“What! Mmph!”

Diana, whose shirt was clinging to her body due to being wet, squirmed in his arms as she buried her face in his chest. The more she moved, the tighter he gripped her back.

“Rodrick?”

“…”

Diana glanced up at him, who remained silent, then gave up and rested her head on his chest. Might as well absorb some more of the curse while I’m at it.

“What does this mean? Can a person change so much after waking up? You used to hate it when I clung to you.”

“So.”

His dry voice cracked pleasantly at the end.

“Do you dislike it?”

“No. Who said I disliked it?”

As Diana said this and clung even tighter, Rodrick let out a small laugh.

A maddening woman. But she had been upgraded to a not entirely unpleasant woman.

The weight of her body pressing against his wasn’t bad.

Was the comfort of each other’s warmth always this peaceful?

It was a tranquility he couldn’t find even when wandering the battlefield, his whole body screaming with the urge to kill.

It was the first time in his life he felt such ease.

“…”

Lost in thought for a moment, Rodrick gazed at the bright moon hanging in the sky. Then, sensing something amiss, he furrowed his brow.

“My lady?”

“…”

Diana’s chatter, which had continued until just now, had ceased. Rodrick rose from his seat and checked on her condition.

Her soaked body was cooling down, but her temperature was rising.

Diana’s face was flushed red as she fell asleep, breathing heavily.

Tsk. Clicking his tongue, he removed the pendant from the string wrapped around Diana’s wrist. Rodrick quickly destroyed the pendant imbued with location-tracking magic.

It was a method to alert their location in case of emergency. His subordinates would arrive soon.

Rodrick scanned the area, then propped Diana against a safe-looking tree corner before starting a fire.

Lighting a fire in a dark forest teeming with magical beasts was suicidal, but magical beasts were no threat to him.

His upper garment was nowhere to be seen. No sword either. He remained calm even in this defenseless state.

He took off the thin shirt he was wearing, wrung it out tightly, and covered Diana’s body with it.

He wasn’t sure how she had left the castle. Who would believe a woman alone could drag an unconscious man out?

Especially with a body that looked like it would break if touched too roughly. He had unintentionally incurred a debt.

Rodrick turned his gaze to the lake, which shone as blue as his eyes.

His blue eyes sank to unfathomable depths. Was that lake connected to the castle?

Considering her wet body and what Diana had said, it was easy to deduce. Underwater, even a man’s body could move without much difficulty.

“Captain!”

Just as he was lost in thought, a familiar voice called out. Along with the clanking of armor, his group arrived.

The subordinates who made eye contact with Rodrick as he turned his head all froze in their tracks.

More precisely, they stopped abruptly, stunned by the scene before their eyes.

“Uh, well, um.”

Pushing aside one who was stuttering, a subordinate spoke up.

“Did we interrupt something?”

Rodrick swept back his black hair with its blue tinge. His exposed eyes were more murderous than ever.

His gaze was saying, “What nonsense are you talking about?”

“No! But when the captain is half-naked like that, it’s natural to misunderstand!”

A shirtless man in front of a crackling campfire, with a woman lying covered by his shirt. They looked like affectionate lovers.

The problem was that this man was their captain.

The captain who commanded ruffians on par with imperial knights. The commander of the Duverc Knights. Rodrick Schwartz!

And he was even offering his thigh as a pillow to the woman, with one leg stretched out.

That cold-blooded man had allowed a woman by his side.

A lap pillow! A lap pillow, of all things! The subordinates were all shocked. This was a major incident.

“Wow, so even our captain has his springtime.”

“I thought he’d live alone forever.”

“Tch. Damn. I’m jealous.”

“I can’t even see my wife.”

“Quiet.”

At the low voice, all noise ceased instantly.

Rodrick silenced his subordinates with a word and raised his hand. At his gesture, the vice-captain stepped forward.

At the same time, Noel, who had been holding the vice-captain’s hand, trotted over.

“Sister.”

Before the child could reach Diana, his small head was caught in a large hand.

“Quiet. Who are you?”

“…I’m her brother?”

The face that had turned pale at the sight of the collapsed Diana quickly became sullen as he looked up at Rodrick.

The strangely glistening red eyes were threatening. Though the chubby cheeks and short stature were not threatening at all.

“The Beatus family should only have the young lady as the youngest. Was there an illegitimate child?”

The vice-captain, who had been standing back quietly, added softly.

“He claims to be an illegitimate child of the Beatus family. According to our previous investigation, the illegitimate child disappeared without being registered in the family register as soon as he entered the family. It seems he was trapped here.”

“Was the young lady of the Beatus family also missing?”

“Was this lady the young lady of the Beatus family?”

“Yes.”

“In the report we received just before departure, there was no mention of anything unusual.”

The four siblings of the Beatus family were famous in the empire. In contrast to the renown of the three brothers, the youngest daughter was famous for a different reason.

The young lady who had secluded herself in the mansion and never came out, despite belonging to such a prestigious family.

There were all sorts of rumors: that her beauty paled in comparison to her brothers, that she had an incurable disease, that she had a disability.

