<Episode 39>

“If you don’t want to, you don’t have to.”

“No, it’s fine…”

Elkais let out a small sigh, threw the snake far away, put down his sword, and picked up the yucca leaves, rubbing them with his hands. He then reached out to her back.

“The water seems very cold.”

“Extremely. Keep that in mind when you wash later.”

“Okay.”

He was worried she might notice his hands trembling from nervousness, but he didn’t want to stop.

For some reason, Eveline’s back seemed smaller today.

“Let me move your hair aside.”

“Oh, sure.”

Eveline moved her hair to one side, bringing it forward. She wasn’t particularly flexible, so she couldn’t reach the middle of her back, right between her shoulder blades.

“Your hands are really warm.”

She said this, sensing his nervousness.

Elkais gently rubbed her back, trying not to let his hands shake. He thought her shoulder blades were beautiful.

As his fingertips moved over her back, he felt her shiver slightly.

I want to hold her.

“This should be enough.”

“Yes, thank you.”

He pulled his hands back quickly, feeling like he might lose control.

He walked away, turning his back to her again.

Eveline saw him move away quickly and continued scrubbing her hair. Then she went back into the deeper water.

“Phew.”

She submerged herself completely and then emerged, feeling cold but refreshed.

“Brr… it’s cold.”

She dried herself with the clothes she had been wearing and picked up Elkais’s shirt from where he had left it with his sword. There were no pants, of course.

However, Elkais’s shirt was so large that it reached down to her mid-thigh, not as long as her negligee but still decent enough.

“In four days, I’ll have new clothes.”

“Yes, until then, you can wear that.”

“Alright.”

It seemed that if she was wearing clothes, they would disappear when new ones arrived. If she took them off beforehand, they would remain. Eveline thought about the torn dress she had left at the hut and decided she should prepare her clothes in advance next time.

“Now it’s your turn to wash, Elkais.”

“Why is your hair still so wet?”

She had roughly squeezed out her hair before putting on the shirt, causing water to drip from her collarbones and shoulders.

“You’ll catch a cold like this.”

He picked up the discarded clothes she had used to dry herself and pressed them against her hair.

“Thank you.”

Then he squeezed it tightly, stopping the water from dripping from her hair.

“The weather isn’t cold enough for a cold.”

“Did you forget how much the temperature drops in the evening?”

“Won’t it dry before then?”

Eveline chuckled, and his blindfold slipped down a bit.

“Your blindfold is crooked.”

“Could you fix it for me?”

“What?”

“No, never mind. That was a slip of the tongue.”

He moved away from her and turned around. Eveline saw him turning towards the lake, and she grabbed her gun and stood with her back to him.

“The water is very cold.”

“Yes.”

She said this without turning around.

Soon, she heard the sound of him undressing and stepping into the water.

She looked over at the banana tree she had found last time. The bananas seemed close to ripening.

“Elkais.”

“What is it?”

“Do you know how to cook bananas?”

“I do. Do you like bananas?”

“They’re delicious. Let’s grill them next time.”

“Sure.”

In a place like this, it was important to supplement their protein intake. However, since they often had meat, other nutrients were also essential.

Eveline found herself thinking about this while marveling at how Elkais could wash in such cold water without complaint.

“Eveline.”

“Yes?”

“I can’t reach my back either.”

“Oh, I see.”

Elkais had a completely muscular body, so it was understandable that he couldn’t reach his back.

“How do you wash alone?”

“At the duke’s manor, there was an attendant to wash my back.”

That made sense.

He was a general during wartime and a minister of military affairs in peacetime, so it was unlikely he ever washed alone. Even without attendants, he probably bathed with his subordinates.

“I’ll come over with my eyes covered.”

“You don’t need to.”

“But then I’ll see your whole body.”

“The handkerchief is already wet and uncomfortable.”

“I’m not worried about my discomfort. I thought it might bother you.”

He seemed to consider this for a moment, and the water splashed lightly as he exhaled.

“That won’t bother me.”

“Alright.”

She felt relieved, thinking he didn’t see her as anything more than a comrade.

