The first thing Nelly did after getting drunk on beer was to take off the hood she had been wearing and throw it away.

“Ah, it’s hot!”

“Nelly!”

Startled, Grisha called out her name loudly and put the hood back on her. Cedar clicked his tongue.

“She’s drunk.”

His eyes quickly scanned the surroundings.

Since he would be going to the academy to inherit the legacy after the subjugation was over, it wasn’t a big problem if someone in the Azure Dragon Order noticed.

The trouble would be if other knight orders or nobles saw her and the news reached Diana Periway.

‘Still, I should earnestly request that they don’t say anything about my wife.’

Nelly, who had been mumbling about being hot, flopped down on the table. Grisha stood up, looking troubled.

“I should take her to the room quickly. Please guide us to the room.”

“Mmm.”

Nelly shook her body as if annoyed by Grisha’s hand holding her arm.

But even though she tried to shake him off, Grisha kept holding onto her, so she finally sat up.

And her drowsy eyes turned to none other than Cedar.

“Cedar.”

Her small hand suddenly hugged Cedar’s thick arm like a teddy bear.

Because Nelly was so small and thin, it didn’t even look strange.

Grisha’s face crumpled at the sight of Nelly naturally seeking Cedar in her drunken, unconscious state.

He grabbed Nelly’s shoulder and pulled her towards himself.

“Come here.”

“No!”

But the more he did so, the more Nelly whined and gripped Cedar’s arm tighter.

Finally, Cedar sighed and stood up.

“I’ll take her.”

Having carried her to her room several times before, his movements were natural. And it was the same for Nelly in Cedar’s arms.

She buried her forehead in Cedar’s shoulder and relaxed as if she had finally found a suitable pillow.

“……”

Grisha looked displeased but didn’t say anything more. Cedar walked towards the room where Nelly was staying.

The castle corridors were quiet as dinner was in full swing. Naturally, as all the servants were helping with the meal in the dining hall.

As he walked quietly down the corridor without making a sound as usual, Nelly squirmed lightly in his arms with a small groan.

Cedar stopped walking and patted her, then sighed.

He thought her meal portions had increased a lot compared to when she first woke up from her comatose state, but her body was still light enough to easily carry with one arm.

Cedar unconsciously furrowed his brow and nagged.

“Are you eating properly?”

“Mmm.”

An ambiguous response flowed from her, unclear if she was answering or sleep-talking.

Cedar chuckled and lightly pinched her cheek.

“Don’t lie. You always try to leave food and throw it away when I’m not looking.”

“Mmmm.”

Even half-asleep from drinking, Nelly seemed to sense the scolding and squirmed her body this way and that.

Then she hugged Cedar’s neck tightly and snuggled close.

Just as Cedar stiffened at the sudden closeness, the drunk girl made an unbearably sweet confession.

“Cedar, I like you.”

“……!”

Cedar stood dazed for a moment, forgetting even to breathe.

If Nelly hadn’t added with a big smile, he might have stood in the corridor for a long time.

“Your scent makes me feel at ease…… It’s strange……”

At those words, Cedar finally let out the breath he had been holding.

‘Ah, she meant she likes my scent.’

This is how dangerous indiscriminate omission of objects can be. He thought his heart had stopped.

Cedar was glad this troublesome drunk couldn’t hear the loud thumping of his heart.

No matter how oblivious a woman was, if she heard this heartbeat, she couldn’t fail to notice his feelings.

‘Let’s get her to her room quickly.’

If he heard any more sweet words, he didn’t know how he would react.

Cedar hurried his steps. The room was ordinary. With his good night vision, it wasn’t difficult to lay her on the bed without turning on the lights.

As he tried to put her small body down on the soft bed, a troublesome problem arose.

Nelly wouldn’t let go of her arms tightly wrapped around his neck.

“You need to lie down here.”

“No. It’s cold.”

Even though he bent down and pressed her onto the bed, her hands clasped behind his neck remained immovable.

Cedar clicked his tongue in frustration.

“You’re unexpectedly clingy, young lady.”

“Heeeng.”

Cedar stayed bent over for a while, trapped in Nelly’s arms.

After a bit, the strength slowly drained from her arms. Lying completely on her back and head on the bed, sleep was overtaking her.

Before long, Nelly fell completely asleep, and her arms around Cedar’s neck loosened.

