“Has the pain gotten better?”

Jade, who had been absent-mindedly staring, was startled when he unexpectedly spoke to her.

“Pardon?”

Noticing that the man’s glance that briefly turned to her contained a hint of contempt, Jade desperately held back the urge to pout.

Don’t make him dislike you. You don’t know who this person is! He may have saved you, but he could turn out to be a very bad guy!

The man asked again.

“I asked if the pain has gotten better.”

Jade lightly touched the cloth roughly attached to her forehead as she answered.

“Ah, yes. Earlier I had a terrible headache, but now it’s fine.”

Having asked the question himself, the man quickly seemed to lose interest and drank some water. Seeing his Adam’s apple move as he gulped, Jade suddenly felt thirsty.

“Um…”

His gaze immediately turned to her at the single word. Dry, ashen eyes.

“Is that… water?”

At the obvious question, the man snorted and poured water into a cup, pushing it across the table to her.

However, Jade only carefully took a sip after smelling it and confirming its transparency. It was a habit ingrained after drinking poisoned tea several times.

All she felt on her tongue was coolness. From then on, she began to drink in big gulps. At that moment, this water was the sweetest and most refreshing thing in the world.

After putting down the cup, an awkward silence fell again. The man had his back turned and was moving his hands quite busily, while Jade just stood there blankly with nothing to do.

It had been about 7 years since her parents passed away, and about 4 years of experience with the subjugation squad.

Born as the heir to a good family, but forced to develop keen observation skills through harsh times, she was able to properly choose what to say.

Gathering her courage, Jade walked briskly towards the man and spoke in a friendly manner.

“Is there anything I can help with?”

She intended to ask various questions while engaging in some conversation.

But the man did not follow her intentions. He threw out an unexpected statement in a nonchalant voice.

“When you go outside, turn left. There’s a place where you can wash up behind there.”

“Pardon?”

To the bewildered Jade, he kindly informed her. That she smelled like rotten leaves from the bottom of a lake.

Not the scent of roses, but rotten leaves from the bottom of a lake!

Shocked by the harsh assessment, Jade immediately ran out. Fortunately, there was a well-enclosed space in the backyard that wasn’t bad for washing up. It was a bit cold due to the lack of boiled water, but manageable.

After washing and returning, she felt much more refreshed and motivated.

“Now I shouldn’t smell like rotten leaves anymore. I’ll help with anything!”

The house was now filled with a soft and savory aroma. The man glanced at her briefly, remained silent for a moment, then slid something over.

“Cut this into edible pieces.”

What she received was black bread. Confused by its appearance, which was different from the white bread she was used to seeing, Jade enthusiastically tackled her first assigned task.

“Ugh, darn.”

Of course, to the man watching nearby, it just looked like she was butchering the bread. Even at a glance, the cross-section of the bread was a mess.

“…Hey.”

“Yes?”

“Straighten your wrist, and gently saw from the top down.”

“Ah, I see.”

Jade nodded and did as he instructed, but – how exactly does one saw? – her patience ran out and she ended up tearing the last part with her hands. The tough bread didn’t cut as neatly as in pictures.

Surely when she went down to watch the castle kitchen, the chef cut it easily. Is black bread somehow different? Jade tilted her head in puzzlement.

The man casually remarked.

“You must have been raised delicately.”

Jade smiled naturally, without so much as a tremor in her fingertips.

“Ah, I do look a bit delicate and precious, don’t I? I know that. Haha, but I’ve actually been through quite a lot.”

It was a truth mixed with a small lie.

The Broen family was widely renowned for its long lineage of magicians, and their domain was quite wealthy. But it was also true that she had been through a lot outside due to the subjugation work.

In any case, it was best to hide the family story from someone who had helped her but also knew nothing about her.

Unnecessary information could arouse unnecessary greed.

Fortunately, Jade was confident she could act the part of a guild magician she had met outside, given her considerable experience as a magician.

But the man’s next words caught her off guard.

“You’ve been through a lot, but never cut bread before?”

“Ahem, I-I haven’t cut bread before. I just prefer tearing it to eat.”

The man snorted and seemed to decide to simply ignore her, focusing only on his own cooking.

Thus, the completed table had torn bread, butter, a simple soup, and some preserved fruits.

Having starved for a full day, Jade sat at the table and immediately started eating the soup without time for manners. And she inadvertently let out an exclamation.

“Wow, what is this?”

When the man looked at her as if to say ‘what do you mean, what is it?’, Jade exclaimed excitedly.

“You’re really good at cooking!”

