“Simply, if it’s just a debt, there’s no need to search so desperately.”

In a subject soaked in rain, the sight of Ibi speaking with her mouth full was incredibly annoying. Thanks to that, Zion, who got caught in the rain, nervously swept his wet hair.

“What are you doing here?”

“I was waiting for the Viscount.”

Zion, who was getting angry, was left speechless.

Ibi pitifully looked at Zion, and he, while looking at her, sighed deeply.

“Let’s go back for now.”

Zion grumbled with an ungraceful tone, but Ibi, instead of stepping down from the stump, looked up at the sky.

The rain was pouring even harder than before.

So, Zion clicked his tongue again. It was indeed harsh to walk through the forest while getting drenched in this rain. Moreover, Ibi’s cheeks were already turning pale.

Seeing Zion’s pitiful appearance from being hit by the rain, Ibi, with a small voice, said, “I know a place to avoid the rain.”

As Ibi casually spoke, Zion’s frown deepened.

He felt it instinctively. Ibi was scheming something.

So, instead of asking what she was thinking, he shut his mouth in frustration. Since he came this far to find Ibi, even if he noticed the trap, there was no way to avoid it.

A while later, the two of them found a small cabin in the forest.

Zion pulled the cabin’s doorknob and looked at Ibi.

“It’s locked.”

Upon hearing this, Ibi grinned, as if asking, ‘So what?’

Pushed by her innocent face, Zion eventually broke the doorknob.

When the door opened, revealing the cozy space inside the cabin, Zion felt a mix of emotions.

For some reason, he was doing the same thing as that man.

Eight years ago, on a rainy day, that man had also broken into this cabin because of Ibi.

Although he unintentionally retaliated against the man’s unauthorized intrusion, there was no sense of resentment in this situation.

It was because Ibi, who used to be sweet, eventually sneezed.

Hearing that sound, Zion put off any unnecessary thoughts and moved first.

He threw logs into the fireplace. However, the damp wood didn’t burn well, so he clicked his tongue and shook off the water from the cloak on the floor. The sound of a spark was followed by flames rising.

“D-did you also make a fire like this back then?”

Suddenly, Ibi, who had come to his side, shivering, asked with a trembling chin.

“I-I was deceived. I thought adults were amazing.”

Although Ibi rambled on nonsense, Zion didn’t respond.

Instead, he went to a corner of the cabin and pulled out towels and blankets. Then, before handing them over to Ibi, he gestured towards a cloak on the floor, indicating her to shake off the water.

Ibi willingly took off the thoroughly wet cloak. Zion twitched, then bit his lip.

Ibi was wearing a thin dress under the cloak. However, it was already soaked, making her appearance beyond description.

“It’s better to take that off too.”

Reluctantly muttering, Zion raised an eyebrow, but Ibi, widening her eyes, refused.

“I hate that much.”
“……If you don’t like it, that’s the end of it.”

Although Zion pointed it out with a serious expression, Ibi didn’t even pretend to listen and continued to tease him.

“How can you ask someone to undress so easily?”

“What nonsense is this again?”

Zion looked at Ibi with a bewildered expression.

Who made this situation in the first place?

Feeling unfairly treated, Zion, not wanting to be swayed further, coldly said, “If you don’t like it, just give up. Stubbornly insisting on catching a cold…”

But Zion closed his mouth halfway. Ibi had brightened up, smiling at Zion.

Because of that, Zion realized it belatedly. His unintentional remark made Ibi happy, and the fact that Ibi was delighted once again.

Ibi, who had been acting a bit reserved, now looked at Zion with a sunny smile. Unexpectedly, Ibi couldn’t hide her joy. No, it seemed like she had no intention of hiding it.

Ibi smiled affectionately at Zion, and Zion felt uncomfortable in his stomach, just like during their meal earlier.

As Zion looked away and took a deep breath, Ibi whispered, “The Viscount is all soaked too.”

“I’m fine; I don’t feel cold.”

“But it’s unfair.”

“Your logic has been strange from the beginning; please control yourself.”

When Zion spoke coldly again, Ibi raised her eyebrows.

It seemed like there might be unnecessary conflict, but their standoff didn’t last long. Ibi sneezed again.

Seeing Ibi shivering, Zion sighed and handed her a towel. Then, without compromise, he pushed her toward a corner of the cabin.

Unable to do anything, Ibi took off her wet dress and wrapped herself in a large towel. Meanwhile, Zion also turned his back and took off his damp shirt.

After a while, the two of them, now wearing the nun’s attire soaked in a mop and the Viscount who lost his shirt, sat in front of the fireplace.

They didn’t sit side by side. Zion, using the excuse of checking the fire, sat closer to the fireplace, deliberately turning his back on Ibi.

He tried to ignore the situation, but pretending not to see didn’t make it disappear.