As expected, his right hand was wrapped in bandages.
What was strange was that the bandages were focused on his palm rather than the back of his hand.
Sharti looked up at Ren with suspicious eyes.
‘Let me see your hand.’
Sharti pointed at his hand, but Ren only offered her the bowl.
“You should eat something since you went to sleep without dinner.”
Ren recommended with a calm face and deep eyes.
Since he had struggled to pick them, Sharti couldn’t refuse to eat, so she picked up one berry.
They must have been thoroughly washed, as the green fruit looked enticingly plump.
‘This is my first time eating one so perfect.’
For Sharti, these were berries she could only luckily gather when birds dropped them on the ground.
And even then, she had never had such well-ripened, perfectly round berries before.
Sharti glanced at him briefly before popping one into her mouth.
‘Sweet!’
Sharti’s eyes sparkled as she tasted the sweetness of the berry spreading in her mouth.
There was no sourness at all; rather, it had a pleasant chewiness and sweetness.
“Is it good?”
Ren casually asked, sensing the sweet aroma from beneath her hood.
Sharti nodded vigorously.
“Get up and eat more. I picked plenty.”
Ren put the bowl down on the bed, trying not to show his satisfaction.
Sharti sat up completely and swallowed the berry.
“Before that, let me see your hand.”
“……”
“You don’t want to?”
Realizing that Sharti’s terrible voice had become sharp, Ren immediately held out both hands.
As Sharti focused on examining his bandaged hand, Ren cleared his throat.
“It’s nothing. The handle broke and just scratched me a little.”
“What handle?”
“…The axe handle I received when I borrowed the wooden board.”
Ren added that he had also borrowed an axe from Vireta to make the temporary bedroom door.
Sharti’s expression soured as she understood Ren’s meaning.
Did he swing that axe just to pick berries?
‘That axe handle must be as thick as my forearm……?’
She decided not to ask whether it broke naturally or if he broke it himself.
Either way, she couldn’t imagine it.
Instead, she sighed at the reason why his bandaging skills were improving day by day.
‘First his abdomen and thigh, then his forearm, then his face, and now his palm…….’
Sharti tried to suppress the sadness rising within her.
Then she unwrapped the bandage to check his wound.
“It’s nothing.”
As Ren tried to pull his hand away with an embarrassed face, Sharti firmly gripped his wrist.
The corner of Ren’s mouth twitched.
Although Sharti’s grip was weak and merely ticklish to him, he remained obediently held.
“I’ll apply some ointment.”
The thick skin of his palm was torn as if a wooden splinter had deeply embedded in it.
As Sharti tried to get off the bed to fetch the ointment, Ren stopped her.
“Just tell me what it looks like, and I’ll find it.”
After hearing about the ointment’s size, smell, and color, Ren left the bedroom.
After going back and forth from the bedroom about five times, Ren was finally able to apply the ointment.
“……They all look similar.”
Ren muttered with a furrowed brow, but Sharti pretended not to hear and carefully applied the ointment.
It was common to be unable to distinguish weeds from medicinal herbs. But Ren seemed particularly lacking in discernment.
That made him seem more human.
Sharti chuckled, thinking that the gods were fair after all.
“……”
As Sharti blew gently on the wound, Ren’s earlobes turned red.
Without releasing Ren’s twitching hand, Sharti meticulously wrapped it with bandages.
“Ahem. Thank you.”
“Thank you for the berries too. But please don’t overdo it next time.”
What doctor would enjoy seeing more wounds?
Besides, since Ren would be leaving soon, she wanted to send him off in the healthiest condition possible.
Meanwhile, Ren just nodded casually.
“I understand, so eat now.”
Ren’s gaze was insistent as he offered the berries.
As she put another berry in her mouth as he wished, Ren’s eyes curved slightly.
‘He actually shows more expressions on his face than one might think.’
Ren basically maintained a calm face, either stiff or frowning.
But looking closely, one could see that Ren was hiding surprisingly diverse expressions.
He himself seemed unaware of these varied changes in his expressions.
‘I think I’ll want to eat more later.’
