***

Chronosa and Anankeus blended in with the merchant caravan quietly.

In a way, this was only natural.

After all, people were constantly coming and going from merchant caravans.

No one asked unnecessary questions.

Nor did anyone expect answers.

Merchant caravans were driven solely by profit and valued discretion above all else, so Chronosa understood exactly why Anankeus had chosen to travel with one.

Sometimes…

The simple advantage of keeping silent outweighed countless others.

Before long, the caravan hired a few more mercenaries.

Those who knew nothing of their circumstances naturally assumed that Chronosa was simply another piece of merchandise.

“So she really is a demon.”

Her jet-black hair peeking out from beneath her hood…

And the occasional glimpse of her crimson eyes.

There was no doubt.

“She really is. I thought she might be, but…”

“I miss my mother.”

Most of them had one demon parent.

For many of them, that parent was a pitiful mother who had been captured and enslaved

So this wasn’t the first demon they had seen.

They did not feel any instinctive fear or revulsion towards them.

What struck them as unusual was how unsteady she was on her feet.

And that she was unnaturally quiet.

Yet it was obvious at a glance that she was a high-ranking noble.

More importantly…

Accompanying that noble was a priest.

In Holy Arboas, of all places.

Stories of people falling in love during the mating season were not uncommon.

But this particular pairing was impossible to comprehend.

“Isn’t this… a little dangerous?”

One of the satyrus muttered under his breath,

“A priest and a demon.”

It was extremely dangerous.

Thinking they might get dragged into trouble if fortune turned against them, they approached Chronosa cautiously.

At the very least, they wanted to understand the situation.

If they were ever implicated by association, they would at least have something to say in their defense.

“Um… my name is Penelope. If you don’t mind, may I ask you something?”

—”Hmm?”

Compared to the stern and intimidating priest…

They decided it would be easier to approach the demon, so Penelope stepped forward to represent them.

The demon woman merely opened and closed her mouth like a goldfish.

Her lips were clearly moving as if she were speaking, but Penelope couldn’t understand a word she said.

Not even the faintest breath escaped her lips.

Only an unsettling silence lingered between them.

Penelope finally realized why the demon woman had been so quiet.

It wasn’t because she had chosen to remain silent.

She simply couldn’t speak.

“Can… can you not talk?”

Chronosa nodded.

Her pitch-black hair, so dark that not even the sunlight revealed a hint of brown, rippled gently like waves.

The unmistakable affirmation left Penelope shifting nervously from foot to foot.

“W-What should we do?”

—”…”

Chronosa was just as frustrated.

Only now did she realize that everyone around her had received a proper education.

Even the illegitimate child from that tiny fiefdom had received one.

In the end, Chronosa dipped her fingertip into some water and lowered it to the wagon floor.

One by one, grey letters appeared on the dusty wooden boards.

—”Can you read?”

“Uh…”

Judging by her awkward expression, Penelope probably couldn’t.

Still, she was quick to grasp the situation.

Lifting her head, Penelope called out loudly.

“Athanasios!”

“What?”

“Come over here for a second!”

“Ah… what is it this time?”

Grumbling under his breath, a man opened the rear door of the wagon and climbed inside behind Chronosa.

Just as Chronosa felt a sharp prickling sensation at the back of her neck—

Smack!

A sharp clap echoed through the wagon.

“Oh, you’ve been bitten by a bug on the back of your neck. It looks like it just happened. Penelope, burn some mint right away.”

A bug?

Chronosa instinctively reached up and covered the back of her neck.

The skin beneath her fingers, hidden amongst her hair, felt smooth.

If she had really been bitten, the skin would have swollen up.

It would have been swollen.

Eventually, Athanasios tilted his head in confusion.

“…But are there even bugs around in weather like this?”

Come to think of it…

Although spring was just around the corner, it was still the bitter end of winter.

Were there really any insects around at this time of year?

The moment that thought crossed her mind…

She felt a familiar breath gently brushing against the back of her neck.

Gentle hands caressed her body.

A low, soothing voice spoke.

The quiet rhythm of his breathing lingered in her ears like a fading illusion.

Ah…

Of course.

These were your lingering traces.

The warmth of those tender nights remained.

The illusion lasted only a moment, but the warmth it left behind sent a faint ache through her body.

She had grown so accustomed to that warmth.

To the way his breath naturally drew close and enveloped her.

