For some reason, a sense of discomfort emanated from his voice, but it was something new, so I stared at him intently.

It seemed like the first time Askan had spoken informally to me.

Interpreting my gaze somehow, he sighed and spoke in a low voice.

“Brellopf Yeong-ae. I have a mission to safely take you to the Kalua Empire. So please refrain from risky actions.”

“If that means I was of no help, it sounds like you’re saying so. Honestly, thanks to my bomb, the situation became much more favorable.”

“I can handle it even if you don’t step forward.”

“If that’s meant as meddling, I don’t like it.”

I couldn’t just stand by as if I had nothing to do with the incidents related to Askan.
Somehow, we had moved quite far from the battlefield. Occasionally, the sound of swords clashing could be heard, but there was no one in sight.

As Askan led me forward, he stopped walking. Then, he looked at me with a serious gaze and said, “What’s the reason for going this far?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Are you pretending not to know? Or do you really not know? I’m talking about what you did a while ago, trying to take the arrow for me.”

“If you’re trying to thank me, it’s fine.”

The fact that Askan could reinforce his body with steel and, as a result, deflect arrows like before momentarily slipped my mind.

Realizing that he might get hurt, I didn’t have time to think; my body moved first.

But even if I got hit by the arrow, I had no regrets. I had no intention of just watching Askan being in danger, as I did ten years ago.

I looked worriedly at Askan’s torn clothes and asked, “But you’re not injured, right? Let me see.”

I knew that Askan seldom got injured unless it was severe, but that didn’t make my concern disappear.

Earlier, I instinctively reached out towards the shoulder where he got shot by an arrow. However, he stepped back, avoiding my touch.

My hand, which had lost its destination, awkwardly stopped in mid-air.

Askan looked at me with a complex expression and said, “Is what you’re doing related to the memories I lost?”

I was momentarily speechless at the unexpected question. I couldn’t have imagined that he would ask me such a question.

Whether he had already obtained the answer from my surprised expression, Askan spoke in a low voice.

“I’m aware that there are gaps in my memory. Considering your attitude when you first saw me, your knowledge of my name, and your current actions, it’s not difficult to deduce.”

“That…?”

Askan’s head was originally sharp.

As the final antagonist in the novel, he seemed to have already realized that there was some connection between me and his lost memories, based on a few clues.

Since there was no reason to hide it anymore, I nodded.

“Yes. We were acquainted ten years ago. And I owe you a debt.”

It seemed Askan was not particularly surprised.

“You, who fled from the Kalua Empire, were acquainted with me… It seems completely unrelated, but how did we get to know each other?”

“You triggered me. You were a slave of the Brellopf family.”

“A lady and a slave, it doesn’t seem like such a good relationship.”

Anyone could think that.

My head became complicated, unsure of how to explain.

“No. We… It wasn’t like that.”

It wasn’t just a relationship between a lady and a trigger.

The actions Askan showed me in the past were by no means ordinary. I had never experienced such affection from others even once.
The actions Askan showed me in the past were definitely not ordinary. I had never received such affection from others even once.

But I couldn’t figure out how to express it.

Expressing emotions didn’t necessarily convey everything even if explained.

While I hesitated, Askan casually opened his mouth with a calm expression.

“Was I someone precious to you? Did you like me?”

…What?

It’s true that I had longed for the Askan of that time for a long time. That’s why I searched for him tirelessly for ten years.

However, admitting it straightforwardly gave me a strange feeling, as if I had been unilaterally chasing after him.

“Yes, you liked me more, didn’t you?”

Unintentionally, I ended up giving a cowardly excuse as an answer.

But it was the truth. He brought herbal tea every day without fail, ate the carrots I disliked, and said that black clothes suited me well, so I wore them every day.

The words he whispered, looking at me with a gentle gaze from a distance where our noses could almost touch, were still vivid in my ears.

May I kiss you?

Certainly, he was the one who tempted me first, pouring deep affection.

However, Askan looked at me with narrowed eyes, seemingly suspicious. He didn’t seem to believe what I was saying at all.

‘Wow, this is driving me crazy.’

Somehow, it felt unfair.

It wasn’t that he didn’t have feelings for me, but I felt misunderstood.

Askan said in a somewhat displeased voice, “Well, let’s say so.”

What do you mean, “let’s say so”? My words are true!

Askan clearly didn’t believe it. But there was no evidence left that he had liked me first.