Chapter – 25
“Re–Rezet….”
“You use a sword.”
The man collapsed on the ground, bleeding, called out Rezet’s name. Rezet’s eyes sharpened as he looked down at him.
The House of Rotger was a family of swordsmen.
All who walked the path of the sword knew the name Rotger, and the Rotger family bore the responsibility of guiding those who followed that path.
And for those who strayed from it—
“I’ll send you off peacefully.”
A single stroke.
After a cold smile flickered across his face, the man died before he could utter another word.
The metallic scent of blood trailed along the path of Rezet’s blade, a thin line of crimson scattering across the ground.
It was a clean, decisive strike without hesitation, yet Rezet did not look pleased.
Because he had seen Eleanor Hildette seize the sword from a fallen masked man and drive it into his chest without the slightest pause.
“H–Hic, p-please spare me! I—I didn’t know anything!”
Paul, pale as a sheet, dropped to his knees.
It had already shocked him enough to see the young lady he had dismissed kill a man without hesitation—but even the heir of the Rotger family had aided her.
The only way he could survive was to desperately insist he had nothing to do with any of this.
“I–It’s true! Please spare me! My lady!”
“Very well.”
Eleanor smiled coldly at him.
“I did tell you there were rabbits, didn’t I?”
“Th–the rabbits… ran away—”
“You meant these people when you compared them to rabbits, correct?”
Fear was slowly paralyzing Paul’s mind. He had tried to claim the rabbits had escaped, but Eleanor conveniently supplied a suitable excuse for him.
As though grasping at a lifeline, he nodded frantically. Eleanor lazily curved her lips.
“Then, as thanks for your help, I’ll tell you something useful.”
“Y–Yes, of course. As long as you spare my life….”
“That jerky you’re holding. It belongs to Jennifer, doesn’t it?”
“…Pardon?”
Only then did Paul realize he was still clutching the jerky. For a moment, he wondered if he might be mistaken for a thief.
He hurriedly bowed his head, desperate to clear up the misunderstanding. He didn’t even dare point out that Eleanor had spoken of Jennifer without honorifics.
“N–No, it’s a misunderstanding. Milady gave it to me as a gift. She told me to serve you well….”
“When venison comes into contact with beluga poison, it turns slightly black.”
“…What?”
“It’s too noticeable when grilled, but if you make it into jerky, it’s passable. Even if it tastes a little bitter, you’d just assume that’s how jerky is.”
“…I–I don’t understand what you mean.”
Eleanor bent at the waist and met the coachman’s eyes—the same man who had once looked at her with arrogance. Her voice dropped to a whisper that fell like a death sentence.
“Jennifer isn’t the type to leave a witness alive.”
“I–I don’t—”
“You’re going to die here.”
After all, you ate that jerky.
Her red lips moved as she straightened.
Paul stared up at her blankly, but he was no longer of any interest to Eleanor.
Even as the underling who had pieced everything together began to wail—only for the sound to be slowly swallowed by agony—she did not spare him another glance.
She simply turned and walked toward another uninvited guest.
“Eleanor Hildette.”
Rezet Rotger called her name.
The woman named Eleanor Hildette seemed to have nested herself in a corner of his mind. He kept recalling the woman with jet-black hair like ebony and pale skin.
At first, he thought she merely caught his attention because she was part of the “Attendants.” He brushed it off.
Then, that morning, he heard that Eleanor had suddenly left for a mission site.
He had a bad feeling. Though he told himself it was unnecessary, he hurried toward the road leading to the Forest of Birtna.
And there he saw it—a small woman fighting two men.
“You’re alive.”
“Did you think I was dead?”
Only when he looked into her black, glass-like eyes did Rezet finally let out a breath.
Meeting her emotionless gaze made him truly feel that she was still alive.
He had thought the monsters of Birtna Forest would be the danger. He hadn’t expected this.
What kind of situation is this woman caught up in? Rezet concealed his thoughts as he spoke.
“That was dangerous.”
Eleanor brushed the dust from her dress and replied in her usual indifferent tone. She paid no attention to the torn fabric sliced by blades.
“Thanks to you, it was less trouble. I’m grateful.”
“At times like this, couldn’t you greet me a little more warmly?”
“It’s rather absurd to talk about warmth in front of corpses.”
“You’re as cold as ever.”
She glanced up at him calmly before turning her gaze away.
Even though Eleanor had killed a man—and he had witnessed it—Rezet’s attitude hadn’t changed much from a few days ago.
He was a man whose thoughts were impossible to read.
As Eleanor moved to dispose of the bodies, Rezet’s voice came from behind her.
“At least give me a heads-up next time. I might not have come.”
She didn’t know what expression he wore behind her, but Eleanor dismissed his words as meaningless. She had never assumed he would come in the first place.
