As the day completely waned, Sharlti turned off the small lantern she had brought. When she inserted the marble into the lantern that Virena had gifted her, the dim light illuminated the surroundings. ‘It would be warm if we could make a bonfire.’ Thanks to the woolen blanket Vireta had provided, it wasn’t too cold, but her cheeks were slightly reddened. With no proper shelter from the wind, Sharlti laid the blanket on the ground with sparse grass and sat down, looking up at the sky while exhaling softly. ‘But really… how did it come to this?’ Sharlti desperately kept her gaze on the night sky, not wanting to lower her eyes by mistake. Unfortunately, today of all days, the night sky was pitch dark without a single star. Unable to endure her stiffening neck any longer, Sharlti lowered her gaze. “….” Ren, lying on his back, with his face visible, lay across her thigh. With clenched fists, Sharlti he
“I don’t need to go this far.”

Sharti slowly scanned Ren’s prominent features.

Ren’s determined will not to make her suffer as much as he did was palpable.

“To impose such conditions.”

Sharti tightly pressed her lips together.

What Ren requested as a condition was to use a knee pillow while sleeping.

[It’s a precautionary measure for when something might happen while I’m asleep.]

Sharti questioned the relevance of a knee pillow to awkward postures, but Ren calmly responded.

[If a stranger appears and poses a threat, Sharti, you won’t wake me up and handle it on your own somehow. So, I have to stick close to prevent you from acting recklessly, right?]

At that time, and even now, Sharti had nothing to say.

It seemed like an excessive precaution, but imagining it in case of an emergency, it had some credibility.

As Sharti already had a record, she couldn’t outright deny it.

“Holding hands while sleeping is also fine.”

Sharti hesitated.

She genuinely pondered.

And Sharti reconsidered her choice with cloudy eyes.

“Hmm, holding hands is okay.”

Even if it was called a knee pillow, it was just touching her head on the thick robe.

Holding hands was much better than touching bare skin.

“But there’s another problem.”

Since she spontaneously volunteered for night watch duty, it was clear she would doze off during the day.

And she would be leaning against Ren.

Sharti covered her face with both hands.

“…….,”

Then, as Ren turned his head while tossing and turning, Sharti stiffened.

A momentary tension filled her abdomen.

Sharti quietly lowered her hands and gently touched Ren’s face.

The sound of his even breathing could be heard; he was deeply asleep.

“It reminds me of the time in the cave.”

How did they end up going on a business trip together and even to therapy?

Sharti hesitated and lightly touched his bangs.

“…You’re too defenseless.”

Was it a sign of trust, or did she believe she could easily subdue him?

Tilting her head, Sharti boldly brushed aside the bangs covering Ren’s eyelids.

“I hope Tane didn’t hear the conversation between me and Virena.”

Embarrassment aside, she didn’t know how precarious the situation was.
Even though various weaknesses were already exposed, she didn’t want Ren to discover her inner thoughts.

“That’s really like showing everything about oneself.”

The deep crimson eyes, tinged with a bitter smile, sank gloomily.

At that moment, the wind gently lifted Sharti’s robe.

Even though only her face was slightly revealed, it created an illusion as if someone had breathed a cool breath on her face.

Haha. Sharti let out a silent, bitter laugh.

“You know, Ren, I want to find your weaknesses too.”

A selfish, never-shared-before desire.

To protect her secrets and weaknesses, grabbing the opponent’s weaknesses was the most efficient strategy.

So, even to protect herself, Sharti wanted to know Ren’s weaknesses.

“At least I didn’t reveal this to Virena.”

Sharti’s bangs fluttered in the wind.

In the dark and cold mountains, Sharti watched Ren, who had slept for a while.

Hiding her restless heart until the daybreak, she held her breath in the quiet dawn.

The next day, Sharti and Ren climbed the mountain early in the morning.

To preserve Ren’s stamina, they agreed that Sharti would do most of the walking in the morning.

“The fog seems to be getting thicker.”

As Ren said, the density of the fog increased as they crossed each mountain.

Although visibility was reduced due to the fog, Sharti didn’t get lost thanks to Ren’s sense of direction and the terrain she had memorized.

“Just in case, it might be better to hold hands.”

Ren approached Sharti subtly and suggested.

Nodding, Sharti grasped the hem of his robe extended to her.

“…….,”

With a slightly sulky expression, Ren silently followed Sharti.

Walking in silence for a while, Sharti felt a yawn coming on.

The coolness in the fog-covered mountains strangely felt warm, and drowsiness slowly set in.

“I’m sleepy.”

Sharti vigorously blinked her heavy eyelids.

As Sharti repeatedly raised and lowered her head, Ren pulled the edge of his robe slightly.

“How about taking a short break and then continuing?”