Sharti, as if addicted to the sweetness, picked up another berry.
Rarely having the chance to eat candy, let alone fruit, her hand moved on its own.
Ren crossed his arms and watched the diminishing number of berries with a satisfied expression.
‘…Wait, this isn’t the time.’
Sharti, belatedly regaining her senses, gulped down the berry juice in her mouth.
She had been too deeply immersed in the sweetness after her bath.
“What’s wrong?”
Ren reacted when Sharti suddenly suppressed her appetite after eating the berries as if planning to empty the bowl.
Sharti narrowed her eyes and looked at Ren.
“Sha?”
“Say that again.”
“Say what?”
Sharti shook her head.
Having become accustomed to Ren’s way of speaking, she hadn’t realized until now what was strange throughout their conversation.
“We agreed to practice, didn’t we?”
At Sharti’s reminder, Ren shut his mouth tight.
He too seemed to have just remembered the purpose of the conversation.
Ren cleared his throat while covering his mouth.
“Right. ……ma’am.”
His expression stiffened as if the word didn’t quite stick to his tongue.
But after glancing at Sharti, he uncrossed his arms.
“I’m not sure if one day will be enough. ……ma’am.”
“……?”
“I’ll probably need to fix not just my speech but my attitude too. ……ma’am.”
Certainly, Ren’s attitude was perfect for picking fights.
Going forward, attitude correction would be especially necessary if he were to continue living as a fugitive slave.
Above all, Vireta emphasized manners.
“Sha, you’re making an effort to talk with me, so I should make an equal effort for this to be called practice. ……ma’am. So, for a while, I’m going to think of you, Sha, as my real master. No, I will, ma’am.”
“……What?”
Sharti reflexively asked, unable to follow the flow of the conversation.
Regardless, Ren’s face showed that he had made up his mind.
He even looked like he was enjoying it.
“Actually, from now on, you, Sha, should drop the formalities. ……ma’am. No master would speak formally to a slave.”
Before Sharti could say anything, Ren bent down and knelt on one knee.
Then, finding something strange, he knelt on both knees.
The eye level with Ren changed.
“Sha, my master-.”
“……!”
As their eyes met, azure with teal, Sharti took a sharp breath.
Faced with his serious gaze, a flustered Sharti grabbed the blanket and turned her head away.
“I’m, I’m sleepy so I should go to bed now. Good night.”
Turning away from Ren, Sharti quickly lay down.
Hoping he wouldn’t notice her strangely racing heartbeat, she haphazardly pulled the blanket over herself.
“……Alright. ……ma’am.”
Though momentarily confused by Sharti’s sudden avoidance and hiding, Ren realized it was dawn and quickly left the bedroom.
As soon as the door closed with a thud, Sharti took a deep breath.
‘……Will my fever rise again?’
She felt her temperature rising due to her irregularly beating heart.
The embarrassment, awkwardness, and pressure that she hadn’t noticed in front of the soldiers now hit her.
‘Ah!’
Belatedly coming to her senses, Sharti realized she hadn’t refused the title of “master.” Overcome with self-loathing, Sharti kicked the blanket repeatedly.
After thoroughly dusting off the blanket with her feet, Sharti took a calm breath.
‘Wouldn’t it be better if I became his employer instead? It sounds better. If I’m helping Grandma Vireta with her work, I’ll encounter mercenaries, so getting used to the title of employer would be better.’
She didn’t want to hear Ren call her “master” as soon as she woke up. Beyond being embarrassing, it was an excessive, undeserved title for her.
After pondering about titles for a while, Sharti unconsciously rubbed her neck.
“……”
Having been so focused on Ren, her worries about her terrible voice had been pushed aside.
The time she had spent anxious and worried before speaking seemed pointless now.
Sharti’s eyes reddened slightly.
‘Not once did he frown because of my voice.’
Though he didn’t show it outwardly, Ren was clearly mindful of Sharti’s voice. Sharti, who had always been sensitive to others’ reactions, couldn’t have missed it.
But it wasn’t the reaction of enduring unconscious discomfort.
‘Instead, he only watched my reactions. Afraid I might want to end the conversation.’
