GDTEA Ch 66

If I Answer

Late at night, with even the moon hidden behind clouds, Sharti was out of bed massaging her heavy limbs. But no matter how much she kneaded them, her tense muscles wouldn’t relax.

Sharti shook her head.

‘I knew this would happen.’

After spending the entire day grinding a sack full of herbs, it was no wonder her wrists were worn out.

Plus, her legs were stiff from having to flee in a hurry when the Tower Master unexpectedly appeared.

‘My body and eyes are tired, but I can’t sleep.’

Sharti sighed as she hugged her knees.

Ashu’s village was now safe. The Tower Master had personally visited and promised protection for the village, and the mercenary group would now coexist with the village and be responsible for the residents’ safety. Fortunately, the results of her meddling had been successful.

Now Sharti could focus solely on her role as a doctor, helping patients recover their weakened strength.

‘Ah, I don’t know…’

Sharti flopped over onto her side.

Despite things going well, Sharti had felt anxious and confused all day.

‘Who can I blame for my foolishness?’

Sharti tossed and turned, unconsciously twirling her scattered hair on the blanket.

In the darkness, her wheat-colored hair looked like the black hair it had briefly been transformed into by magic during the day.

Naturally, Ren’s confession came flooding back to her mind again.

[I wanted to remember only the face that I remember, the face that I like.]

Sharti pulled her pillow over and pressed it firmly against her face.

Her ears grew warm again.

[Just so you don’t get the wrong idea again, the face I find pretty is the one hidden inside that hood right now.]

Sharti lifted the pillow and swung it into the air. Not just her nose that had been pressed against the pillow, but her entire face was flushed red.

In the darkness, her panting breaths and rapidly beating heart could be clearly heard.

Sharti finally dropped the pillow back over her face.

‘Ren told me not to get the wrong idea.’

So why was she lying awake at night, unable to sleep, attaching unnecessary meaning to his words?

Ren had simply confessed which face he personally preferred. He had merely clarified Sharti’s misunderstanding with a simple, straightforward meaning.

Sharti hung her head.

‘But it was the first time.’

It was the first time someone had told her her face was pretty. Above all, it was the first time someone had expressed romantic interest in her.

‘And saying he wanted to remember a face he liked.’

At first, she thought Ren was just being kind, saying empty words to boost her low self-esteem. She thought he was awkwardly trying to comfort her with lies.

But in that moment when the wind blew and his sincerity was conveyed without any chance to avoid it, Sharti couldn’t say anything in response.

The teal-colored eyes of Ren that she’d met in that moment remained vividly in her mind.

‘This won’t do. Maybe some night air will help me sleep.’

Coming in from the cold always makes the warmth under the blanket feel more cozy.

That would surely make sleep come naturally.

But as Sharti got up, she immediately changed her mind due to the tingling pain in her legs.

‘Well, I can still get some night air just by opening a window.’

With this quick decision, Sharti slowly crawled to the wall and stood up.

She pulled back the short curtain and unlocked the window. The moment Sharti opened the window—

“…!”

A pair of large eyes was staring at her from right in front of her face.

With heart-dropping fear, Sharti stepped back as her throat was suddenly grabbed. She struggled, clutching at the arm and hand that had extended toward her without warning.

‘Can’t… breathe…!’

Sharti coughed and squinted her eyes. The intruder who had climbed through the window under cover of darkness had their entire face covered except for their eyes.

Silently, with a swish, the masked figure increased the pressure on her throat while drawing a dagger from their waist. Sharti’s face reflected in the cold, sharp blade.

Involuntary tears formed in Sharti’s eyes.

‘—Again through the window!’

In this life-threatening moment, Sharti mentally cried out in indignation as she clutched the small pouches hidden in her clothes.

Without hesitation, she burst one of the pouches, throwing the powder at the masked figure. Bang! As the green powder sprayed in front of them, the masked person reflexively threw Sharti aside.

‘…!’

Released from the intruder’s grip, Sharti clung to the wall while clutching her throat.

‘H-how did they get into the village?’

The once-chilling pair of eyes was now becoming bloodshot. Even though the intruder must have felt their eyes burning in pain, they merely staggered without making even the slightest sound.

Though Sharti knew she should run away, her legs wouldn’t move. From the moment she had opened the window and come face to face with those eerie eyes, her legs had turned to jelly.

‘I need to call the mercenaries, or—or Grandmother.’

Sharti trembled as she pulled out a small pouch containing paralyzing powder.

She’d have only one chance. And that was only if the masked figure didn’t just throw the dagger and kill her with one strike.

‘They could kill me and escape to somewhere else faster than I could call for help.’

Gulp. She swallowed dryly.

“……”

As if growing accustomed to the pain, the masked figure slowly turned to glare at Sharti with murderous intent.

Those bloodshot eyes made her knees weaken. Sharti gasped for breath and squeezed her eyes shut.

‘—Now!’

Just as the masked figure closed the distance in one swift move to swing the dagger, Sharti frantically threw the paralyzing powder.

And she shouted with all her might.

“Reeeeeeen!”

When life is threatened, various thoughts tend to cross one’s mind.

Scream.

Cry for help.

Call Grandmother.

Alert the mercenaries.

But her brain, with its emergency lights flashing, couldn’t follow rational judgment.

[Sha-.]

Instead, her brain had learned from previous experiences.

It instinctively knew who she needed to seek out in times of danger.

That’s why.

In that moment when she might die, when Sharti closed her eyes, she thought of only one person.

The one person who had been angrier than anyone else for failing to protect her from Dodindt.

“Sha!”

With a thud, something crashed and shattered.