This wasn’t flattery, but sincere. The man was truly skilled at cooking.

The soup, which had looked clear, warmed her mouth with the right amount of seasoning and umami, stimulating her appetite. Moreover, the occasional bits of something chewy had a strange fragrance that improved her mood. Who knew unnamed vegetables could have such a pleasant texture.

After that, she ate combatively. Despite the few dishes, they were so delicious that her stomach churned.

The butter was much thinner than what she ate at the castle, but it was soft and savory, making even the dry bread melt in her mouth, and the preserved fruits were sweet and easily crumbled.

A spoonful of soup, a bite of bread, a bite of fruit.

While Jade ate enthusiastically as if she had starved for a month, the man watched her with a disgruntled look, resting his chin on one hand.

He was thinking: It seems she wasn’t raised that preciously after all. Eating even low-quality food so well.

Only after filling her stomach for quite some time did Jade recall her purpose. Ah, I was supposed to have a moderate conversation and find a way out.

When she looked up, the man was now watching her with a bored expression. Her passionate meal had gone on for quite a while.

Feeling embarrassed, Jade smiled and said.

“I was very hungry. Um, I’m Jade. Jade… Brown!”

She hastily hid the surname Broen. The man’s answer was simple.

“Axel.”

The corners of Jade’s eyes trembled with anxiety.

He’s very curt… Will he even give proper answers like this? I have so much to ask.

She barely managed to hold back her lips from twisting and forced herself to speak in a soft voice again.

“I’m really grateful that you took me in, and thank you for letting me sleep warmly. But, um.”

She decided to ask what she was most curious about first.

“May I ask why you… tied me up?”

“What?”

The man furrowed his brow.

“Tied you up? What are you talking about?”

“When I woke up….”

As his reaction turned harsh, Jade’s voice naturally faltered. Right, there seems to have been some kind of misunderstanding…?

After pondering for a few days with his arms crossed, he finally answered in a voice as cold as heavy snow.

“I see what you mean. I thought it would be good to immobilize your arms, so I wrapped them in cloth, and I wrapped you in a blanket so you wouldn’t catch a chill, but I guess I should have just thrown you on the ground. Right?”

The man sarcastically nodded towards the room where she had first woken up.

Jade couldn’t believe it, so she ran into the dark room. There, blankets and cloth bundles were scattered on the floor as if someone had shed them like a skin.

Of course, that someone was Jade.

She returned and sat down in the chair again with a very polite attitude. And she tried to show the brightest smile she could.

“Um, haha! People can have misunderstandings sometimes… I’m sorry.”

Even if she blinked with an innocent face, it was already too late. The man’s face was very cold, as if he had greatly distanced himself from her mentally.

“This is why they say not to pick up people carelessly.”

“Ahem.”

“If Ollie hadn’t stopped me, I would have taken you back to the lakeside without even trying, you know.”

“Ollie is that old person I saw earlier, right? What a kind-hearted person…”

The man didn’t even answer and just tilted his head askew. Jade kept clearing her throat.

“Ahem. I’m asking this question in case my memory isn’t complete.”

“I don’t know why you have so many questions.”

“Please take pity on me, who suddenly fell from the air and hurt my head. Anyway, is this really the Athanase Forest? That, Athanase Forest? The infamous one?”

Jade asked with her hands clasped tightly in front of her chest. Her eyes were so desperate that Axel could instantly realize.

“So you’re a magician.”

This part was fine to be revealed.

But this man was clearly not ordinary. Would a normal person so easily know what the Athanase Forest means to magicians? Unlikely.

Quickly thinking, Jade calmly answered.

“Yes. I am indeed a magician.”

“Then you should be able to tell instantly. That spells don’t work here.”

A sigh and a groan escaped involuntarily.

But it wasn’t time to give up hope yet.

“Um, can I call you Axel? Axel, do you ever have any business outside the forest?”

“No. And for your information, I don’t know the way out.”

How very kind of you. I wasn’t even going to ask you to leave together.

“I-I see, haha! There must be many people living here in the Athanase Forest too, right?”

Axel smirked.

“I don’t really prefer roundabout ways of speaking.”

“Do merchants come into this forest? Looking at the items in the house, it seems like they would.”

At the immediately direct question, the man gave a slight eye-smile and nodded.

“They do come in.”

“Wow, that’s a relief. I can ask those merchants to guide me out. I’ll just need their help for a while. I’ll make sure to pay for it.”

Staring at Jade’s face, which had brightened with hope, Axel slightly twisted his lips.