If it weren’t for the pheromones, they might have formed a stronger bond, she thought as she turned and approached him.

He turned away as she approached. In that brief moment, she caught a glimpse of his perfectly sculpted pectoral muscles before quickly looking away.

When she reached the lakeshore, she saw his back.

His back was densely packed with muscles and covered in scars.

“I understand the front, but why are there so many scars on your back too?”

“My enemies didn’t only attack me from the front.”

“Oh.”

She carefully started washing his back with the yucca leaves, scrubbing gently over the numerous scars.

“These scars… they’re from battles?”

“Yes.”

She nodded, understanding the gravity of his experiences. As she washed, she couldn’t help but feel a sense of admiration and sadness for all he’d been through.

Eveline accepted his explanation and rolled up her sleeves to her shoulders, then rubbed the yucca leaves in her hands to create lather. She began scrubbing his neck.

Elkais’s hard trapezius muscle twitched slightly under her touch, making her fingers tingle.

“Your hands are so small, this might take a while.”

“Want me to go faster?”

“No, please be thorough.”

His tone softened, and she smiled, patting his shoulder.

It was curious how this big man, as strong as a bear, seemed to tremble under her touch.

“Is your back usually this sensitive?”

“No.”

He had never reacted so sensitively to someone’s touch before.

But now, it felt different. He couldn’t help but react as if she were pressing on a pressure point.

“So, you’re just ticklish.”

She said this while rubbing his deltoid with her palm, then moved back to his shoulder blades, scrubbing in circles.

Each time her fingers brushed over his skin, his muscles tensed and relaxed, revealing and concealing their shapes.

“Eveline.”

“Yes?”

“Because I can’t control my pheromones… if anything happens…”

“I can’t smell your pheromones at all, Elkais. I get a faint forest scent, but since we’re in a forest, it’s hard to tell.”

“That’s a relief.”

He asked again out of anxiety.

He still didn’t understand why he had called her over to ask for this favor. Yet, he felt that if she showed him even a little more vulnerability, he might do something he would regret.

Without even loving her.

He tried to clear his mind with this thought.

But the small fingers on his back felt so good. Her hands meticulously moved down to his lower back, gently tracing his spinal muscles.

“I think I can handle the rest myself now.”

“…Alright.”

He was glad she couldn’t see his front. If she did, she wouldn’t treat him the same way as before.

“Let me know when you’re done.”

“I will.”

She washed the lather off her hands in the water and stood up, drying her hands. Then she grabbed her gun and started to walk away without looking back.

“Eveline.”

“Yes?”

She turned instinctively. Elkais also turned to look at her unintentionally.

“Oh, sorry. What is it?”

Eveline quickly turned her head away. Elkais, caught off guard, forgot what he was going to say.

“I forgot.”

“Let me know if you remember.”

Eveline felt oddly strange.

She hadn’t thought much about seeing his back, but recalling the sight of his chest, abdomen, and the glimpse below in the water made her face flush.

“I didn’t see anything.”

“…Alright.”

He didn’t believe her. Her words only made him realize she had seen everything.

Elkais hoped she hadn’t seen below his waist.

He tried to calm his racing heart and think of something to change the subject. But his mind went blank, and no words came.

What should he say to reassure her?

What if she saw him as a shameless, lustful Alpha?

“Eveline.”

“Yes.”

“What do you think of me?”

His voice trembled.

Eveline realized he was embarrassed and managed to set aside her tension from earlier.

She knew he was reacting to her pheromones.

“You’re a good person.”

“Me?”

“Yes. Even though we had some arguments at first, you saved me from the tiger, Elkais.”

Elkais felt relieved that her voice trembled like his. If it had turned cold, it would have been more painful for him.

“You saved me too, Eveline.”

“Me?”

“Yes. It was you who made Abellard use his divine power.”

“Oh, right.”

Eveline was relieved to realize he valued their trust just as much as she did.

However, that relief didn’t last long.

The rain suddenly started to pour.

A sudden shower that could trigger both Alpha and Omega’s heat cycles.