Simultaneously, a soft blanket was draped over Sharti’s head.

“Just a moment, keep your eyes closed. Cover your ears too.”

Perhaps because he was gritting his teeth, his voice sounded even more clipped than usual. But that firmness in Ren’s voice felt reassuring, and Sharti quickly covered her ears.

Of course, this didn’t completely block out the sounds.

Thwack, whack—thud! Thud-thud-thud!! 

The merciless beating sounded like drumbeats. Turning away from the scene of violence, Sharti tried to focus only on her pounding heart.

And soon after, Sharti sensed someone approaching through the blanket.

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

“N-no, I’m not. No, I’m not. Really.”

Sharti nodded. She wanted to lift her head to reassure Ren, but she was in her nightclothes without her hood, and there might be visible marks where she’d been choked, so she just tried to answer without her voice trembling.

‘I’m probably going to have bruises on my neck.’

She could tell without even checking.

Her voice, which already sounded like a croaking frog, was a bit hoarse now.

As Sharti touched around her neck, Ren embraced her along with the blanket.

“R-Ren?”

“…Thank, goodness. Really.”

A slight trembling could be felt in Ren’s cracking voice.

As that trembling was transmitted through Ren’s embrace, Sharti finally realized she was alive.

The tip of her nose stung, and Sharti bit her lip hard.

What an unfortunate, miserable fate.

How much time had passed since they’d gotten rid of Dodindt, and now she was facing another threat.

“I’m sorry…”

A suppressed voice escaped from Sharti’s lips.

She had dragged Ren into danger again. By now, she was losing face in front of Ren.

“You must be very shocked. You’re talking nonsense.”

Ren ignored Sharti’s apology as if it wasn’t worth responding to.

“It’s not nonsense…”

“In times like this, you should be angry. Not talking nonsense.”

“When did I talk nonsense…”

As Sharti began to retort in frustration, Ren chuckled.

“That’s better. Like that.”

“……”

Sharti was at a loss for words.

Be angry? Who was she supposed to be angry at?

‘Is he telling me to complain to the heavens about why these things only happen to me?’

Sharti glared at Ren and sniffled quietly.

Ren pulled the blanket up and wiped Sharti’s face.

“I meant you should be angry that I didn’t come running immediately when Master was in danger. Next time, demand that I notice and come running even before you call.”

Buried in the blanket, Sharti opened her eyes wide in disbelief.

It should have sounded like humor to lighten the mood, but Ren was clearly serious.

‘He keeps calling me master.’

Ren seemed to enjoy using terms that elevated Sharti and lowered himself.

The assistant or slave treatment that he had seemed reluctant about at first had somehow become familiar.

Perhaps because Sharti had heard it so often from Ren, she too was now less embarrassed by it.

“But you did well.”

Ren’s stiff expression softened a little.

“This time, you called for me.”

“……”

“A slave is definitely better than a patient.”

He meant that a slave who could protect was better than a patient who needed protection.

Seeing Ren’s proud face, Sharti let out a silent laugh. Only Ren would say that being a slave was better.

Indeed, the more she listened to Ren’s voice, the more the tension in her body gradually eased.

“Were you not sleeping?”

“It seemed like you weren’t sleeping.”

Unlike her, who couldn’t hear Ren’s movements despite her good hearing, Ren could apparently hear her tossing and turning even through the wall.

Sharti was secretly relieved.

‘Thankfully, I didn’t say anything strange to myself.’

She resolved to only think to herself in the future when Ren was nearby.

“I was waiting to give you a massage.”

“Waiting? There’s no way I would ask you for a massage at this hour.”

Moreover, Sharti had thought Ren was asleep, so no matter how much her legs hurt, she wouldn’t have called him.

That obvious fact couldn’t have been unknown to Ren, so Sharti looked at him curiously.

“True.”

Ren calmly acknowledged.

“So I waited.”

“Until I called you?”

“Sha, until your thoughts were sorted out.”

Ren unwrapped his arms that had been holding Sharti with the blanket. As the pressure that had been enveloping her body and providing comfort disappeared, Sharti strangely felt cold.

Before Sharti could shiver, Ren quickly found her robe and put the hood on her first.

“Since your mind has been complicated since daytime, I thought you would feel less awkward once it was sorted out.”

His hands were rough as he carefully fastened her robe.

“Then by morning, I thought you would see me as usual again.”

“……”

“Or it would have been fine if you left your room due to restlessness and ran into me.”

What an accurate judgment.

Sharti rolled her eyes slightly. She felt self-loathing, wondering if she was simple enough for Ren to read so easily.

Then suddenly, a realization dawned on her.

‘…He’s gotten used to me.’

The more time they spent thinking about each other, observing each other, and being together, Ren had become familiar with her just as she had with him.

[Because you’re there, Sha, at the place I return to.]

She recalled what Ren had said previously.

At the same time, his smile blooming with the wind today flashed in her mind.

The trembling she had always felt from him now tickled Sharti’s chest.

“…Sha?”

Sharti unconsciously grabbed Ren’s hand.

Her delicate fingers, unable to hold tightly, just seemed urgent.

‘It’s just a misunderstanding.’

Their gazes intertwined in the darkness.

Thoughts full of uncertain denial continued.

‘Don’t attach meaning to it.’

In the darkness, only Ren’s eyes were clearly visible.

As if enchanted by those teal eyes, Sharti ignored the signals her brain was sending and slowly opened her mouth.

And finally, Sharti asked.

“Ren, do you like me?”

What answer she wanted to hear, Sharti didn’t know.

But one thing was certain.

“If I answer—”

Ren had no intention of avoiding the question.

“Can you handle it?”