Chapter 43

She eventually spent the night with Johann, who seemed to have stayed up all night, and had breakfast together before busily preparing for the day.  

From the storage room, she gathered raincoats, boots, and tools needed for harvesting flowers, packing them into her bag.  

Meanwhile, thunder roared, lightning flashed, and rain began pouring down heavily.  

“The rain is coming down hard.”  

“The more it rains, the better. It’ll make the petals plumper.”  

Lia answered cheerfully.  

About one or two hours after the rain started, she put on her boots, wore her raincoat, and slung her bag over her shoulder.  

“Why are you all ready so soon?”  

“I need to leave now.”  

“What? The rain is still pouring like that!”  

He gestured toward the scenery outside the window, showing the heavy raindrops falling with the strong wind.  

“By the time I reach the Dewflower colony, the rain will probably let up.”  

He frowned, as if asking what that had to do with anything, and looked at her.  

“It’s best to harvest Dewflowers before the rain stops, so I need to go now.”  

“No matter how important it is, it seems too dangerous.”  

“I know this mountain better than anyone, so there’s no need to worry.”  

Lia smiled confidently.  

“It’s not about worry; who climbs a mountain in this weather without any protection?”  

“…If it’s not worry, then I’d prefer you keep your nagging to yourself.”  

“……” 

She felt annoyed by his sharp tone and words.  

‘Why even bother saying it’s not worry?’  

Did he have to say something like that to someone who was about to leave?  

‘Would it hurt to just say, “Have a safe trip,” even as an empty gesture?’  

Though Johann seemed upset as well, she felt her own irritation was justified.  

Suppressing her annoyance, she opened the front door.  

“Then I’ll be back, so wait here.”  

The strong raindrops driven by the wind lashed against Lia’s face.  

“This is madness, going out in this rain without a care….”  

Johann watched Lia’s retreating figure as she walked away without hesitation, despite the heavy rain. 

She didn’t seem to falter at all as she moved forward.  

‘She did say she’s been out in the rain several times before.’  

Since she claimed to be fine, he figured there was no need to worry unnecessarily.  

However, he felt an uncomfortable and uneasy sensation creeping over him as he waited for her.  

‘…Yeah, I’m not following her because I’m worried, but because I feel uneasy. That’s all.’  

Convincing himself with this reasoning, he ran in the direction Lia had gone.  

He hoped she hadn’t gone too far yet.  

Pushing through the heavy rain, he quickened his pace until he spotted Lia walking briskly ahead.  

‘…She looks smaller than I thought.’  

Since she was always next to Rafaella, he hadn’t realized how small she was.  

Watching her deftly avoid puddles with her small frame, Johann couldn’t help but notice.  

At nearly 190cm tall, most people seemed small to him, but having never truly observed her before, he found it surprising.  

Pushing aside such trivial thoughts, Johann approached her.  

Lia was walking toward the Dewflower colony, enduring the rain.  

The ground had become quite muddy due to the rain, but her boots allowed her to walk without too much difficulty.  

“…Hey!”  

Through the sound of the pouring rain, she thought she heard someone shouting, so she stopped walking.  

‘Is someone calling me?’  

Turning around just in case, she saw Johann.  

“…Duke?”  

She was startled to see Johann chasing after her without a raincoat or boots, completely exposed to the rain.  

“…Why are you walking so fast?”  

“What? Did you come out without a raincoat?”  

“……”  

He quickly closed the distance between them with his long strides and stood in front of her.  

‘He’s already soaked, completely drenched.’  

They still had over an hour to go, and if he stayed like that, he would surely catch a cold.  

“There’s a raincoat for you in the storage room! You should’ve at least looked for it before coming out!”  

“I didn’t know. I don’t need a raincoat, so don’t worry about it.”  

Watching his nonchalant response, Lia grew flustered.  

“Still, I told you to wait at the cabin, so why did you follow me?”  

“I didn’t have anything to do, and since you’re gathering herbs for Penelope, I figured I might as well come along.”  

“So, you’re not going back to the cabin?”  

“No, I wouldn’t have come out if I planned to go back.”  

“…If you catch a cold, it’s not my responsibility.”  

“I’ve hunted monsters in worse weather than this without getting sick, so don’t worry.”  

“…Who’s worried?”  

Muttering under her breath, Lia turned around and resumed walking toward the colony.  

“Just follow carefully.”  

Johann silently followed her.  

Watching her agilely navigate the muddy terrain like a squirrel, he couldn’t help but be impressed.  

