Romei slowly submerged herself in the bathtub, starting from her toes, and quietly leaned back. The muscle pain from her difficult meal seemed to vanish instantly.

“Ahh…”

When Romei let out a contented sigh, Barmas, who had already settled in the chair she had previously occupied, smiled and spoke, seemingly forgetting his earlier grumbling.

“You seem to be enjoying the bath quite a bit, Romei?”

“Maybe because eating was so difficult, but the warm water feels nice. The fragrance is pleasant too.”

“…Should I have bath water prepared after every meal?”

That was his response after contemplating something silently for a moment. His expression was too serious for it to be a simple joke.

Fearing she might end up taking three baths a day if she agreed, Romei shook her head.

“It’s fine. Once a day is enough.”

“…Alright. We won’t do it then.”

Though internally dissatisfied with her firm refusal, Barmas nodded in acceptance. He merely instructed the servant to maintain the water temperature by adding hot water when needed.

Meanwhile, Romei surrendered herself to the gentle touch of the servants.

They wiped her body with rough towels soaked in warm water, and perhaps due to Barmas’s orders, their handling was noticeably careful. She felt like a precious gem that couldn’t bear even the tiniest scratch.

Under their cautious ministrations, Romei pondered what Barmas had said to her.

‘Taste…’

In truth, Romei had never paid attention to or tried to discover her own preferences throughout her life.

She had aspired to become an ideal holy knight like Brodie, believing this was the way to repay him for taking her in.

Moreover, she considered it her duty to help those in need with the power she possessed.

Thus, Romei had strived to help others and fulfill her given mission, but rarely did anything for herself.

Of course, there was nothing wrong with her desire to help others or to emulate the person who had saved her life from the depths of misery.

However, this didn’t mean that being excessively indifferent to caring for oneself was commendable.

Ultimately, because Romei had thought too little about herself, she had to endure unbearable sacrifices, spending her time oscillating between suffering and death.

She hadn’t known her own limits, how much she could handle for the sake of others.

Suddenly, Romei recalled what Brodie and Aron had once told her:

‘Romei, fleeing from an opponent you cannot face is never a bad thing. Especially if that opponent is a demon, it requires even more courage.’

‘Our job is to track traces of demons, and we’ve trained for that, but if it seems dangerous, make sure to run away. In those moments, you don’t need to worry about justice or responsibility. Understand?’

Initially, she couldn’t comprehend their words, but now she understood. There are moments when running away is necessary rather than fighting against things beyond one’s capacity, even if the opponent isn’t necessarily a demon.

‘If only I had realized this a little earlier…’

Though she felt regretful, it was already spilled water, a thing of the past. Regretting irreversible events changed nothing.

‘Rather, I should focus on what I need to do now.’

She needed to restore her body, which couldn’t even walk properly, and also consider what to do about Barmas’s sincerity.

‘Yes, let’s just think about that for now.’

By the time Romei had sorted through her complicated thoughts, the bath was finished. The servants who had been washing her body tidied up the towels and rinsed her off one more time.

Then, after sitting her in a chair and drying her with a dry towel, they began drying her wet hair. Just then, the sound of wheels rolling could be heard, and a clothes rack arrived in front of Romei.

The rack was filled with nightgowns of various colors and designs. Faced with more options than she had anticipated, Romei sighed, unsure of what to choose.

“Ah…”

“Pick whatever you like.”

Barmas, who had been watching her all along, pointed to the rack with a nod of his chin.

Considering the thoughtfulness of whoever had prepared the clothes, Romei tried her best to sort through them and choose something that looked pretty to her eyes.

After putting clothes on hangers and taking them off about twenty times, Romei was finally able to select a gown she found suitable.

“I’ll take this one.”

“…”

The nightgown Romei chose with a smile had long sleeves and a simple design with almost no elaborate ruffle details.

Lace was added along the deeply cut neckline, and a ribbon tied just below the chest created slight gathers.

