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Chapter 7
Joo-hee didn’t eat breakfast.
But Rowen had eaten nothing while he was unconscious, so he needed to eat something.
Too lazy to cook, Joo-hee quickly scanned the kitchen.
Just then, she spotted some fruit she had prepared earlier.
After roughly getting ready, she went into the kitchen and picked up the fruit.
“Joo-hee, I’m all ready.”
“Eat.”
“Pardon? Ah…”
Joo-hee suddenly held out the fruit to Rowen.
“I don’t usually eat breakfast.”
“Oh, it’s fine.”
“……”
“Thank you for the meal.”
When Joo-hee gave him a cool stare, Rowen quickly responded, slightly intimidated.
In truth, she had only looked at him, but her unique aura made it feel otherwise.
Without any suspicion, Rowen took a bite of the fruit and let out a small exclamation.
Unexpectedly, the fruit was very sweet and juicy.
“Wow, this is really delicious.”
“Have more when we get back.”
“Ah, okay.”
Joo-hee assumed he meant he wanted more fruit.
Normally, Lu would have already been here, but today she had to go down to the village suddenly, so she wasn’t around.
Joo-hee gave a small whistle.
Rowen, who had already finished the fruit, blinked at her.
It hadn’t been long since she whistled when Lu came running.
Though it wasn’t a day they were supposed to meet, she seemed happy to be called, wagging her tail energetically.
After accepting Lu’s affection, Joo-hee pointed at Rowen.
“Lu, we need to take this person to the village too.”
Lu’s mysterious eyes turned toward Rowen.
When Rowen gave an awkward smile, Lu snorted and let out a loud howl.
Unlike the startled Rowen, Joo-hee calmly stroked Lu’s head, as if used to it.
Rowen edged closer to Joo-hee and asked,
“Is this wolf’s name… Lu?”
“Yes.”
“Hmm… Lu?”
But Lu ignored him.
She didn’t even glance his way.
Suddenly, Rowen grew curious about Joo-hee’s identity.
A mysterious woman living alone in a remote forest.
As he speculated about who she might be, another wolf arrived.
“Ro.”
It seemed Lu had bragged, and the other wolf had come to Joo-hee to complain and ask for a name, so she had given one.
“This one is Ro.”
“Ah… I see.”
Rowen thought to himself:
If not for Joo-hee’s request, that wolf named “Ro” looked like it would bite him at any moment.
“Ro, I’m counting on you.”
Though Ro seemed irritable, at Joo-hee’s request, it quickly lowered its tail and whimpered.
In the end, Ro had no choice but to obey her.
Joo-hee knew that too, but she didn’t force it.
Eventually, Ro walked up to Rowen.
Seeing Ro standing in front of him, Rowen smiled awkwardly.
“Nice to meet you.”
But Ro simply turned its head away.
Joo-hee easily climbed onto Lu’s back, and surprisingly, Rowen skillfully mounted Ro.
Joo-hee was slightly surprised.
Seeing him get on without hesitation, it seemed he had learned horseback riding.
She examined him again.
Even without touching it, his clean hair looked soft—clearly well cared for.
His speech and manner of walking were very different from the villagers.
And the fact that he knew how to ride meant he must have owned a horse, which was expensive—something commoners couldn’t afford.
That meant Rowen might not be a commoner.
He could be a wealthy merchant, but somehow that didn’t quite fit.
‘Then… a noble?’
That seemed likely, but it was still just speculation, so Joo-hee kept quiet.
Meanwhile, Rowen felt completely natural riding, so he didn’t question it.
“Ro, your fur is really soft.”
At the compliment, Ro’s tail wagged ever so slightly.
Joo-hee set off first to guide the way, with Rowen following behind.
He stared absentmindedly at her back.
“…Is she an elf?”
The moment they entered the forest, Rowen’s keen senses picked up something.
Everything in the forest seemed to welcome Joo-hee.
Nothing blocked her path, and the warm sunlight shone only on her.
Before long, Joo-hee exited the forest and waited for him.
When Rowen caught up, she said,
“Don’t go into the forest alone.”
