For some reason, it felt like someone was tickling my heart with a feather. Feeling like I couldn’t help but squirm all over, I licked my lips when suddenly a warm, firm hand touched my cheek.

All thought stopped at once. No, the world stopped. When I barely rolled my eyes to look straight ahead, I could see Lars’s lips forming a faint smile.

“I’m glad you’re safe.”

Since he wasn’t someone who smiled often, this beautiful smile was truly powerful in its impact. It threw my heart deep into the ground and placed my empty shell on a bed of fire. It felt like warm sunshine melting on the tip of my tongue.

My reason had been completely spent on the chess game with the Count. All that remained in my mind now was the fact that he had worried about me and had raced through the rain, risking danger.

Lars’s gentle face, wiping away the dried tear stains on my cheeks as if finally relieved, encouraged my impulse. It pushed my back, urging me to move now, saying there wouldn’t be another chance. With clenched fists, I charged forward.

Of course, my target was his luscious rose-colored lips, but sadly, I was blocked by something much rougher. Lars, who had covered my lips with his palm, exhaled in disbelief.

“If you’re hungry, just say so, kid. Don’t just lunge at me.”

I’m the one who’s dumbfounded. To dismiss a woman’s pure feelings as mere hunger… Though he looked as fine as a statue, Lars was undoubtedly a cold-hearted man who didn’t understand a woman’s heart even as much as a fingernail.

“How does this look like I’m hungry?”

“You look like you’re going to eat someone, that’s why.”

“That’s because I want to……”

Raising my voice in irritation, I paused. I could already see his expression, snorting. The courage I had barely mustered had already hidden deep in my heart after just one blockage.

“You want to what?”

Lars, who had been looking at me calmly, asked bluntly. I stared at his deep eyes.

Would he listen if I told him? At best, he would treat it as a child’s play or ignore it.

I didn’t want to experience the heartbreaking sadness again, like when he threw the invitation into the fireplace. I was more afraid than when facing Count Balshwin. Being hit in the same place twice makes recovering slower.

Suppressing the feelings that were trying to burst out, I chewed my lips and answered.

“Sometimes I just want to bite things.”

My target lips parted loosely. Finding it difficult to find words readily, his cleanly extended eyes distorted unevenly.

“……You want to do what?”

“When I feel good, I want to bite things, that’s all. It’s like a habit. Maybe there was a werewolf among my ancestors. Even my hair is this color.”

Lars’s eyes narrowed as he clicked his tongue. I wiped my heated face with my sleeve and hugged the blanket. My voice came out cracked.

“But why did the Count come here? Surely not because he was curious about my chess skills.”

Looking at me as if seeing a strange animal, he soon shook his head and withdrew his gaze. Standing up, he poured water from a prepared bottle.

“Freemont goods coming through Rihasbin are being released into the market without passing through his hands, so he probably came to see the situation with his own eyes. Also to warn us, and to see the rumored Lucienne Bickman.”

“But is it okay to tell me this? You told me not to concern myself with merchant group business anymore.”

I blinked innocently as I received the water cup from him. However, Lars let out a small laugh, reading the slight expectation in my eyes. After quickly moistening my throat with water, I spoke.

“I made an impression on Count Balshwin. I beat him at chess. And the fact that he brought me the perfume bottle you lost means he’s saying he knows someone involved in this matter is close to me. Will you still not give me a chance?”

Lars, who had slowly crossed his arms, let out a long sigh and said.

“You knew Balshwin wouldn’t harm Kirhin even if he lost the game. Do you like becoming endangered so much?”

“What about you?”

I looked straight at him and asked.

“What are you dipping your feet into that danger for?”

His green eyes sank deep, following his thoughts. His lips, which had lowered his gaze, tilted askew.

“I was born into danger. I’m not just dipping my feet in it—I’m living in it.”

Suddenly, it occurred to her that his reason might be heavier than she had thought. Of course, considering he had the idea to oppose someone like Count Balshwin, whom everyone feared, it couldn’t be a trivial reason.

