* * *

“So you’re saying you agreed to teach him?”

“Yeah.”

“What’s your plan here? You do realize we’re leaving soon, right? You haven’t forgotten, have you?”

“Of course not.”

“Then what gives?”

Kaindel ignored Sehir’s nagging voice, leaning against the window.

He pulled back the cheap teal curtain just a fraction, letting a faint beam of light stream through.

But it wasn’t sunlight he was after—it was the small figure outside the window.

Still carrying a box his size.

Kaindel smirked faintly at the sight of the oversized box that completely obscured Isa’s upper body.

Just how ambitious had he been?

The box was brimming with ripe apples. Instead of making multiple trips, Isa clearly preferred to handle it all in one go.

It was surprising how much strength Isa had despite his appearance.

Isa, with his short strides, carried the box to a spot near the dining hall and finally set it down.

He seemed to be taking a break, picking up the fallen apples before leaning against a wall and brushing off his shirt as it clung to his damp body.

Even in the cool weather, that much effort was bound to make anyone sweat.

Kaindel’s gaze lingered on Isa’s flushed face before he abruptly shifted his attention.

His eyes fell on the water bottle sitting on the table.

He hadn’t turned his gaze to it for any particular reason.

It was just there at the edge of his vision when he looked away.

That was all.

Water…

As he tapped the water bottle absentmindedly, a strange feeling began to creep over him.

Outside, the commotion beyond the inn had grown louder.

Drawn to it, Kaindel glanced out the window and immediately furrowed his brow, his hand flinching away from the water bottle.

It was a reflexive reaction.

Outside, a woman with red hair and freckles approached Isa, who was wiping his sweat.

She looked so young that Kaindel wondered if she’d even undergone her coming-of-age ceremony.

With a face as red as if she’d ripen any moment, she shyly called out to Isa.

Then she handed him a handkerchief and water from her arms, saying something Kaindel read on her lips as, “Take it easy, Isa.”

Isa, catching his breath, smiled brightly at her sudden kindness.

His lips moved in a way Kaindel recognized as him saying, “Thanks, Liza. I’ll use it well and return it.”

Accepting the water and handkerchief, Isa’s hand accidentally brushed against hers.

It was likely unintentional.

How naïve.

“Click.”

Kaindel clicked his tongue, annoyance bubbling up.

That pure smile—one Isa never showed him—kept getting on his nerves.

He knew he should look away, but he couldn’t.

Thankfully, Isa didn’t seem to notice Kaindel’s gaze, thick with suppressed intensity.

If Isa had been sensitive to such looks, their eyes would’ve met a hundred times already.

That’s how often Kaindel found himself looking at Isa.

At this point, “watching” might be a better word than “seeing.”

Yet Kaindel convinced himself he held no special feelings for Isa.

He was just looking, not deliberately, just by chance.

Then again, someone like Isa, flitting about like a worker ant, was bound to catch the eye.

From what Kaindel had observed, Isa was popular with everyone, regardless of gender.

Perhaps it was his polite and cheerful demeanor, or maybe his unique appearance, but people flocked to him constantly.

And, without a doubt, more than half of them harbored feelings for him—romantic and otherwise.

That clueless guy, though, seemed completely oblivious.

Kaindel rubbed his lips and let out a short sigh.

He could see Isa politely declining the woman’s request to talk, his silver hair shimmering faintly.

Kaindel’s gaze darkened.

For the past week, Kaindel had often witnessed guests making advances toward Isa.

They’d offer him tips, ask him to visit their rooms after work—barely veiled attempts at seduction.

A guileless Isa might have fallen for their offers.

Or so Kaindel had thought, until he saw Isa pocketing their tips but firmly refusing any personal favors.

Isa would tell them to find Alice for any additional needs and avoided further interactions.

It didn’t seem like an intentional rejection; his sunny smile suggested he simply didn’t grasp their ulterior motives.

What a thoroughly unbothered personality.

“Kaindel, you…”

Sehir, who had been fervently speaking to Kaindel, suddenly clenched his jaw.

His words faltered, leaving him momentarily speechless.

His throat tensed as he swallowed hard. Kaindel, who gazed outside as if uninterested in their conversation, felt unfamiliar.

The déjà vu that had lingered for the past week resurfaced, growing stronger.

Where Kaindel’s eyes were fixed, a faint shimmer of silver rippled.

