Chapter 8

Though they may look similar, the Knox at night and the Knox in the day felt very different. Despite this, their wounds were the same.

No. How could a person not be hurt after going through all that?

I could feel his glare . He seemed to be not very pleased, but I pretended I didn’t notice. I was still afraid of all his complaints. After avoiding his eyes for a long time, I turned around and opened my mouth.

“The book on magic I was talking about yesterday, I figured out a way to find it.”

His eyes turned to face mine.

“Well, I don’t know if the book will mention anything about your condition, but…”

Before I could say anything to that gaze, I stood up.

“Before I start explaining, I need to show you something. Come here.”

“…Are you going out of the room?”

His expression that didn’t change very often contorted to a frown.

Because of my sister, he was locked up in this room almost all the time. It was strange but he managed to stay put.

“My sister left for a while. She won’t be back for another 3 days.”

“Outside…”

“Yes, you’ve been frustrated in here, haven’t you? You never said anything but I assume so. You haven’t even looked around here before, so let’s start with looking around first.”

“Look around?”

“Because it’s not like you can leave the room otherwise?”

There were many monsters that prefer to be active at night instead of the day. So, despite being familiar with the forest, my older sister tried her best to not go out at night.

“Here we are.”

I led Knox to every nook and cranny of the house, leaving out my sister’s room. In fact, the house was so small I actually only needed to show him the living room and the kitchen. We stopped by the storage room before I finally brought him to the garden.

“This is the garden which we use as a field. We grow simple vegetables here to eat.

“Your sister must be strong enough to travel through the forest to someplace that is 2 days far.”

“Yes, you’re right. What was it again? If I’m not wrong, she used to be a knight or something.”

I forgot her official title. I haven’t heard it since I was a child, but my sister said that it was a pretty good title. Though, when most of our family perished, her future as a knight disappeared as well.

It was something that I could only feel sorry for, so, I didn’t look very happy.

“My sister is also very good at dealing with monsters. Other than dealing with monsters, she can’t really do anything by herself. Oh, wait a minute please, I need to get something. Here it is!”

Running quickly, I pulled the things I had planned to use from the storage room. My sister kept everything she didn’t use in the storage room and a long sword was one of them.

“My sister picked it up from the woods but she said that it was too long for her. I was wondering if it might fit Knox?”

“…It’s definitely a long sword but I don’t remember if I ever learned how to wield one.”

“Uhm, why don’t you swing it around first? Maybe your body will remember?”

That might have been what I said but I wasn’t really sure.

However, I soon changed my mind as I saw Knox swinging the sword.

. He wasn’t mad, was he?

I flinched. Sneakily, I tried to move my feet and walk away from him. As I tried to move away, my eyes widened.

“Knox?”

His huge body turned around slowly. His torso leaned towards me, making me see his face more closely.

“Will you come with me, my lady?” 3

Under the pale moonlight, his breathtakingly beautiful face looked dazzling as I stopped breathing. I was stuck in a daze like a fool with my mouth open.

“Y-Yes?”

“I saw it written in a book before.”

“Ah. You saw?”

I recalled the book I left at the table in my room. It was an ordinary romance novel that my sister gave. Because I had nothing better to do, I often read it over and over again.

Looks like I forgot to take it back. Anyway, I was surprised to hear him call me a ‘Lady’.

…I didn’t think he could remember that from the book.

“Is this good enough?”

Looking at Knox staring at me indifferently, I wondered if this was how he felt when he first became the Grand Duke.

I nodded quickly.

“Yes, it was very good. So, could you move a little?”

Sir, your face is not very good for my heart. 1

“But is there anything you could do for me in the forest?”

Knox was the one who asked me to go together, and now he was asking this kind of question. This guy amazes me. He was the one that just seduced me to go with him.

“Of course there is. We are talking about the Night forest where I’ve been living my entire life. I’ll of course be of help in that forest. Perhaps even a lot of help?”

“I don’t think you could even touch a bug with your hands.”

“… I can catch bugs. I might not be able to catch them as well as you but I can protect you from poisonous plants lest you get hallucinations or tell you the weaknesses of monsters. You weren’t expecting to travel through this forest without knowing anything, were you?”

“Maybe in ignorance?”

“… I think you heard me wrong. I said you can’t travel in this forest alone without a guide.”

I rolled my eyes.

Yes, I was doing alright though I guess I lost a piece of my sanity back there.

But why does Knox keep refusing me?

Realising that I had been working so hard to prove my worth, I immediately frowned. Actually, it was safer for me if I didn’t go with him so why was I hesitating to keep the promise with my sister? But I didn’t worry for long.

“Try going tomorrow instead. I have something I have to look into.”

With a grunt, I got off my butt. Knox’s gaze followed my movements.

“Have we met before, in the past?” 2

“Nope, this is our first-time meeting.” 1

If he had never entered the forest before, we would have never seen each other. This was something that could not possibly happen because of the original plot.”

Knox kept asking me questions one after the other.

“The do you just give your help to anyone like me?”

“Uhm, I don’t think so. First of all, I don’t think I’ve come across anyone but you before…”

From his gaze that felt as cold as ice, I doubt he could understand or be grateful for the kindness I have shown him so far.

“Anyways, it’s nothing like that. It’s just… I don’t feel comfortable sending just you alone.”

Avoiding his gaze, I scratched my cheek and smiled awkwardly.

“I mean, life is not meant to be lived alone, right?”

“I have a different opinion.”

“Why would you? Isn’t life about living with other people?”

Then, Knox looked at me for a moment before closing his lips. He seemed to be agonising over something before opening his mouth again.

“Then, does that mean you’re letting me into your life?”