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Chapter 18
From the moment Dana decided to leave home, she resolved to cherish herself.
Naturally accepting kindness was part of that resolve.
After a few seconds of finishing her thoughts, Dana broke into a refreshing smile.
“What are you doing? Hurry up.”
At those words, Edwin smiled brightly.
Dana, who was usually unfamiliar with other people’s touch, had accepted him.
Edwin stood up from his seat and brought over a fluffy towel.
Then he moved behind Dana, who was sitting on the chair.
All of Dana’s senses focused on her back.
Edwin’s presence was vividly felt.
‘Why am I so nervous…?’
Even though she was the one who had agreed to it, her body stiffened with tension.
Without saying a word, Edwin gently pressed her wet hair with the towel.
What kind of expression did he have? Was he nervous like her?
Dana wanted to see his face.
She wanted to know whether he, too, was feeling this tension and strange atmosphere.
Edwin’s fingers softly combed through her hair.
The lingering moisture dampened his hand.
As he brushed the hair at her side, his little finger touched near Dana’s ear.
Without realizing it, Dana flinched and trembled.
To her body, rigid with tension, his touch was a strong stimulus.
The same was true for Edwin.
It was only a brief, passing contact,
but the spot where they touched burned hot.
The soft sensation kept resurfacing in his mind.
When he twisted Dana’s long hair up, her slender neckline was revealed.
The nape of her neck, contrasting with her black hair, seemed to hold moonlight.
It was Edwin who broke the quiet stillness.
“Your hair is like the night sky, sunbae.”
It was like a night sky that warmly enveloped him.
“Really? I’ve always disliked my hair color.”
“Why?”
It was so beautiful.
Edwin asked back, as if he couldn’t understand.
“Everyone in my family has brown hair.”
“So?”
“When I was little, I wondered if the reason I felt like an outsider in my family was because of my hair color.”
Dana spoke lightly, as if making an amusing joke.
“It was a ridiculous thought.”
“You must have been desperate enough to want to blame it on your hair.”
“……”
“You wanted to belong, but they kept pushing you away.”
Edwin saw straight through the heart of the young Dana—
the child who had struggled with loneliness.
Dana let out a small laugh and continued.
“Maybe so. My mother and father both said my hair color was unpleasant.”
Edwin felt angry once again at Dana’s family, whom he had never even seen.
Dana was smart and beautiful.
Yet there were times when it felt as though she constantly belittled herself.
Thinking that all of it stemmed from her parents made his anger surge.
‘And they call that family…’
It was fortunate that Dana did not see his icy expression.
However, at her next words, his face softened.
“But you said it’s like the night sky.”
She turned her posture.
Her fair face looked up at Edwin.
“When I’m with you, I feel like I become a better person.”
If Dana’s hair was the night sky, her blue-shining eyes were like stars.
A crystal-clear smile was directed at him.
Soon after, Edwin smiled like a boy.
“I only speak the truth.”
Everything he felt toward Dana was sincere—
his words, his actions, and the affection swelling within him.
Dana, who had said they should talk all night, began nodding off as dawn came.
It seemed the fatigue from a full day of work had poured over her.
Edwin lightly picked her up in his arms
and carefully laid her down on the bed, seeing to her comfort.
As he brushed aside the hair that had fallen over her cheek, he whispered,
“Sleep well, Dana.”
And shortly after.
As he warmly watched the sleeping Dana, his brow furrowed.
It was because he heard clumsy footsteps in the corridor.
Edwin was sensitive to others’ presence.
Along with his natural hearing, his senses had been honed as a knight.
The other party seemed to be trying to hide their presence, but it didn’t work on Edwin.
The footsteps grew slower.
The closer they came to his room, the more hesitant they sounded.
Unable to ignore it any longer, Edwin stood up.
Not being able to look at Dana anymore was quite regrettable.
He carefully got dressed so as not to wake her.
When he opened the door, as expected, two subordinates were standing there.