But whatever the reason, it didn’t matter. She shrugged her shoulders.

“Then worry about saving yourself. This isn’t the time to worry about others.”

“What?”

“Think simply. Use me if I seem helpful, discard me if I seem like a hindrance. Just think about yourself. I’ll only think about myself too.”

Lars looked at her with a stunned face and let out a hollow laugh. His gaze, which quickly turned indifferent, flew toward her.

“How is asking me to give you work to help me only thinking about yourself?”

“I’m doing it for the sake of the Bickman family and my own safety. The Bickman family’s prosperity means my prosperity.”

Lars, who had closed his eyes tightly at her smooth retort, rubbed his forehead. She stared at him intently while drinking water. With a faint sigh, he muttered.

“I really don’t know what to do with this troublemaker beyond my imagination.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to watch me jumping around in the palm of your hand? Rather than causing accidents outside your reach.”

“You……”

Lars raised his voice but stopped and let out another long sigh. His expression was similar to Kirhin’s when he was about to pull his hair out. She soon saw his face tinged with resignation. The victory trumpet was sounding.

“Fine. Do it.”

“Really?”

She raised her upper body with a jerk and knelt with her back straight. Lars, looking down at her with a disgruntled expression from beside the bed, nodded.

“The work has already started, and since the Count is watching, it might be less dangerous to do it openly. Then everyone will focus on Balshwin if anything happens to the Bickman family. That will indirectly bind his feet.”

“I understand what you mean. I’ll talk to my brother right away.”

As she tried to get off the bed, Lars’s arm blocked her.

“Where are you going? Rest a bit more.”

“I’m fine now.”

“No, you’re not. Your complexion hasn’t returned yet.”

Her heart pounded at his stern expression with furrowed brows. After biting her lips, she finally couldn’t hold back and smiled broadly. She couldn’t help it if her excited feelings flowed out.

“I’ll protect you. From that danger you live in.”

Lars’s lips, which had been looking at her coldly, slowly parted. For a moment, he tilted his head back and exhaled a heavy sigh. As she stared, mesmerized, at his prominent Adam’s apple, he ran his hand over his face and said with a sigh.

“Please worry about yourself, you rascal.”

Was it because of the sunset? The clean color of his earlobes seemed to be tinged slightly red. The corners of her mouth, having acquired a second title after troublemaker, were rising long.

* * *

The market was full of vitality. The streets were bustling with store owners calling for customers, porters carrying goods, and people who had come out to look around.

“Here, this is Freemont’s pride, a carpet made from beautiful white sheep’s wool. We have tablecloths, curtains, and even winter coats in our shop. Ah, just come and see first.”

“This is a basket made from the Lava tree that only grows in Freemont. You can see it’s shiny and sturdy, right? The price isn’t as expensive as you might think.”

“Have you ever seen teacups like these? They’re from Freemont. Ah, the soil is different, so the color of the pottery is naturally different. These patterns and dyes were actually only available to a few nobles in Edmus, but now anyone with money can buy them. There are more varieties inside—shall I show you the tea sets?”

People mainly gathered around shops selling Freemont goods. Whereas before, Freemont specialties could only be found in specific stores, now they could be seen in many places, to the extent that shops without any Freemont items were now struggling to attract customers.

“Where did they get all these goods from?”

“Has this person been locked up in some underground prison and just got out? How can news travel so slowly to you? The Nix merchant group has contracted with Freemont’s Rihasbin merchant group to bring in goods. There’s a much wider variety of products at lower prices—it’s been the talk of the town for a while.”

“I just arrived at the dock last night after bringing goods from the Shuka Peninsula. But why would the Count do this kind of business with the nearly bankrupt Nix merchant group……”

“It’s not Count Balshwin. It’s Baron Bickman.”

“What?”

“He publicly declared it to the merchant alliance last week. He said he would import Freemont goods through the Nix merchant group, and merchants who want to sell them should visit Nix anytime.”

“Oh my, tsk tsk. Would the Count just sit back and watch this? In the past, merchants who unknowingly imported Freemont goods all lost their lives.”