To the tenderness he had always shown her.

None of it had truly left her.

And yet…

Where was the man who had given her all that in this place where he seemed so out of place?

“What does it say here?”

“She asked if you can read. Honestly, I’ve been telling you to learn your letters for ages.”

“Why bother when I’ve got you? Um… there’s actually something I wanted to ask.”

—“Hmm?”

Chronosa blinked, pulled out of her thoughts by the question that had been directed at her.

For that brief instant…

The strange, captivating charm she exuded caused Penelope and Athanasios to swallow unconsciously.

Penelope’s voice faltered naturally.

“Um… well… what exactly is your relationship with the priest?”

—”Uh…”

What was their relationship?

How would Anankeus have answered if someone had asked him the same question?

How would he have responded?

Even Chronosa couldn’t find the right words to describe what lay between them.

She wished she could answer with the same certainty she once had.

He was the High Priest of Arboas, and she was the Princess of Belphegor.

There could be no clearer way to describe their relationship.

But…

She could no longer bring herself to say those words.

No.

More than that.

Chronosa herself no longer wanted to define it that way.

A faint, bittersweet smile touched her lips.

Once again, she dipped her fingertips into the water and wrote quietly on the wooden floor.

It didn’t take Athanasios long to read it.

“Master… and slave?”

Penelope and Athanasios exchanged glances.

They had also clearly sensed the strange atmosphere between Chronosa and Anankeus.

The two of them seemed like an old married couple.

Each was gazing at the person who mattered most to them in the world.

And yet…

Was that really the kind of bond shared between a master and a slave?

At last, Penelope slowly turned back towards Chronosa, her movements as stiff as a puppet’s.

Her voice trembled.

“Then… could it be that your leg… was that also… done by the priest on purpose…?”

—”Hmm? My leg?”

“And… your inability to speak… too?”

Her blue eyes, trembling with fear, drifted towards Chronosa’s neck.

When she saw the vivid red scar etched across it, her eyes widened in horror.

She had heard countless stories and seen enough herself to know how cruel masters could be to their slaves.

Usually, though, slaves were considered valuable property and a source of labor.

They weren’t usually abused to the point of permanent bodily damage.

“I-I’ve heard stories like this before… but I never imagined I’d see it with my own eyes…”

—”That’s not it…”

Unable to read Chronosa’s lips, Penelope sighed quietly.

With unshed tears shimmering in her eyes, she gently took both of Chronosa’s hands in hers.

It was as if she was trying to offer whatever comfort she could.

In fact, she had completely misunderstood the situation.

But Chronosa felt no need to correct her.

After all, they would only be travelling together for a few months before going their separate ways.

And then…

A second misunderstanding arose during dinner.

After travelling all day, the merchant caravan stopped to camp and pitched their tents.

Soon afterwards, a simple meal was served.

Perhaps it was because of the conversation they had shared earlier that day…

Or maybe it was because she had started to feel responsible for looking after Chronosa.

Penelope stayed close by her side, practically taking it upon herself to act as her attendant.

Because of that…

She couldn’t help but notice it.

“Why aren’t you eating?”

—”Hmm?”

Chronosa lowered her gaze to the food she had left behind.

In fact…

She had eaten more than usual.

She had finished half a bowl of thin soup and half a loaf of coarse bread.

If Beroe had seen her now…

She would probably have cried tears of joy.

Though…

She never would.

—“I always… eat like this.”

Unable to understand a word Chronosa was saying, Penelope slowly clenched her fists.

She then turned to look at Anankeus, who was sitting with the mercenaries a short distance away.

Sensing her gaze, he quietly looked back.

Their eyes met.

Having barely spent any time together over the past few days, a quiet melancholy passed between them.

However, it was only Penelope whose face suddenly flushed bright red.

She quickly looked away.

After a brief moment of silence, she bit her lip and muttered something.

“Priest… I never thought you were this kind of person.”

“I’m… very disappointed.”

—”What are you talking about?”

“Just how much have you been starving her…?”

Penelope murmured, hurriedly wiping away the tears gathering in her eyes.

She was all too familiar with the *buse most slaves endured at the hands of their parents.

This cycle of suffering often continued into their own lives.

That was why she reacted the way she did.

—“That’s not it…”

Chronosa murmured helplessly.

There was no doubt about it.

An enormous misunderstanding was steadily growing between them.