Meeting her eyes felt like a sharpened blade pressing against his throat.

“Ugh! Uh…. Uhhh!! Uh, gr…..!”

Dordint desperately tried to alert Tristan and the other soldiers with tears and snot running down his face, but his paralyzed body could only let out faint groans.

No one gave Dordint any attention.

“But why only do this to Sharti?”

Agreeing vehemently with Bireta’s words, Birena leaned forward toward Tristan, pressing for an answer.

“Sharti used the paralyzing powder because that scoundrel broke into her house uninvited and threatened her. She had no choice.”

“That, that’s….”

“Initially, why did the soldiers come to the village? Wasn’t it for security? The search lasted just one night! And you only mentioned being injured by a criminal! But the real criminal is…. huh? Don’t tell me the soldiers overlooked him and he’s that man? Are you covering up for a fellow soldier?”

“No, miss, that’s, well….”

Suddenly turning her head, Birena glared at the soldiers.

“What! So, it’s the soldiers’ fault that Sharti was in danger! She cared for you with the best treatment until today, and it’s because of him!”

Birena pointed accusingly at Dordint and the soldiers.

Her sharp criticism left them speechless.

Tristan looked down, ashamed.

‘Actually, the cause is almost entirely on me….’

Only Sharti looked sympathetically at the gloomy soldiers.

Meanwhile, Ren was just earnestly nodding along with Tein.

For this moment, Sharti decided not to think too deeply.

‘Wait, I…’

Sharti rubbed her eyes.

Her vision was a bit blurry.

Perhaps it was because she had been wearing the robe at night.

She also felt chilly.

“Teacher?”

As Sharti held her head, Tein immediately recognized her condition.

The small hand trying to support Sharti was felt.

‘I haven’t slept well either….’

Standing in the windy mountain at dawn, it was only natural to feel tired.
As her thoughts trailed off, Sharti unknowingly grasped the hem of Ren’s clothes.

“—Sharti!”

Feeling like she was leaning to one side, strong arms wrapped around Sharti.

Within Ren’s embrace, Sharti lost consciousness.

Holding the collapsed Sharti, Ren clenched his teeth.

He could feel her fiery body temperature through her robe.

“Damn it.”

Muttering a rough curse, Ren grabbed her hand.

As expected, it was abnormally hot.

Ren felt a sense of self-loathing for not having noticed Sharti’s condition earlier.

“Is the teacher all right?”

Late to react, Tristan approached, and Ren looked at him.

The vivid hostility in his turquoise eyes made Tristan halt in his tracks.

“Curious about what happened to Sharti, my master? Whether she’s hurt, how badly, where, if she’s okay now, if she’s strained from the shock? No one asked.”

“….…”

“A life saved by my master, helped by her, yet now they all just pressure her when she needs help. What exactly do you want to know? Trying to find a suitable scapegoat for your own failings?”

An icy chill ran through the soldiers, freezing their faces.

“You’ve heard it, now you know.”

Standing up while holding Sharti, Ren’s eyes flickered with animosity.

“The only thing I see as stupid is my master.”

Expressionless, Ren growled threateningly at the soldiers.

“So don’t hurt my master anymore.”

“….…”

What started as doubt, then regret, now weighed on them as guilt.

No longer could the soldiers bother Sharti.

Swallowing his irritation, Ren felt no satisfaction. He was angry at his incompetence for not recognizing Sharti’s condition earlier and felt guilty for her shivering in the cold because of him.

“Only the doctor should follow.”

“Eh?”

“Understood!”

Tein raised his hand and followed Ren into the log cabin.

In the awkward atmosphere, Birena stealthily approached Bireta.

“Grandma, he doesn’t seem dangerous like Tein said, does he?”

“Is that supposed to be talk?”

Bireta scoffed at her naive granddaughter’s words.

Only Bireta saw through Ren’s danger.

A raw, unrefined sense of threat, almost like instinct.

“Hmmm, ‘master,’ huh…”

Bireta had an intuition.

No one could control that peculiar man, unless he himself offered his leash.

“He’s a useful find.”

Bireta let out a wry smile.

Sharti, despite her loneliness, never dared to wish for someone by her side.

Just twenty years old, yet still a forsaken girl in the fire.

That’s why, for the first time, Bireta wanted to watch over the being Sharti kept by her side.

A trivial trigger, an ordinary relationship, hoping for Sharti to change.

People learn and grow by rubbing shoulders with others.

“I was so worried when I heard a man was living with her.”

“Tch. Didn’t Sharti say earlier? She’s keeping him. He’s just a guard dog.”

A man, as if.

Bireta had looked after her like her own granddaughter, though not as delicately.

A nobody, with no identity or possessions, had no right to overstep.

Bireta’s firm words made Birena chuckle.

“Who knows.”

Birena’s thoughts were slightly different.

The big, intimidating man only looked at Sharti with soft, gentle eyes.

Even when Sharti collapsed, Ren was on alert, worried her hood might slip and reveal her face, preventing others from getting close.
“So, soldiers, what more do you need? My child, and now this runaway slave? Trying to entangle him somehow to cover up one of your own soldier’s misdeeds?”

Bireta’s direct criticism left everyone speechless.

Even Tristan averted his gaze.

There was nothing wrong with Ren and Bireta’s words. It was their responsibility that Sharti had collapsed.

“……We will be leaving.”

Bireta, masquerading as a kindly grandmother, beamed a broad smile.

“This old log cabin has never seen such visitors. A runaway slave or a soldier who brandishes a knife at his subordinate, it’s best to turn a blind eye to these unseemly matters.”

“…….”

“Help given, help received, that’s what relationships are. Right.”

Bireta, chuckling heartily, entered the log cabin with Birena.

An awkward silence lingered.

“What shall we do? Shouldn’t we report the runaway slave?”

A runaway slave’s master was likely to be nobility. Reporting was obviously mandatory.

Yet the hesitation stemmed from guilt or perhaps conscience.

“We searched the mountains today.”

“Yes?”

“We encountered a wild beast during our search, and our leader, pale with fear, abandoned his young subordinates and fled alone. As a result, numerous injuries ensued. We desperately pursued our leader, and during the capture, he accidentally got injured.”

Tristan’s eyes turned icy.

Understanding his implication, Dodingte’s eyes bulged with a sense of betrayal.

“It was unavoidable, just the consequence of his actions leading to an unfortunate accident. Understand? We captured our leader. The only victims are us, and the perpetrator is clearly our leader.”

“Understood.”

“Remember, everyone. We were never near this area.”

“Yes!”

Of course, all soldiers had to align their stories, and Dodingte had to remain silent.

It was simple yet difficult.

But wasn’t it shameful for soldiers of the Newitten Empire to implicate Sharti and her runaway slave?

Sharti was to be reported only as a doctor hired to care for the injured villagers.

‘I will definitely repay this debt, Teacher.’

Tristan bowed his head towards the old log cabin.

It was time to finally leave the village.

At the moment when the soldiers and Dodingte departed, Ren was having a face-off with the formidable Bireta.

“Can you stay by your master’s side with that attitude?”

Facing the stiff-necked Ren, Bireta clicked her tongue in disapproval.