Lynsandra had lost count of how long she had needed to recuperate, but Severin had kept track. It had been ten days and nights.

For the first few days, she mostly slept and ate. Then, when she grew bored with that, she ventured around the mansion.

She wasn’t nosy, and she didn’t bother him. If anything, aside from the occasional smile she gave him whenever they crossed paths, she mostly passed the time on her own. The words they exchanged could be counted on his fingers throughout the ten days since she entered his territory.

It was as though, just like him, she didn’t want to build any rapport, nor did she show any interest in him.

Now, on this tenth night, Severin finally came to meet her outside the manor.

"Thanks for taking care of me," she said with a big smile. "And for the food, too!"

He didn’t answer, only stared at her face. He had altered some of his clothes to fit her, knowing she would need proper ones. He had also prepared a bag of food for her journey home.

"If you ever come to Lunareth, let me know, alright?" she beamed. "I’ll definitely repay your kindness."

"Please don’t."

"Hmm?"

"Just don’t come back here," he said quietly, but sincerely.

The smile on her face faded a little as she nodded in understanding. "I see. You really don’t like people, do you?"

"..."

"If that’s what you want," she shrugged, jerking her chin toward the door behind him. "But just in case, I left my name and number on the stand in the living area. You can give me a call anytime. Anyway, see ya!"

With that, she raised a hand and turned to leave, skipping away from the seemingly abandoned mansion.

Lynsandra almost skipped the entire way, beaming from ear to ear as she thought about going home. She could finally do something about those guys who had caused all this. Thanks to Severin’s care, she had managed to recover as quickly as she could.

In the middle of the forest pathway he had directed her to take, her brows shot up.

"Now that I think about it, I didn’t get to ask his name," she muttered, swaying the stick in front of her to push aside branches and leaves. "Well, I guess there’s no need to. He didn’t even ask for mine either."

"Whatever!" she shrugged. "How should I deal with those guys? I’ve got plenty of time to think about that."

*****

Meanwhile, back at the mansion, Severin remained in the same spot, keeping his eyes on her figure even though she was already deep in the woods.

"Finally," he breathed out, sighing in relief.

He nodded in satisfaction, turned away, and headed back inside his peaceful home. But just as he was about to enter his room, he paused when he noticed a small torn piece of paper on the table.

He picked it up. There were only a few things written on it.

Her name and a string of numbers.

"Lynsandra," he whispered. "So that’s her name."

He didn’t want to know—her name, where she lived, what she did, what had happened to her. He didn’t want to know any of it. That was why he had avoided her throughout her stay. It was a good thing she wasn’t nosy at all.

Crumpling the paper, he slipped it into his pocket and continued his night as usual. Since he hadn’t had enough rest since she arrived, he thought of relaxing. It had been a while since he’d properly rested in his room, after all.

But instead of resting, his gaze fell on the canvas leaning against the wall.

"Hmm?" he hummed as he approached it, then frowned.

The canvas that had always been blank was now filled with messy, nonsensical drawings. There was even a smiley face, though it looked questionable at best.

"I didn’t have much canvas left," he muttered.

In fact, this had been his second-to-last one. That was why he hadn’t touched it—he’d had no inspiration to paint. Yet she had wasted an entire hour on it with these silly doodles.

He should have been angry. He should have been upset. But somehow, he found himself smiling at it. Ugly as it was, the drawing carried a kind of sincerity. It was just that her hands and mind weren’t aligned. He could even tell she had enjoyed herself. She had drawn his pig-like pet too, though it resembled a cockroach more than anything.

"She’s still better than I am," he muttered, moving to sit by the window. "It’s not like I’ll ever paint again. Why bother?"

With that, he let it go and focused on the quiet forest in the distance. After a while, he decided to check on what she was doing. Sure enough, she was already at the edge of the island. From afar, he watched her pull the raft he had built for her.

"She seems irritated," he murmured, though he didn’t dwell on it.

His brows lifted as the raft floated near the shore, and she climbed onto it. Using the long stick he had left for her, she pushed herself away from the island.

"Goodbye, visitor," he whispered with a faint smile.

But only seconds later, the raft flipped over.

"...?"

He blinked a few times until her head emerged from the water.

Swimming back to the raft, Lynsandra climbed on again. But it flipped over once more as she reached for the stick. On her third try, she grabbed the stick first before climbing aboard. Unfortunately, a large wave swept her off again.

After countless attempts, the raft finally fell apart, leaving her floating on her back.

"Nooo!!!" she screamed. "Gosh, this is so frustrating!"

Lynsandra ground her teeth and sat up on the shore, staring at the broken pieces of wood drifting around her. She wanted to blame Severin for telling her he had prepared transportation for her, but she was more frustrated at herself for believing it was even remotely usable.

Just then, she heard rustling behind her. When she turned, she saw Severin emerging from the forest.

His brows furrowed as his gaze flicked between her and the broken raft.

"..." His lips pressed into a thin line as he told himself not to ask. But the question slipped out anyway.

"You don’t know how to use a raft?"

Her lips quivered, and before he knew it, her eyes glistened, making them look rounder and shinier. At the sight, he panicked.

"Don’t... don’t cry," he said, reaching out, only to stop midway when she looked away and burst out in frustration instead.

"How am I supposed to go home now? I don’t want to be stuck here forever!"

Severin swallowed, withdrew his hand, then sighed and crouched beside her.

"I..." He paused when she looked back at him. "...I’ll make you a better one."

"A better one?"

"A bigger raft."

Lynsandra looked away and clutched her chest as she silently despaired. At that point, she knew she had to do it herself—and perhaps learn how to build a proper boat that could withstand strong waves.

I’m really going to kill those guys if I survive this.