Only when her gaze, which had been looking at Penchev, returned to him did satisfaction fill his entire body.

“Then there’s no problem, right? You can go.”

As he lowered his tall frame to be below her line of sight and acted cutely, unlike his usual self, she looked troubled yet resigned.

It was something he could do because he was younger than her.

Perhaps, something only he could do.

Thus, after the trip to the Magic Tower was decided, Lysith tried to pack necessary items, but Ashites stopped her.

“Why?”

“I’ve prepared everything. You just need to come.”

It was as he confidently said. When she checked the carriage he had brought, even Eve and Serena were surprised by how thoroughly prepared it was.

In other words, from the beginning, not taking her wasn’t an option.

“You never intended to leave without me, did you?”

“I just wanted to go with you, Noona……”

Even his excuse was brief. Lysith let out a hollow laugh and shook her head.

Since he went this far, it would be a bit awkward not to go. And as the main quest was gradually coming to an end, she thought it might be okay to take a trip like this.

“How long will it take to get there?”

“Two to three days. Not long. Will you be uncomfortable sleeping in the carriage?”

“No, that’s fine. I’m okay with it.”

The body that had slept in luxurious noble beds every day would surely complain of discomfort, but she herself didn’t feel any aversion. Before her transmigration, she had slept in cars and on sofas.

And once again, her nonchalant response seemed unexpected to Ashites, who slightly widened his eyes. When she noticed this and asked why, he shook his head saying it was nothing, but he couldn’t hide his slightly flushed ears.

‘What exactly……?’

Come to think of it, regarding Ashites, she only vaguely knew about the “attachment through physical intimacy” keyword, but she didn’t know why things had turned out this way afterward.

In fact, romantic feelings aren’t just about physical attraction, so there must be other reasons why he came to like her this way. Besides just her smile.

Anyway, on the carriage journey that began, Lysith couldn’t hide her excitement.

All things considered, she was a homebody and didn’t particularly enjoy going out.

Lysith’s memories were limited to the Faeous Empire. Going to the Magic Tower in the neutral territory was her first time.

The neutral territory located in the center of the continent seemed like a place anyone could enter freely, but in reality, not just anyone could access it. It was used for meetings between nations, and above all, it was where the Magic Tower stood.

In fact, Lysith often forgot that the man before her was the Tower Master.

To be precise, she knew it in her mind, but his behavior toward her made it impossible to feel like he was the leader of an organization.

While thinking this, she turned her gaze outside the carriage, and the rapidly passing scenery felt strange.

It was almost like……

‘A car?’

Of course, this was just an ordinary carriage road, not a path for people to come and go. The Empire’s carriage roads were well-maintained, but she wondered if the wheels wouldn’t break at this speed.

Moreover, despite moving so fast, there was no swaying. The fact that this could give a similar feeling to 21st century South Korea was surprising. Magical devices seemed more impressive than she had thought.

Noticing her expression, Ashites grinned.

“You probably didn’t know about this in the capital since there’s no need for it there. This magical device is mainly used for long-distance travel.”

“So that’s why you said it wouldn’t take long.”

“Yes. Without this, it would have taken about a week.”

I see, Lysith nodded, then blinked as a memory suddenly came to her and spoke.

“By the way, what was that magical device you wanted me to try before? Are we going there for that request?”

“Ah.”

The moment he heard those words, his poker face collapsed instantly.

This is bad—with such an expression on Ashites’s face, Lysith narrowed her brows in suspicion.

What’s with this guy?

“What’s with that expression right now?”

“No. We’re not going for that. You don’t have to do that.”

“……?”

What was he going to ask? She had forgotten about it with everything else going on, but what he had said back then was clear.

That ‘there were no volunteers.’

A magical device that wouldn’t endanger life but might be a bit embarrassing to use……

Seeing his dismayed expression now as he said she didn’t need to do it, she guessed that back then he had intended to play a prank on her, but now his intentions were different.

At this point, unnecessary curiosity welled up about what exactly it was.

“What is it? I won’t be surprised, so just tell me.”

“Hah…… Do you really need to know? Back then, I was a bit, no. I had a nasty personality.”

Pretending he doesn’t now.

Lysith knew his personality hadn’t gone anywhere. He was only docile with her and remained the same with others.

Yet here he was, talking as if he had a nasty personality then but not now.

When Lysith couldn’t hide her incredulous expression, Ashites unnecessarily cleared his throat.

In truth, he knew that he always lost any argument with her, so this time would be no different. But still, this was a bit… if he told her, the goodwill he had carefully built up might drop in an instant.

“……First, don’t misunderstand. It was initially created for people who couldn’t afford it.”

“Okay.”

“It wasn’t meant to be sold to nobles…… They wouldn’t need it anyway, no. I mean, the reason I approved the report was because of that……”

What is it that makes him ramble like this? He didn’t seem to realize that this only increased her curiosity. Or maybe he didn’t know where to begin explaining.

Finally, unable to bear it any longer, Lysith urged him, and only then did he answer.

“Forget the explanation, just tell me what kind of magical device it is.”

“……A magical device that induces lactation.”

“……”

The intention behind it was truly good.

……Just the intention.

The two weren’t sitting face to face but side by side, and naturally, since they would need to sleep in the carriage for about three days, the carriage was quite spacious.

When Lysith, who had heard his answer, began to slowly move toward the spacious side, a dejected Ashites immediately knelt before her.

“Back then, I was just a crazy bastard!”

“Mmm, sure…… But let’s sit a bit apart, shall we?”

Ashites grabbed her two hands that had been resting quietly on her knees. It was his first time kneeling on both knees before someone, but he had no time to feel embarrassed.

“And, and I, back then I didn’t like nobles. And if you had said no, I obviously wouldn’t have done it, and normally the volunteers who test magical devices before commercial release are always asked for their opinions before proceeding. If they refuse, we can’t force it. So that was just me, me being too shortsighted, being trash, no……”

Even speaking in such a stammering way was something that had almost never happened in his life.

“I was wrong. I didn’t tell you what it was, I didn’t consider your feelings, and when you think about it, I was just trying to deceive you……”

“……”

“First of all, the reason there were no volunteers wasn’t because it was embarrassing, but normally we look for volunteers among the mages at the Magic Tower……”

To summarize his long explanation, it was like this:

Most female mages at the Magic Tower were married, and the few who were unmarried had all refused. So he was looking for volunteers externally.

The person who had submitted the report to create this magical device came from a small country, not the Empire, and had luckily entered the Magic Tower. He had often seen cases where parents couldn’t properly feed their children because mothers couldn’t lactate due to malnutrition.

Originally, the Magic Tower earned money from nobles, not ordinary civilians, so he had stamped the report.

They needed to check for problems before the device reached those who needed it, and now the verification was complete, so it would soon be available for actual use. Though he rambled uncharacteristically, that was the gist of it.

“……And, I wasn’t born a noble to begin with. So I understood what that guy was talking about.”

“……”

Are we suddenly shifting to personal history here?

While maintaining her expressionless face and calmly listening to his story, Lysith slightly widened her eyes.

Judging by his appearance, which exuded nobility as if he had been born into it, Lysith had naturally assumed he was a noble. His attitude had been so confident, too.

When his rambling ended, Lysith sighed softly and touched her forehead.

Ashites back then was really……

No, it wasn’t just back then. His personality was still ongoing, and he only acted like a gentle lamb to her.

‘……Is there only a fine line between having no manners and being trash?’

Both words started with the same sound in Korean.

But he had just called himself trash with his own mouth, so there was nothing more to say. It seemed he was aware of his own wrongdoing, so he couldn’t articulate it precisely.