Wasn’t Sharti being threatened, unable to even cry out to stop?

Dodint felt his heart shrink at the sound of Ren’s angry growl.

The thought that he had messed with someone more ferocious than a mother bear was etched in his mind.

Dodint struggled to survive.

“I, I’m sorry! I didn’t know that wench had a man, aaagh!!”

“Why are you apologizing to me? Ah, are you just blurting out whatever comes to mind because there’s nothing in your head?”

“Ack!! That’s not… Ugh!! Argh!!”

Ren’s voice was calmly even, without high or low tones.

The emotionless voice, devoid of coldness or heat, was even more chilling.

With eyes half-swollen shut, Dodint wished he could just faint as he met those teal eyes.

“I, I don’t want to die!! Ple, please!! Aagh!! Spare me, please!!”

Giving up on blocking Ren’s fists, Dodint clasped his hands together and begged.

Ren tilted his head slightly.

“I won’t kill you.”

He couldn’t kill even scum like this.

Killing a person would truly make him a murderer.

An amnesiac murderer. That would be a burdensome existence for Sharti.

“I’ll stop just before you die, so shut up. I don’t want to hear it.”

As Ren raised his fist again, Dodint thought it might be better to bite his tongue and die.

In that instant, Dodint mulled over Ren’s words.

With his eyes tightly shut before Ren’s fist about to shatter his nose, Dodint sensed the end and shouted as loud as he could, his voice strained:

“That wench said it too!!”

“……”

His gamble paid off. Ren’s fist, more destructive than a bear’s paw, stopped right in front of his nose.

Dodint trembled as he looked into those teal eyes, dark as if absorbing the darkness.

Yet his mind was focused only on distracting him to escape.

“You, you didn’t know, right? Keh, you’ve been completely fooled by that wench. Cough… Urk, sh-she deceived the villagers, saying she was born unable to speak!”

“……”

The tension in Ren’s muscles gradually eased.

It seemed as if Ren was stunned by the sense of betrayal.

Dodint clutched his crushed jaw and furtively glanced around.

“…Deceived?”

Ren’s voice trembled in confusion as he muttered to himself.

‘…Sha can speak?’

Of course, believing the words of trash like Dodint was absurd in itself. Above all, there was no way to immediately verify whether Dodint’s words were true or not.

However, the more Ren mulled over Dodint’s words, the more confused he became.

‘It wasn’t that she couldn’t, but that she wouldn’t…’

Ren recalled Sharti communicating through writing.

It was difficult to hear even a small moan or sleep-talking from Sharti.

Ren’s brow furrowed.

‘Why?’

He could understand her living with her face hidden. It was a secret, her personal matter.

But her voice was something he couldn’t comprehend.

Ren’s expression began to distort.

‘Even in dangerous situations… she didn’t call for me.’

While being able to speak.

Ren’s face contorted as he recalled the trembling Sharti.

“……”

Dodint glanced at the motionless Ren. He had to escape in this moment.

Sneering that he must be seething with betrayal after being enchanted by a pretty-faced wench, Dodint thought this was his chance and tried to slip away.

Thwack!! Without even a glance, Ren struck Dodint’s solar plexus with a short, powerful blow.

Dodint collapsed, foaming at the mouth.

“I should have aimed for the throat, but I missed.”

Ren raised an eyebrow, looking perplexed as he sat in front of the unconscious Dodint.

Distracted by thoughts of Sharti, he had hit the solar plexus instead of the Adam’s apple.

For now, Ren began to strip Dodint’s clothes.

‘Since he heard Sha’s voice, I should take him.’

Dodint had completely misjudged.

Ren didn’t feel betrayed by Sharti.

Rather, his murderous intent towards Dodint, who had heard a voice even he had never heard, only grew stronger.

“Haa……”

After stuffing Dodint’s mouth with the stripped clothes, Ren also tied his wrists and ankles.

Cracking his neck to loosen his stiff muscles, Ren gazed at the sky.

The gloomy sky that seemed to foretell the intrusion of an unwelcome guest showed neither rain nor thunder.

Only the cold wind reflected his chilled heart.

“…Sha.”

He needed to hurry back.

Hoisting Dodint over his shoulder, Ren felt urgent.

Before he knew it, he was running back to the log cabin faster than when he had chased Dodint.

Haa. Arriving at the old log cabin, Ren slammed Dodint to the ground so as not to startle Sharti.

“……”

Creeak. Opening the door and entering the house, Ren was at a loss for words.

The house was in disarray, as if a thief had broken in.

‘Don’t tell me…!’

Could Dodint’s gang have been hiding here?

As Ren hurriedly headed towards the bedroom, he heard movement through the slightly open door of the herb room.

Seeing Sharti in her familiar robe, Ren let out the breath he’d been holding.

However, Ren instinctively frowned as he opened the herb room door.

“…What are you doing?”

Sharti was frantically sweeping herbs, mixing records, books, ointments, and everything else into a bag.

She didn’t seem to notice Ren had returned.

“What on earth are you…”

It looked as if she was trying to go somewhere, as if she was running away.

As Ren strode towards Sharti, she flinched.

Clang-. Finally, one of the medicine bottles she was packing fell and shattered on the floor.

Sharti hid her trembling hands in her robe and lowered her head.

“…Sha-”

As Ren tried to approach, Sharti backed away in panic.

Seeing her pull her hood tightly, Ren lowered the hand he had reached out.

The sight of her frightened and wary, like in the cave, overlapped with Sharti now.

“……”

He should have soothed her. He should have reassured her, saying not to be afraid, that he had caught Dodint who had threatened her.

However, as always, the clumsy start of expression began by pouring out raw emotions that welled up.

