"What’s that supposed to mean?"

"Yeah. What does that mean?"

Luman suddenly leaned his head in between us. Jesus, that was creepy!

"I mean exactly what I said."

Why didn’t they get it? I scratched at my cheek, and Lady Coco shook her head.

"Say it properly. I don’t know what you mean!"

God, my ears! She was right next to me, so why was she yelling like that? When I rubbed my ear, her face reddened a little, like even she felt awkward about it.

Right. You didn’t do it on purpose, did you? Fine. I’ll let it go...!!

"I mean."

"You mean?"

"So?"

Why were they parroting me like a couple of idiots??

Looking at the two of them waiting for the rest, I awkwardly opened my mouth.

"Everybody else has ulterior motives. Brother doesn’t."

"...Meaning what. Toward who? You?"

"Yeah. Me, obviously??"

"......"

"......"

What the hell. Why are you reacting like that??

"You mean everyone except your brother has ulterior motives toward you?"

"Yeah."

"And the reason you hate people is because everyone always has ulterior motives toward you?"

"Yeah. That’s right. Why??"

Luman had gone silent with a grave look on his face, and Lady Coco looked dumbfounded.

"Do you never look in a mirror?"

"...??"

"If you hate people having ulterior motives, then at the very least you should smear mud on that face. Count yourself lucky. If your brother weren’t a Hero, you would’ve been sold off in no time."

"What are you talking about? If I don’t smear my face with mud, I get sold off?? You mean I’d get worked like a servant all day?"

You ask me why I like Brother, and then all of a sudden you start spitting this kind of curse at me?

I already lived like a servant in that village, asshole??

I glared at her, and she gave me a look like she couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

"You really can’t underst—"

"That’s enough."

"...Hah!"

Lady Coco cut herself off when Luman stepped in.

"What? Why’d you stop talking? Luman! Why are you butting in??"

"Sometimes it’s better not to know."

"Why are you suddenly acting all dramatic?? It’s not cool at all, you know?"

"Haha!"

"What is wrong with him...."

I stopped halfway through glaring at him. For some reason, it looked like the entrance flap of the tent Brother had gone into was moving. Was he coming out?

"Go to sleep."

After confirming that Lady Coco had shut her mouth, Luman went over to Sir Dell and whispered something to him.

"For such a young lady, how does she know about such things?"

"It would be far worse if she didn’t. Nothing is more dangerous than an innocent noble."

I couldn’t hear exactly what they were saying, but the tone was pretty serious.

Even while talking to Sir Dell, Luman kept looking at me for a long time.

"Aren’t you going?"

Why are you still sitting next to me?

When I asked Lady Coco, she snorted.

"Did you rent the place out?"

"There’s plenty of room. If you’re done asking what you wanted, then go."

"I said, did you rent the place out?"

"......"

I’m losing right now, aren’t I.... I’m actually losing a verbal fight right now!!!

It’s because of Brother. I got slapped by Brother, and now my spirit’s all crushed. Normally I never lose at this kind of thing!!

When I didn’t say anything back, she held out her hand.

"What."

"Give me the medicine."

"......"

What, now you’re taking back something you already gave me? Then why’d you give it to me in the first place?? It’s not like I was going to use it anyway... what a cheap move.

Lady Coco took the medicine jar back and opened the lid. It smelled like jasmine.

She scooped up some of the clear solid medicine with her finger, and then...

"Ugh!"

She smeared it on my cheek.

"It looks hideous."

"Leave it alone! I don’t need—ugh. That hurts!"

"Even your temple’s red. Looks like all the little blood vessels burst. How huge are his hands, anyway?"

"Are you insulting my brother?"

"Are your ears clogged? Since when is asking how big someone’s hand is an insult?"

"...Sounds like one."

The content wasn’t the problem! The tone was!

Lady Coco was definitely insulting Brother right then. But why? Brother scolded me because I was being rude to her. So shouldn’t she be gloating right now?

"The more I look at you, the dumber you seem."

"...Why do you keep picking at me?"

Just because I’m sitting here quietly, do I look like a doormat?

When I frowned, Lady Coco’s hand paused for a second in the middle of applying the medicine.

"I’m not good at apologizing."

"Who asked you to?? I’m asking why you keep picking fights. Sorry, but I’ve got a shitty personality too, you know?"

Lady Coco’s personality was weirdly similar to mine.

Maybe that’s why I hated her more.

She acted like she was straightforward, but she really wasn’t! Yelling and scratching at people’s tempers, and you could never tell what she was actually trying to say.

Ah!! To think I’d end up reflecting on my own personality like this!

"Can’t you just get the gist? Why are you so bad at understanding people?!"

"Young lady, what’s going on?" 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

"Reeen~ are you fighting again?"

Sir Dell and Luman came sauntering over.

No! I was sitting here quietly, and she was the one who started picking at me first!

I pressed my lips shut.

Lady Coco ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) huffed and got to her feet. Just like before, she threw the medicine jar down by my feet with a smack!, then whipped around. Her long hair flew through the air and slapped me right across the cheek.

"Agh!"

