Barmas barely suppressed his smile, knowing that laughing here might lead Romei to call him crazy or make the situation even more difficult. He answered casually.

“That might be true. Like moths flying into flames, sometimes people fall for something even while knowing it’s dangerous.”

“…”

When no further response came from Romei, Barmas asked while properly tucking the blanket around her.

“Do you plan to sleep all day today?”

“…”

“You won’t wash up either?”

“…”

Romei didn’t answer any of his questions, but Barmas showed no sign of displeasure. He simply nodded, acting like her silence had already given him the answer.

“Alright. It’s fine if you want to sleep, but spare me a moment before that.”

“…”

“There’s something I wanted to give you when you woke up.”

With those words, Barmas carefully took Romei’s wrist.

The restraint that had become so much a part of her that she’d forgotten its existence was still there. Despite having lost considerable weight, making her wrists much thinner than before, the restraint wrapped around her wrist perfectly, leaving no gaps.

Barmas gently stroked her forearm with his fingertips, infusing them with magical power. The restraint immediately split open on both sides and dropped onto the bed.

“…”

Romei stared at the object that had fallen onto the bed before shifting her gaze to Barmas, seemingly asking what he was doing.

However, he acted oblivious to her gaze and proceeded to remove the restraints on her other hand and both ankles one by one.

The things that had prevented her from using her holy power or escaping from him were now gone. Without any reason given.

She felt a strange sense of liberation in her wrists and ankles that she had never experienced before.

Romei couldn’t understand why he would remove the restraints when he had refused to let her die or leave him.

Meanwhile, Barmas gently caressed the faint marks on her wrist with his thumb and said:

“I’m sorry. I forgot to remove these.”

“…Why are you taking them off?”

“Just… thought they might be uncomfortable.”

“For such a trivial reason?”

Romei asked incredulously.

She had worn them continuously since arriving here and had nearly forgotten their existence. There was no way he would remove such restraints simply because they might be uncomfortable.

Not Barmas, of all people.

However, Barmas seemed sincere, nodding readily at her question.

“Yes.”

“…”

“Isn’t it natural for a holy knight to use holy power?”

“…”

“There’s even a wicked devil right in front of you, so kill me if you want to. I’ll specially permit you.”

Romei stared up at Barmas in astonishment, blinking slowly while trying to determine whether he was being serious or joking.

“…You’re saying this deliberately, knowing I can’t kill you, right?”

No matter how much her holy power had returned, Romei couldn’t kill Barmas.

He was an exceptionally evil devil with immense strength. Even if she risked her life to attack him, she had absolutely no chance of winning.

Surely he was making a joke, knowing this full well.

However, contradicting Romei’s thoughts, Barmas guided her hand that he had been caressing to his heart.

Romei’s palm touched his chest. Since Barmas was wearing only a poet’s shirt, just one layer of cloth separated her from his vital point.

Before she could even be surprised, Barmas calmly instructed her on how to kill him.

“Here. This is where my heart is located and the source of my magical power. If this area is penetrated, both my physical body and magical power would be destroyed beyond recovery.”

“…”

“To kill me properly, it would be most efficient to condense your holy power to its maximum, shape it like an arrow, and pierce through in one go. Devils with power like mine have tough bodies, making them harder to penetrate than you might think.”

“…”

“It’s best to aim carefully between the ribs. Angling upward diagonally would be physically the easiest approach. With this information, even a novice-level holy knight could easily kill me with practice. Well, since you’ve trained diligently all this time, it shouldn’t be too difficult for you.”

“…Why are you telling me this?”

Romei, who had been quietly listening to him, asked. Her hand was still fixed on Barmas’s chest, precisely on the spot where his weakness lay.

Through her palm, she could feel his heartbeat. For someone who had just revealed his weakness and method of killing him in detail, his heart was beating steadily and rhythmically.

With a face as calm as his heartbeat, Barmas answered her question.