Sniffling with a tingling nose, Sharti rubbed her eyes.
Ren truly wanted to have a “conversation.” He genuinely just wanted to hear her voice.
He wasn’t a liar.
‘Why?’
Was it curiosity rather than sympathy?
Could it be his intention to discover one by one the weaknesses she was trying to hide?
‘I thought I knew more, but I still don’t understand Ren.’
Sharti became afraid to confirm whether what “Ren” showed was genuine or false.
More precisely, she was afraid of her growing desire to rely on the gentleness hidden in his calm demeanor, the dependability of his large frame, and the awkward concern etched in his teal eyes.
Sharti wasn’t a person accustomed to loneliness.
She was a person consumed by loneliness. She was simply waiting for someone to rescue her from the loneliness that had consumed her.
‘Ren…….’
As her thoughts and emotions settled, her heart beat regularly.
Pulling the blanket close, Sharti tried to sleep.
Just two days left.
Until Ren would leave.
****
Early in the morning, Sharti rubbed her puffy face with her fist while yawning.
It was the time she usually woke up.
Her temperature was normal, she had no dizziness, and she felt refreshed.
‘I should try to improve the cold medicine while I’m at it.’
Recalling the unsatisfactory effectiveness of the medicine, Sharti felt motivated.
After changing clothes and roughly combing her disheveled hair with her hands, then putting on her robe, Sharti left the bedroom.
Opening the utility room door slightly, she saw that Ren was still sleeping.
Sharti headed straight to the garden and harvested some vegetables.
‘I should have saved some meat.’
Feeling concerned about having to feed him just vegetables again, Sharti picked up a basket.
She needed to find something that could provide a meat-like texture.
‘Let’s gather some mushrooms.’
As Sharti boldly left the house, she tilted her head at the scenery that looked different today.
The dense trees that had created an eerie atmosphere now appeared sparse, and the ground around the old log cabin was messy.
‘……Surely all that can’t be weeds?’
Sharti made a disgusted face at the pile of grass next to the storage shed. She put the weed pile behind her and climbed up the mountain.
After being sick for a day, the cold mountain air felt refreshingly cool to the bone.
However, despite her enthusiasm, the mushroom harvest was disappointing, even though she had deliberately gone higher up to avoid overlapping with the villagers. After brief deliberation, Sharti followed the sound of water.
‘Wonder if I can catch any fish.’
Sharti wasn’t particularly skilled at catching fish.
But if she could catch just one here, it would solve today’s meal.
‘I need to feed him well before he leaves.’
Clenching her fist, Sharti headed toward the stream with hope.
Finding the stream without getting lost, Sharti rolled up her sleeves.
‘Ugh, it’s cold.’
Since winter was approaching, the stream water was ice-cold.
For times like this, Vireta had taught her a fishing method. Sharti looked around.
Grunting, she lifted a large stone and threw it forcefully into the stream.
Splash-! When it successfully hit the rocks embedded in the stream, fish floated up from between the rocks.
‘Got it!’
She quickly caught the fish with the basket, momentarily emptied of mushrooms.
Though the fish was only as big as her palm, it was quite plump.
‘I should also gather herbs to mask the fishy smell.’
With her mood lifted by the weight of her basket, Sharti’s steps lightened.
****
Ren woke up to the sound of birds chirping outside.
Leaving the room with his hair still disheveled, he was enveloped by the familiar silence as he had been every morning.
“……Sha?”
Ren, who was about to look for Sharti first, checked the note on the table.
<I’ve gone up to the mountain for a bit. I’ll be back.>
The wrinkle on Ren’s forehead deepened. Swallowing a sigh, Ren pressed his innocent temple.
He couldn’t understand why she would push herself when she hadn’t fully recovered.
‘If only I had gathered the right herbs, she wouldn’t have gone out.’
Ren put the note inside his bedding, then wrapped his face with bandages. After roughly wrapping the bandages so that only his eyes and mouth were visible, Ren went outside.
His expression worsened in the particularly cold air of the early morning.
“I should get this done before Sha returns.”
Ren strode toward the back of the log cabin.
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