Sharti widened her stride, picking up her pace.
“Anyway, be careful with what you say in the village. The surveillance was strict even when I was alone, but if I bring Ren along, they’ll definitely seize on even the smallest slip-up.”
Sharti emphasized repeatedly, having clearly experienced her fair share of trouble.
She couldn’t even catch her breath or take a sip of water comfortably.
The atmosphere in Ashu’s village was so unwelcoming that the air felt heavy.
Ren, who had been staring blankly at Sharti, hurried to catch up with her.
“If it’s that bad, they probably won’t believe I’m your assistant.”
Sharti immediately glared at him. Her eyes clearly said ‘this is why I didn’t want to bring you,’ making Ren pretend to look elsewhere.
Sharti sighed.
“What choice do we have? You suddenly jumped in, and I’ve already introduced you as my assistant.”
Sharti felt just as helpless about the situation.
While introducing him as an assistant during greetings was fine, once the treatment began, Ren’s ignorance would be glaringly obvious.
“I did get a crash course from the little doctor.”
Ren had received some hasty training from Tein before departure about an assistant’s duties and proper conduct.
It was a matter of pride.
He didn’t want to appear incompetent in front of Ashu after being introduced as her assistant, unable to properly support Sharti.
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll handle things myself as much as possible. Since I’ve always worked alone, having your assistance might actually look more suspicious.”
“Then they’ll be even more suspicious. You came alone last time and managed fine by yourself, so why would you suddenly bring along a useless assistant this time?”
Sharti swallowed a groan.
“Then I’ll use the same excuse as last time. I’ll say I took in a run away slave, and now I’m keeping Ren as my assistant to protect him.”
It was a useful pretext.
Even if it seemed suspicious, there was no immediate way to verify it, so with some finesse, they could get away with it.
‘Then Ren’s clumsy actions won’t raise too much suspicion either.’
Meanwhile, Ren was looking at Sharti with a thoughtful expression.
If becoming a slave would help Sharti, he would willingly become one and kneel before her.
That was something he could naturally accept, regardless of pride.
But Ashu still bothered him.
[An assistant?]
He wasn’t sure why the man bothered him so much, but nonetheless, Ren found Ashu irritating.
He disliked everything about him—the way Ashu glanced at him and the way his eyes sparkled when looking at Sharti.
Ren frowned, tilting his head from side to side to stretch his muscles.
“…There’s another way. A more natural scenario that would necessitate bringing an assistant.”
“What is it?”
As Sharti turned to look at him, the surrounding fog dispersed with the wind.
In the clearer visibility, Ren took Sharti’s hand.
“…!”
Sharti was startled, but Ren pulled her hand and pressed his lips against the back of it.
Sharti drew in a sharp breath as Ren’s warm breath clung to the back of her hand.
“We can make the general store uncle’s misunderstanding happen again.”
“W-what?”
Her mind, momentarily frozen, sluggishly traced back through her memories.
Recalling the general store uncle’s misunderstanding, Sharti’s face turned bright red.
Ren glanced at Sharti’s reddened fingertips.
He felt a ticklish sensation in his chest.
“W-what nonsense are you talking about…!”
With her voice cracking, Sharti quickly pulled her hand away.
Unlike the huffing Sharti, Ren gazed at her steadily, as if he didn’t understand her reaction.
Sharti took deep breaths to regain her composure.
“You’ve already been introduced to the village chief’s son as my assistant. Who would introduce their husband as just an assistant?”
“You could say you were flustered at the time, or that you initially hired me as an assistant but we recently developed feelings for each other.”
It was completely far-fetched.
Sharti narrowed her eyes, giving Ren a sideways glance.
‘He doesn’t actually think this would work, does he?’
And he had called it a natural scenario.
Sharti shook her head firmly.
“It absolutely won’t work. No one will fall for it. The general store uncle said that deliberately because he had ulterior motives. Who would see Ren and me like that?”
“……”
Ren raised one eyebrow.
It was the opposite of the rejection he had expected, but her outright denial left him feeling quite disgruntled.
“…Fine. I was just throwing it out there.”
Ren turned his head away.
He had genuinely just made a suggestion, but feeling offended, he appeared sulky.
Sharti glanced at Ren while rubbing the back of her hand where he had held it.
‘Maybe I overreacted.’
But husband and wife? Who would see Ren, with his normal appearance, and her, looking the way she did, as a married couple?
Sharti bit her lip.
“But in our current state, no matter what relationship we establish or what identity I take on, no one will believe us.”
“…?”
“Think about it. Whether assistant or slave, who would treat someone like this?”
Ren looked at Sharti with a serious expression.
If the husband scenario wouldn’t work, at least they needed to close the distance between them. He needed to show that he was closer to Sharti than the village chief’s son.
His blue-green eyes gleamed with determination.
“Sha, you need to treat me more harshly.”
“What?”
