He coveted Rukna like a wanderer of the desert who had been lost for a long time.

The desire contained in his clumsy movements flared up without knowing patience.

Rukna’s upper body gradually leaned back.

He supported the floor with one arm while holding Rukna up with the other.

As she raised one knee and squirmed, his leg pressed down on it soothingly.

Unlike his polite attitude, his lips were brutal.

His breath was ragged. She wanted to escape now, but the hand cupping the back of her head wouldn’t let her go.

‘Ugh!’

In the end, her delicate lips that couldn’t handle him were torn.

At that moan, the beast-like man moved away for a moment.

He licked up the beads of blood that had welled up on the wound, yet he was still watching her reaction.

Even though her eyes were out of focus…… he was examining her intentions.

Haa. Haa. Rukna caught her breath and raised her arm to cover her face.

This was part of the treatment.

She shouldn’t get swept away any further here.

“That’s enough now.”

Rukna placed her hand on his mouth and then pushed him away.

Matian did not resist.

Even as he obediently withdrew, he gnawed on her fingers that had been on his mouth like a begging beast.

“Matian Wiegratz.”

At that call, Matian twitched his head.

He slowly blinked his eyes like someone waking up from hypnosis.

It took quite a long time for his hazy blue eyes under his long lashes to find a clear focus.

“I am now……”

He pressed his temples and looked around.

So he was in a half-collapsed pavilion.

His whole body was soaked in blood, and the smell of blood, whether from a monster or a human, vibrated throughout his body.

Around the sword stuck in the floor of the pavilion, blood had pooled like a pond.

‘How many did I kill?’

No, what did he kill.

His breath stopped with an ominous feeling.

And the fragmentary scenes that came to mind.

He had stolen Bolton’s horse and came to the lord’s castle in a daze, slaughtering the monsters that had popped out of the huge hole in the ground.

He had also fairly swung his sword at the annoying gnomes and humans to frighten them.

“Damn it.”

Hoping there were no casualties, he belatedly stared ahead.

There, Rukna was lying underneath him, looking up at him.

Rukna? Why? Did I……

When Matian was fiddling with his lips.

“Are you coming to your senses now?”

Her blue-green eyes filled with tears contained only him.

The moment he saw those eyes, his mind full of worries turned blank and he couldn’t think of anything else.

“……Kuhala Reservoir, it will soon return to its original state.”

It’s strange. Even though he knew it was out of the blue, Matian wanted to tell her first that the reservoir would sparkle like her eyes again.

I couldn’t stand the thought of that lake resembling your eyes becoming cloudy.

After barely spitting out those words, he could realize that he had returned to reality.

Matian lowered his head like before.

Rukna’s eyes were clear and transparent, yet his own reflection in them was not a hero of all, but a filthy demon.

He wanted to escape. He felt ashamed as if his thoroughly hidden instincts had been exposed.

‘What kind of expression am I making now?’

Matian raised his hand to his chest to take out the mirror in his jacket pocket.

But instead of a jacket, only the torn shirttail was caught in his hand.

On his exposed, firm body, monster blood was dirtily smeared.

A stifling emotion surged up. His eyes grew hot, but Matian was not a man to shed tears.

‘Everything is a mess.’

You don’t tell me a single truth, and I ended up revealing my pathetic insides again this time.

Matian lowered his head as if collapsing and rested his forehead on Rukna’s shoulder.

And his two arms clung desperately to her slender body.

“Are you okay?”

Rukna patted his broad back as if comforting a child.

Maybe he had calmed down a bit.

The blue eyes that had emerged from despair belatedly examined Rukna’s attire.

No wonder it felt strange when he hugged her. She was wearing only a thin sleeveless top, no different from underwear.

What on earth had happened. Matian’s moist eyes froze in an instant.

“Who did this to you.”

Matian asked, touching the white cloth. Whenever he touched it, red bloodstains were left on the white undergarment.

“I did it. I took it off.”

Rukna tried her best not to provoke Matian.

“Why.”

“It was hot. The Golden Plains are hot.”

If she brought up Mela’s story here, it seemed like Matian would immediately run to cut off Mela’s head.

“You managed to bundle up well at school even when it was hot.”

“Was that your complaint?”

“……”

“Really?”

Rukna laughed, asking if that was the kind of complaint he had.

In the meantime, his hand that had been touching the fabric slightly brushed against Rukna’s bare skin.

It was a very brief contact, but Rukna flinched her waist as if struck by lightning.

“……Stop touching. My only set of underwear will wear out.”

“Sorry.”

With that, Matian took off the shirt he was wearing and draped it over Rukna’s shoulders.

His shirt was also in tatters, so it hardly covered anything.

