Sharti headed to the log cabin in a good mood, carrying a heavy basket.

She had found mushrooms, fish, and luckily some expensive herbs.

Sharti’s cheeks were flushed with small excitement.

‘I wanted to gather more. What a shame.’

Sharti had a habit of losing track of time and only gathering herbs when she made an unexpected harvest.

But Ren was waiting at home, and since her purpose was clearly to get ingredients for his meal this time, Sharti promised herself next time.

‘Huh?’

As she approached the old log cabin, Sharti sniffed the air.

Sharti frowned.

There was a faint smell of burning mixed in the air.

Her hand gripping the basket tightened.

‘…It’s okay. There’s no sign of flames anywhere.’

Sharti swallowed dryly.

If there had been a fire around the log cabin on the mountainside, the flames would have spread quickly.

Only the fading burnt smell lingered in the air, dissipating, with no acrid smoke visible.

‘It must have been carried by the wind from somewhere.’

Sharti tried to calm her trembling body and pushed down the rising anxiety.

Fortunately, as she got closer to the old log cabin, the burnt-like smell became unnoticeable.

‘I wonder if Ren is awake?’

As soon as Sharti opened the door of the log cabin, Ren was visible.

Ren seemed to have just washed, with damp hair visible under the towel covering his head.

In the moment her gaze was drawn to Ren’s moist face, cold wind rushed in and Sharti quickly closed the door.

“Sha.”

Ren quickly shook the moisture from his hair and approached.

Striding over, Ren first took Sharti’s basket and placed it on the table.

In that brief moment, Sharti’s hand that brushed against his was cold.

Ren’s lips tightened.

Regardless, Sharti wanted to show off today’s harvest and took out the contents of the basket one by one in front of Ren.

“Why so much…”

Ren’s face, trailing off, was not very bright.

To him, it only looked like the result of Sharti overexerting herself.

On the other hand, Sharti fidgeted with her fingers when she didn’t get the reaction she expected from Ren.

‘Does he dislike fish?’

Ren had been frowning since the unexpected fish came out of the basket.

It was as if he was having a staring contest with the fish.

Wondering if he had some aversion, Sharti was about to start preparing the fish when-

“…!”

The fish that had only been gaping suddenly flopped and jumped up.

Unlike Sharti who was startled and about to step back, Ren instantly snatched the fish.

His grip on the fish’s body was rough.

“Don’t tell me you went into the water in that condition?”

At the low growling question, Sharti shook her head half a beat late.

Ren raised an eyebrow. It seemed to mean, then how did you catch it?

Sharti was about to mime throwing a stone but stopped.

‘His speech has become short again.’

It hadn’t improved much at all.

But Sharti pretended not to notice and overlooked it.

If he fixed his speech, surely he would fix his form of address too.

“This won’t do. Go to the bedroom and warm up first.”

Ren said firmly as he threw the fish back into the basket.

When Sharti tried to say something, Ren even brought a blanket and draped it over her shoulders.

Watching his actions, Sharti laughed silently.

‘Even Grandmother Bireta wasn’t this overprotective.’

Though Sharti thought Ren might show a forceful attitude due to his seemingly fierce appearance, he had never touched her body without her permission.

Rather, he treated Sharti gently and cautiously.

‘If people didn’t judge by appearances, they’d see Ren’s good side too.’

Whether it was because she didn’t want to find fault with Ren who would soon leave, only his good points seemed particularly visible.

Perhaps that’s why, a corner of her heart felt cold for no reason.

Before she knew it, her wariness towards him had disappeared and instead she was feeling regretful about parting with him.

Sharti swallowed her bitterness and smiled.

“Let’s eat first.”

She could use her voice a little more easily than yesterday.

Ren seemed to notice this too, as his eyes widened slightly before returning to normal.

“You’re probably not fully recovered yet.”

“Whose medicine do you think it is? I’m fine now.”

As Sharti even clenched her fist, a smile flashed across Ren’s lips.

To Sharti, the moment Ren’s expression softened seemed to happen in slow motion.

It was as if she was watching God breathe life into a stiff statue, making it move.

“I see. Because you’re a skilled doctor.”

At those words filled with trust, Sharti came to her senses.

‘The fever should have gone down.’

It was inexplicable why she suddenly felt hot.

With her cheeks burning, Sharti turned away, avoiding his gaze.

“You should dry your hair first, Ren. You can’t catch a cold when you have to leave soon.”

As she moved to wash the ingredients, the blanket fell off.

“Who’s the one who needs to worry about catching a cold… miss.”

Before she could pick it up, Ren strode over and draped the blanket over her shoulders again.

As Sharti hesitated, feeling Ren’s presence right behind her back-

“Then I’ll help too… miss.”

“…!”

“- my lady.”

At Ren’s words whispered near her ear, goosebumps rose on Sharti’s body.

Barely resisting the urge to whip her head around, Sharti bit her lip. She felt that if she turned back, he would see her reddened face under the hood.

When Sharti remained stiffly unresponsive, Ren withdrew with an awkward expression.

Only then did Sharti exhale comfortably.

‘…It seems the cold medicine isn’t very effective after all.’

Suddenly becoming nervous in front of Ren was surely because her body wasn’t fully recovered yet.

Sharti renewed her resolve to make new cold medicine after the meal.

“How should I wash this… miss?”

Ren came and stood beside her.