She removed the masks from the assassins and handled the bodies. They were all unfamiliar faces.
Rezet approached her and asked, “May I ask what happened?”
“Well. It seems someone dislikes me.”
“That’s all?”
“That person… appears to have connections to the back alleys.”
Given her languid tone, it was hard to believe she had just survived an ambush. Rezet stared at the pale nape of her neck and clicked his tongue.
“You knew?”
“I suspected.”
“Then you could’ve contacted me. You knew it would be dangerous.”
“Why would I?”
She said it with a faint smile, as if humoring him. Her answer sounded genuinely puzzled. Rezet pressed his lips together. Words rose to the tip of his tongue again and again, but in the end he swallowed them and muttered:
“Right. Whether you get hurt or not, it’s none of my business.”
Uncharacteristically, he sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He remembered Eleanor offering her hand during the healer entrance exam, saying she didn’t mind being injured if it meant defeating the Black Golem.
What could he possibly say to someone like that?
“I told you before—I don’t mind getting hurt.”
See?
Rezet swallowed all the words swirling in his mouth. Since talking didn’t work, it was better to act.
He climbed into the driver’s seat.
Eleanor looked at him as if he were some strange sight.
“What are you doing?”
“Can you drive a carriage?”
“No.”
“So I’ll drive.”
This time, it was Eleanor who was left speechless.
—
Rezet’s carriage driving was surprisingly smooth. As it rolled forward steadily, Eleanor sank into thought.
Why had this easygoing young master come all the way here to save her?
Eleanor did not believe in goodwill. Such things had been proven nonexistent when she had been sacrificed to the Demon Realm in her previous life.
There’s something behind this.
The simplest explanation was that Rezet suspected her.
Perhaps because she had performed well in the healer exam. Perhaps because he had seen her fight the Black Golem.
Whatever the reason, she had appeared suspicious enough in Rezet Rotger’s eyes. If that incident had sparked his interest in her, there was little she could do about it.
But she would need to prepare.
It would be troublesome if he interfered with her goal.
She was lost in thought when the carriage suddenly came to a halt. She heard Rezet jump down from the driver’s seat, and the carriage door soon opened.
“The horses are tired.”
“They’ve been running all day. That’s understandable.”
“We’ll have to rest here for a bit. Is that alright?”
“I don’t mind.”
The place he referred to was halfway up a mountain. Rezet looked apologetic, but Eleanor was unfazed.
Compared to surviving day by day in the Demon Realm, a mountainside was neither harsh nor dangerous.
Rezet watched her profile for a moment before cheerfully asking, “Did you bring anything to eat?”
“Didn’t you see it spill earlier?”
“You must be hungry.”
“Not really.”
Eleanor shook her head, but Rezet had already rolled up his sleeves.
What is he planning? She looked at him as if he were a curiosity. He smiled brightly.
“I’ll catch some fish.”
“Fish?”
“I can smell water nearby. Stay here. I’ll be back soon.”
“That’s not necess—”
He had already run off before she could finish.
Eleanor couldn’t drive the carriage herself. If Rezet hadn’t come, she had planned to walk to the next village and procure a new carriage there.
Since there’s a coachman, there’s no need to walk.
Having justified it to herself, she sat quietly inside the carriage and waited.
After some time, a shadow flickered outside. Rezet’s cheerful humming drifted in through the door.
His robust voice rang out.
“Come out, Eleanor.”
She opened the door casually—only to freeze in surprise.
Rezet’s white shirt was completely soaked, clinging to his skin.
His broad shoulders, thick torso, and defined muscles were clearly outlined beneath the wet fabric. His lively skin tone showed faintly through.
It was an oddly fitting contrast—his fresh, boyish face and the powerful muscles beneath.
“W-What happened to you?”
Even Eleanor, who rarely lost her composure, stammered.
Confined to the Hildette household and deprived of ordinary social interactions, she had never properly encountered a man who so fully embodied masculinity.
For her, the sight of Rezet now was unexpectedly stimulating.
“There really was a river nearby. I went in.”
He answered casually and set down the lunch basket in front of her. Apparently, he had taken it with him; inside, freshly caught fish flopped about.
While Eleanor stared at the basket in a daze, Rezet gathered bits of wood. Mixing dry leaves and twigs, he soon lit a small campfire.
Crackle, crackle. The sound of sparks popping echoed softly.
After adding a few more branches, he skewered the fish and began roasting them over the fire.
He gestured at Eleanor, who still sat blankly.
“What are you doing? Come eat.”
“Ah… right.”
A beat too late, she nodded.
Though the fire’s warmth gradually dried his clothes, the image from moments ago refused to leave her mind.
What did I just see?
In the heat of the campfire, Eleanor’s cheeks slowly flushed red.
