The smell of earth mixed with the cold wind filled her lungs deeply.

Sel slowly opened her eyes and rose from her place. It was a bluish dawn.

Despite the cold wind blowing outside, the inside of the hut was warm.

The campfire was still burning hotly, spreading its warmth.

Usually, after experiencing something traumatic, the next day felt like an extension of the previous one—dark and heavy, trapped in the pain and resentment of yesterday.

But today felt different, strangely so.

Yesterday’s events felt like they belonged entirely to yesterday.

Sel sat still, organizing her thoughts.

It was like drawing a line in the ground with a stick, clearly sorting out her feelings.

The recovery was quicker than she expected, for several reasons.

She had cried enough to release her emotions, and she had also slept deeply.

But above all, the biggest reason was the man entering the hut against the twilight behind him, standing by her side.

“You’re up early.”

His eyes were shadowed with dark circles, suggesting he hadn’t slept all night.

His hair was wet again.

“Did you wash up?” Sel asked in a hoarse voice.

Lavi mumbled vaguely, saying he had just been out somewhere.

Through her still blurry vision, she noticed Lavi’s pants. There were stains darker than his black trousers, and she could smell blood, suggesting he had been out hunting.

An awkward silence lingered between them.

Sel simply scratched her head and blinked at Lavi.

“…I’ve told you not to look at people like that, blinking away like that. It was hard enough during the dawn, but now in the morning too. Damn it.”

“What?”

“Clean up your spot quickly!” Lavi snapped.

Sel muttered under her breath, wondering why her commander was acting like this. She quickly folded up the blanket and fixed her appearance.

Feeling a bit exposed, she looked down at herself. Wearing only Lavi’s oversized T-shirt, her bare thighs were exposed.

“Commander, I need to change clothes…”

Just as she spoke, she saw Lavi’s face turning pale, as if he might collapse.

“Commander?”

When Sel called him, Lavi snapped out of it and threw something at her face.

The bundle of fabric smacked Sel in the face with a slap.

“Ow! Why would you throw something at my face like that?”

“It’s a spare pair of clothes! Put it on quickly. No one’s interested in your skinny, pale legs!”

Sel looked down at the bundle in her hands. As Lavi said, it was a pair of spare pants.

“Where did you get these…”

Before she could finish her sentence, Lavi had already left the hut.

Outside, he seemed upset, stomping the ground and kicking at random trees.

“What’s gotten into him now?”

Sel, pouting, brushed off the pants and slipped her legs into them.

The pants were way too large, both in length and width—it was clearly Lavi’s clothing.

“Did he come from the campsite? If he was going to bring something, he could’ve grabbed my own clothes instead of these that don’t fit at all,” she thought.

She rolled up the long cuffs, but the waistband was still loose.

Holding the waistband with her hands for now, Sel stepped outside the hut.

Outside, there was an enormous pile of firewood, enough to last all winter.

“Commander, I’m done changing.”

Lavi stopped his stomping and looked at Sel.

With his hands on his hips, he pointed at her in disbelief.

“You can’t even wear pants properly?”

“They’re too big…”

For some reason, Lavi started grumbling again, clearly irritated about something.

In a way, he was a good superior.

Trying to match his temper was enough of a distraction that it made her forget about yesterday’s events.

Sel let out a deep sigh, looking down at the oversized waistband.

Lavi grabbed a thick vine wrapped around a tree and approached her.

He exhaled sharply as he wrapped the vine around the belt loops like a makeshift belt.

“Are your hands just for show? Huh? You could’ve done this instead of just holding it and blinking!”

Despite his rough words, his thick hands moved with surprising delicacy.

He tied a neat bow with the remaining vine in front, contrasting with his coarse language.

“Thank you.”

“You’re good at saying thanks, at least.”

He nearly let slip a compliment about how it made her look even cuter.

Lavi clamped his mouth shut, then crouched down in front of Sel, showing her his back.

Just like yesterday, he was offering to carry her.

“I can walk now, Commander.”

“Just get on.”

“It feels like a burden…”

“My back is a burden to you? Is that it?”

Lavi stood up and turned to face Sel.

He swiftly slid his arms under her knees and back, lifting her up effortlessly.

“Like this. I’ll carry you in front, then?”

Lavi looked down at Sel with a straight face, as if it didn’t matter to him at all.

“No, that’s not what I meant…!”

Seeing her flustered expression, Lavi smirked.

He cradled Sel in his arms like a princess and started walking.

His sharp nose and straight lips briefly curved up before returning to their usual place.

As time went on, Sel felt increasingly embarrassed.

Due to the close position, her view kept drifting to his bare upper body.

In the past, she had simply admired his physique, but now, she found herself feeling embarrassed.

To avoid staring at his well-defined pectoral muscles, she tilted her head upward.

Above her line of sight, she could see his perfectly sculpted face.

Lavi was a Sword Master and the leader of their mercenary group.

Having faced countless battles, Lavi only bore one visible scar—above his eyebrow.

His body was flawless, like a statue made of melted milk caramel, without even a scratch.

In a way, it was impressive and chilling at the same time.

It signified that there were almost no enemies capable of even touching him with a blade.

“…My face isn’t exactly indestructible, you know?” he muttered, displeased.

Caught off guard, Sel quickly turned her head away, staring into the distance.

She saw oak trees rising sharply, scattered everywhere.

