I promised not to lie, so there was no need to be completely honest. It was okay not to tell the absolute truth. There were options to hide, evade, and make excuses. However, such evasive maneuvers were ultimately nothing but an inelegant, shameful clumsiness.

“[Don’t disturb your owner’s mood.]”

Ren admitted it. He knew it himself. It wasn’t enough to prioritize Sharti over his own memories; now, he had to cherish the life with Sharti more than the lost memories. The awkward, clumsy attitude he had displayed needed to be corrected.

By standing still, one becomes a person who is not worthy of jealousy, just a pitiful and clumsy fellow. Amidst all this, misunderstanding and misinterpretation, Ren quickly became honest.

And at the same time, he realized.

‘Ah.’

That’s right.

‘I think Sharti is pretty.’

And he found that he liked Sharti’s face.

‘From the first moment I saw her.’

At the moment he blurted out the unfamiliar confession, the identity of the emotions that he had not been aware of so far became clear.

It wasn’t gratitude towards the benefactor.

It wasn’t sympathy or pity either.

‘I wish Sharti would smile .’

Her laughter tickles his heart, tearing through his lips.

‘I hope Sharti is safe .’

Her hands would hold more refreshing flowers than dangerous paralyzing thorns.

‘I hope Sharti is happy .’

Without worries or anxieties, he wishes her to live a full life doing what she loves, hoping for it every time.

‘I hope Sharti looks at me .’

He wants to become the one engraved in the crimson eyes filled with sunlight.

And the meaning behind all these emotions was simple yet complex.

‘I like Sharti.’

Emotions follow the flow and eventually become clear.

With Ash’s appearance, he felt jealousy, and the excitement he felt when he faced Sharti’s face revealed clear emotions without any abruptness.

It was love.

‘So what?’

Even though he realized his feelings for Sharti, he didn’t feel particularly elated.

Rather, he needed to hold onto his heart firmly.

‘I shouldn’t let Sharti find out.’

Sharti is quick-witted. Of course, the level of incompetence in matters of the heart was as tragic as it could be, but she was sensitive to both favor and ill will directed at herself.

If the favor is at an appropriate level, Sharti won’t push it away; however, if that favor is a bit too deep and enormous, Sharti feels burdened and avoids it.

Ren had experienced this fact firsthand.

‘She’ll probably drive me away.’

Only now, Sharti was slowly opening up her heart. Holding hands, embracing, looking at each other’s faces—Sharti no longer made a disgusted face and cringed.

To suddenly confess a romantic feeling in this situation where emotions between people are deepening?

‘…I don’t even want to imagine.’
It would be fortunate as long as her face didn’t turn pale at the confession of liking. Sharti, uncertain about how to confess the fact that her face is pretty as it is, decided to get a bit closer and build more favor with Sharti before becoming someone she wouldn’t find lacking.

At least, not someone who can be compared to Ash, someone Sharti would not consider as a subject of comparison…

“Ren, do you like me?”

Ren realized anew.

He shouldn’t let his guard down in front of Sharti.

Sharti, for a moment, reveals nothing but secrets, feelings, emotions, and thoughts, scrutinizing them sharply in the end.

Caught by Sharti, Ren answered.

It was an answer that required no thought.

‘I like you.’

However, what came out of Ren’s mouth was not an admission.

“If I answer.”

Even though Sharti’s face was hidden by the hood, Ren could tell.

No trembling excitement was transmitted from the delicate hand that held him.

There was only a subtle anxiety.

“Can you handle it?”

It was a question whose recipient was unclear.

After impulsively confessing his feelings, Ren couldn’t handle her reaction, and Sharti was not prepared to handle his feelings.

Confessions not prepared by anyone should not be brought out easily due to the atmosphere.

“…….”

Sharti lowered her head, releasing the hand that had held Ren.

Ren watched silently as Sharti did not draw a clear line like before, neither built a solid wall again.

‘Until a moment ago, she seemed inexperienced, so it’s only natural.’

She must have been in a confusing state, having been threatened with her life until a moment ago.

Ren quietly turned his head to check the rear.

The gaze directed at the unconscious masked individual was eerie and chilly enough to send shivers down the spine.

‘He’s a mercenary, and he handles things like this?’

Ren’s anger was directed at the Croffle Mercenary Corps, who left such a masked intruder in their lodging.

If Ren had been a bit later, the person lying behind might have been Sharti.

As the situation he had experienced once again unfolded before his eyes, Ren’s eyes remained fixed. The hand of the masked intruder, which had strangled Sharti’s neck, was in a completely mangled state from the shoulder to the wrist.