Sikar Blake’s horse, though not stolen, ran well along the dimming mountain path.

Since I was completely inexperienced with riding, I sat in front of Sikar Blake holding the reins, but in truth, it wasn’t the reins supporting me—it was Sikar Blake’s arms wrapped around me from behind.

Only after riding a fair distance did Sikar Blake finally halt the horse.

“From here on, we’ll have to walk. The merchants might panic and run away.”

We dismounted and walked along the forest trail searching for the merchants. This was my first time here… no, my first time ever walking a mountain path at midnight.

The gloomy mountain trail, lit only by moonlight without a single lamp, felt chillingly desolate.

It was easy to understand why merchants took that medicine to cross the mountain.

The path was so dark that closing one’s eyes while walking seemed preferable to keeping them open—anything might suddenly leap out without seeming strange.

Overwhelmed by fear, I unknowingly clung to Sikar Blake’s arm like a cicada.

“Too much affection for just the two of us alone.”

No, it’s not that—I’m just scared… Never mind. Whatever I say, he’ll just interpret it however he pleases anyway.

Or so I thought. But shortly after, Sikar Blake placed a hand on my shoulder and said,

“Right, you’re scared of the dark. How about closing your eyes? Or should I carry you on my back? No, carrying you is better.”

“If you carry me, I’ll be scared of what’s behind me.”

“What if I hold you from behind while we walk?”

“Then I’d walk awkwardly.”

At that, Sikar Blake treated me like a child—he gripped under my arms and placed my feet atop his own.

“How’s this? Not as uncomfortable as you’d think, right?”

This was truly… genuinely… remarkably less frightening…

But somehow, the posture felt embarrassing. If someone saw us… well, there’s no one around to see. Still, if someone did, how ridiculous would it look?

“Hey, don’t your feet hurt?”

“Did you forget I’m of the Sitart tribe? Even with your tiny feet on mine, it’s nothing. And your small frame? Even less of an issue.”

“Well, that’s fortunate then…”

“Shh, now.”

“Huh?”

“Merchants don’t carry lights to avoid monster attacks. We must walk quietly if we’re to find them by sound alone.”

Right. We need to be quiet to hear others’ voices.

As we walked intimately like this, a faint whisper drifted from somewhere nearby.

Sikar Blake leaned close to my ear, his breath brushing my skin as he murmured,

“You heard it too. That sound.”

“Mm.”

“Seems like it’s coming from this direction.”

Sikar Blake tightened his grip around my waist and walked slightly faster, yet didn’t release me from this embarrassing posture.

“Hey, Sikar Blake. If people see us like this, they’ll think it’s hilarious…”

Sikar Blake walked with such practiced ease—increasing his pace yet making no sound at all—that it was baffling how he managed such speed in this position.

Thus, before I could even finish my sentence, we encountered the merchants.

Roughly five merchants by casual glance—they initially gripped their clubs defensively upon seeing us, then tilted their heads quizzically when they noticed me standing atop Sikar Blake’s feet.

Ah. Maybe they think we’re some crazy couple?

“There you are.”

Meanwhile, I was whispering to Sikar Blake, asking him to please let go of my waist since we were safe now—but his attention was fixed entirely on the merchants, not me.

To be seen like this by strangers… Ah, how embarrassing.

The merchants assumed defensive stances, startled by Sikar Blake’s low, heavy voice.

“Who are you?”

“Are you following us?”

“Who among you bought the mountain pass medicine here?”

“W-why are you asking that?”

“Judging by your stutter, it must be you.”

The stuttering man swallowed hard, clearly startled at being caught.

Sikar Blake, for the first time in a long while, drew his sword from his waist and pointed it at the man.

“Sell me that medicine.”

Here he goes again, pulling out a sword to negotiate.

Once again, I realized how difficult it is to teach someone manners—I brushed away Sikar Blake’s hand gripping my waist tightly,

then placed my hand over his sword-wielding arm.

“Put the sword down.”

“I’ll handle this.”

“Some things are solved with swords, others with words. Put. It. Down.”

Seeing Sikar Blake eyeing me suspiciously, I knew he wouldn’t yield easily.

So, though reluctant, I activated my quietly practiced “Sikar Blake Taming Method.”

In short, I gave him a bright, coquettish smile, gently stroked his cheek, and said sweetly,

“I’ll handle it.”

It was too dark to tell if Sikar Blake’s cheeks flushed—but one thing was certain: his face grew warm.

Sikar Blake cleared his throat once, then immediately lowered his sword.

“Fine.”

Then he growled toward the merchants,

“Answer properly. Understood?”

The merchants didn’t reply, but their postures remained awkwardly trembling with fear.

“Don’t be afraid. We followed you because we need that mountain pass medicine.”

“We also bought it because we need it.”

“We’ll pay you generously if you sell it to us.”

One merchant, shaking noticeably more than the others, glanced at his companion beside him. The companion nodded, and he turned to me with boldness.

