“Tom. Where exactly do you think you have time to get fresh air right now? Go finish organizing the ledgers.”

“Yes, sir. Young Count.......”

Peruan shot him a glare. After receiving the beautiful young count’s icy look, Tom left with the miserable air of a concubine cast aside. As he turned away, he muttered sadly.

“I only said it was pitiful because it was pitiful, and now I can’t even speak properly with my own mouth!”

A vein briefly rose and vanished on Peruan’s forehead, and Ren, seeing it, snickered.

Tom’s mind was slightly gone from working through the night. Without even realizing what he had dared say to his young master, he returned to the tent. Of course, Peruan knew his hard work and loyalty, so he only glared and let it pass.

And Peruan decided to forgive Tom for cutting in.

Because the irritation had eased from Ren’s face.

“Do you feel better?”

“.......”

At Peruan’s question, Ren’s body flinched, and his lips trembled.

Peruan did not urge him when he could not answer. He merely smiled, pleased.

“I have good tea. I also have the leaves Ren likes, so join me. The day is cold as well, so I’m sure tea will bring your strength back.”

“That.......”

Ren could not readily say yes, and Peruan quietly took both his ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) hands.

Since Ren had already leaned on Peruan plenty while he had been caught by the slave traders, and had a history of holding his hand, he left his captured hands where they were.

‘They were soft last time. Did he get hurt? His hands got rough. He probably put medicine on them properly, right?’

Without realizing it, Ren kneaded Peruan’s hands.

Peruan’s face turned red. His heart was pounding so hard it felt ready to leap out of his mouth.

He swallowed hard and tried to persuade him calmly, but. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

“I simply don’t want to drink alone, so please help me, Ren.”

Unfortunately, contrary to his intentions, his voice came out pitiful.

“F-Fine! Let’s go, let’s go!”

Ren, who had been hesitating, finally shouted his answer. Then he glanced around, startled by his own high voice.

Peruan, whose mood had lifted at the permission finally given, felt his heart ache at the sight.

Why should Ren be watching people’s faces?

But telling him not to watch people’s faces would not be the right method either.

Peruan scooped Ren up and headed to his own tent.

Ren squirmed, saying he could walk by himself, but when Peruan kept sending him wink after wink with both eyes, he finally made a sickened face and settled obediently in his arms.

“I’ll brew it myself. Please make yourself comfortable.”

After sitting Ren in a chair lined with a thick cushion, Peruan even covered him with a lap blanket.

As if he had meant to bring him over from the beginning, the tea set and leaves were already prepared.

“The temperature is perfect.”

Peruan’s voice rang softly.

He placed the tea leaves in water that was properly hot and steeped them, then held out a warmed cup to Ren. Then, suddenly calling a servant, he had the brazier moved near Ren. In the warmth, Ren’s frozen lips began to thaw little by little.

Watching the bluish lips slowly return to red, Peruan felt relieved.

“Haaah.”

A familiar scent prodded at the tip of Ren’s nose.

‘So the reason he kept asking me to drink tea was because of the medicine.’

Once the scent of medicine cleared his head, Ren could finally think properly.

His nerves, which had gone sensitive and sharp, softened, and Ren’s face reddened.

Seeing the warmth return to that pale face, Peruan smiled in relief.

“It seems to have steeped just right. Hehe.”

Drip, drip.

Steaming tea fell into the prettily carved teacup.

“I’m rather skilled, aren’t I? I enjoy tea ceremony. Here.”

Peruan spoke charmingly and sat diagonally across from Ren.

In front of each of them sat a different steaming tea.

The one in front of Ren was the medicinal tea he drank. It was the same one Peruan had slipped out of his bundle.

After leaving on the journey, Ren had been too conscious of others’ eyes to ever brew it as tea......

“Ren.......”

“I-It’s just because I yawned.......”

When tears sprang to his eyes, Peruan called his name in a sorrowful voice. He reached out and carefully held the fist clenched tight on top of the blanket. Then he painstakingly uncurled it. Red nail marks were already left on Ren’s palm. Peruan gently stroked them and opened his mouth.

“Drink it slowly.”

Peruan let go of his hand. Ren blew on the hot tea and drank.

Once the medicine went down, his body loosened. It was on a completely different level from only smelling it. Was it because it had been so long since he had taken it properly? His body felt lighter and clearer.

“Thank you. For taking care of it.”

After drinking about three cups, Ren spoke with a much more comfortable face.

Looking at his face, which had settled down so meekly, Peruan smiled deeply.

“Ren, do you remember what I said last time?”

“What thing?”

“......About treating your illness with me.”

Ren blinked.

You were still holding on to that?

