Chapter 9

“I don’t want to.”

Ibi answered immediately with a carefree smile, as though she had not even considered the matter.

Hedius’s eyebrow twitched.

“If you are worried that I haven’t withdrawn my suspicions, then it no longer matters to me who you are or where you came from. But there is nothing to be gained by you staying here when you aren’t even a bandit. As you know, this is also a village filled with people who make their living as bandits…”

“But that’s okay! Everyone is so kind! And Leo asked me to stay with him.”

At Ibi’s hurried yet confident reply, Hedius quietly swallowed a sigh.

When he realized that there was no point trying to reason with her anymore, his gaze darkened instantly.

“Tanto will escort you outside the forest. So don’t worry.”

Hedius opened a drawer and took out an eye mask, handing it to Ibi.

“Just in case, you’ll have to wear this on the way out. But if you sleep until you arrive, the journey should be tolerable enough.”

Forced to take the eye mask, Ibi opened her eyes wide and asked,

“Why? I’m not leaving. I told you I’m staying by Leo’s side.”

Hedius raised one well-shaped eyebrow.

‘Did she not understand anything I explained to her?’

His gaze settled on Ibi.

Her fluffy, long pink hair.

Her large, clear eyes, as blue and bright as the sky on a cloudless day, and her delicate, snow-white skin.

Above all, her arms looked as though they might break if someone grabbed them, and her dazzling appearance was far too out of place for someone belonging to a bandit group.

If Hedius himself was a dark night, then this woman was a bright morning.

In other words, she stood out far too much.

That was undoubtedly why his eyes had kept being drawn toward her whenever she wandered around the village.

Hedius was certain that his decision had nothing to do with personal feelings.

He had already confirmed through her actions that she was not targeting Leo.

But regardless of how innocent she might be, there was nothing good about having someone so conspicuous staying here.

Of course, that wasn’t the only reason he had called her here.

If that had been his sole reason, he could simply have ordered one of his subordinates to escort her out.

‘I suppose I was being too indirect.’

There was another reason Hedius had personally summoned Ibi.

His expression unreadable, he tried once again to persuade her.

“Are you really asking because you don’t understand the reason? As you know, this is a bandit group. This isn’t a place where an ordinary person like you can stay. You could easily end up getting caught in danger yourself.”

Ibi tilted her head to one side.

“Does Hess dislike me because I’m not good enough?”

Hedius was speechless.

He had never even considered whether he liked or disliked her in the first place.

“But now this is the only home I have, you know?”

“Ibi.”

“…I was abandoned, Hess.”

“That can’t be true. Your family must have…”

“It’s true!”

“……”

“They said they didn’t need me. That I’m stupid, incapable, and useless. They said having someone like me around would only make things difficult.”

Tears gathered at the corners of Ibi’s eyes.

Her pitiful expression looked far too genuine to have been fabricated.

“They said I was useless… So they abandoned me.”

She fidgeted with her lips before continuing.

“That’s how I was abandoned…”

Hedius quietly swallowed.

Memories of the past came rushing back, and Hedius lowered his head.

“You want us to take you into a dungeon? Are you kidding? Do you think we look easy to you? Do you think everything is some kind of joke?”

“Never show your face in front of us again.”

“You should be grateful for even this much, F-rank.”

Hedius remained silent.

I could feel his gaze resting on me, but I had no idea what he was thinking.

I had desperately tried appealing to him because I knew he took in people who had been abandoned.

But what if even that didn’t work?

Anxiety began to creep in.

The only thing I could hear was the rapid thump, thump of my heartbeat.

‘Please… I can’t leave like this.’

The longer Hedius’s intense gaze remained fixed on me, the hotter my cheeks became, as though they had been burned.

After a long silence, Hedius finally opened his mouth.

It was at the exact moment when I could no longer endure his gaze and squeezed my eyes shut.

“That is enough. I understand what you want.”

His answer came with a short sigh.

“Huh?”

I opened my eyes in surprise and looked up at Hedius.

But even though I wanted to believe it was a positive answer, his expression remained cold.

“Do not misunderstand. This does not mean that I completely trust you. If you attempt anything foolish at any point, the arrangement I am making now will no longer apply.”

‘Does that mean… he’s going to let me stay?’

His words were closer to a warning than anything else.

But I was too relieved to care about such a minor detail.

‘Thank goodness. I can stay by Leo’s side.’

Then I suddenly looked at Hedius’s hand.

‘When I held his hand during our first meeting, his expression changed. He looked as though I’d somehow grabbed hold of his weakness.’

Could it be that he was the type of person who became weak when someone touched him?

If so, perhaps it would work again this time.

I suddenly stepped toward Hedius and grabbed one of his hands with both of mine.

“!”

Hedius took a step back, looking genuinely startled.

But I furrowed my eyebrows and spoke seriously.

“I’ll help you, Hess.”

Perhaps because my tone was much more serious than before, Hedius also adopted a solemn expression and met my eyes.

He seemed to be telling me to continue.

“It’s true. They say that if you take good care of an injured bird, it will repay your kindness many times over. Can’t you think of me as one of those poor, pitiful birds?”

“…A bird that repays kindness many times over.”

Hedius let out a hollow laugh and spoke quietly in his deep voice.

“But what should I do about that?”

He bent slightly at the waist, bringing his face closer to mine.

“I cannot yet tell whether you are a pitiful little bird or a cunning wildcat. …I told you.”

