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Chapter 3
Beneath his dark blackish-brown hair was a sculpted face so perfect that it was impossible to look away. His red eyes seemed strangely seductive, his nose had a sharp, straight bridge, and his lips were far redder than his eyes.
In all her years across both worlds she had lived in, Sella had never seen a man with such extraordinary looks. She had never even seen a foreign actor in a movie who could compare to him.
He was that breathtakingly beautiful.
“What is it?”
“No… Ah…”
“You’ll recognize him as soon as you see him. He’s incredibly handsome, and he has a very well-built body, too.”
Suddenly remembering her older sister’s words, Sella let her gaze travel down the man’s body.
“Wow…”
His proportions, height, and physique were so perfect that they almost made her forget the face she had just seen!
It was impossible to decide whether his face or his body was more beautiful. He was perfect from head to toe.
So this is the man!
Now she understood why her older sister had described the woodcutter that way.
Her description was incredibly objective and accurate!
“What are you?”
However, despite his appearance, the man’s manner of speaking was anything but refined. Perhaps living in the mountains had made him somewhat wary of strangers.
“Hello. I’m Sella, from the Bishel Orphanage.”
“An orphanage?”
“Yes. May I ask your name…?”
“My name? Rody… Why should I tell you my name?”
The man, who had been answering almost absentmindedly, suddenly put up his guard again. As expected, he seemed wary of strangers.
“Ah, I knew it! You’re Lord Rody! I thought so. It’s a pleasure to meet you!”
Sella greeted him even more cheerfully, hoping to ease his wariness.
I’ll be seeing him regularly from now on, so it’s probably best to get along with him.
“What?”
“I’ve come to place this week’s firewood order, Lord Rody!”
“Firewood?”
“Yes, the firewood our orphanage uses. Oh, the person who used to come here was my older sister, Betty, but she recently got a job, so starting today, I’ll be the one placing the orders…”
“Hey, what are you talking abou—”
“Gasp! Shh!”
Just as the man was about to say something, Sella suddenly froze and whispered urgently.
A black bear had appeared behind him.
So the rumors about bears were true! But seriously, why did one have to show up right when I came here?!
She really had the worst luck.
Her body trembled with fear, and the hair on the back of her neck seemed to stand on end. But this was precisely when she needed to keep her wits about her.
“What are you doing?”
“Quiet! There’s a bear behind you, Lord Rody. Don’t turn around suddenly. Slowly turn your body instead. It’s dangerous to stand with your back to a bear. I’ve heard that you should face it and slowly move away.”
She had heard that sudden movements or loud noises could provoke a bear into attacking.
Still, black bears were supposed to be less aggressive than other bears, so if they were careful…
“Lord Rody!”
But at that very moment, Rody abruptly tried to whip around.
Terrified, Sella instinctively grabbed his hand.
“Let go of—!”
The man frowned sharply as he started to say something, but his eyes suddenly widened. His gaze fell on the hand Sella had grabbed.
“I told you not to make such sudden movements!”
The man seemed unable to hear a word she was saying. He simply stared down at their hands, as though he couldn’t tell whether he was looking at Sella’s hand or his own.
His eyes seemed to grow wider and wider.
Why is he making that face?
His expression was so strange, almost as though he had received a shock. But now was hardly the time to worry about his feelings.
She needed to worry about the bear’s feelings instead.
“The bear is still quite far away, but we should…”
However, at that moment, the man completely ignored her and abruptly turned his head to look at the bear again.
Seriously, what is wrong with this man…?!
“Oh!”
The bear, which had been approaching them, suddenly turned around and disappeared into the forest.
What was that? Did the bear suddenly change its mind?
“Phew… Still, that’s a relief, isn’t it?”
By now, Sella was drenched in cold sweat from head to toe. Becoming conscious of the man beside her, she tried to release the hand she had been holding all this time.
Huh?
Sella’s eyes widened as she looked at the man and their joined hands.
She couldn’t let go because he was gripping her hand far too tightly.
Sella stared at their hands for a moment before raising her head to look at his face.
