He exhaled heavily and untied the string of the almoner from his waist. Then, he placed the almoner in the eagle’s beak and raised his hand high into the air.

He watched the eagle soar high into the sky and then pressed his forehead.

He had taken a gamble to find Hinael’s whereabouts quickly. The thin string would retain some human scent, and to maximize his sense of smell, he distanced himself from the magic stone.

The magic stone neutralized malicious energy. In other words, being away from the magic stone sharpened his animalistic instincts.

Smell, s*xual desire, agility, etc.

In any case, he couldn’t afford to faint again, so he used the eagle to ensure he could retrieve the almoner anytime.

He recalled the time when he lost the almoner in the palace of Sarr. He remembered the scent of Hinael he had caught while infiltrating the princess’s palace to find the almoner.

As the faint scent vividly crystallized in his mind, he buried his nose in the string. He inhaled deeply, drawing in the air.

Soon, the scent embedded in the string filled his lungs along with the cold air.

At that moment, his tightly closed eyes gleamed intensely.

“That’s right.”

Feeling dizzy, Lutz quickly blew the whistle.

The sharp sound pierced through the dense trees.

When the eagle landed, he reattached the almoner to his waist, took out a portable writing utensil, and wrote a brief letter.

He rolled a small piece of parchment and inserted it into the tube attached to the eagle’s leg, then sent it off again.

The letter indicated that he was moving north to track Hinael’s traces and from now on, to send information via the eagle.

Not that the information would be of much use.

It was clear that Lutz would find Hinael before his operatives sent any results.

Lutz rubbed his now stubbly chin.

“The mercenary leader didn’t join the group heading southwest. If not, he must have deviated midway to reach his destination.”

Mounting his horse, he turned its head north.

* * *

His hand trembled a few times as he tried to unlock the door. Chetter licked his lips repeatedly.

“Calm down, what’s wrong with you?”

Muttering as if he was scolding someone else, he grinned widely as soon as the lock clicked open.

Chetter picked up the tray he had set down and pushed the wooden door with his body.

“Your Highness, it’s time to eat.”

He called Hinael a few times, but there was no response.

Sensing something was wrong, he frowned.

He knew she was tired, but it was too quiet.

He placed the meal on the table with a thud and sat on the bed. Then, he looked down at Hinael, who showed no signs of waking, and touched her forehead.

She was burning with fever.

“Damn it… You really go to the extremes, don’t you! If you’re cold, at least cover yourself with a blanket, foolish girl.”

Curses rose up his throat like overflowing sewage.

Chetter irritably pulled the blanket over Hinael and slapped her face lightly.

“Your Highness. Princess.”

“…….”

“Hinael.”

When there was no response, Chetter irritably ran his tongue inside his mouth and pushed back his hair.

“Hoo… I didn’t come here to take care of you.”

But he couldn’t just leave her like this. He needed her to recover her health to bury himself inside her.

Just imagining it made him hard.

He looked at the fever-flushed Hinael and grabbed his c*ck. Rubbing the sensitive tip with his thumb, he muttered to himself.

“It’s not bad to save it for later. Please cry beautifully for me.”

He whispered softly and then suddenly frowned.

“That damn bastard handled you roughly. Here, and here, and here too.”

He checked each part of her body that had been scratched by branches. His touch was tender, a stark contrast to the man who had been cursing at her just moments ago.

He sighed deeply, as if the scratches were on his own body.

“We need to apply some medicine first and bring down the fever.”

Chetter brushed Hinael’s cheek with the back of his hand. When her eyebrows twitched, he let out a small laugh and kissed her eyelids before pulling away.

Then, he took the basin and left the room.

Even though he confirmed she was fast asleep, he never forgot to lock the door.

When the silence settled, Hinael’s eyes opened. She barely managed to lift her weak arm to rub the eyelid he had kissed.

Then she rubbed her nose.

Whenever Chetter sat or stood by the bed, his scent filled the room. It was so strong it brought back memories of her past life.

The scent Chetter favored was so overpowering that it made her already aching head feel like it would explode. The perfume, a blend of musk and floral notes, was intensely strong.

And when his fingers touched her face…

Hinael glared at the door with just her eyes.

“I hate this…”

Her voice came out harsh and broken. Despite her poor condition, she managed a faint smile, knowing her plan to fall ill had worked.

But she did not feel relieved about buying time.

He was an impatient man who could not contain his anger. Hadn’t he mercilessly killed his pregnant wife under the influence of his mistress?

If he found Hinael so detestable, he could have at least spared their child, but he showed no such humanity.

Though she had narrowly escaped his wrath today, there was no telling how long Chetter’s patience would last.

The medicine would take at least two days to show any improvement.

Hinael covered her feverish eyelids with her arm. She was too exhausted to think about anything else.

Her breathing was ragged, and her throat was so swollen that swallowing was painful. On top of that, she had a headache and chills.

Her entire body felt like it had been beaten with a club. Even the slightest movement made her skin ache.

‘I just want to disappear somewhere. It doesn’t have to be Trycas. I just want to run away to a place where no one is.’

She knew she couldn’t afford to be tired already…

But her illness made her mind weak. Tears trickled down from her eyes, hidden by her arm.

Chetter returned soon after. Luckily, he found Hinael after she had stopped crying and regained her composure.

“Your Highness, I’ll place the wet cloth first.”

Drip, drip―.

Water dripped into the basin as he wrung out the cloth.

Soon, the cold cloth covered her forehead. Hinael clenched her fists under the blanket to avoid shivering from the cold.

“We can’t let any scars mar your pretty face. We must apply medicine frequently to prevent scarring.”

Chetter chatted away as he carefully spread a precious ointment made from whale oil on her face.

After changing the wet cloth again, he fell silent.

He seemed to be gazing intently at her face.

Hinael focused all her attention on not swallowing her saliva. The more she tried not to think about it, the more saliva pooled in her mouth, making it difficult.

‘How long are you going to stay here? Just leave already!’

She silently screamed for him to leave.

The thick scent was suffocating her, and her empty stomach felt nauseous.

She held her breath to suppress the urge to vomit.

“Though it may not be a fake illness, I know you’re stalling for time to escape.”

Her entire body froze instantly.

“I also know you’re pretending to sleep.”

“…….”

“Let me tell you one thing. The only reason I haven’t eaten the fish I caught is that it’s fun to watch it swim in my pond.”

Hinael remained still. Though she had been caught, she couldn’t bring herself to meet Chetter’s mad gaze.

She feared her contempt would show on her face. Whether he knew or not, she shamelessly kept her eyes closed.

At that moment,

“Ah!”

A large hand suddenly slipped under the blanket and slid under her back.

“Are you awake?”

“What, what are you doing?”

“Your clothes are soaked with sweat. I need to change them.”

“No, it’s fine.”

“No, it’s not. If you get sick again after I’ve taken such good care of you, it would be a big problem.”

“I’ll change myself. So please leave.”

“Hey.”

Chetter, who had maintained a gentle demeanor, suddenly changed.

He grabbed her clothes roughly and pulled. Hinael’s body jerked from the force.

Desperately, she clutched her nearly torn clothes.

“I said I’ll change myself!”

“Do you still think you’re someone of noble status just because I’m playing along?”

“What… did you say?”

“Half of your blood is that of a lowly maid.”

He pointed his finger at her as if she were a cheap object. He had waited quietly until the trap snapped shut on her ankle, revealing his true nature.