Despite Sharti’s bewildered response, Ren nodded firmly.
“First, you should appear comfortable being served. As my master, you shouldn’t find it difficult to command people. Even when communicating through writing, you need to be careful with gestures and subtle glances. Sha, you need to see me as a slave before the villagers do.”
“That’s…”
“You can’t fix it just by thinking about it.”
This time, Ren shook his head resolutely.
“I’ll try my best starting now.”
Sharti clenched her fists in response, somewhat bewildered.
But Ren stopped completely and stared at Sharti intently.
“More than effort, we need practice. Starting now.”
“…What do you mean?”
Ren crossed his arms and pretended to ponder, swallowing.
In response, Sharti also tensed up, racking her brain.
“First-.”
After checking Sharti’s reaction, Ren cleared his throat and began.
“Let’s start with informal speech.”
“…?”
“From now on, speak informally to me, Sha.”
Sharti tilted her head, blinking.
‘What difference does that make?’
She couldn’t speak aloud in the village anyway.
Informal speech could be conveyed through writing just as well, so why insist on starting now?
Sharti looked at Ren with disbelief.
To achieve his goal, Ren brazenly maintained a calm face, shaking his head slowly.
“You don’t understand. The act of speaking informally itself is practice for reducing the distance between us.”
“……”
“It feels much more comfortable. It did for me.”
As Sharti hesitated, Ren walked ahead, leaving her behind.
Belatedly, Sharti followed him.
“I’ll speak formally to you. So I don’t make mistakes and cause you trouble.”
“……”
Ren’s resolution, as he spoke while gazing straight ahead, was both firm and gentle.
Sharti fidgeted with her sleeve.
‘Speak informally, he says. It’s not difficult, but would that really change how I treat him?’
Sharti was skeptical.
Already feeling awkward, she hesitated.
“If you have no objections, then let’s start practicing now.”
“What? …Aaack!”
Suddenly turning around, Ren scooped Sharti up into his arms.
Finding herself suddenly lifted off the ground, Sharti gasped and wrapped her arms around Ren’s neck.
“Ren!”
For the second day in a row, Sharti glared at Ren from beneath her hood for acting without warning.
Looking at her, Ren’s lips curled into a smile.
“Yes, master.”
“…!”
Sharti pressed her lips firmly together.
Seeing that Sharti was still not accustomed to being called “master,” Ren suppressed a laugh.
As his Adam’s apple bobbed, Sharti punched his shoulder. This only made his Adam’s apple move more pronouncedly.
“I’ll carry you like this.”
“I’m fully awake now. I can walk on my own, so put me down. I’ll walk quickly.”
“I only listen to my master’s commands.”
He meant that if she didn’t speak informally, he wouldn’t obey her—or even listen to her.
Sharti swallowed a sigh.
With Ren being this stubborn, continuing to argue was pointless.
‘If I don’t say anything, Ren will put me down eventually.’
Actually, speaking informally to Ren wasn’t that difficult.
She just felt uncomfortable with the idea of feeling more at ease with him, as he had asserted.
‘Even at this distance, my heart is already fluttering.’
Sharti pressed firmly around her chest area.
The tickling, sometimes stinging, tingling sensation was unfamiliar and uncomfortable.
Quietly letting herself be carried, Sharti glanced at Ren.
‘Ren seems unbothered, though.’
Sharti carefully studied Ren’s features.
Unlike her, Ren wasn’t wearing a hood, so his intense, distinct eyes, lips, and straight, prominent nose bridge were fully visible.
His bangs occasionally brushed against his eyelids, making his blue-green eyes flutter slightly.
“My cheek itches, master.”
“…!”
When their eyes suddenly met, Sharti tightly shut hers and lowered her head.
This time, Ren chuckled audibly.
Her face burned with embarrassment at being caught staring.
‘I didn’t hear anything. I’m not thinking anything!’
As Sharti tried desperately to close her eyes and ears to him, fatigue washed over her, and she quickly drifted off to sleep.
“……”
Hearing her soft, rhythmic breathing, Ren carefully held her more securely in his arms.
To ensure she could sleep as comfortably as possible, Ren moved quickly while being careful not to jostle her.
Though he would have preferred to go as slowly as possible, he didn’t want her to arrive late at Ashu’s village and face criticism from others.
Ren moved through the fog without making a sound.
As time passed, Sharti, awakened by the sound of insects, stirred in Ren’s arms.
‘Hmm…’
Rubbing her still sleepy eyes, Sharti moved her stiff body around.
Perhaps because she was still drowsy, everything around her was dark.
Darkness surrounded her in every direction.
“…Ren?”
“Are you awake?”
At the sound of Ren’s calm voice, Sharti came to her senses.
Realizing she was still in Ren’s strong arms, she quickly raised her upper body.
“Don’t tell me you’ve been walking this whole time?”
“Ah. I was running until just now, but when I thought you were waking up, I slowed down.”
