At Ease
Men are beasts.
Of course, not all men were beasts.
But sometimes, intoxicated by the atmosphere and following the impulses of their hearts, they became beasts faithful to their desires, regardless of gender.
Especially when a couple who had just started dating went on a trip alone together, didn’t crossing the line happen with high probability?
“While you’ve mustered up the courage, go see the Academy scenery that Sha wanted so much. The region where the Academy is located has books from various fields piled up like mountains.”
Sharti’s eyes sparkled.
Sharti had heard much about the countless Academies that Count Chelonar had established in the northeast and east, and the surrounding areas.
With scholars from various fields gathered there, large and small lectures and exams were being held throughout the region, and it was known that arenas were set up where people showed off their knowledge and competed in skills.
“Go flatten the noses of those Academy-trained doctors with your practical skills!”
Sharti let out a small laugh at the exaggerated encouragement.
It was certainly an attractive proposal.
‘I haven’t even thought about going because of the identity issue.’
Just now, Tristan and the soldiers had even offered to register her identity, so if she made up her mind, she could go this time.
Moreover, since many Academies were concentrated there, the population was large, so there wouldn’t be many people who would pay much attention to facial recognition interference caused by magic tools.
‘Most importantly, it’s an opportunity to encounter various rare medicinal herbs!’
Of course, purchasing would be difficult, but just being able to see the actual herbs with her own eyes was great fortune.
‘No matter how detailed the records of scent or texture are, there are bound to be small and large differences from person to person!’
Moreover, Academy students sometimes came out to hold presentations on newly developed medicine-making methods, so it was a good opportunity to broaden her knowledge.
‘I’ll have to discuss it with Ren, but…’
She knew Ren would say anywhere was fine.
Sharti nodded enthusiastically to Virena with an excited feeling.
“I’ll talk to Ren about it.”
“Yeah.”
Virena smiled contentedly and clasped and shook Sharti’s hand.
Just then, the sound of a door bursting open and the sound of running footsteps approached.
“Teacher!”
Tein came running with a flushed face, releasing the breath he’d been holding.
Virena and Sharti jumped up from their seats.
“Tein!”
Having hurriedly come down from the mountain facing the cold wind, Tein’s cheeks were frozen solid.
Virena hurried to find a blanket, and Sharti wrapped Tein’s cheeks first.
“Tein, did you finish talking with Ren and come down alone?”
What could have made the child who had stayed behind saying he wanted to talk more with Ren come down in such a hurry?
Fortunately, Tein smiled broadly the whole time he received warmth.
“Teacher! I borrowed this.”
“Hm?”
Tein suddenly thrust out his fist.
As the child slowly opened his tightly clenched fist, a silver ring appeared.
“This is…”
Although the thickness was different, it was a silver ring that looked exactly the same as the magic tool Sharti was currently holding.
“Teacher and Ren have the same rings.”
“…”
It meant that the owner of the silver ring, thicker than hers, was Ren.
Tilting her head, Sharti belatedly retraced Ren’s behavior. Recalling Ren, who had been hiding his left hand unnaturally since leaving the village, Sharti let out a short hollow laugh.
‘No wonder he didn’t cover his face.’
She had thought it made sense in the mountain with no sign of people, but it was strange that he revealed his bare face even in front of Tristan and the soldiers.
‘Then that’s weird…?’
Saying it was facial recognition interference, Sharti had been looking at Ren’s bare face all along. Not once had she felt anything strange.
Sharti narrowed her eyes and glanced at the thick silver ring.
‘Instead of not lying, he hides so much?’
She didn’t know why he was hiding so much. Most of all, they were all trivial and minor things, too small to be called secrets.
At this point, she was beyond hurt—she was dissatisfied.
‘Did he hide it because he was worried I’d feel burdened?’
Even so, still.
As Sharti pouted her lips and grumbled inwardly, Tein blinked.
“Teacher! Aren’t you and Ren lovers?”
“Huh?”
“Ren didn’t answer. So I borrowed the promise ring. Ren has the same ring as teacher, so why aren’t you lovers?”
At Tein’s straightforward question, Sharti closed her mouth tightly in embarrassment.
“Well, that… This is a ring, but…”
“Sha! That was a couple ring?!”
Virena, who had been bringing out a blanket, ran over in surprise. Then, wrapping Tein tightly in the blanket and holding him in her arms, she faced Sharti.
Their expressions and features closely resembled each other.
“Identical rings are promise rings! Big sister said so.”
“That’s right, Sha! No matter how you look at it, this is a ring that lovers exchange!”
At Virena’s exclamation confirming it was a pair of rings, Tein vigorously shook his small head up and down.
Sharti gave Virena a troubled look.
“I explained it was a magic tool, Virena.”
“That makes even more sense since it’s an expensive magic tool.”
It didn’t seem like the explanation would work. Strictly speaking, she hadn’t obtained the magic tool herself, so she had no way of knowing the meaning of the silver ring.
As Sharti was at a loss for words, Tein blinked while watching her expression.
“Ren said so. He said it’s all Ren’s greed. Ren has sad eyes.”
“…”
“Teacher should be lovers with Ren. Otherwise, Ren will hurt a lot.”
Sharti smiled weakly and met Tein at eye level.
“Where does Ren hurt?”
“Here hurts!”
Tein pointed to the center of his chest.
It was the location where the child thought the heart was.
“See, Sha. Because you don’t open up your true feelings, that man also has things he hides on his own.”
Virena said while rubbing her cheek against Tein’s.
“It’s harder right after you start than before you start. You get out of sync because you don’t know each other’s inner feelings more than you know each other’s hearts.”
“…Yeah.”
Virena was entirely right.
Sharti reflected.
