“Ascan?”

When I called again, he responded a beat late.

“…Please get up for now.”

Ascan extended his hand toward me. Since it seemed difficult to stand on my own, I didn’t hesitate and grasped his hand.

Soon, he pulled me up with strong force. I suddenly realized how closely we were pressed together.

The nightgown I was wearing was made of thin fabric, and with it soaked, the curves of my body were clearly visible.

Since the person in front of me was none other than Ascan, I couldn’t help but feel self-conscious. Instinctively, I stepped back hesitantly and said,

“But what brings you here at this hour… Ahh!”

Trying to balance on one leg, I slipped again on the slick bathroom floor.

As I was about to fall again, Ascan quickly caught me. Unfortunately, instead of regaining balance, we both fell due to my weight.

Splash!

We both plunged into the bathtub filled with hot water.

Even in this situation, it seemed Ascan tried to protect me, as he was the one pinned beneath, with me sprawled on top of him.

“Ah…”

I was about to ask if he was okay, but I instinctively closed my mouth upon seeing Ascan in front of me.

He had been wet from the rain since entering the bathroom, but now, soaked from head to toe, he looked utterly drenched.

Water droplets clung to his long eyelashes. Not only that, his wet shirt clung to his muscular frame, revealing it so vividly that it felt more provocative than if he were bare, leaving me nowhere to rest my eyes.

Ascan swept back his dripping black hair. The motion was so sensual that I couldn’t help but swallow hard.

“Um…”

At the sound of my voice, Ascan’s gaze shifted to me.

Our eyes met, but neither of us could say a word.

Just then, the sound of footsteps approached from outside the bathroom, accompanied by a low voice.

“Miss, are you alright?”

I recognized the voice instantly.

The person approaching was none other than Jen.

For a moment, I was at a loss for what to do.

If Jen entered the bathroom now, they would see Ascan and me entangled, but telling them not to come felt like admitting to some wrongdoing.

If someone saw us like this, they might misunderstand, but in truth, all that happened was Ascan catching me when I nearly fell in the bathroom.

Ascan seemed to sense my dilemma.

He glanced at me in my nightgown and shook his head slightly. I understood his meaning immediately.

Just then, Jen’s voice came again.

“Miss?”

“Oh, Jen? I’m in the middle of bathing right now.”

“My apologies. I was checking the surroundings and thought I heard something…”

“It’s just that my injured ankle makes moving difficult. No need to worry.”

“Understood. I’ll be outside, so call if you need anything.”

“Will do.”

The sound of Jen’s approaching footsteps faded away.

As I strained my ears, I thought I heard the creak of the door closing. Only then did I let out a sigh of relief.

Now that it was just the two of us again, I cautiously looked at Ascan.

With an expressionless face, he met my gaze and said,

“How long do you plan to keep that hand there?”

Hand? What about my hand?

Instinctively, I looked down at where my hand was.

Only then did I realize that, still on top of Ascan, my hand was firmly placed on his solid chest.

“Eek!”

I let out a yelp and pulled my body back.

It was absolutely unintentional. While trying to balance myself, I had unconsciously rested my hand on his chest.

As I hurriedly pulled away, Ascan swiftly grabbed me. With a slight frown, he said in a low voice,

“Do you want to fall again?”

“I-I’m completely innocent!”

“Are you trying to dodge responsibility now?”

“I’m sorry, but I really didn’t mean to.”

Watching me stammer in panic, Ascan’s lips seemed to soften slightly.

Holding my waist, he spoke quietly.

“Stay still. Don’t cause another accident.”

I felt wronged but couldn’t argue back.

Ascan moved me to the side and got out of the bathtub first. Then, he lifted me up in his arms and slowly walked out.

Though an adult woman’s weight isn’t light, he showed no sign of strain. His arms, holding me, were remarkably steady, making me acutely aware of the difference in our strength.

Ascan set me down on the sofa and handed me a shower towel.

“Dry off. Unless you want to catch a cold.”

“Oh, thanks.”

Though it was an unexpected situation, I roughly dried my wet hair and draped the towel over my thin nightgown.

Belatedly, I grew curious about why Ascan had come to my room. I had asked earlier, but the near-fall had interrupted his answer.

“So, why did you come to my room?”

“I came to check on your injured ankle.”

“All the way here just for that…?”

I noticed an ice bucket near the entrance that hadn’t been there before.

A thought struck me, and I looked at Ascan again, asking,

“Did you bring that for an ice pack?”

“To prevent your injury from wasting more time.”

His words weren’t exactly kind, but despite the chaos of arriving through the rain, he hadn’t forgotten to bring ice.

It was unexpected. I couldn’t help but smile, feeling a bit impressed.

“I didn’t expect this, but I’ll use it well.”

Though I expressed my gratitude sincerely, for some reason, Ascan’s expression wasn’t bright.

“What were you going to do if I hadn’t come?”

“What?”

“Bathing alone with that leg—don’t you think that’s too careless?”

“Everyone must be tired from the rain, so I didn’t want to ask for help with bathing…”

I trailed off, sounding like I was making excuses. Come to think of it, if Ascan hadn’t come, none of this would have happened.

With an indignant expression, I continued, glaring at Ascan.

“It’s because you showed up suddenly that I slipped while trying to see who it was.”

“Then why were you alone with no one around? What if something happened?”

“What could possibly happen?”

“You seem to have forgotten, but you’re an arms dealer. There could be people targeting you.”

“Who would dare target me? I can handle that much myself.”

I had brought magical engineering weapons just in case. I could protect myself in any situation.

But Ascan, still displeased, furrowed his brow and said,

“If I hadn’t come and you had fallen, and someone else opened the bathroom door, what then?”