But Matian was greatly satisfied that he had covered Rukna’s white skin even a little.

‘Come to think of it…….’

Matian examined Rukna’s body. Her fair skin exposed here and there was a mess with the blood from himself.

Ha. You devilish bastard.

He had wished so much that a fragrant scent would be conveyed or a pleasant texture would touch him when she was by his side.

Using Bolton’s estate as an excuse, he had gone out to the streets and bought soap that smelled good, and had consistently sprayed perfume that she had particularly sniffed.

He had also ironed the sleeves of his jacket clean every day, which she occasionally grabbed.

But in the end, all he gave her were bloodstains and the smell of blood on a torn rag.

“I must be quite a sight right now.”

Matian tried to raise the corners of his mouth in self-deprecation.

But even that didn’t go as he intended.

Even when he tried to express his emotions, his stiffened facial muscles only spasmed.

“Well, a demon did come to mind.”

“……”

“Seeing you slice through that huge monster, it seemed like you had gone beyond the realm of humans. Everyone must have thought it was fortunate that you were on their side. That’s why they were even more startled when your sword started attacking both allies and enemies indiscriminately at the end.”

Rukna revealed her honest impressions.

She knew that even if she lied and said otherwise, it would not comfort Matian.

“Your expression at that time was really terrifying.”

Rukna took Matian’s cheeks and lifted his face.

His sculpture-like face, which had been buried near her waist, obediently followed her touch.

Rukna brushed up his black hair wet with blood.

As his disheveled hair was tidied, his straight forehead was revealed.

This made his blue eyes stand out even more.

Matian accepted his owner’s touch submissively like a well-trained beast.

Rukna’s hand that had been fixing his hair now headed towards his mouth.

Just before her fingertips touched, Matian flinched his face.

He had been like an obedient hunting dog until a moment ago, but now he looked like a frightened cat.

Rukna unhesitatingly poked his mouth with both index fingers.

Then she pulled it up like that. His lips drew an awkward arc.

Matian frowned as if asking what the hell she was doing.

“Relax your eyes if you’re not angry with me.”

It was a tone as if training a large hunting dog.

Matian meekly followed Rukna’s orders and relaxed his face.

“You know, Matian. When I have to smile forcibly, I think of food I want to eat. For example, really delicious bread.”

“Bread?”

“Yeah. When I think of the savory smell of bread, I can easily brush off whatever nonsense people around me are spouting.”

Hearing that, Matian asked with a somewhat regretful expression.

“Is your current smile also from thinking about bread?”

“Yup. Scones with sweet jam.”

After finishing this journey, I must go to the cafe in front of the school and buy freshly baked scones. I should also order kaya jam, strawberry jam, and custard cream.

Thinking that, the corners of her mouth that had already been raised twisted joyfully.

Matian gazed at her as if engraving that smile in his eyes.

“You try thinking of something you like too. What do you like?”

“……Well.”

“Think hard. Hmm, what could there be. Being first in the whole school?”

There was not much change in Matian’s expression.

This guy, is being first so obvious that he can’t smile?

“Victory in duels? Your face reflected in the mirror? The pathetic appearance of defeated opponents? The student council? The holy…… oh, you smiled!”

Thank goodness.

She almost mentioned the holy sword by mistake, but Matian smiled.

Since he smiled when she said ‘student council’, he must have thought of the student council members.

“You bastard, you had quite an outstanding camaraderie, huh?”

Rukna playfully poked Matian’s shoulder.

“Camaraderie. Is that so.”

His gentle smile instantly turned crooked.

He had never thought of the things Rukna mentioned in the first place.

He had simply taken in the sight of Rukna smiling brightly.

Of course, the list she had recited thinking it would make him feel good was a bit annoying to hear.

But camaraderie.

“Uh-oh? You look like you want to pick a fight with me right now.”

“……Do I?”

“Yeah. That’s not it. Smile again. Like this.”

Rukna showed an example by pulling up the corners of her mouth as much as possible.

Looking at that exaggerated smile, Matian imitated her.

His stiffened face moved softly again according to his will.

“Oh, now you look like the student council president.”

Rukna made a circle with her thumb and index finger and gave an okay sign.

“You’re still just like Rukna.”

Actually, he wanted to say that everything was thanks to her. Why was it so difficult to say those words, and only things different from his heart came out.

“Doesn’t sound like a compliment.”

Rukna got up first.

“Shall we go then, Matian?”

But perhaps because she had been crouching for a long time. Her numb leg faltered due to pins and needles.

Matian, who was getting up following Rukna, easily supported her back.

The two became close again in an instant.

Through his palm touching the small-framed Rukna, he seemed to feel a heartbeat.

Was it Rukna’s?

Or was it his own.