“It’s night already!”
Sharti was shocked.
Ren had been calmly walking through the pitch-black mountain forest.
No matter how good his night vision was, wasn’t this a matter of endurance?
“Put me down! Have you had water? No, have you rested at all? Ren! Put me down right now.”
“……”
Though Sharti struggled and insisted he stop, Ren merely glanced at her and continued walking, staring straight ahead.
Then, remembering what Ren had said earlier, Sharti let out an exasperated sigh.
‘This stubborn, pig-headed man!’
Sharti widened her eyes and raised both hands.
“Ren-!”
Sharti grabbed both his cheeks with a loud slap.
Surprised, Ren stopped, and Sharti took a deep breath.
“Put me down! Right now!”
Ren blinked and obediently placed Sharti on the ground.
Finding herself on solid ground with surprising ease, Sharti continued to hold Ren’s cheeks as she looked up at him.
‘Your face is cold.’
He usually had a high body temperature, but now he felt colder than Sharti.
Meanwhile, Sharti’s temperature had risen. Evidence that she had been comfortably and warmly sleeping in his arms until now.
Upset, Sharti stared at him intently.
“Stay still.”
Strangely quiet now, Ren nodded obediently.
As her body heat transferred to him, a flush appeared on Ren’s cheeks, and Sharti released her hold.
As Sharti began busily setting up their sleeping area, Ren, who had been still until then, quickly responded.
“This is my job.”
“…Alright.”
Knowing Ren’s stubbornness, Sharti reluctantly stepped aside.
Ren quickly laid out blankets and prepared their sleeping area.
“First, hold this in your hands.”
Sharti gave Ren a magic stone to use as a hand warmer.
But the hand warmer was ridiculously small for Ren’s body, which remained ice-cold.
“…Come over here.”
Sharti quickly seated Ren beside her and covered them both with the blanket he had taken out.
However, due to Ren’s size, the blanket was awkwardly short. Even with two blankets layered together and sitting shoulder to shoulder, it wasn’t enough. It was insufficient to warm them.
After trying to adjust the blankets in various ways, Sharti became determined and stood up abruptly.
“Sha?”
Sharti first covered Ren with the thickest blanket.
Then she wrapped the remaining blanket around herself.
“Just to warn you… don’t be surprised.”
Feeling awkward belatedly, Sharti mumbled and fidgeted.
Seeing her hesitate and worry before taking action, Ren raised an eyebrow.
“Sha, I mean, master. You’ll catch a cold like that. Please sit down. I’m fine, so you take this blanket too.”
Concerned about Sharti standing alone, Ren moved to offer her the thick blanket.
Finally, unable to bear it any longer, Sharti moved decisively.
“…!”
Sharti sat down with her back against Ren’s chest, leaning into his arms.
The feeling was so disconcerting that Ren’s thoughts froze as his heart thumped.
Meanwhile, Sharti wriggled her way between Ren’s legs, pressing her backside against him.
“……”
“I-I told you not to be surprised.”
Only then did Ren look down awkwardly at Sharti in his arms.
Though she was wrapped tightly in her robe, Ren could tell she was tense.
“Just for today, just this once!”
When Sharti hugged her knees and shouted, Ren came to his senses.
Ren quietly draped the blanket back over his shoulders and moved a little closer to Sharti.
“…Alright.”
Ren wrapped his arms around her from behind, protecting Sharti in his embrace from the cold wind.
The awkward atmosphere gradually subsided as warmth began to rise.
Sharti looked at Ren’s interlocked hands in front of her and lightly hit his forearm.
“What if you caught a cold?”
“This much won’t make me sick.”
Their speech had returned to normal, but neither of them seemed to notice.
Sharti let out a deep sigh of frustration.
Because she was facing away from him, she couldn’t see his face, but she could imagine his nonchalant expression even with her eyes closed.
“There are better things to be stubborn about. That was reckless.”
“I learned from my master.”
It was a cheeky retort.
Sharti had nothing to say and closed her mouth.
Once the cold had somewhat left Ren’s body, Sharti took out some dried sweet potatoes, and they shared them.
“I have a different condition today. I mean, I have a different condition.”
When Sharti said she couldn’t offer her lap as a pillow, Ren readily nodded.
Pushing his stubbornness further here would likely only provoke Sharti’s resistance.
“I’d like to hear a story.”
Ren wanted to hear about Sharti’s medical treatment trips, and Sharti was fine with anything as long as it wasn’t using her lap as a pillow.
Feeling Ren’s gaze on the back of her head, Sharti slowly began to speak.
“On a snowy day, I set out for my first treatment trip-.”
As Sharti unfolded her stories, the night deepened.
****
After crossing large and small mountain peaks, barely taking time to rest, they finally reached their destination.
Sharti and Ren stood before a village surrounded by walls made of logs.
“It’s like a fortress.”
