It had been three days since I was constantly with Hades.

Fortunately, Sujechin did nothing.

Rather, every time I appeared with Hades, he treated me with contempt.

Of course, I couldn’t relax, so my strange cohabitation with Hades continued.

“I’ll take a short rest.”

I sat down in the chair, panting for breath.

After a long training, even the sweat drops that gathered on my forehead felt heavy.

This morning, I couldn’t stand the boredom and asked Hades to teach me.

Fortunately, Hades was a wonderful teacher who made learning feel worthwhile.

Though my body couldn’t keep up, that is.

“Drink.”

Hades handed me a glass of cold water.

‘Delicious…….’

I never thought that water without anything in it could be so tasty.

I put the cup on the table and stood up.

Since we made progress in the basic movements today, I planned to practice until I collapsed from exhaustion.

To subdue the Demon King with Leto and the others, it wasn’t enough just to have the ability to protect myself.

But the moment I picked up Denesor, a strong hand snatched the sword from me.

“That’s enough for today.”

“I think I can do a bit more.”

“Judging oneself is also a swordsman’s quality.”

Hades bluntly replied and placed Denesor against the wall.

“You’ll waste days if you collapse.”

“I will suffer again tomorrow anyway.”

I pouted.

No matter how hard I tried, this frail body never got better.

“You could suffer for three days instead of one. Do you want that?”

I had nothing to say.

Especially since Denesor was raising both of its hands in agreement with Hades.

“Listen to Croitner, kid. You might die from overwork instead of the curse!”

I sat down in the chair again and sighed.

“If only I were a bit healthier…….”

“You’re pretty lively for someone with a terminal illness.”

Hades responded dryly.

“Be grateful.”

Then he rang a bell to call a servant and ordered various fruits for me to eat.

“Please bring some cake too.”

I added joyfully, and Hades glanced at me.

“Just one piece.”

“That’s too much!”

“I can’t let you get a stomachache like last time.”

He was right.

‘I’ll have to be content with fruit.’

Shortly after, a servant came in with a silver tray full of various fruits.

As I bit into a thick grape, its sweet taste filled my mouth.

“Would you like some?”

Hades shook his head.

‘After all, I’m the one who’s worn out, not Hades.’

I didn’t offer him any more fruit and concentrated on finishing the grapes.

“I’ll go wash my hands.”

As I stood to wash my sticky hands, Hades pressed my shoulder, making me sit back down.

“Stay still.”

“……?”

While I blinked in confusion, Hades left the room and returned with a ceramic bowl full of clean water.

“I won’t die from walking a few steps.”

“You might collapse.”

Hades replied curtly, grabbing both my wrists at once and dipping them into the water.

“I, I can do it.”

“I told you to stay still.”

Hades began to wash my hands as if handling a child, very carefully.

I tried to push him away, confused, but Hades didn’t budge an inch.

My mouth went dry.

Even Amy had only helped me with my bathwater and washed my hair, so this was the first time someone had taken care of me like this.
Of course, the fact that his opponent was Duke Donovan made this situation even more bewildering.

“Just what are you going to do if you can’t even stand properly?”

“…….”

“Did you think I wouldn’t see your hand shaking?”

How did he know?

While I was staring blankly at Hades, he brought a soft towel and completely wiped the water from my hand.

“Rest, I will take care of the cleanup.”

I opened my eyes wide.

For a moment, Hades’s voice sounded gentle.

But before I could think deeply, someone knocked on the door.

“Come in.”

The one who burst through the door was Tobias.

“…… Your Grace, I greet you.”

Could it be, he didn’t know I was staying in Hades’s room?

Tobias averted his gaze from me with a flustered face.

“What’s the matter, Tobias?”

“A dead demon has been found in the eastern tower.”

“……!”

Hades’s voice grew serious.

“What’s the condition?”

“It was halffrozen.”

“The cause of death?”

“It seems to be from the east for now.”

I quickly thought.

If it’s from the east, there’s no way it’s an ice attribute demon, so it would be water, light, or earth.

‘Or it could be ‘that’ attribute… No, those attribute demons are only stationed near the Demon King.’

I erased the momentarily arising attributes from my mind.

Those demons shouldn’t even appear in the Duke Donovan’s territory; there was no need to consider them.

Meanwhile, Tobias saluted Hades with a stiff face.

“It appears you need to check it out yourself. It’s not an ordinary corpse.”

“That’s right.”

I was about to follow Hades, but I lost my balance and wobbled.

Tobias spoke with a troubled face.

“It seems difficult for the Saint to go to the eastern tower. The west wind is blowing strongly now…….”

Hades grabbed my hand.

“Anzel is coming with me.”

I swallowed dryly.

I wanted to follow Hades too, but in this state, I would only be a nuisance.