“Captain…!”
The desperate cry was cut off by Edwin’s frost-sharp gaze.
After confirming that the door was firmly closed, Edwin asked indifferently,
“What is it?”
The subordinate spoke in a hushed voice, gauging his mood.
“Fraken, sir…”
“I know. What I’m asking is why you came so early.”
“But we always go out around this time…”
Leaving the grumbling subordinate behind, Edwin took the lead and walked ahead.
Morning sunlight flowed through the window and onto the bed.
A dazzling beam of light and birdsong tickled Dana awake.
“Mmm…”
Rubbing her eyes and fussing in her sleep, she suddenly felt a sense of unfamiliarity.
This wasn’t her usual room.
‘Ah, right! I’m on a business trip!’
At the same time, what had happened the night before flashed through her mind—
her own self saying they should talk all night.
Gasp! Dana abruptly sat up.
Sleeping so peacefully in someone else’s room!
She hurriedly straightened her disheveled clothes.
“Sorry, I fell asleep first.”
And judging by the fact that she was lying in the bed, it seemed Edwin had taken care of her.
She was about to apologize with an even more apologetic expression.
But the room was terribly quiet.
“…Edwin?”
Edwin, who should have been there with her, was nowhere to be seen.
Dana quickly washed up and got dressed.
When she went down to the first-floor lobby, the lodging manager apologized awkwardly.
“I’m sorry. The temperature control system suddenly broke…”
“It’s fine. It wasn’t intentional.”
“Thank you for understanding.”
“Yes, but have you seen the staff member who was with me?”
“Oh, you mean that extremely handsome gentleman with the beautiful smile and refined air?”
“…Yes.”
It seemed Edwin had left quite an impression on the manager without realizing it.
“If it’s him, he went out at dawn.”
“At dawn…?”
“Yes, he left with the knights.”
Dana looked at the manager with an expression of disbelief.
What reason would a Ministry of Magic official have to be in contact with the knights so early in the morning?
Then, something he had said yesterday came to mind.
‘I went to see the knights. They said they had something to ask.’
Surely… he isn’t retaliating over what I said yesterday, is he?
Anxiety surged in an instant.
She began to worry about the safety of the ever-cheerful, innocent Edwin.
“…Thank you.”
Dana headed first for the Rune Knight Order.
Her steps grew hurried.
The closer she got to the base, the more knights came into view.
Most were clearing the piled-up snow, while the rest were sentries.
She ran up to one of the sentries.
A round-faced knight asked her,
“Huh? Aren’t you supposed to come in this afternoon today?”
“Yes, but have you seen the staff member who was with me?”
“The captain… no, I mean, that ill-tempered man?”
Ill-tempered… Dana had never seen someone so gentle described that way.
She frowned at the negative assessment.
Knight Harriet turned her head, thinking.
The captain had clearly ordered them not to reveal his identity—
no, more frightening than an order, he had proposed a ‘game.’
She recalled the charred buns that had once been used to relentlessly stuff her mouth shut.
Suddenly, Harriet turned pale.
Dana looked at her with confusion.
“Uh, um, he went out monster hunting with us…!”
“Monster hunting?”
“Yes, we asked him to help us.”
That much explanation should be fine, right?
Contrary to Harriet’s expectation, Dana’s face turned icy in an instant.
Sadly, Harriet was the least perceptive member of the knight order.
“…Monsters?”
“The beast Fraken! It was so scary that we asked him to come along with us!”
At her far too casual attitude, Dana was furious to the tips of her hair.
All the social grace she had built up collapsed.
“Are you crazy? You asked an ordinary staff member to go with you for that?”
“…I-I was scared. Please don’t be mad…”
The Edwin Dana knew was kind and considerate.
There was no way such a gentle person could refuse the knights’ request.
Even though it was an awkward situation, he must have followed them despite himself.
Dana bit her lip, trembling with anxiety.