Sunlight streamed through the gap in the curtains, making his golden eyes flash.

“I have not accepted you yet.”

My own eyes trembled violently, as though I were facing a storm.

“Hess.”

After staring at me for a long while, Hedius straightened his back again.

“However, since you are so desperately insisting upon your innocence, I will give you a chance.”

I let out a deep breath of relief.

I had been given a chance.

That meant all I had to do from now on was prove myself.

If I could only earn his trust…

“But it seems you have a habit of grabbing other people’s hands so casually.”

Hedius lowered his eyelids and looked down at my two hands, which were clutching his as though they were a lifeline.

Then his eyes narrowed as he spoke in a low voice.

“My, you seem to have quite a bad habit.”

Only then did I look down at the hands I was holding.

“Ah. This is…”

Ironically, his hand was incredibly hot.

It was almost as though a furnace had been placed directly beneath my palm.

Yet, for some reason, the warmth traveling through his hand made an overwhelming emotion rise inside me, leaving me unable to say anything.

I didn’t even understand why.

It simply felt as though some deep sadness and pain were being transmitted through his hand.

Why?

I fidgeted for a moment before bringing his palm against my cheek and gently closing my eyes.

“…It’s warm.”

So please, trust me.

The people who despised me in my memories were already enough.

Living here had gradually lowered the walls around my heart.

So this must simply have been an impulsive action born from those feelings.

Perhaps my behavior felt unfamiliar to him, because Hedius let out a low sigh.

Then, in a voice that seemed to sink beneath the surface of deep water, he murmured,

“You are truly strange. I cannot understand you at all.”

After Ibi left.

Hedius stood by the window, quietly watching her retreating figure disappear into the distance.

Then, as though suddenly struck by a thought, he raised his hand.

The reddish heat was still slowly rising from his palm like shimmering heat waves.

It was a power visible only to his eyes.

He wondered whether Ibi simply couldn’t feel pain because her mind wasn’t completely sound.

But even a mentally ill person would still be able to feel physical pain.

For a moment, Hedius became curious about Ibi.

But he soon brushed his thoughts aside, running one hand through his jet-black hair.

Whatever the reason, she was the only person who could touch his body without suffering any consequences.

It was also true that the moment she touched him, a faint sense of relief had spread through him.

He didn’t even know how to explain that strange emotion.

He could only admit one thing.

He hadn’t disliked the feeling.

If anything, it felt refreshing and cleansing.

‘Then it is only right that I keep her close and observe her for a while longer.’

She seemed quite desperate herself, after all.

And then—

“Chief.”

Baron, one of his subordinates, quietly emerged from the shadows in the corner of the room.

“Of course. You heard everything, didn’t you, Baron?”

Baron adjusted his monocle as he answered.

“Yes, I heard everything. But surely you don’t intend to completely withdraw your suspicions of her now?”

Hedius gave a small chuckle.

“…Well, perhaps for now, I’ll say that’s the case.”

Baron’s mouth fell open in surprise at the unexpected answer.

“Pardon? Are you serious?”

Hedius merely gave a slight nod instead of answering.

Baron let out a quiet sigh.

Baron was Hedius’s most loyal subordinate.

Their connection had begun in the past when Hedius saved Baron after a nobleman had mistreated him and left him hanging from a cliff.

Afterward, Baron made a decision.

Since Hedius had saved his life, he would serve him until the day that life came to an end.

Above all, Hedius was a man with the ability and strength to stand above others.

Because of that, Baron had never once regretted his decision.

But then, out of nowhere, a woman had appeared who casually grabbed Hedius’s hand over and over again.

Remembering what had just happened, Baron clenched his teeth and tightened his grip on his sword.

“But she has dared to be disrespectful toward you twice already…”

Baron had never witnessed anything like this before.

He had never seen anyone dare to behave so disrespectfully toward Hedius.

Nor had he ever seen Hedius simply forgive someone who treated him that way.

However, Hedius had one secret that even Baron did not know.

And that secret was practically the key to understanding Hedius’s behavior.

It was his secret regarding physical contact.

Ordinary people would feel a scorching sensation even if their hand merely brushed against Hedius’s.

It was like touching the wick of a candle that had just been extinguished.

Because of this, people assumed that Hedius was sensitive to physical contact.

But Hedius didn’t actually dislike being touched simply because it felt hot.

What he was hiding was his Flame Ability.

If someone held his hand or made complete physical contact with him, they would be burned by the flames.

Unfortunately, Hedius was currently only capable of suppressing the Flame Aura that had manifested within him.

He could not yet control it delicately or flexibly.

Because of that, the aura he had yet to master constantly leaked through his hands.

That was why he prohibited everyone from approaching him and kept his ability hidden.

Even from his most loyal subordinate, Baron.

If this secret were ever revealed to the world, unimaginably terrible things could happen.

He had concluded that there was no reason to deliberately allow such a dangerous source of trouble to spread beyond their territory.

Part of that was to protect the bandit group.

But there was another reason.

‘I cannot allow Leo’s existence to be discovered by the outside world because of me. If they learn that the ominous twin is still alive, they might try to kill Leo again.’

Hedius suddenly remembered Ibi holding his hand moments earlier.

He slowly closed his eyes, then opened them again.

“Her purpose was not to kidnap Leo.”

“What?”

His gaze shifted toward the window.

At the end of that gaze was Ibi, running toward her lodging with her pink hair fluttering behind her.

‘But that does not mean she has no other purpose. Not yet.’