“You dare to be distracted in front of me?”

Elicia hid her apologetic feelings and caressed Illeon’s cheek with the hand that had been resting on her chin.

The man, who had been narrowing his eyes as if dissatisfied, subtly lifted the corners of his mouth, and his expression eased. It seemed as if there might be some hidden power in her hand that pleased him just by watching it from close by.

No, that’s not it. He likes me so much. That’s why.

A sudden realization made her heart pound for no reason.

“What could I possibly be thinking about?”

When the pleased Elicia asked, Illeon answered with a question without hiding his excitement.

“Will there be a prize if I guess right?”

“I have nothing worth giving as a prize. I have given you everything I have.”

“That’s strange. I feel like I’ve only heard promises but haven’t received anything yet.”

In that brief moment, Illeon had finished preparing dinner with the barbeque ingredients that the butler had brought. Elicia sat comfortably at a distance, watching him work.

Illeon tied an apron around his waist and, with skilled hand movements, placed a large piece of meat on the grill.

Sizzle.

He quickly seared one side and skillfully flipped the meat, making Elicia clap her hands without realizing it.

“Wow! That’s impressive.”

A man cooking is the best!

The line extending from his broad and firm shoulders to his slender waist usually exuded a noble grace when wearing a uniform or suit.

However, Illeon, who had rolled up the sleeves of his white shirt and wore an apron around his waist, looked extraordinarily handsome, like a painting. Although she hadn’t tasted the meat he was grilling, she already knew what it would taste like.

It must be delicious. There’s no way that meat grilled by that man would taste bad.

Elicia slowly stood up and approached Illeon from behind. After a moment’s hesitation, she cautiously put her arms around his waist and hugged Illeon, feeling the strength in his back.

“Why all of a sudden?”

“Because I envy the apron.”

Illeon looked back at her strange comment.

“It’s clinging to you.”

Around your waist.

She omitted a word, but Illeon seemed to understand immediately and laughed out loud.

Elicia felt embarrassed and released her arms.

‘He does all sorts of things.’

I just made a little effort, and he laughs like that. I felt a bit sullen.

Illeon bent his head and gently kissed her forehead.

At the sudden touch, Elicia opened her eyes wide, and Illeon asked brazenly.

“Do you dislike it?”

“No.”

She felt her face heating up.

“If you don’t dislike it, you should get used to it.”

Yes, Illeon is right. Elicia nodded her head instead of answering, but she was too embarrassed to raise her head as she had been the one to interrupt his cooking first.

Illeon, looking at her as if she was cute, pressed his lips to her cheek once more.

“It’s hot, so stay back.”

Once again, Elicia obediently stepped back, continuing to admire Illeon.

‘I’ve never had a date like this before.’

I never even dated properly in my past life. From college life filled with job preparation, studying for English exams, getting certificates, and going back and forth between the library and home, I felt bitter seeing friends who were not only beautiful in love but also traveling and getting jobs easily.

Why can’t I do that?

Even though I thought that everyone had different abilities, I was still bitter and struggled not to fall behind in the flow of others’ lives. Just like a swan on the water’s surface looks graceful but underneath its feet are frantically pedaling to stay afloat, that was exactly me.

‘Is that why I reincarnated here and met Illeon?’

From the standpoint of Won Yoonji, her life might have been in an absolute superior position when looking down at this book, but her real life was not so good either.

That’s probably why she could decide to stay in this world, by Illeon’s side.
“Leaving Illeion beside me and lost in such thoughts would be rude.”

Elicia, her cheeks still flushed as if hot, cooled them with the back of her hand and began to look at the tent. The inside of the tent was quite tall, so Elicia was able to enter while standing straight without any difficulty.

Suddenly, something like a pendant hanging from a nail where a large lamp was hung caught her eye.

“Oh. Can I take a look at this?”

At Elicia’s words, Illeion, who was just moving the cooked meat off the grill, brushed off his hands and came over. Elicia placed it on her palm and looked it over from all sides.

The round and flat pendant was quite large. It seemed empty and light, but she wanted to see inside, yet the lid wouldn’t open.

“You open it like this.”

When Illeion pushed around the middle, the lid slid to the side, revealing a compass.

“It’s a compass.”

“Do you know about it?”

Elicia nodded her head.

“It’s a valuable thing. It helps you find your way.”

“Have you ever gotten lost?”

“I’ve encountered a sandstorm on the battlefield.”