“Why would that matter? Is there a problem?”

I looked at Ascan, puzzled. For some reason, the creases in his brow deepened.

“Are you saying you don’t care who sees you like that?”

Like that?

I instinctively glanced down at the nightgown I was wearing.

Though the fabric was thin, it had long sleeves and reached my knees. No matter how I looked at it, it wasn’t particularly revealing.

I only felt self-conscious because it was Ascan seeing me like this; if it had been someone else, I wouldn’t have cared about my attire.

“What’s wrong with it?”

I tilted my head, looking at Ascan. He pressed his forehead as if exasperated and spoke in a lower voice.

“Have some awareness.”

“Awareness of what?”

“Haven’t you heard that all men are beasts?”

I burst out laughing, incredulous.

“If that’s the case, why are you so calm?”

Ascan didn’t respond to my words. Though his expression didn’t change much, he seemed more irritated than before.

‘What’s his deal?’

Even if his mission was to escort me safely to the Kalua Empire, interfering with my clothing like this felt excessive.

“Was that why you didn’t want Jen to come into the bathroom earlier?”

“Is there another reason?”

“I thought it was because you were worried Jen might misunderstand our situation.”

“Misunderstand?”

“Well, earlier we were…”

I suddenly recalled Ascan’s drenched appearance and stopped mid-sentence.

Honestly, I was a bit surprised. Until now, I had only thought of Ascan as a boy, but earlier, I felt an undeniable masculine charm from him.

It wasn’t just that he had grown up; there was a wild, captivating allure to him that hit me strongly.

As I paused mid-sentence, Ascan asked with a curious expression,

“Earlier we were, what?”

“No, I mean… Achoo!”

A sneeze escaped as my nose tickled.

I felt a slight chill. Embarrassed at seeming frail, I scratched my nose.

Ascan, who had approached without me noticing, lifted me up again.

“Hey!”

Startled, I looked at him. With an expressionless face, he said quietly,

“If you don’t want to catch a cold, lie down quickly.”

As he spoke, flames flickered around Ascan.

He laid me on the bed and placed the unextinguished flames nearby. It felt as warm as sitting by a fireplace.

“You didn’t have to go this far…”

“I’m doing this because I don’t want to deal with more trouble.”

The grown-up Ascan didn’t know how to speak kindly, but his actions showed he was still the boy I knew.

Feeling my body warm up, I smiled faintly.

“…Thanks.”

Despite everything, lying in a soft bed after a bath made me drowsy.

I looked at Ascan with sleepy eyes. He gazed back at me with a complex expression and said,

“Sleep.”

Yeah, I think I replied, but I might have mumbled, overtaken by sleep.

Knowing I could wake up and see Ascan again made me happy.

Dekain, being professionally involved with Tanashia, was the first to learn that she had canceled all her schedules and left for the Kalua Empire.

Their relationship had been cold for ten years since the incident with Ascan, so he couldn’t ask her directly for the reason.

With no other choice, Dekain began investigating on his own.

That’s how he found the letter from Ascan that Tanashia had thrown in the trash.

‘This is…’

Though the red sealing wax with a wolf emblem was unfamiliar to her, Dekain recognized it instantly.

It was the emblem used by the Kalua Empire’s imperial guard.

The Kalua Empire was embroiled in civil war, so the imperial guard wasn’t active externally, but with the war settling, no one knew where their blades might turn.

It wasn’t just Dekain; every empire was watching them closely.

It was strange that such a dangerous group had sent a letter to Tanashia, and that she, who rarely left her lab, had followed it.

He instinctively knew something was up.

Dekain began gathering information from the employees in Tanashia’s lab. He hoped to find a clue.

Then, a maid mentioned an unexpected name.

“Oh, that day? A man in a black mask broke into the lab, and I was shocked when the lady turned off all the security systems.”

“Tanashia did? Why?”

“How would I know what the lady’s up to? But from a distance, it seemed like she recognized the masked man.”

“She knew him?”

“Yes. I saw from afar, but he was incredibly handsome. What was it… Akan? She called him something like that.”

Akan?

The name sparked something in Dekain’s mind.

“Was it perhaps Ascan?”

“Oh! Yes, I think she called him Ascan.”

Dekain froze, as if struck by lightning.

If Ascan was part of the Kalua Emperor’s imperial guard, everything fell into place.

Tanashia’s sudden cancellation of her schedule, her unexpected trip to the Kalua Empire—it all made sense.

Everything that had been incomprehensible now clicked.

‘Ascan, you’re really alive?’

Why hadn’t he shown up for ten years? How had he survived? There were countless questions, but they didn’t matter.

“Hahaha.”

Dekain suddenly burst into wild laughter.

Finally, he could erase Ascan from Tanashia’s heart.

‘You can’t fight a dead man, but if he’s alive, that changes everything.’

Moreover, Ascan being alive meant Tanashia no longer had a reason to resent Dekain.

He didn’t know how much joy they were sharing in their reunion, but Dekain had no intention of letting Tanashia go easily.

‘Wait for me, Tanashia.’

He would rise to the top and come for her.

The maid, watching Dekain laugh maniacally, cautiously asked,

“Are… are you alright? Is this really helpful?”

“Oh, absolutely. Thanks to you, I’ve learned a lot. I’ll make sure Tanashia stays safe.”

“Yes, please take care of the lady, sir.”

The maid bowed and headed back to the lab.

Left alone, Dekain looked up at the sky with a bright expression.

It didn’t matter who was in Tanashia’s heart now. What mattered was who would be by her side in the end.

‘I won’t let her be taken away so easily like ten years ago.’

Recalling Ascan’s face from long ago, Dekain gave a deep smile.