“We need it to cross the pass too. We can earn money again, but if we fail to deliver the requested goods on time, future trade will be impossible. That’s why we’re crossing this terrifying mountain even at night.”

“If you give us the medicine, we’ll give you a carriage.”

“But carriages can’t cross mountains. And we don’t have a coachman who can drive one.”

“The carriage can run on roads, of course. I’ll lend you a coachman too. But going forward, you’ll need to learn how to drive the carriage yourselves.”

The merchants exchanged glances, murmuring among themselves, then looked at me.

“W-will you only give us the carriage? Or… perhaps the horses too?”

Sikar Blake folded his arms and lifted his chin slightly. The corner of his mouth twitched faintly.

“I’ll give you the carriage and money too.”

The merchants patted one man’s shoulders, saying,

“You’re lucky, friend.”

“We always teased you for being timid, but turns out you’re the lucky one.”

“Now that we have a carriage, we won’t need to cross passes like this anymore—won’t even need that medicine.”

“You’ll earn even more money now.”

Beaming as if this were truly joyous news, the merchants pushed the man holding the mountain pass medicine toward us.

“Congratulations.”

The man, shoved forward, stared at us dazedly, then turned his head and called out to them.

“Wait!”

Then, facing us with desperate eyes, he clasped his hands together.

“Can’t you let those people ride in the carriage too?”

“People can ride, but loading cargo would be too much.”

The merchants, preparing to leave with bitter resignation, briefly brightened with hope—then slumped their shoulders again, disappointed.

Seeing their disappointed expressions, I felt uneasy too. And in that moment, a good idea struck me.

“Why not? Just load the cargo on the carriage roof?”

Sikar Blake looked at me as if approving the idea, and the previously disappointed merchants regained their smiles.

We began descending on foot. Since we’d only just entered the mountain, the descent didn’t take long.

Entering the mountain had been terrifying with only Sikar Blake and me—but descending felt less frightening with so many people around.

We chattered noisily as we walked down. Sikar Blake, holding my hand and walking ahead, paused to wait for the merchants and struck up conversation.

“So, do pack merchants always cross this mountain on foot?”

“Yes. It’s a shortcut. Faster this way.”

“Really? Then if a road were built here, carriages could run and travel would be even faster.”

“But carriages are expensive—merchants would struggle to afford them anyway.”

“If a road were built here, travel time by carriage would decrease. And if the carriage can carry many people, it would become much cheaper than now.”

“That does seem plausible.”

“Do monsters appear here often?”

“Not exactly, but there are rumors of vampires appearing at this pass.”

“That’s likely just a rumor. Scary places always breed wild rumors.”

“Really? Then we’ve been taking that mountain pass medicine for nothing.”

“Thanks to that, we were able to obtain the medicine—so it worked out well for us.”

As Sikar Blake said, without that merchant, I’d have had to watch tomorrow’s dreadful arena match unfiltered.

Even thinking about watching a boxing match made me shudder.

“What’s your name?”

The merchant scratched his cheek shyly and replied,

“My name is Tucker. I’m 23 years old.”

“Remember that. Ma Jeong Su. Thank you.”

“I should thank you. You could have killed me and taken Ma Jeong Su, but you let me live.”

I felt no joy at those words. Taking lives and stealing goods? That’s criminal.

“Are there knights like that?”

“Huh?”

“Knights who take merchants’ lives and extort their goods?”

“Yes. Of course there are, Sir Knight.”

I immediately looked at Sikar Blake. He frowned and grabbed Tucker’s arm.

Panicked, Tucker tried to pull away, so I pressed down firmly on the arm Sikar Blake was gripping.

“Don’t be alarmed. This is just his way of showing friendliness.”

Tucker sighed softly, as if finally understanding.

“Oh.”

Sikar Blake made a slightly uncomfortable face and released Tucker’s arm. I was curious about what memory he’d recalled, but I held back for now.

After descending, we loaded the cargo onto the carriage. When the merchants struggled to lift cargo onto the roof, Sikar Blake grabbed the bundles and tossed them up effortlessly.

The merchants’ jaws dropped open in astonishment.

“Whoa…”

“Huh…”

“Wow…”

And other murmurs of awe followed.

“Sir Knight, you’re incredibly strong.”

“They say the Sitart tribe is that powerful…”

“But didn’t the Sitart tribe all die out, leaving only the Blake family? Surely this knight can’t be Duke Blake himself.”

“Well, knights are famously strong, after all.”

I wonder what expression they’d make if they knew Sikar Blake was from the Blake family.

Before leaving, Tucker cautiously looked at me and said,

“My grandmother has never ridden in a carriage before. Thanks to the kindness you’ve shown us, she’ll get to ride one now. Thank you so much, Sir Knight.”

“That’s wonderful.”

“Um, excuse me—but may I ask your honorable name before I go?”

“I’ll tell you when we meet again. If fate allows, we’ll meet once more.”

We sent the merchants off, thinking everything had been resolved smoothly.

At least, until the next day when we met Tucker again.