Despite the various rumors, they never explained or clarified, simply ignoring them. And the more they did so, the more the talk increased.

Contrary to the rumors, she was a beauty with striking features. Was even the claim that she was in the mansion a lie from the start?

She might have been confined here all along. We’ll have to investigate when we return.

“Mister.”

Rodrick’s eyebrow twitched at the unfamiliar form of address he had never heard before.

“Can you let go of my head?”

He hadn’t even realized he was still holding the child’s head. Rodrick’s brow furrowed irritably.

“Daren.”

He wondered why he was empty-handed for once. The vice-captain quickly handed him a pair of black gloves. He pathologically disliked touching things with bare hands.

After handing over his spare coat as well, Rodrick gave the vice-captain an order with a nod of his chin.

Regardless, Noel checked Diana’s condition.

As he placed his small palm on Diana’s cheek, the raging fever subsided instantly. As her breathing stabilized, the red eyes checked the magic flowing through her body.

It seems the absorption of unstable magic had put a strain on her body. Noel naturally turned his gaze to Rodrick.

A man terribly cursed.

Though he was necessary for Diana, Noel didn’t like him. He couldn’t pinpoint why, but he felt discomfort.

“What is it, little one?”

“It’s Noel. We need to move sister to a warm place. It’s going to rain soon.”

A chilly wind brushed past, and dark clouds began to gather, obscuring the moon.

Diana woke briefly at the sound of rain. There was no pain. Fear always came first when she opened her eyes.

Ah, how much will it hurt today? It felt like just yesterday that she cried with such vague fears.

Right. I died and came back to life. Me.

But who was it? The owner of the castle had red eyes. That was a characteristic unique to the Beatus family in this empire.

Diana looked around with drowsy eyes and then raised her head.

A strong arm was supporting her drooping body.

“Rod…rick?”

Sharp jawline. A man with an unreal appearance was sitting in his seat, holding her securely in his arms.

“Sister!”

“Noel?”

Her blurry focus cleared and she came to her senses.

“How are you here?”

“Sister, are you feeling alright?”

“Yeah, it doesn’t hurt…”

She couldn’t move her body. Diana looked down at herself, sensing something strange.

“Um, Rodrick. What is this?”

He looked at her as if asking what the problem was. Explain it in words, you fool.

She was wrapped in a blanket. Her body was rolled up like a newborn baby, cradled in Rodrick’s arms.

What on earth is going on here? Can someone please explain! Just then, her eyes met those of a dignified-looking man entering the cave.

“Ah, you’re awake, my lady. I am Daren Rauf, vice-captain of the Duverc Knights.”

Yes, since no one else is talking, I’ll have to ask that man.

“Excuse me.”

“Go outside.”

“Yes, the tent setup is complete, and we’ll take turns standing guard.”

Diana frowned as she blankly watched the man leave with a disciplined demeanor.

“Rodrick. Please explain what’s going on.”

“Yes, now that the young lady is awake too. Let’s hear an explanation. Why do I have to keep holding you?”

Diana pressed her lips shut as her words were cut off repeatedly.

Rodrick and Noel were glaring at each other as if having a staring contest.

“Because sister needs your curse, mister.”

“…”

Noel, isn’t that explanation too brief? You should explain in more detail.

“…I see.”

You accept that? Your madness being a curse is supposed to be a secret. The world believes your madness is a hereditary disease, not a curse. Isn’t it suspicious that we know about it?

“So that’s why you clung to me so lasciviously?”

“When did I ever… Mmph!”

“Be quiet for a moment, my lady.”

Rodrick firmly grasped Diana’s cheeks with his gloved hands.

“Sister is sick. She’ll die if she can’t absorb the curse. And you’ll die too, mister, as your curse gets stronger.”

“I can pass on my curse.”

“But passing it to someone else doesn’t make the curse disappear, does it?”

The corner of Rodrick’s mouth turned up with interest. It was a subtle movement, but Noel didn’t miss it.

“And?”

“If sister stays with you, we can get rid of your curse, mister.”

Ha. Rodrick, who had been treating the child seriously with an incredulous attitude, burst into laughter.

“Do you believe those words? My lady.”

Diana, who had managed to free her arms from the blanket with some effort, rested her head comfortably against his firm chest.

“I do. I can see it.”

“What?”

“I can see the magic leaving my body, and the curse you’re holding.”

“Is it a Beatus trait? Is that why this little one is a mage?”

“Oh, you knew?”

“I saw the little one use healing magic on you.”

Noel nodded, as if he hadn’t particularly intended to hide it.

Hmm, but Noel, did you get a bit smaller? Is it my imagination that you seem to have shrunk from 5 to 3 years old?

Feeling her gaze, Noel smiled brightly.

“I’ve heard enough. As soon as day breaks, Daren will guide the young lady and young master out of the Black Forest. After that, he’ll arrange a carriage to take you to the capital.”

Diana abruptly sat up at his nonchalant words.

“Did you really listen properly?”

“What about it?”

“No, I said we need you. And you need me too.”

He tilted his head slightly and said,

“Why would I?”

His blue eyes turned cold, as if they had never shown warmth.