Even so, Cedar stayed close to her for a moment, listening to her heartbeat.

“……I’ve gotten used to being by your side too.”

Clearly, this wasn’t the kind of relationship he had intended at first.

‘I don’t know when my feelings grew this deep.’

It didn’t take long for her to steal his heart. A month, no, a week.

Perhaps he was captivated the very moment she opened her eyes.

From the next day, the full-scale monster hunting began.

The knights kindly explained to me and Grisha, who knew nothing about the subjugation, how monster hunting works.

“The Azure Dragon Order will drive the monsters eastward from here. We’ll slowly tighten the encirclement like a pinwheel, driving them deep into the forest.”

The reason Bauser Marquis’s castle became the base was because the vast forest behind it was the main area where monsters appeared.

‘If monsters only appear in certain forests, wouldn’t it be not too difficult to completely eradicate them?’

There must be reasons why they can’t do that? Since I still don’t know much about monsters, I couldn’t readily ask such things.

Instead, I asked about the strategy that was explained to us.

“What if the monsters attack the rear of the knights in front while being driven?”

“We always firmly establish the rear guard to prepare for that, so you don’t need to worry.”

And that applied to us too.

Because monsters driven out by other knight orders could attack our order’s rear, strong knights guarded the rear, and naturally, Grisha and I were positioned in the center of the order.

But that’s where the problem arose.

“The movement of the mages is an issue. We can’t drive a carriage through the forest, and you both said you can’t ride horses.”

Neither Grisha nor I know how to ride a horse.

If we start learning now, we could learn, but honestly, it’s unreasonable for beginners to ride on mountain paths.

And since we’re in the middle of an operation, just knowing how to trot isn’t enough.

The knight who explained the situation to us muttered while rubbing his chin with a serious expression.

“It seems the only way is for you to ride with knights skilled in horsemanship.”

I thought so too.

‘And I have a goal I set for this subjugation.’

I naturally looked at Cedar, who was standing at the very front.

“Cedar.”

Before coming, he promised to show me monsters up close. The position to do that wouldn’t be in the center of the knight order.

‘Hurry up and keep your promise!’

If I have to ride with someone, of course, it should be Cedar.

Whether it’s a contract or whatever, he’s my husband and the person closest to me here.

But Cedar, who I thought would extend his hand to me, turned his head away sharply.

‘No, he’s avoiding my eyes again!’

Yesterday he said he wasn’t avoiding me! But this time too, Cedar clearly avoided my gaze.

Even though our eyes met clearly, he turned away abruptly.

My insides boiled, but I tried hard to suppress my anger.

‘He probably has to focus on commanding. He doesn’t need to carry me around before monsters appear. He said he wasn’t upset with me, and he’s not the type to say one thing and do another, so I don’t need to worry about his feelings.’

After making various excuses to defend Cedar, I pouted.

‘……Still, this time I’m the one who’s hurt.’

For reasons I couldn’t understand, my heart sank deeply.

To the extent that even I was perplexed.

And the one who extended his hand to me, who had become depressed, was none other than the elf, Jack.

“I will escort you.”

“I’ll be in your care, Sir Jack.”

I can’t throw a tantrum at someone else just because I’m upset with Cedar.

I obediently got on the horse following Jack’s guidance.

“Sit here. I’ll control the reins from behind, so don’t worry.”

“Didn’t you say you were a healer, Sir Jack? But you’re going along to drive out monsters?”

“There could be critically injured patients, so it’s right for me to go along. Of course, I won’t be at the front lines.”

“But I want to see monsters……”

If I ride with Jack, it means I won’t be able to see monsters after all.

I sighed, feeling dejected. Jack’s eyes widened.

“I’ve heard about the curiosity of mages, but it’s really amazing. Even though you could die if you directly face a monster, you still want to see them?”

Doesn’t all discovery come with risks? I shrugged my shoulders.

“It’s thanks to previous generation mages who braved such dangers to find elves and leave records that I was able to recognize you, Sir Jack. It’s a risk worth taking for future generations.”

“Ah, human lifespans are ridiculously short compared to ours. Thinking of it that way, I can understand why you have to be future-oriented.”

His agreement made me feel awkward.

Actually, the thought of leaving something for descendants wasn’t that strong.

“To be honest, it’s not that grand. I’m just really curious about monsters.”

As we chatted, the knight order’s formation was completed and the movement began.