Before Ren could add the honorific, Sharti quickly handed him water to wash the vegetables.

Sharti took out the now docile fish from the basket and placed it on the cutting board.

“But don’t slaves do things like cooking too? … miss? The master stays in the back…”

Bang! Putting too much strength into her hand, Sharti finished preparing the fish head with a single strike.

Sharti silently gripped the knife and began preparing the fish in earnest.

“…”

Seeing Sharti’s powerful display, Ren closed his mouth.

After that, Ren quietly washed only the vegetables.

The completed fish soup was a success.

The fishy taste was well-masked, and both Ren and Sharti emptied their bowls clean.

“I need to make clothes, so Ren should rest.”

“I want to help… miss.”

When she tried to do the sewing alone comfortably in the bedroom, Ren followed her like a puppy.

Sharti pondered for a moment. It wouldn’t be bad for Ren to improve his sewing skills, but she didn’t want to hear the “my lady” address again.

“Then, will you wash the herbs? I plan to make medicine after I finish making the clothes.”

“Yes! … miss. As much as you need.”

Ren’s face brightened at finally being given a task.

Certainly, Ren didn’t seem suited to just sitting and sewing.

“You need to wear gloves when washing the herbs. And, um, I’ll write it down for you. Follow this.”

Sharti wrote a note with precautions.

The longer she wrote, the darker Ren’s face became, as he had been planning to scrub them clean like fruits or vegetables.

Following sewing, herb washing was also a high-difficulty task for Ren.

Moreover, since all the herbs were what Sharti had struggled to gather from the mountain, they couldn’t be handled carelessly.

“…”

“It takes a lot of work, doesn’t it? You don’t have to do it if it’s difficult.”

“… It’s nothing. I can do that much… miss.”

When Sharti gently tried to dissuade him seeing Ren’s serious expression, he firmly shook his head.

Rather, his eyes showed determination to do it properly no matter what.

Sharti recalled the massage she had received from Ren.

‘Well. He did give such a careful massage too. His touch was unexpectedly delicate.’

Scratching her cheek, Sharti left Ren and went to the bedroom with the fabric.

Taking off the stuffy robe and wrapping herself tightly in the blanket, Sharti began sewing.

‘Thanks to Grandmother, it’s fortunate I’ve seen mercenaries’ clothes.’

Sharti, who had been planning to make ordinary outing clothes worn by villagers, modified the design slightly.

It was her first time making men’s clothes, so there wasn’t much of a design to speak of.

She was just referencing the clothing of mercenaries she had seen through Bireta.

‘A mercenary.’

Sharti recalled Ren’s sword buried in the ground near the collapsed cave.

She had to give him that sword when he left.

‘Will his memories return if he holds that sword?’

She remembered the glint in his eyes inside the cave during their first meeting.

Sharti unconsciously shuddered.

That man wasn’t ‘Ren’. He was a strange visitor, or a dangerous intruder.

‘I’ll give it to him the day Ren leaves.’

Strangely, she didn’t want to return that sword to Ren right now.

It wasn’t that she wanted to hinder Ren from finding his memories.

She just wanted him to remain ‘Ren’, even if only until he left.

‘…It must be selfish.’

Pushing aside her conflicted feelings, Sharti focused on sewing.

It was around noon when the top was finally completed.

Sharti massaged her shoulders, loosening her stiff muscles.

Then suddenly, she felt the house was quiet.

‘Is he resting?’

There was more than enough time to wash the herbs.

Sharti put on her robe again and left the room.

There was no sign of Ren in the quiet house.

‘The herbs are well washed.’

Fortunately, the herbs Ren was tasked with were cleanly washed and neatly placed on the table.

However, Ren himself was nowhere to be seen.

‘Did he go to pick fruit again? But the axe is broken, so he can’t…’

Just as Sharti was about to open the door to check outside-

“…!”

Sharti, who almost bumped into the door opening right in front of her, stumbled back, and Ren, equally surprised, hurriedly checked on her.

“Are you alright?”

The loud sound of her pounding heart rang in her ears.

As Ren closed the door and came in, he smelled of grass.

“Wh-where did you go? Wearing such thin clothes.”

It was too chilly to wear just the short robe she had given him before.

As Sharti scolded him, Ren, who was unwrapping his bandages, sheepishly scratched his head.

The smell of earth came from his fingertips.

“Have you already finished making the clothes?… miss?”

At the sudden question, Sharti shook her head.

The pants were still left, but she wondered what that had to do with his going out.

Perhaps feeling that Sharti’s eyes hidden under the hood were interrogating him, Ren turned his head away, avoiding her gaze.

“Where on earth…”

As she was about to scold him that he shouldn’t be wandering outside yet, Ren held out his right hand that he had been hiding behind his back.

“Yesterday, while picking fruit…”

In his outstretched hand were flower blossoms.

They were pale yellow flowers that could be easily seen anywhere in the mountains.

But they were also flowers that were hard to find around this time.

“It’s not like I can give you money, and my help is insignificant… miss.”

His matter-of-fact voice was tinged with shyness.

Sharti blankly took in the pale yellow flowers.

When there was no response, Ren glanced at Sharti.

“Do you like flowers?… miss?”

The hand offering just three flower stems was rough.

However, the heart that had picked those flowers seemed so tender that Sharti felt her throat tighten, unable to answer.

Instead, she received the flowers with trembling hands.

Ren smiled with relief.