Chapter 19
“Excuse me, Duke.”
“What, do you think I’m going to pounce on you like some kind of beast?”
When he put it that way, it was honestly absurd.
“That’s not what I meant—”
“I’m not going to be emotionally swayed by you, so you’d better not worry about that kind of thing.”
Calix turned his head away as if annoyed. Seeing him suddenly act like that made me feel awkward, even dumbfounded.
Why does he hate it that much?
I had expected Calix to calmly agree with me. I thought he would think the same way I did.
Only the crackling sound of the fire echoed. Outside, the blizzard was still howling. I pulled my cloak tighter and stared at the red flames.
Somehow, the atmosphere felt even heavier than before.
Did I say something unnecessary?
Still, I needed to draw a line. His so-called instincts were making things difficult for me too. The more he acted like that, the more my heart started pounding, not just with discomfort but with tension.
It’s best not to get involved with a man like that.
There didn’t seem to be any way out for now. I kept staring blankly at the fire when it started to die down.
I looked around and grabbed some dry leaves near my feet. At that moment, I froze. Calix had grabbed the same leaves. Our hands touched.
I quickly pulled my hand back. Calix paused for a moment, then without looking at me, clenched the leaves and threw them into the fire. The lingering sensation of his hand still remained on mine.
Why is he doing this? He could just make fire with his sword like before.
Why bother touching the leaves? I ended up blaming Calix for no reason. I clenched my hand.
The fire flared up with a whoosh, and smoke rose. At the same time, Calix’s scent strangely kept drifting into my nose. It was refreshing like a forest, yet heavy like the smell of trees.
Why would he even wear perfume while hunting?
That, too, made no sense to me. I stared at the fire with a stiff expression when a low voice sounded beside me.
“Why are you wearing perfume?”
So startled, I raised my voice.
“What?”
“You’re going to kill Berok, and a scent like that will just get buried under the smell of blood.”
“I don’t use perfume.”
“Then what is that daisy scent?”
His words were full of irritation. His eyes were as sharp as blades.
“I’ve felt this for a while now—don’t use perfume. It’s irritating and unpleasant.”
I spoke out of sheer disbelief.
“I’ve never used perfume in my entire life. And if anything, Duke, you should stop using it.”
Calix looked at me as if I were ridiculous. I spoke quickly, feeling wronged.
“Do you know your scent is stronger than anything else right now? It smells like a forest, and that’s irritating and unpleasant too.”
The corner of Calix’s lips curved into a sneer.
“Miss Rerith, don’t make things up.”
“You’re the one lying. I don’t even use perfume, but you keep saying I do. That’s absurd to me too.”
Calix let out a dry laugh and looked at me.
“You seem very wronged.”
“Because I didn’t use it, but you say I did.”
I muttered and stared at the campfire. Calix didn’t say anything more.
A quiet, heavy silence settled again. Both of us just stared at the fire.
I tightened my cloak and lifted my head slightly.
How long is this blizzard going to last?
The entrance of the cave was still roaring with wind. His scent still lingered in my nose. The fire was burning brightly, but perhaps because of the storm, the cold was creeping in.
I checked my watch. It was already midnight. I was hungry too. I took out a few protein biscuits from my pocket.
I was about to eat alone, but I glanced at Calix. He was staring at the fire with a stiff expression. His eyes looked sharper and colder, and his tightly set lips made him seem too intimidating to talk to.
Still, I held out one biscuit.
“Would you like some?”
My mother always said so did my aunt—if you have food, share it. And earlier, Calix had told me to eat Berok’s meat too, hadn’t he?
Calix lowered his gaze, then turned his head away.
“Eat it yourself. I’m not hungry.”
His tone was cold. My outstretched hand felt awkward.
Would it kill him to say it a little more kindly?
With a stiff face, I bit into the biscuit. It didn’t taste particularly good, but it was enough to fill my stomach a little.
The cold kept getting worse.
My hands trembled as I looked outside. The blizzard showed no sign of stopping. The wind sounded even stronger than before.
I thought we would stay out all night hunting Berok, but instead, we were going to spend the whole night in this cave—together with Calix.