“…Why?”
“It’s dangerous. The forest is wary of others.”
Unable to hold back, Rowen asked,
“Joo-hee… are you an elf?”
She didn’t feel human, so he thought of elves, who resembled humans.
Though his expression was serious, Joo-hee didn’t find it worth answering.
Mel, who was nearby, burst into laughter.
—An elf? Well, Joo-hee is as pretty as one! But her ears aren’t pointy!
Mel chattered.
When Joo-hee gave no response, Rowen awkwardly added,
“I must have been mistaken. Haha…”
“Yes, you were.”
Joo-hee answered briefly and resumed heading to the village.
After descending the hill, Lu and Ro stopped.
“Thank you, Lu. Ro too. See you later.”
Joo-hee entered the village with Rowen.
The villagers were startled when they saw him beside her.
Understandably so.
It was their first time seeing a man covered in blood.
Joo-hee decided to buy clothes for Rowen first.
They entered the first clothing shop they saw, and the woman who seemed to be the owner gasped in shock.
“W-welcome…”
Rowen found it strange that, while his appearance made sense, the woman seemed afraid of Joo-hee too.
Thinking back, when she said earlier that there was nothing to worry about, her expression had been colder than usual.
He had thought it was just her neutral face, but maybe not.
But Joo-hee ignored it and focused seriously on choosing clothes.
So Rowen also stopped paying attention and moved closer to her.
“Rowen, what about this?”
After carefully examining several options, Joo-hee held up a pair of pants and a shirt.
They seemed about the right size, so she asked the shopkeeper,
“Do you have a fitting room?”
“Yes—yes, over there.”
The woman pointed with a trembling finger.
It was just a curtained-off corner.
Joo-hee handed the clothes to Rowen.
“Try them on.”
“Yes.”
Rowen obediently followed, like a well-trained puppy.
While buying clothes for him, Joo-hee picked one for herself too—a simple, light dress.
Soon, Rowen came out from behind the curtain.
“How is it? Does it look okay?”
He smiled awkwardly and shrugged.
Joo-hee nodded silently.
With his height and broad shoulders, the clothes fit him well.
If this were Korea, modeling agencies would have been interested in him.
Though the clothes were cheap and plain, they looked luxurious on him.
That reinforced Joo-hee’s suspicion that he was a noble.
Since one set wasn’t enough, she picked several outfits and paid for them all.
She also bought him new shoes, since he seemed uncomfortable walking.
They threw away his bloodstained clothes and dirty shoes.
Looking at Rowen wearing what she chose gave Joo-hee a strange feeling.
She had always been alone, so having someone beside her felt unfamiliar.
She tilted her head at the unidentifiable emotion, then decided not to think too deeply about it.
Originally, she planned to return after buying clothes, but since they were already in the village, she decided to buy fish too.
However, she didn’t recognize any of the fish.
—Ugh, it smells fishy!
Mel refused to come near.
After much thought, Joo-hee picked a fish that looked most like mackerel she had seen in Korea.
She found it odd there were no plastic bags—
But then the shopkeeper took out what was clearly a plastic bag.
Joo-hee rubbed her eyes, thinking she must have seen wrong.
But no, it really was a plastic bag.
She figured it must be a setting error by the author.
She silently judged the author as sloppy and took the fish.
After she left, the villagers gathered and whispered.
“Who was that man? I was so shocked at first.”
“Same here. It’s the first time I’ve seen her talk to anyone besides the herb shop grandfather.”
Though they still feared Joo-hee, they were curious about the man.
As they speculated, one man tilted his head.
“Come to think of it… doesn’t he resemble someone?”
“Who?”
“Well…”
After struggling to recall, he clapped his hands.
“That’s it—the First Prince! I saw his portrait in the capital once. He looks very similar. It can’t be him, right?”
“Are you trying to be a novelist? Why would someone from the imperial palace be here?”
“Yeah… I guess you’re right.”
The man scratched his cheek awkwardly.
Since it sounded ridiculous, no one paid it any mind.
And so, leaving behind countless speculations, they dispersed.