Lace fabric overlaid the chest area, appropriately concealing the shape of her n*pples while simultaneously adding a touch of interest to the otherwise plain design.

Nevertheless, it was plainer than Barmas had expected.

Normally, he would have berated Romei with harsher words, but things were different now.

Barmas swallowed what he was about to say habitually, surely something about how she could choose any dress she wanted yet picked such an insignificant one, and instead voiced a different sentence with the same meaning.

“…Isn’t it too plain? If you don’t like what I brought, I can have others brought in.”

However, for Romei, this was a sincere choice of something she genuinely liked, so she responded with puzzlement at Barmas’s reaction.

“I like this one.”

“There are more elaborate ones and many expensive ones too.”

Romei glanced at the other clothes hanging on the rack, then checked her chosen gown again. Her opinion remained unchanged.

“But this one looks good to my eyes.”

“…”

“Anything too flashy would be uncomfortable to wear. And expensive doesn’t always mean better, right?”

“…You might think that way, but generally, you get what you pay for.”

Since Romei said she liked it, Barmas couldn’t argue further. He resolved to prepare more valuable and elaborate options next time without her noticing, and added:

“Well, anyway… you chose a pretty one.”

Barmas awkwardly complimented Romei’s taste, following what he had learned from countless books he had read. This pleased Romei, who responded with a gentle smile:

“Right? I thought this one looked pretty.”

“…”

While Barmas was too entranced by that beautiful smile to respond, Romei changed into her chosen nightgown with the help of the servants.

“Would you like to check in the mirror?”

“Yes, please.”

Romei sat before the mirror, supported by a servant.

The fabric must have been of good quality, for it felt soft against her skin immediately upon wearing it, and she liked the design just as much as the comfort.

Of course, her complexion was still poor, and she looked sickly due to having lost all her muscle, leaving only bones, but wearing new clothes somehow lifted her spirits.

‘This is a good outfit for a new beginning. I’m wearing clothes that I chose for myself.’

As Romei nodded with a pleased smile at her reflection in the mirror, the servant standing beside her spoke:

“Do you like it?”

“Very much so.”

“…”

“What do you think? It looks better than expected when worn, doesn’t it?”

Romei asked Barmas, who had been standing in a daze while she changed clothes.

Only then did Barmas snap back to his senses and carefully examine Romei in her new attire.

The seemingly plain nightgown, combined with her golden hair that flowed long enough to touch the chair and her clear blue eyes looking at him, created a sacred atmosphere.

Perhaps because her sitting posture was proper and upright, she looked elegant regardless of her original status.

Romei possessed a beauty that resembled an angel briefly manifesting on earth.

After staring at Romei without a word, Barmas finally spoke after a long while.

“You’re… too beautiful.”

He frowned while saying this. His expression was serious, as though something impossible had happened before his eyes.

Wondering if he was forcing himself to say something he didn’t mean, Romei asked again:

“If it doesn’t suit me, just say so honestly. You used to say I looked like someone choosing clothes for the first time when I picked something before. You don’t need to force yourself to compliment me.”

Whenever past embarrassing incidents came out of Romei’s mouth, Barmas was busy regretting his actions and thinking about how to make amends for his misdeeds, but this time was different.

Something far more important was before his eyes.

“I’ve never seen or believed in the existence of a deity in my entire life, but you’re beautiful enough to make me slightly believe, Romei.”

“…That much?”

When a demon, of all beings, told her she was beautiful enough to inspire faith in divinity, Romei asked in disbelief. Barmas nodded, still with a contorted face.

“That much. It’s absolutely impossible, but it’s like an angel has come to visit.”

She had expected to hear at most that she looked pretty, nice, or decent, or perhaps some negative comment from him, but this unexpected praise made Romei feel somewhat embarrassed.

Barmas seemed to notice this, quickly erasing his serious expression and speaking with a hint of playfulness:

“Are they using appearances for missionary work on earth these days? Everyone would line up to believe in God just after exchanging greetings with you.”