The cave wasn’t even that big, so he was right next to me. Not only could I smell his scent clearly, but his large presence was impossible to ignore.
Watching the endless blizzard, I unconsciously asked,
“When do you think it’ll stop snowing?”
“It won’t stop all night.”
I was so shocked my voice got louder.
“It won’t stop?”
I looked at Calix, unable to believe it. He spoke as if it were nothing.
“With a storm like that, it’ll probably stop in the morning.”
“Then does that mean we have to stay here until morning?”
For a moment, I even thought I should’ve just followed Vodka when he ran out. At least I wouldn’t be awkwardly stuck with Calix.
Calix turned to look at me.
“You can go out now if you want. If you feel like freezing to death.”
I was too dumbfounded to reply. Inside, I started resenting Herkel.
That stupid delusion!
This was all Herkel’s fault. If not for him, I would’ve already killed Berok with the soldiers and gone back to a warm room.
I pulled my cloak tighter with trembling hands. My teeth were chattering from the cold. Irritation began to build up in my head. Then something warm touched my shoulder.
I flinched and looked up, meeting Calix’s eyes. He gestured toward my lips.
“You’re being noisy.”
It seemed my teeth chattering had bothered him. Still, gratitude was gratitude, so I thanked him properly.
“Th-thank you.”
Wrapped in his cloak, Calix’s scent became even stronger. It even felt like he was holding me.
My heart fluttered slightly. I turned my head and looked at him. I thought I was sneaking a glance, but our eyes met.
Without realizing it, I asked,
“Aren’t you cold?”
“No.”
Now that I looked, his chest was clearly rising and falling, and even his ears were red. Calix immediately turned his head away, but his face looked even more tense than before.
Maybe because he gave me his cloak, I felt a little guilty and added,
“If I was rude to you earlier, I’m sorry. I have a rule not to form emotional relationships in contractual ones.”
Calix didn’t answer. Feeling awkward, I kept talking.
“I had a bad experience before. He was a rich noble, very kind at first, so I got quite close to him. The job went smoothly too. But he misunderstood and thought I had feelings for him…”
“Who was it?”
“What?”
“The bastard who hit on you.”
There was a sharp killing intent in Calix’s eyes. His tone was rough. I didn’t think much of it and replied casually.
“Count Holint. He was pretty famous in high society. Always approached women and spent nights with them. I just didn’t expect him to do that to me too.”
It was in the past now, but back then, it was quite uncomfortable.
“Anyway, since then, I never get overly close with clients. Though there are exceptions.”
“Exceptions?”
Calix looked at me with interest. Strangely, the words kept flowing easily now.
“She’s a woman. I once chased away a marquis who was stalking her, and we’ve kept in touch since then.”
She even gave me a house. Someone I was extremely grateful to.
“So you keep your distance from men?”
“Yes.”
The conversation paused. But it didn’t feel awkward. This was the first time I’d had such a long, proper conversation with Calix. It even felt a little friendly.
Maybe because of that, I asked something I’d been curious about for a while.
“Do you still think I’m a con artist?”
“Yes.”
So short it made me regret asking. Feeling wronged, I said,
“I’m definitely going to catch the real con artist. I believe he’s still alive.”
“Wouldn’t you lose more if you don’t?”
“…”
“You’ve even risked your life.”
“Exactly. I risked my life, so I have to catch him.”
I glanced at Calix. At least his face looked slightly more relaxed than before. His brows weren’t furrowed.
I thought back to everything. Searching for the con artist, wandering around empty land, going to Delph and asking around…
Meanwhile, Calix found out about Prod Swindel with just a few documents—that he ran a leather shop and even had connections to the royal family.
No matter how hard I tried, I could never match Calix’s resources. I had no money, and the only thing I could rely on was my healthy body.
With a pleading tone, I finally said,
“So… could you help me?”
In the end, I needed Calix’s power. I wanted him to cooperate, to help me find information about the con artist. I looked at him with that kind of gaze.
Of course, I should find the con artist on my own, but if he helped even a little, maybe I could find him much faster.
“I already gave you some convenience. Is that still not enough?”
“That convenience is convenient in your standards, Duke, but for me…”
“So if I help you properly, what will you give me?”