“What are you trying to do in that state? Are you trying to run away?”

“……”

“Why, do you dislike even talking to me? You don’t want to scream to call me, you don’t want to answer my questions, you just don’t want to converse with me at all?”

Ren gritted his teeth as he watched Sharti remain silent.

Sharti’s indifference seemed to negate his usefulness.

The fact that he was ultimately nothing to her felt utterly powerless.

His chest bubbled with upset at Sharti not relying on him even at times like this, feeling hurt and angry.

“Ah, right. I must still look like trash who would threaten you if I found a weakness. That’s why you didn’t let me hear your voice.”

“…!”

Sharti’s back hit the wall as she backed away.

Ren looked down at her and rubbed his face.

It was all pathetic – clinging to Sharti as if he was something, only being able to speak to her like this.

“I’m just a patient after all. Since I’m in a position to unilaterally receive protection and help from you, I have no right to ask or question. But at least, don’t you think about talking to me even through writing? Without any explanation for why you didn’t ask me for help, why you couldn’t call me, are you preparing to run away instead of…”

Ren, who had been venting his excitement with heavy breathing, let out a dejected self-mockery.

In truth, right now he wanted to examine Sharti’s body to see if she was hurt anywhere.

He wanted to gently ask why she hadn’t called him while soothing her anxiety.

He wanted to tell her trembling form that it was okay. That he had come even though she hadn’t called, that she shouldn’t worry.

Despite knowing he should wait for and comfort her first, he found his own image unsightly as he selfishly pushed Sharti, contrary to his heart.

‘I’m acting as if I’m something. Spouting presumptuous words.’

Roughly brushing back his sweat-soaked bangs, Ren tried to organize his jumbled emotions.

“…All the way back here, I was thinking of saying I’m sorry for finding you in danger too late, that I was worried about you. …But, ha, I’m sorry. I guess I was acting no different from that bastard.”

Ren turned his back on her.

The thought that Sharti wouldn’t change even if she faced the same danger in the future made all strength leave his body.

Having crossed the line, he had nothing to say even if Sharti drove him away now.

“For now, outside…”

“Th-this…”

Ren’s footsteps halted at the unfamiliar tone.

Sharti mumbled, covering her mouth with both hands.

Trying to suppress, even a little, just a little, her terrible frog-like croaking.

“I didn’t want to, to let you hear this, this voice…”

“……”

Large teal eyes turned to look at Sharti.

Her shoulders shook as if sobbing.

“That’s right. I didn’t want to call Ren. Unlike Ren who lost his memories, I know my identity. I remember why I have to live in hiding, why I have to conceal my identity. I live anticipating days like today. Every day when I open my eyes, I live imagining I might face someone threatening me.”

The terribly suppressed crying voice sounded like a monster’s.

To make such a long, such a verbose terrible voice in this situation was so shameful and resentful.

But she couldn’t stop.

The old pain she had desperately suppressed was overflowing.

Sharti, with reddened eyes, suddenly raised her head and glared at Ren.

“You ask if being threatened was better? I… I was confident I could do well alone. Because everyone avoids me when they hear my voice! Because they cover their ears saying it’s terrible! I was confident I could subdue them in that moment!”

“……”

As Ren hesitated, this time Sharti took a step towards him.

Ren had done nothing wrong. He hadn’t done anything wrong at all. So this was purely Sharti venting her anger.

It was just a desperate struggle to hide her weak and unsightly wounds.

“I’m not righteous, I’m not weak, I’m not stupid! If you hadn’t appeared, I would have, with my own hands, not left those threatening me alone!”

The anger and grief welling up in her chest became a jumbled mess of resentment.

Ren couldn’t say anything.

Her moist eyes shining vermilion looked as if the sun was blazing.

The vivid anger she showed made him tremble.

“All I can do with this horrible voice is use it for that purpose. I didn’t want to reveal that I have such a terrible voice, I didn’t want to newly realize it, so I hid it…”

“Why?”

“……”

“It’s not terrible at all.”

Sharti stared blankly at Ren.

Ren was looking at her, blinking blankly.

“I like it. Sha, your voice.”

Sharti frowned.

Sharti couldn’t understand what he was saying now.

“Wh-what are you saying…”

Belatedly turning her head, Sharti lowered her voice again.

“Since I have no memories, I don’t remember others’ voices either, so I have no voices to compare to.”

“…There’s no need to compare. Even just listening, even a child would know my voice is terrible.”

“Well. Maybe it’s because my head is broken, but it just sounds a bit unique to me.”

“……”

Ren smiled faintly, furrowing his brow.

“Rather, I wanted to hear the voice calling my name.”

“…!”

It was nonsense.

It was definitely meant as consolation.

Of course, Sharti didn’t believe it. She wasn’t naive enough to want to believe his words.

“It’s true. We promised, no lying.”

Ren was calmly saying that when he hit his head, his hearing must have been damaged too.

Sharti was at a loss for words and couldn’t refute immediately.

For a moment, just a little, she was convinced.

‘…It’s because of those eyes!’

From the moment he heard her terrible voice, those round teal eyes had been shining with a clear light.

Sharti’s expression lost its fighting spirit as he seemed to be genuinely happy.

The sharp emotions that had stretched out towards Ren gradually settled.

She felt no need to react sensitively to his unbelievable words.

‘It’s just lip service and empty words anyway.’

Hadn’t Birena and Bireta said similar things after hearing Sharti’s voice?

Ren would be no different.

‘It’s so terrible even to my own ears, how much more disgusting must it be to others’ ears.’

She had long since abandoned hope and expectations.

Sharti swallowed bitterness.