Meanwhile, Kaindel, reminiscing about Isa—always sensitive when it came to him despite his otherwise dull nature—smirked.

Even in Luther, Kaindel had no shortage of admirers.

Unlike in the capital, however, these affections didn’t need to be entertained.

Most were turned down out of inconvenience, but he occasionally feigned friendliness in front of the restaurant where Isa worked.

As long as boundaries weren’t crossed, he let people touch or lead him as they pleased.

The reactions he saw each time Isa found him with someone else were simply too amusing.

---

“S-sorry. I just came to bring Jack some fodder. Jack takes care of the stables over there. So, whenever Alice cooks a lot of beans, she gives some to Jack for the horses, and today’s one of those days.”

“I see.”

“So, it’s not like I was spying or anything. This path just happens to be a shortcut to the stables. Anyway, sorry for interrupting. Please, carry on. I’ll leave now.”

“No, let me help. It looks heavy.”

“No, it’s fine…”

Isa’s attempt to mask his disappointment was always entertaining to Kaindel.

While he didn’t appreciate Isa’s efforts to leave him alone with others, he couldn’t deny the pull in his gut whenever he saw just how much Isa liked him.

The unrelenting weight in his lower stomach stirred something raw inside him.

“Hm?”

Lost in thought, Kaindel only noticed the growing silence when Sehir abruptly stopped speaking.

He looked at Sehir.

“Go on. I’m listening.”

“You…”

Sehir trailed off, eventually shutting his mouth entirely.

There were things he wanted to say, but he dreaded the backlash they might provoke.

The thought of hearing Kaindel’s sharp rebuke for his emotions sent a chill down his spine.

It was better to say nothing.

It’s probably nothing.

Suppressing his unease, Sehir tried to stay optimistic. It was likely just a fleeting detour—like being momentarily fixated on a stone in his path.

After all, Kaindel, whom he had known for a decade, had always been indifferent to others.

He could only believe that hadn’t changed.

“…No, it’s nothing. So, when should we leave?”

“Ah.”

At Sehir’s question, Kaindel sighed.

It had already been a week since they arrived in Luther.

According to their original plan, they were supposed to leave soon for the Gayat Mountains.

Once autumn passed and winter set in, the journey would become even harsher.

Leave.

As Kaindel mulled over the option he had been ignoring, he pressed his tongue against the inside of his cheek in dissatisfaction.

He knew he had to leave to fulfill his duty as a hero and that now was the right time.

Yet, just imagining the departure left him with a suffocating feeling, as if he were letting go of something important.

At that moment, Isa, carrying a large box, came into view.

He adjusted his grip expertly and walked toward the restaurant, showing no signs of fatigue.

Watching him disappear inside, Kaindel unconsciously curved his lips into a faint smile.

Will he trip? The unpaved road, scattered with weeds, was an eyesore.

Kaindel stood silently until the door to the restaurant fully closed.

Finally, he spoke, as if the thoughts circling his mind had escaped.

“One month.”

“What?”

“Let’s leave in a month.”

A month?

Not a few days, but a whole month?

Sehir’s jaw dropped in disbelief.

He had expected the schedule to shift because of Isa, but this much?

From the moment Kaindel offered to teach Isa how to read, things had felt off.

As if demanding an explanation, Sehir opened his mouth to speak, but Kaindel merely shrugged, chuckling mischievously.

“Just one month.”

It was clear he had no intention of changing his mind.

---

Isa turned out to be smarter than Kaindel had anticipated.

Despite his round, unassuming demeanor suggesting otherwise, he picked up on things quickly.

Teach him one thing, and he’d learn two.

He wasn’t exceptionally brilliant, but he was an enjoyable student.

Within less than a month of starting his lessons with Kaindel, Isa could string together sentences without much difficulty.

‘I saw a flower.’

Kaindel read the sentence Isa had written aloud, then glanced at him.

Though the handwriting was clumsy, it was the first flawless sentence Isa had written.

Kaindel was ready to commend him.

But the moment Kaindel saw Isa’s face—lips curved upward, eyes crinkling into crescent moons—his thoughts scattered.

Was it because those lips, softly parted, looked unusually red?

Or perhaps it was the innocence of his smile, stirring a long-buried yearning.

“Smile again.”

At the same time, a thirst ignited within him.

A thirst he couldn’t explain.

* * *