“Weren’t you asking me to teach you how to kill me?”

“…”

“I thought you were saying holy power that couldn’t even kill me was useless.”

“That’s not it.”

Romei corrected his misunderstanding with a voice that seemed to swallow a sigh.

“What I want to know is the real reason you removed the restraints. And whether you’re sincere about letting me kill you.”

“…But you must have wanted to kill me at least once, so isn’t this good?”

Barmas asked. His voice suddenly dropped lower. A slight shadow fell across his expression.

“Perhaps you wanted to kill me the entire time you were with me.”

“…”

“It’s because of me that you want to die, isn’t it? So at least once, at least one time, you must have wished for my death. Isn’t that right?”

Barmas added with a self-mocking sneer. Though his tone remained calm, she could feel his heart beating rapidly. The hand holding her wrist was also trembling slightly.

Not understanding why he was trembling like this, Romei answered.

“I’ve never thought about wanting to kill you.”

“…”

“I have no desire to kill you, nor do I think I could. After all, you were just doing your job.”

“…What exactly is my job?”

“Tormenting me, enjoying my suffering, and finally making me yours.”

At Romei’s answer, Barmas’s face contorted momentarily. He looked hurt, but there was no anger in his eyes as he looked at her. Only intense self-loathing occupied that space.

Looking at Barmas’s expression, Romei suddenly realized why he was acting this way, so she said:

“Nothing will change no matter what you do.”

Romei’s voice was clear, distinct, and precise, which only pierced Barmas’s heart more painfully.

When he remained silent, still holding her wrist, Romei, thinking he hadn’t understood what she meant, drove the point home.

“I’m telling you that no matter how well you treat me, my resolve will never change.”

“…”

“Barmas, you’re under a misapprehension.”

“What misapprehension?”

“The misapprehension that I’m someone precious to you.”

“…”

Romei spoke with genuine sincerity, but Barmas frowned and squeezed his eyes shut, seemingly denying reality.

Romei tried to convince him.

“My choice to save my friends was entirely my own. It’s my fault, my misjudgment, my mistake, so it’s ‘my’ responsibility. I’m simply too weak to endure anymore.”

“…”

“You don’t need to feel sorry for me, you don’t need to understand my feelings, and you don’t need to try to hold onto me with talk of love or whatever. Just discard me with contempt, thinking I’m a pathetic human who couldn’t keep a single promise to you.”

“…”

“And with time, you’ll meet someone else, perhaps someone with a soul that appeals to you much more than mine. Then later, you’ll regret wasting your time and effort. So…”

“…It doesn’t matter.”

Barmas cut off Romei’s words and replied. Despite his expression showing self-loathing and deep wounds, his answer was extremely resolute.

Romei’s words remained unfinished, scattered in the air. She couldn’t continue speaking. She could only stare blankly at Barmas.

He said:

“The confession I made that day, and the apology, they were all sincere. But you didn’t believe me.”

“…”

“But it’s okay if you don’t believe me. It’s fine if you don’t even feel like forgiving me. I’ll stay by your side until you believe me, and I won’t leave your side. Not unless I die.”

“…”

“If you really want me to discard you, then kill me, Romei. If death comes from you, I’ll gladly welcome it anytime.”

Saying this, Barmas smiled.

He smiled by pulling up one corner of his mouth crookedly, but there was no mockery in it. Rather, he looked perfectly happy while kissing Romei’s wrist.

Each time his lips touched her wrist, Romei flinched slightly.

Partly because she was startled by the warmth that was once so familiar but now had become quite strange, but more because some kind of intense emotion he possessed seemed to be transmitted through their touching skin.

‘Am I that precious to him? Enough to risk his life…?’

No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn’t believe she held that much value to Barmas.

But it was also difficult to think this was just a ploy to keep her by his side. If it truly were a ploy, he wouldn’t have taught her his weakness without her even asking.