‘It must be someone else’s blood, right?’

Despite lying in bed, I couldn’t fall asleep.

After tossing and turning for a while, Reus, having finished changing, entered the room. He passed by the bed and headed straight to the bathroom, wearing long pants and a long-sleeved top instead of his usual robe.

As if he had something to hide…

His appearance only heightened my anxiety, making it impossible for me to settle down and sleep.

Then, the sound of water stopped, and I heard the door open. Reus’s footsteps approached the bed, prompting me to sit up slightly. Our eyes met briefly before Reus nonchalantly sat down on the bed.

“Reus…”

“I’ll listen to what you have to say tomorrow.”

He seemed deeply tired even with small movements. It was clear that I should just quietly retreat for tonight. Yet, I couldn’t help but ask the question burning in my mind.

“Why aren’t you wearing your robe today…?”

Without turning his head, Reus leaned against the bed’s headboard and replied slowly in a slightly harsh tone.

“Do you really want an explanation for that too?”

Although I could feel Reus’s mood becoming increasingly somber…

‘I keep smelling blood…’

After a moment of hesitation, I impulsively pulled up Reus’s top. He sharply knocked my hand away.

“What are you trying to do…?”

There was a pause in his speech as if he was suppressing his anger. But I had already seen the condition of his body under his clothes.

‘His injuries are so severe…’

For a brief moment, I saw that Reus’s body was in a terrible state, similar to, or perhaps even worse than, when he was badly injured in the Quiet Forest. The wounds were poorly treated.

I couldn’t find words and stood up from the bed.

“I’ll call… I’ll get Rotteo to bring a doctor…”

Before I could leave, Reus pulled me back onto the bed. His voice, deep and emotionless, filled my ears.

“Didn’t I make it clear last time? Your concern is not your responsibility.”

Frustration seeped through his words. Despite his attempt to mask it, the pain was evident. But there was nothing I could do. Was this the price for altering the world’s order?

I felt choked, as if my throat was stuffed with cotton.

My patience was reaching its limit.

Why did this woman always have to interfere at times like this? She intruded into my life in the Quiet Forest and kept irritating me ever since.

I was ready to give her a piece of my mind if she intervened again, no matter if she got scared or not.

But she remained silent, not moving from her spot. Did she take my words as an injury?

She was indeed an annoying woman.

Then, just when I was about to lie down, Roel firmly grasped my shirt.

“If you don’t want to show your wounds to others… I can… I can treat them…”

I was about to brush her off ruthlessly, but when I turned to look at her, her complexion was worryingly pale.

I suppressed my anger once again, against my intention.

“There’s no need… as I said.”

Her concern was unnecessary, and I preferred to keep my pain to myself.
Reus was barely managing to sit up at this point.

The array of large and small cuts slicing through his skin was not something a normal person could endure while conscious.

Even a slight breeze might have made him collapse in pain. At this moment, sharp and icy pains were writhing in his gaping wounds, continually testing his patience.

Yet, the woman refused to let go of his shirt. As his patience finally snapped, Reus harshly swatted away Roel’s hand with a loud smack.

He thought this would be enough to deter her.

Typically, that would have been the case. But Roel didn’t react as Reus had anticipated.

Unfazed by being forcefully pushed away, she once again firmly grasped the hem of Reus’s shirt.

“I’ll take care of you… Please, let me treat you….”

The desperation in her small hand gripping his shirt was the final straw for Reus’s thinning patience.

“Enough with this annoyance…!”

Reus started to rise abruptly but stopped his movement abruptly.

The woman’s face, which had been normal until just moments ago, was now soaked with tears. Thick droplets cascaded down her swollen eyes.

This unfamiliar emotion perplexed Reus. Ever since meeting this woman, he had encountered such situations more frequently, and despite his annoyance, he found himself unable to scold her.

Even now, Roel clung to his shirt with a grip too weak to threaten even the smallest creature, her frail hand turning pale from the effort. She was shivering, possibly from crying, yet she stood her ground.

“Please… let me treat you….”

It was incomprehensible why she was so passionate about a matter that wasn’t her own. From one to ten, nothing about her made sense.

“Why are you crying?”

His tone wasn’t as sharp as before, but Roel, already frightened, bit her trembling lower lip and looked determined.

“I’ll stay like this… until you allow me to help.”

Reus couldn’t help but be curious. What did Roel Ibel consider him to be?

Was it a mere liking? He had known for a long time that she harbored no such feelings for him.