Chapter 17

Seeing Elrose appear different from his thoughts, Lakshan asked, seemingly ridiculous.

“Aren’t you scared?”

“What?”

“The mercenaries.”

“They’re a little scary, but it’s not like all are like that, right? The Empire was able to win the war against the Suin people thanks to the mercenary kings and his people.”

For a moment, Elrose was showing a liking for the mercenary king to the extent that it was doubtful whether she knew what she was talking about.

“And Lakshan is also a mercenary, right? So why do you think I’d be afraid of mercenaries?”

Elrose looked at him and smiled.

“…”

Lakshan was at a loss for words for a moment when Elrose said she was not afraid of them.

When he lived in the form of the mercenary king Kharkan, he was thanked by many people.

However, when he was just Lakshan, he heard mercenaries being called by many names such as, the money-blind, the troubles of the troubled empire, and the ignorant, barbaric northmen.

There were many people who talked about it, especially in the capital city.

He wasn’t vulnerable to such words, but he did become annoyed sometimes because he was still a human being.

But when he heard Elrose’s words… he wondered what it was like to think something like that.

“Anyways, what else is there besides spiders? That way, I can look into it and be careful.”

Elrose was still waiting for his words with her eyes glistening.

Lakshan thought he should answer her properly and began drawing with a paper and pen that had been placed on the table.

“First of all, some of the famous tattoos…”

~*~

“Haa.”

After washing in warm water, he felt relaxed.

Lakshan left the bathroom while shaking off excess water on his head with a towel.

“Elrose, I’m done…”

As he came out to tell Elrose, he saw her lying on the bed and hurriedly shut up.

Until late at night, Lakshan explained to her about the mercenary tattoos.

He was a passionate teacher and she was a good student with a burning enthusiasm for learning.

Eventually, the two ordered dinner to their rooms and talked about tattoos for several more hours.

Then, when it was time to go to bed, Lakshan had folded the paper and said.

“I’m going to bed. You can go ahead and wash up.”

“No, you can wash up first. You paid for the room, didn’t you?”

A few more squabbles were made on who should go first, and the losing side was Lakshan.

He washed up as fast as he could and didn’t expect Elrose to fall asleep in the meantime.

Moreover, she was lying on the heart-shaped bed and sleeping soundly, while not that long ago she said she couldn’t sleep on such a hideous thing.

Should he wake her up?

He thought it would be better to wash up and sleep, but Lakshan couldn’t shake Elrose to wake her up.

Instead, he sat next to her, who was asleep, and looked at her.

Elrose’s golden hair, which had become a magpie’s house due to the long use of the hood, was scattered on the bed.

Her eyes were closed in the middle.

He could see her long eyelashes and her red lips that were slightly parted.

Gulp.

Lakshan unconsciously swallowed and was surprised by his actions.

Why was he so nervous?

“…There’s really no boundaries.”

Usually, if someone had to sleep in the same room with the opposite sex, they might seem a little nervous, but Elrose didn’t show it at all.

Looking at what she had done so far, she seemed to be wary enough of other things, but why was she so defenseless in this way?

‘Would it be better to tell her to be careful?’

Then from tomorrow onwards, she might keep a distance from him.

At that moment, Lakshan remembered the figure of Elrose who had asked him why he thought she would be afraid of him.

“…”

A smile came to Lakshan’s face. He lifted the bed sheets and covered Elrose.

It won’t matter if she takes it easy tomorrow morning because they’re not in a hurry.

After putting the blanket on her, he went to the sofa to sleep. But when he saw the sofa was short, he just laid down on the bed while keeping a distance from Elrose.

‘This should be fine.’

Lakshan turned and blew out the lamp next to the bed with his mouth.

In an instant, darkness spread in the room, and only the sound of insects outside and the breathing of Elrose could be heard.

‘Is this the first night?’

Lakshan was so unsatisfied with his thoughts that he clicked his tongue and closed his eyes.

Oddly enough, the voice of Elrose, who said the word honey during the day, kept ringing in his ear.

~*~

The moment she saw her mother, Elrose realized that she was dreaming.

Her mother was giving advice, saying that if she listens to adults well, she’ll get cake even if she sleeps. Then suddenly, she hugged Elrose tightly.

“Elrose, I forgot to tell you this.”

“What is it?”

“All men are wolves.”

But not Lakshan, right? She wanted to refute her mother, but instead she bit her lips.

She could see her mother clearly in her dream, so she wanted to stay still and listen to her voice more.

Her mother then patted Elrose on the back and whispered. The touch made her even more sleepy even though she was dreaming.

“So… you have to be careful when choosing a husband.”

Elrose moved her lips desperately at the next words.

‘Mom, I’m already married.’

But her voice couldn’t cross her throat and instead murmured away.

As she became more conscious, her mother’s voice became distant.

“They are…”

At that moment, Elrose woke up.

“Gasp!”

The moment she opened her eyes, Elrose hid her face from the intense morning sunlight that relentlessly stabbed her eyes.

After she blinked her eyes moments later, she carefully lowered her hand and saw the white ceiling with the water leaks.

Elrose pondered for a moment about where she was, and then remembered.

‘Wasn’t I waiting for Lakshan to wash up…?’

Seeing that she had no memory since then, she seemed to have fallen asleep.

“Is it a dream…”

Elrose looked around, wondering what this dream was.

And soon, she sprang up with a surprised face.

She was lying on a heart-shaped bed with a bright red blanket.

It was the place she hated last night, saying ‘who sleeps in a place like this?’. But it seemed like she slept very well instead.

Elrose, who began stretching, saw the crumpled sheet next to her.

“Lakshan also slept here.”

As much as Elrose loathed it, Lakshan also looked at the bed with a frown.

While still blinking in a daze, Elrose sniffed for a moment.

There was a nice smell coming from somewhere. It wasn’t perfume. What was it?

The scent of soap mixed with body odor. Elrose soon realized it was coming from her.

‘What?’

She just fell asleep, so there’s no way she could smell like this.

Elrose tilted her head and stood up.

Although the appearance of the bed was not good, it was full of freshness after sleeping soundly since the mattress was good.

She just slept under a blanket and it seemed to be quite warm.

“First… let’s wash up.”

Elrose staggered into the bathroom, and shortly afterward, the door opened and Lakshan came in with a tray of food.

‘Looks like she woke up.’

Listening to the sound of water dripping in the bathroom, he put the tray on the table and yawned.

There was a sound as he turned his neck.

Although he had never really slept poorly during his career as a mercenary, last night was not comfortable for him at all.

To be exact, he was comfortable physically, but not mentally.

Lakshan glared at the bed where he fell asleep last night.

The red heart shape gave him goosebumps.

But that was not exactly why he couldn’t sleep.

~*~

Last night, just when he was about to fall asleep, Elrose, who was muttering and talking in her sleep, rolled over right into his arms.

“…!”

Thanks to that, Lakshan opened his eyes in surprise and picked up the dagger that was next to him instinctively.

When a familiar body scent hit him, he was able to stop his hand.

“Oh…”

He wondered if it was because she didn’t like the shaky bed since he was moving.

Elrose frowned and crawled into his arms.

‘What should I do?’

Lakshan pushed her shoulder with his fingers to get her out as gentlemanly as possible as if saying to go back to her side.

Instead, Elrose wiggled her hand as if she were flapping away flies and slapped his finger.

She did not give in to Lakshan who was trying to bring Elrose back to her place.

Contemplating, he grabbed the sheet from the bed and rolled Elrose back to her side.

He thought it would be okay, but after a while, she rolled over again and came into his arms.

“…”

It was a natural movement.