Excuse me, we’ve only just met… I mean, you’re so ridiculously handsome that holding your hand isn’t exactly unpleasant… But still, isn’t this a little too much for two people who have just met?
For some reason, however, the man showed no sign of loosening his grip. It was as though he intended to hold her hand forever.
“You can let go of my hand now… The bear is gone, too.”
In the end, Sella cautiously spoke while wiggling the hand trapped in his grasp.
“What did you say your name was?”
The man asked without releasing her hand.
“Sella. But… are we going to keep holding hands like this?”
She could feel the warmth from their joined hands increasing rapidly. In the chilly weather, his hand was as warm as a hand warmer, so it wasn’t unpleasant.
But still!
I’m not the kind of person who goes around holding hands with men I’ve just met!
Seriously, why was this man acting like this?
Had someone this handsome fallen in love with her at first sight? Or was he just as startled by the bear as she was?
“You must have been really frightened by the bear…”
Since the man didn’t answer, Sella ended up asking and answering her own question.
Fortunately, he finally let go of her hand a moment later.
No, wait. I didn’t mean you had to let go quite so quickly.
No, that’s right! We only met today. Of course he should let go!
“Lord Rody, are there many bears like that on this mountain? It seems dangerous.”
Feeling embarrassed by all the thoughts she had been having to herself, Sella changed the subject.
She was actually a little worried, since she would have to come to this mountain every week to order firewood. She had been lucky today because the bear had left first, but there was no guarantee the same thing would happen next time.
“Sella…”
But whether the man had heard her or not, he was inexplicably repeating her name instead.
What? Has he fallen for me or something? Well, it’s not as though I’m unattractive.
In fact, Sella was beautiful.
When she had first looked in a mirror after possessing this body, she had thought that having such a pretty appearance made becoming an orphan a little less unfair.
Even so, the man’s expression was far too serious for that explanation to make sense. His gaze was so intense as he repeated Sella’s name that it felt as though he could see right through her.
“Um… May I place my firewood order now?”
Somehow, the man’s gaze made her uncomfortable, and Sella decided she should finish her business and leave as quickly as possible.
“Firewood order…”
The man murmured.
Firewood order? Why is he repeating that like that?
…Is this man a little slow?
“Yes. By the way, Lord Rody, is your cabin down this path? I was lucky enough to run into you here today, but next time, I’ll have to go all the way to your cabin, so…”
“Next time?”
“Yes. Our orphanage orders firewood every week. I told you earlier that I’m taking over the job from my older sister, Betty, starting today.”
“Oh, you come every week…”
What is wrong with him? He looks completely dazed.
“This time, we’ll need the same amount as last time—fifty bundles. And the price is… forty gallons, right…?”
Following the director’s instructions, Sella tried to bargain down the price as though she knew nothing about the usual arrangement.
She expected him to refuse immediately, of course, but there was no harm in asking…
“You can pay whatever you want.”
“Of course you won’t—Pardon?”
Sella, who had already begun to back down out of guilt, was left completely dumbfounded.
Why is he suddenly offering to sell it so cheaply?
Wait. If I buy it ten gallons cheaper…
Suddenly, she thought of the little children at the orphanage.
What if I secretly use the extra ten gallons to buy them some snacks?
The director was quite wealthy. She sold children to people who wanted to adopt them and regularly pocketed the wages of adult orphans who had gone out to work.
She ate so much that her belly bulged noticeably.
Yet the food she gave the children contained practically no protein, and even the portions were cruelly small.
Still, unless there were special circumstances, she didn’t starve or beat them, so the orphanage was at least better than being abandoned on the streets…
In any case, the woman was consumed by greed.
Betty had always handled the firewood orders, so the director had never even met this woodcutter in person. Every task at the orphanage was handled by the adult orphans, while the director did nothing but manage the money.
Therefore, there was no way the director would find out if Sella pocketed some of it.
Could I buy the firewood for forty gallons and tell the director it cost fifty?
While Sella was busily turning the idea over in her head
“Do you only place an order once a week?”
The man suddenly asked.