“It seems like it’s quite a distance to the colony.”

“Normally, it takes less than an hour, but it takes longer on rainy days.”  

Walking ahead, she responded to Johann’s comment.  

“But we’re almost there, so hang in there a bit longer.”  

“I’m not tired.”  

Hearing her tell him to hang in there, despite her much smaller frame, left him speechless.  

‘Who’s cheering on who here?’  

Just as Lia had said, after walking a little further, they arrived at the entrance of the colony.  

“This is the Dewflower colony.”  

She stepped slightly to the right so Johann could take in the full view of the colony.  

“…It’s magnificent.”  

Even Johann, who was usually indifferent, couldn’t help but marvel at the sight of the Dewflower colony, which seemed like something out of a fantasy.  

‘To think such a place was hidden in this mountain valley.’  

The transparent petals of the Dewflowers, swollen from the rain, sparkled amidst the mist, welcoming them.  

“Isn’t it amazing?”  

Seeing his awestruck expression, Lia smiled before stepping into the colony to harvest the flowers.  

The rain had eased to a drizzle, so visibility was no longer an issue.  

“Dewflowers are best harvested before the rain stops, while their petals are still full of water. You have to pull them out with their bulbs intact.”  

Lia explained the process of harvesting Dewflowers clearly to Johann.  

He watched closely as she carefully used her tools to extract the flowers, bulbs and all.  

After placing the harvested flowers into her bag, she looked at him.  

“Here, would you like to try?”  

“Do I have to?”  

“If you weren’t going to help, why did you follow me?”  

“…Fine, I’ll try.”  

Recalling her demonstration, he attempted to harvest the Dewflowers himself.  

“Wow, even if your head doesn’t remember, your body does. It’s perfect for a first try….”  

“……”  

“Maybe it’s because you’re a knight. Unlike lullabies, physical skills seem to be ingrained.”  

She muttered to herself again, talking about things he didn’t understand, which annoyed him.  

However, Lia didn’t notice his expression as she became engrossed in harvesting more flowers, seeing that Johann had done well.  

Without saying much, Johann crouched down and began pulling flowers alongside her.  

He also lowered his stance and began to pick flowers alongside her without adding any words.  

“……Ah!”  

About halfway through the harvest, Lia suddenly exclaimed in surprise.  

“What’s wrong all of a sudden?”  

“I almost forgot, someone is coming to harvest Dewflowers.”  

“Who?”  

“Well, it’s a mage I happened to meet last time…”  

A mage in this remote area?  

Just as he was about to speak to Lia, the mage she mentioned appeared from the opposite direction of where they had come.  

“Lia!”  

Rising from her crouched position, she waved at Dorothea.  

“Dorothea, be careful.”  

Watching Dorothea descend with a slightly uneasy look, Lia spoke with concern.  

He scrutinized Dorothea, who seemed more like a wanderer than a mage.  

‘Is she really a mage? She looks completely ragged.’  

As Dorothea approached them, she greeted Lia and then turned her gaze to Johann.  

“Oh, you came with your husband.”  

“…No? That’s not the case.”  

Lia waved her hands in surprise.  

“Really?”  

“Well, he is the father of my child, but not my husband.”  

Lia spoke with an embarrassed expression, gesturing with her hands.  

Johann stood silently beside her, not bothering to add any words.  

‘Well, it’s funny but not entirely wrong.’  

Dorothea showed a slightly baffled expression at Lia’s odd introduction but soon composed her face.  

“I guess I got ahead of myself. Sorry, Lia.”  

“No, it’s understandable for anyone to make that mistake.”  

Dorothea put aside her curiosity about Johann and began harvesting Dewflowers, following Lia’s explanation.  

Once they had harvested Lia’s share and Dorothea’s research share, the rain completely stopped, and the sun began to shine.  

“If we had gotten up a little later, we might have missed this wonderful experience.”  

They leaned against a large tree to rest for a while.  

“Oh, by the way, if you’re hungry, would you like to eat this?”  

Dorothea rummaged inside her robe and pulled out some jerky.  

Seeing the dubious-looking jerky, both Lia and Johann politely declined.  

Without insisting further, Dorothea quickly devoured the jerky, seemingly hungry.  

Lia, as if remembering something, gently tapped Johann’s shoulder.  

“Come to think of it, I was too distracted earlier to introduce you. This is Dorothea, a mage.”  

“Hello.”  

Dorothea greeted Johann lightly.  

“And this is the father of my child…”  

Lia hesitated, unsure of what to say for her husband’s name.  

“Johann.”