“Now, Sha. Go do your best for now!”
“Thanks, Virena. Tein. I’ll come again!”
Sharti, her mind made up, waved her hand and left right away.
She was worried about Ren, who would be left alone at home digging into the ground for no reason.
“…”
After confirming the footsteps gradually fading beyond the door, Virena gently squeezed Tein’s small hand.
“Tein—. Would you like it if that person named Ren and Sha became lovers?”
Tein, who had been wriggling inside the blanket, raised his head and grinned.
“Ren likes teacher a lot. And teacher also likes Ren a lot. Big sister said if you like each other, you’re lovers.”
“Oh my, my little brother is so smart!”
When Virena pressed their foreheads together and rubbed, Tein burst into clear laughter.
“But aren’t you sad? If Sha goes traveling with that Ren person, she won’t be able to play with Tein much.”
“It’s okay! I can endure even if I’m sad.”
No matter how smart and brave he was, he was only a seven-year-old kid.
While the child was growing up, it was natural for him to need to throw tantrums without watching others’ reactions, to be rude, to interfere, and to need bothersome care.
“Tein. Look at big sister.”
The siblings with orange hair inherited from their mother, even similar features, grinned at each other once.
“Tein, don’t you want to visit the Academy?”
“…!”
Tein’s eyes and mouth grew large.
Virena stroked Tein’s hair.
“Sha is going to tour the Academy this time. You should go with her too, Tein.”
“B-but… No, if big sister is alone at home, it’s not okay. Men should protect women. I will protect big sister!”
Tein, who had received early education from Vireta, firmly shook his head as if he had never wavered.
Virena left a shower of kisses on her admirable little brother’s cheek and then smiled gently.
“Big sister is also going to go down the mountain this time to study. When grandmother comes, let’s surprise her, we siblings. How about it?”
The child’s ears perked up and Tein gulped.
“Doesn’t Tein want to go to the Academy with Sha?”
“I want to go!”
Tein answered urgently.
It was just like going on a field trip holding his teacher’s hand, so his small heart was already beating rapidly.
Virena tightly held Tein’s hand and her eyes flashed.
“And Tein has to protect Sha. Because men should protect women!”
“Ren will protect teacher. Ren is su-per strong!”
“The Academy has su-per many people. One man will have a hard time.”
At Virena’s persuasion, the child’s ears kept flapping.
“Most of all, when Sha is studying, shouldn’t a smart assistant like our Tein help her from the side?”
“Gasp…! That’s right! I’m smarter than Ren!”
As soon as she finished the persuasion at the child’s eye level, Virena stood up while holding Tein.
She needed to pack bags.
It was Tein’s first trip that wasn’t an escape.
Moreover, for Tein, whose passion for learning was no less than Sharti’s, his admiration for the Academy was tremendous.
“Let’s pack everything today and go to Sha tomorrow, okay?”
“Yeah!”
Tein, overflowing with anticipation, wore a pure, childlike smile.
Tein, who had taken out his cute ladybug bag, suddenly tilted his head.
“Then I have to go right now and get teacher’s permission.”
“Yeah. You don’t have to worry about that.”
Virena put clothes neatly into Tein’s ladybug bag and her lips curled up.
Who could stop the child’s passion to experience a different culture? Getting permission from Sharti, who was particularly weak when it came to Tein, was as good as done.
If she sent Tein along on the trip between a man and woman, half of her plan to make it a wholesome trip was as good as successful.
“Ooh…”
Only Tein stared at the ladybug bag with a serious expression.
And that night, Tein crawled into the blanket with the piggy bank where he had been diligently saving his allowance.
After earnestly counting and recounting the money, Tein grinned and carefully put it in his pocket.
If big sister got teacher’s permission, Tein had to get Ren’s permission.
****
Just past noon, Sharti and Ren sat facing each other at the dining table.
On the table were a pair of silver rings and a thick bundle of cloth.
Ren looked at the silver rings with eyes that said what was coming had come. But what Sharti reached for first was the thick bundle of cloth.
“It’s the Hwanyeongcho discovered in Sedipia Village and a poisonous herb that appears as wildflowers to mages’ eyes.”
Sharti coolly showed the purple poisonous herb and honestly laid out the hypothesis she had established.
It might be the cause of Ren’s ‘amnesia,’ and she presented the possibility that the symptoms of memory abnormalities were aftereffects or side effects of poisoning.
“I really want to make an antidote for this poison.”
“Because you want me to find my memories?”
“Because I want you to not forget memories with me anymore.”
Sharti tightly gripped her clothes and stared straight at Ren.
“The moment I confessed, the moment I kissed you—it’s unfair that only I remember.”
“…!”
“The moments you made my heart flutter, the moments you fluttered because of me—I want Ren to remember them all. Only then…!”
Sharti put strength in her eyes and pulled Ren’s hand.
Before Ren could react, Sharti firmly pushed the thick silver ring onto Ren’s left ring finger.
“Can’t we be at ease and be lo-lovers!”
“…!!”
Ren swallowed empty air and at the same time quickly nodded.
It was an action where his body reacted before his head.
“I’ll take any antidote. Use them all. Sha, so that you won’t be wronged, I’ll also work hard to remember everything.”
At this moment, Ren was determined that if he could become a lover instead of a servant, he would drink down even poison.
Finally bursting into laughter, Sharti put the remaining silver ring on her own left ring finger.
“Next time, Ren will put it on for me.”
Ren nodded vigorously.
The light from the mana stone-fitted lamp spread gently over the dining table.
“Ah, and about the identity…”
Sharti took out the identity registration application forms she had received from Tristan and placed them on the table.
Looking at the blank name fields, Ren gripped the pen.