird’s eye had a gem that split light into hundreds, thousands of rays.

Moreover, the craftsmanship was so delicate it seemed almost excessive. Even the tiniest claws were perfectly described, making it flawless.

Could such an item be a craft piece depicting the crest of a small family?

Surely not.

But what is this string for? This part at the foot… it looks like it could be hung somewhere. No, something seems familiar…

While Jade was closely examining just the bird piece, Axel closed the box behind him.

“There are some books too. I’m not sure if there’s anything you’d like to… What’s that?”

Axel approached with large steps and covered Jade’s entire hand, hiding the bird.

Glancing to the side, his profile dimly lit by the faint light was chilling.