There was a little surprise in it too.

Ah, he had meant it. Well, of course. If he had not, he would not have taken time like this to sneak him medicine away from other people’s eyes.

Ren felt grateful, and burdened at the same time.

It felt strange that someone knew about his illness.

It was the first time except for the old apothecary.

Of course, Coco had also realized Ren was ill, but she did not know it was a serious, incurable illness that could not be healed.

Peruan was the only one who had directly seen him have an attack and take medicine.

Because Ren hated showing himself in pain, even the old apothecary had rarely seen him take his medicine, except once or twice when he had been learning how.

When he had said it in the underground bunker, he had felt a little relieved.

Now that they were outside, facing each other, the fact felt a little burdensome.

‘I should refuse.’

Refuse politely!

Ren had no intention of entrusting his body to anyone, and the old apothecary had already spent over ten years researching his illness. If there had been a way to cure it, he would have found it long ago. Stirring it up like this was only clinging to empty hope. It was obvious they would both suffer.

“Please think about it slowly before you answer.”

“Peruan, I......”

“And for the time being, would you become my tea partner? I must drink tea after meals, but there seems to be no one here who enjoys tea.”

Peruan asked Ren, speaking ill of the others as if it were terribly sad that they did not even know the taste of tea.

Ren nodded before he knew it. He opened his mouth to answer again, but at Peruan’s urging to hurry and drink the rest of his tea, he lost the timing. After that, when he tried to speak again, Jepeto started calling for Ren, saying it was time to apply medicine.

“Thank you. I’ll go now.”

At the voice calling him from outside the tent, Ren rose from his seat.

“Ren, don’t forget after meals.”

Peruan called after him, then looked bitterly at the blanket Ren had neatly folded before leaving.

“Ren!”

Jepeto, who had been pacing outside Peruan’s tent, greeted him with a delighted face.

“Oh, you look good today. Come on, come on. Let’s go put medicine on you.”

“I do?”

Ren touched his face, then smiled.

“Yes! You look very well.”

After returning to Luman’s tent, Ren sat on the bed at Jepeto’s gesture. With careful hands, Jepeto treated the wounds on Ren’s shoulder and chest. Slowly, but surely, the wounds were healing. The bruise on his cheek seemed to have gone down entirely now too.

“I’m truly glad you’re safe.”

“Right, well.......”

Jepeto often said things like that to Ren, and each time, Ren felt awkward, avoided his eyes, and answered vaguely.

As Jepeto was putting away the medicine and bandages, he dropped a small vial from his hand.

“Ah. I’ll pick it up.”

When Ren bent down under the bed, Jepeto said he would do it and flopped flat, quickly catching the rolling vial.

“Hehehe. What do you think?”

“About what?”

“Oh, come now. Aren’t my hands quick?”

Jepeto chuckled and was raising himself from the floor.

Then something dark red caught his eye.

“What’s this?”

“Why? Is there something else on the floor?”

Ren asked in a slightly tense voice.

There’s no way, but did I drop something?

Ren tried hard not to swallow.

Because swallowing would make him look suspicious!

“Eek!”

Ren made a strange sound and shuddered.

Of course he did, because Jepeto had suddenly grabbed his ankle.

“What are you doing!”

He tried to pull his captured ankle away, but Jepeto would not let go.

“Jepeto!”

“.......”

“I asked what’s wrong!”

Ren shouted in frustration, then pressed his lips together to calm himself.

Because he thought there had to be a reason Jepeto was acting like this.

‘Then he should tell me what that reason is!’

Ren barely held back his temper.

It was thanks to the medicine he had drunk earlier.

Letting out a deep sigh, Ren waited calmly until Jepeto opened his mouth.

“Ren. When did you injure this ankle?”

“My ankle? I never injured...... Ah?”

Ren had been answering, wondering what kind of nonsense this was, when he seemed to realize something and made a sound.

Jepeto did not release his grip on Ren’s ankle as he looked up at him.

Ren felt as if he were being scolded.

‘It’s not even a big deal!’

“It’s just. I think I scraped it while cutting the chains. All right?”

“...It is not all right. It needs treatment.”

“It’s just a scrape. What treatment?”

Ren tried to move his ankle away, but Jepeto’s grip was stronger than he had expected.

“Ugh.”

“It hurts, doesn’t it?”

“It hurts because you’re holding it so tight, Jepeto.”

Ren stuck out his lip. At the sight, Jepeto laughed helplessly and rolled up Ren’s long pants.

“Huh......?”

At the wound revealed on his ankle, Ren lost his words.

It was not a simple scrape. The skin had been laid bare, and now a large scab had formed over a wound on the verge of festering.