She hesitated for a second, but then huffed again and went back to her tent... and I secretly wiped away the tears that had sprung up.

Getting hit with hair actually hurts like hell. Damn it.

When I touched my aching cheek, sticky medicine clung to my fingers.

"Ugh... she slathered a ton on too."

Squinting, I picked up the medicine jar she’d thrown so I could close the lid, and holy shit, it was already half empty!

Does using a lot make it heal all at once or something? Who dumps it on that thickly like an idiot?

"So, you got a little closer with the young lady?"

"Who did? Me?"

"Oh. She even put medicine on you. That’s nice."

"...The young lady’s the one who put it on me."

"Then you got closer!"

"No, we didn’t."

Why are you looking proud about it??

My chest felt all stuffed up, so I puffed air into my cheek—and Luman poked it again!

"Ugh! I said it hurts! Fuck—"

"Khh... hahahaha...."

Should I just slam right into him? Huh? Headbutt him in the stomach!? I glared at his abdomen and seethed, and Luman raised both hands.

"Sorry, sorry."

"What is wrong with you, seriously? Do it one more time and...."

"I won’t. Ren. More importantly, it’s my turn now."

"Your turn for what."

"The young lady cut in line."

"...?"

"How about the two of us have a little chat?"

As he said that, Luman pulled out a bag from behind his back.

It was full of soft, square, snow-white things.

"...??"

Luman tore it open, stuck one onto a wooden skewer, and started roasting it over the campfire.

"...!"

It smelled good!

Sweet and soft and like it could melt your whole heart...!

My eyes met Luman’s. Holding up the white squishy thing—its corners now charred black—he crooked a finger at me.

I swallowed hard and stared, and Luman beckoned again.

Shuffle. Shuffle. Pretending I wasn’t helpless against it, I edged closer, and he handed the squishy thing to me.

"It’s a marshmallow. A candy that’s popular in the capital."

"Marshmallow?"

"It’s hot, so be careful."

Then, like he was giving me a demonstration, Luman bit across the crisp-looking surface of the marshmallow and peeled it off with his teeth. When he stripped away the marshmallow’s skin? surface? inside...! A moist-looking center popped right out.

"Wooow...."

"Mmm. It’s good. Go on, try it."

I copied Luman exactly.

I peeled off the surface of the marshmallow with my teeth and...!

It was crisp and sweet...! What is this?!

I looked at Luman with wide eyes, and he nodded.

"Good, right? There’s plenty."

Grinning, he held out the bag I’d seen earlier.

It was packed full of white squishy marshmallows!

I popped the moist center into my mouth too, all in one bite—ow, hot! It was soft and sticky and clung all over my teeth, but it was delicious!

My eyes went wide open!

So much that I forgot the exhaustion, the heat from my cold, even the cheek I’d gotten slapped across earlier!

"S-something this good... gulp, it’s my first time trying it!"

Fuck! That’s embarrassing!

Before I knew it, I’d clenched my fist and blurted it out like a shout.

Luman’s shoulders twitched for a second, but there wasn’t a trace of laughter on his face. Luman looked just as serious as I was!

"I was shocked too when I first tried it."

"Right?!"

I grabbed Luman’s arm tight. Luman bit down on his lip hard.

We looked at each other and nodded.

It’s good! It’s so goooood!

Soft and melty.

It felt like both my tongue and my heart were melting away.

The cold wind didn’t feel cold anymore, and my burning cheek didn’t hurt either. Before I knew it, the night had deepened.

In the dark night, only Luman and I were still awake, standing watch.

Sir Dell was dozing while leaning against a tree in front of Lady Coco’s tent, and Brother still hadn’t come out. Maybe he’d come out when it was time to switch?

I’d eaten enough marshmallows that my stomach felt a little heavy, but it was bearable.

You can’t throw up after eating something that good!

As I licked and nibbled away at the macaron Luman had given me, I drifted in the sweetness and the drowsiness washing over me. The sleep was sweet, and the macaron was sweet too!

"You were born and raised in that village, right?"

"...Yeah."

That question made the sweetness quietly recede.

Why was he asking?

Luman was staring through the thick trees like he didn’t mean anything by it.

Hmm. Does he just want to chat?

Ah! Heroes always have to stay tense, so is he trying to relax??

Hm.

I looked at the marshmallow bag I’d already emptied and the macaron in my hand.

"The old apothecary, ahem. You’re pretty close with the old man?"

Luman’s voice sounded more familiar in the night than it had during the day.

Right! You can’t just eat what someone gives you and then wipe your mouth and act like nothing happened. Only rotten people do that! Like those village guys who’d fix the window and the gate for us, then make us clean the house too because they said the place got messy while they were fixing it!!

"Ren?"

I’d started trembling to myself over an old memory, and Luman turned only his eyes to look at me.

"Yeah. I guess I’m closest with the old apothecary."

Keeping the sulk out of my voice, I answered easily enough.

"Oh. I see. How’d you get close to him?"

"How? Well, because I kept goi—"

"...?"

...because I kept going to him whenever I got sic—

I almost said it! My sleepiness vanished in an instant.