Sel, with her hands politely folded on her stomach, felt like a stiff log being carried to the campsite.

The walk back took much longer.

Lavi, who usually had long, brisk strides, was walking at a slow, leisurely pace, like an old man strolling in his yard.

Even the tips of Lavi’s ears, red from embarrassment, didn’t seem to cool down easily despite the cold autumn breeze.

However, Sel, who was stiffly turning her head and staring into space, didn’t notice.

It was near the camp when Lavi and Sel arrived that Eric came running from afar. Normally dressed in a silk gown at night, Eric, unusually, was still in his formal uniform.

“Sel!”

Eric called out her name, scanning her condition immediately.

Seeing Sel wearing Lavi’s oversized clothes, Eric frowned.

He didn’t even spare a glance at Lavi, who was carrying her.

“Are you… alright?” Eric’s tone was serious, and he gave Lavi a meaningful look.

Lavi’s expression turned sour.

“What’s with that look? Do you think I might have hit Sel or something?”

Lavi, annoyed, snapped back, but Eric ignored him, focusing solely on Sel.

“…Are you really alright?” he repeated, still staring at her intensely.

Sel’s gaze faltered for a moment, unsure of how to explain what happened with Dwayne.

“Dwayne…” she began.

Hearing Dwayne’s name, Eric finally looked relieved and nodded.

Eric had been concerned that if something had happened, Lavi might have been involved. However, seeing Sel mention Dwayne, he understood that was not the case.

Though Eric knew Lavi was not the type to do such things, Lavi’s recent behavior towards Sel had been unusually suspicious.

To be safe, Eric had been trying to gauge the situation from Sel’s expression.

“Dwayne threatened you yesterday, didn’t he? I heard you managed to subdue him well. On top of that, it turns out he was the real culprit behind the infamous serial murders from three years ago.”

Somehow, Eric seemed fully informed about everything.

“When Dwayne failed in his plan to kill you, he fled the safe zone. Then, he went missing,” Eric explained. “Feeling betrayed by Dwayne, you and Lavi spent the night training in the forest to calm your nerves.”

Eric kindly offered this explanation to help Sel know what to say when she returned to the camp.

Sel, having been set down from Lavi’s arms, nodded quietly.

The mercenaries were gathered near the campfire, having their morning meal.

As soon as Sel appeared, they all called out her name in unison.

They all seemed visibly worried about her.

“Sel, are you alright? It must have been so upsetting. Being betrayed by a fellow mercenary…”

Philip hurried over to check on her, his face looking gaunt as if he hadn’t slept.

Choro and Braeden also offered their words of comfort.

“That bastard Dwayne, he always gave me the creeps. I had a feeling he’d pull something like this.”

“But I heard you kneed him right in the gut! They say he flew 30 feet from that hit. How dare he try to stab you in the back like that? What a cowardly, stupid fool!”

Philip exclaimed, punching the air triumphantly, while Braeden chuckled.

“They say he was a serial killer. He was the one behind those murders three years ago where women’s heads were cut off.”

“He got what he deserved. I heard he ran off and accidentally disturbed a giant ant nest, and they tore him apart. Serves him right.”

Choro smirked, crossing his arms, his eyes gleaming with satisfaction.

The burn scars covering most of his face twisted into a fierce smile.

“Giant ants?” Sel narrowed her eyes, unfamiliar with the creature.

“Oh, right. You wouldn’t have seen them during this expedition,” Choro explained. “They’re nocturnal creatures that move in swarms. Quite a nuisance. They ripped Dwayne to shreds.”

Sel shivered slightly, imagining the horrific scene described by Choro.

Choro shook his head, commenting that it was a fitting end for a villain.

Philip leaned closer to Sel, covering his mouth with his hand as he whispered.

“They found the body parts just over there. Gion discovered them and almost fainted. He said he’d never seen such a gruesome corpse before.”

Philip shuddered, grimacing as he wiggled his fingers in the air, as if imagining something horrific.

“It’s incredible. How could he have been sleeping so soundly, not even hearing the ants approaching? If I had seen it, I would have killed them all,” Braeden remarked, sneering with disdain at the mention of the giant ants.

“Enough, Braeden. Last night, your snoring was the loudest. You wouldn’t have noticed even if an elephant walked by,” Philip shot back.

“You little brat, lately you’ve been getting too bold,” Braeden retorted, narrowing his eyes.

“You always bring up age only when it suits you,” Philip quipped.

The two began bickering playfully, clearly accustomed to these kinds of exchanges.

Sel, standing between them, fell into deep thought. Her blue eyes slowly drifted towards Lavi, who was engaged in conversation with Eric.

“He should die. In the most gruesome way possible.”

When Lavi had asked her what kind of punishment she thought Dwayne deserved, she had answered like that.

In a very quiet voice, she had muttered that she wanted him to be torn apart.

Yes, she distinctly remembered.

As if sensing her gaze, Lavi’s deep green eyes turned towards Sel.

Noticing her, Lavi gave a faint, cryptic smile before turning back to his conversation with Eric.

No way, she thought. It couldn’t be.

Lavi, who sometimes acted like a child and could get easily irritated, was also a kind person.

He didn’t seem like someone who could brutally tear another person apart.

After staring at Lavi for a long while, Sel eventually returned to her tent.

Her tent was exactly as she had left it, as if nothing had happened.

There, a thick sleeping bag that didn’t belong to her was still spread out, soft and inviting.