It was precisely at that moment when I was still in shock from Carlott’s straight bombardment.

Knock knock.

As the knocking sound rang, I lifted my head to see Yansi leaning against the open door.

“Is the conversation over?”

“No, just a bit more.”

Before Carlott could say anything, I quickly interrupted.

“It’s over. You can come in!”

Carlott visibly frowned, but he pretended not to notice and gestured to Yansi.

Glancing at Carlott, who was kneeling on the floor, Yansi asked as he sat down on the bed.

“What about you, Liri?”

“Yes.”

“Mercenary King Ian. Have you known him for a long time?”

I was momentarily thrown into chaos by the unexpected question.

I had clearly said that I had rescued him by chance, so why was he asking this?

‘He’s had someone watching me. At least since my first outing.’

Either he didn’t bother to hide it, or he thought I was too stupid to notice, it was one of the two.

Knowing that it was no use getting angry with Yansi, I simply answered the question.

“Yes. I bumped into him on the street once before. I think he mistook me for someone else.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“I see.”

Yansi’s suspicious smile deepened, but he did not press further.

‘Reyan was Mercenary King Ian.’

I had heard the rumors about that.

It was impossible not to.

Among the commoners, there were two most famous people, and he was one of them.

A commoner from the slums.

He had jumped into the mercenary world at a young age with nothing to his name, and eventually, with his strength alone, he had subdued all the mercenaries and ruled over them.

Wasn’t he celebrated as a legend among the mercenaries?

He was such a famous person, and I had a reason for not recognizing him.

Since I had tried to find information through Masa, and it was limited to the nobles, there was no way for a commoner like Reyan to appear. He wouldn’t even be a candidate.

‘But the original work didn’t mention the existence of a Mercenary King.’

Reyan’s existence was still a mystery to me.

I recalled the last words Reyan left before he left after taking me to the mansion.

“I will visit again soon.”

It was another vague notice of visitation without a specific date.

But now that I knew his identity, there was no need to wait idly.

‘Shall I go find him first?’

No sooner had I thought that than Yansi stared at me intently.

“You shouldn’t get close to him, Liri.”

Yansi rarely warned me with a face devoid of humor.

“Why?”

It was Yansi’s warning, after all.

He was known to be the gloomiest in Ferdia, so he must have had a lot of information about Reyan, and he might have known something.

Yansi would not say not to get close without any reason.

I asked firmly believing so, but…

“Just because.”

“……?”

Just because? Is that all?

Stunned by Yansi’s answer, I finally managed to speak.

“There’s no reason?”

“There are many reasons if you want them. As a member of Ferdia, you have no reason to associate with a mere mercenary, and also to approach impurely, no, never mind. Forget what I said after that.”

What? So, in conclusion, there’s no real reason?

Of course, I had no intention of heeding Yansi’s words.

Reyan was hiding something important from me. To find out what it was, I had to contact him frequently and gather information.

He had saved me, so the family would reward him, and I was planning to meet him a few times on that pretext.

It would be great if I could find out something important in the process…

‘No, wait. Before that…’

My gaze drifted downward.

At some point, I realized that Yansi’s hand was subtly holding mine.

His gloved fingers lightly covered the back of my hand, sometimes twiddling with my fingers, lifting them up, and playing with them.

Yansi Ferdia.

What kind of character was he?

He was one who extremely shied away from touching others and avoided contact as much as possible.

Because his abilities were uncontrollable, and he could accidentally harm someone he touched.

But the fact that he was touching me so freely meant.

‘Does it mean he doesn’t care if I get hurt…?’
I had always known he was of ill character, but I did not expect him to treat me so lightly to this extent.

Huh.

It was ridiculous, so I looked at Yansi, but Yansi was only focused on playfully fiddling with my hand.

“……Yansi brother, what are you doing right now?”

“Lili, you were in big trouble. I’m relieved by holding like this. Can I keep holding? I can’t let go because I’m anxious.”

“……”

I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t even know how to react……

‘Because of Karl, I had forgotten for a moment, but Yansi was crazy too……’

I felt chilly, thinking that a bomb that might go off at any moment was holding my hand.

I was pondering how to naturally pull my hand away from gloomy Yansi without being retaliated against later.

Karl, who had quietly approached, stared fixedly at the other hand that had not been grabbed by Yansi.

With that gaze, Yansi teased Karl with a foxlike smile and for some reason, a provocative tone.