Sharti blinked, not understanding what Ren was saying.
‘Weeds? Out of the blue?’
Sharti, still trying to grasp the situation, lightly pinched her cheek to clear her head.
“Ouch.”
She didn’t even need to pinch hard.
As soon as she touched her cheek, a sharp pain pierced through her nerves.
It definitely woke her up.
‘Come to think of it, did that guy hit me?’
Memories of last night, when she was caught by Dodint trying to take out scissors from under her pillow, flashed through her mind.
Sharti frowned, her hand covering her cheek.
Her mouth must be torn inside.
‘It must have gotten worse since I left it without applying medicine.’
If she looked in the mirror, her cheek would definitely be swollen. Being hit by a person hurt more than scratches or bumps.
If she were to exaggerate, it was painful enough to bring tears to her eyes.
“I’m sorry.”
“……”
While Sharti was enduring the pain, Ren apologized again in a somber voice.
‘Why does he keep apologizing?’
Sharti, who had finally removed her hand from her cheek, gestured to Ren.
As if waiting for it, Ren naturally reached out his hand.
<What are you sorry for?>
Instead of his palm, Sharti wrote her question on her own palm.
Ren’s eyebrows twitched.
It was an expression he made whenever he was displeased.
“……I did my best.”
<You did your best, but why are you sorry?>
“That’s….”
Ren hesitated, then glanced at Sharti.
His sharp features, which usually looked stern, softened for a moment.
“I was told that if I had brought the right herbs, your fever would have gone down.”
Sharti’s eyes widened at his unexpected words.
Ren scratched the back of his neck, looking embarrassed.
“I memorized them from the pictures, but I couldn’t tell them apart.”
Sharti paused her writing.
Her head was foggy from the slight fever, and it took her a moment to understand Ren’s words.
‘So, he went to gather herbs to bring down my fever? And he asked Tein to identify them? But… Tein checked and said they were all weeds?’
Pfft.
Sharti turned her head away quickly to suppress her laughter.
It wasn’t a big deal.
It wasn’t even that funny.
Yet, an odd, ticklish laugh scratched at her heart.
Laughter kept leaking out, and Sharti covered her mouth with the back of her hand.
‘Ah, I feel like my fever is getting worse.’
Suppressing her laughter made her feel dizzy.
Ren looked flustered as Sharti coughed.
“What’s wrong? Are you in a lot of pain?”
Seeing Ren’s worried expression made her heart flutter.
Perhaps it was the fever, but her guard was down, and Ren’s kindness seeped into her vulnerable gaps.
<There was cold medicine.>
“You mean the cold medicine you gave me yesterday? You’ve already taken it.”
“……?”
Then why did he go out to gather herbs?
If he had run into villagers outside, things would have become complicated.
There was no guarantee that the lie about being a runaway slave would work on the villagers.
Especially since some of the villagers were very vigilant against outsiders and had a strong sense of civic duty.
<Did your wound reopen?>
This time, Sharti looked worried as she asked Ren with a serious expression.
Last night, Ren had broken the bedroom door, been attacked by Dodint, and even chased after him to retaliate.
If his healing wound had reopened, it was her fault.
<I’ll make you something quickly.>
As Sharti tried to get up, Ren placed his hand over hers on the bed.
Ren’s face was so close that Sharti was surprised and recoiled.
“There’s no need for that. The little doctor found some ointment and applied it.”
Ren calmly pushed Sharti back down.
Then, he picked up the towel that had fallen from her forehead and placed it back.
‘Then what were the herbs for?’
Curiosity lingered, and Sharti wiggled slightly.
Ren glanced at Sharti’s hand that he was covering.
Sharti didn’t seem to realize he was holding her hand, as she didn’t try to pull away.
Ren focused on his expression, trying not to show the strange tingling sensation.
“The little doctor said there were herbs good for energy.”
Even after giving Sharti the cold medicine, Tein was still worried and showed Ren herbs for nourishment in a book.
[If Doctor eats this, she’ll become strong.]
Ren had been asking Vireta what he could do for the sick Sharti, so he was naturally drawn to Tein’s suggestion.
“I had no idea that even if they looked the same, they could be weeds just because the root shape was different.”
Though he didn’t tell Sharti, Ren had been receiving disappointed looks from Tein for not being able to distinguish between herbs and weeds.
Now, he truly felt like a big, bear-like man with nothing in his head, just a patient.
The self-loathing was a bonus.
“I just wanted to do something, even if it was something small.”
“……”
“Even if I can’t be of much help, I wanted to do something for you.”
The words he added at the end, as if muttering to himself, seemed to be his true feelings.
Sharti recalled the words she had poured out to him last night.
Just remembering her shameful and embarrassing voice made Sharti wince.
<That was the best I could do at the time.>
Sharti, who had been repeatedly clenching and unclenching the hand she didn’t know Ren was holding, carefully revealed her true feelings that she couldn’t express that day.
<That person was threatening me with a knife. If he had known about Ren’s existence, there’s no telling what he would have done.>
Dodint, who had used her face as a weakness to threaten her, would have definitely used the unknown Ren’s existence as well.
He would have made up a story saying he found an unidentified man and tracked him to the log cabin, or that Ren was actually the target of the search.
Remembering the lukewarm attitude of the soldiers even after finding Dodint, whom they had been searching for so desperately, Sharti reaffirmed that her choice was right.
‘Even if they seem like good people, they are still soldiers of the Empire.’
Following hierarchical order and manipulating situations based on status was common in the Great Empire of Neweiton.
Vireta’s teachings were something to be engraved in her bones.
“So, the reason you didn’t call me was to hide me?”
His tone was sharp.
Sharti shook her head.
She wanted to soften her words and speak indirectly.
<I wanted to protect you. I guess I wanted to reassure you that even if something like that happened, I would be okay, and Ren would be okay too.>
“……”
<I’m sorry for snapping at you back then. It’s not that I didn’t want to call you, but the truth is, I just didn’t want to let myself want to.>
<So, what I’m saying is, I wanted Ren to rely on me.>
“……”
<Ren?>
Sharti stopped writing when Ren didn’t respond.
While she stretched out her arm to write on his palm, he just tilted his head with a blank expression.
He looked like he hadn’t received any of it.
Sure enough, Ren shrugged.
“It’s hard to read.”
“……?”
Sharti looked up at Ren, her face asking what he meant.
Ren, on the contrary, stared intently at her palm with a shameless expression.
“Your palm is small, so I couldn’t read the letters properly.”
Ren compared his palm to Sharti’s, spreading his hand.
Her hand was so small that it was completely covered by his large hand.
“And the room is dark.”
Sharti made a dumbfounded expression.
Even though her hand was small, she had been writing slowly, so Ren’s words were unconvincing.
Besides, Ren had good eyesight, enough to find his way through the mountain path at night.
‘Even when I used longer and more difficult sentences, he read them all…’
And he had been reading her writing just a moment ago.
Sharti’s eyes narrowed, and she looked at him suspiciously.
She was embarrassed, so she thought it was a good excuse, and pouted.
‘If he says he can’t see well, then there’s no need to write.’
Sharti simply lowered her hand and hid it under the blanket.
She looked sulky.
Seeing this rare sight, Ren unconsciously suppressed the rising corners of his lips.
Before she got even more upset, Ren cleared his throat.
“So, I have a proposal.”
Sharti glared at him, sensing he had seized an opportunity.
“How about…we talk to each other?”
“……!”
Sharti paused for a moment, then turned her head sharply in the opposite direction, as if she didn’t need to hear more.
Her stance was firm, but Ren didn’t back down.
“It’s not that writing is inconvenient, but I feel sorry. Your hand is small, so it would be fine if I concentrated, but I couldn’t even do that.”
“……”
Sharti’s chin twitched.
Hiding his intentions, Ren recalled Vireta’s suggestion.
[Decide by three days from now. Whether you’ll stay here as a stray mutt, or come with me.]
In three days, he might be leaving the old log cabin with Vireta.
Before that, he wanted to hear Sharti’s voice.
He wanted to talk to her, even a little.
To achieve this, Ren put on a weak, self-reproaching tone.
“I don’t want to bother you, and I hate feeling sorry for not being able to read properly. I could read everything when you wrote on my palm, but… my palm is rough, so you probably don’t want to touch it anymore.”
Adding exaggerated expressions, Sharti showed signs of hesitation.
Ren deliberately softened his voice.
“Then wouldn’t it be better to just talk to me? Of course, this isn’t about asking you to rely on me. It’s just that my head is broken, so I have no prejudices, and I truly, really, sincerely didn’t feel anything about your voice, and I just thought it was a little unique, so I think I’m a good practice partner.”
His tone of persuasion was desperate, almost pleading.
As if there would be no other chance.
“You said you snapped at me, but I didn’t hear it that way at all. The reason your own voice sounds bad to you might be because you don’t use your voice often, so it sounds awkward. So, how about continuing to write when other people are around, and practicing getting used to your voice when you’re with me?”
“……”
“You already do so much with your hands, and if you write for a long time because of me, it’s too much of a burden. Your hands need time to rest too.”
Perhaps his sincerity got through, as Sharti turned her head towards Ren.
For a moment, Ren thought he met Sharti’s eyes hidden by her hood, and he swallowed hard.
“So, what I’m saying is….”
“Liar.”
“……!”
Ren’s mouth snapped shut.
Of course.
Sharti even chuckled softly.
‘Does he think he’s a good liar?’
Sharti grumbled inwardly, unaware that Ren had intentionally quoted her writing.
“Well, I’ve been caught.”
Ren smiled faintly.
Sharti looked displeased at his audacity even after being caught in a lie.
“Sha-.”
His low voice called out to her.
Now that he had lied to get her to speak, it was time to honestly initiate a conversation with her.
Ren tried to maintain a calm expression.
“I received a proposal.”
Ren confessed honestly.
‘Grandmother knew about Ren’s existence? And she even offered to take care of Ren?’
Sharti, who had been prepared to be scolded by Vireta, was genuinely surprised and reflected on how foolish and naive she had been to try and deceive Vireta.
‘So, Ren is…’
If the dependable Vireta took care of Ren, it would put her mind at ease.
Besides, for Ren to regain his memories, the free-spirited Vireta was a better choice than the reclusive Sharti.
However, Sharti couldn’t readily say that it was a good thing.
‘…Is leaving soon?’
Sharti looked at Ren with a nervous expression.
