Chapter 6

Hong Yeom-rang, who had been going to pick up the scabbard he’d thrown, suddenly stopped.

At some point, Hisa had already climbed onto his silk bedding and was rubbing her pale face against it. Her long hair was clumsily braided, and the worn skirt that had been dragged up to her thighs when he pulled her was still exposed. Without any sense of shame, she didn’t even think to pull it down and asked brightly like a child,

“Can I sleep here tonight?”

There was no ill intent in her voice, and for a moment, Hong Yeom-rang couldn’t answer.

She really had just asked because it was warm. He could usually tell people’s true nature at a glance. Since he was young, whenever he met someone, their uglier side would often show first. That ability had sometimes helped him after leaving here and living in the capital. People like that never led to anything good anyway.

When he didn’t answer, Hisa took it as permission and closed her eyes contentedly.

The corners of her lips curved up in satisfaction on her pale face, clearly visible under the lamp.

She might be trying to lower his guard and run.

Hong Yeom-rang kept suspecting her. Leaving Hisa as she was, he instead sheathed his sword and leaned his back against the cave wall. He didn’t take his eyes off her. He couldn’t define exactly what she was, so he couldn’t throw her out, and he couldn’t kill her either. Then he would have to keep her in front of him until she did something strange.

Sss, sss.

Soon, the sound of her breathing came, lips slightly parted.

Her chest rose and fell steadily. Even with a blade once pointed at her, Hisa fell into a deep sleep quickly. As if she felt cold, she unconsciously burrowed deeper under the silk bedding.

Rustle, rustle.

The sound of the silk being crushed as she wriggled into the bedding was clear in Hong Yeom-rang’s ears.

“What is this…”

Unlike him, who sat against the wall on guard, she had made herself completely at home in his bedding. It was absurd. Even more strange was that her breathing didn’t bother him. Since she entered, that grassy scent still lingered, followed by a faint sweetness like honey.

He shouldn’t lower his guard.

Even knowing that, it somehow felt like he was the only one losing out by staying awake.

She’s sleeping just fine like that.

Hong Yeom-rang’s eyes slowly closed.

By nature, he was sharp and sensitive, reacting immediately to killing intent or movement. He didn’t sleep much either. Just resting his eyes for a moment was enough.

He could wake at any time and counterattack. Hadn’t he noticed the moment she touched his hair?

But he hadn’t heard her entering.

Yet the sleep that washed over him erased those thoughts, and he closed his eyes completely.

The moment something heavy settled onto his body, Hong Yeom-rang snapped his eyes open in shock.

A shadow loomed over him.

Damn it. By the time his hand grabbed the sword, it was already too late. A blanket had been wrapped around him.

Still drowsy, his dark eyes stared blankly as Hisa looked at him and smiled brightly.

“You should sleep with a blanket.”

She had dragged the blanket from a few steps away and covered him, and he hadn’t noticed.

Hong Yeom-rang frowned. Hisa raised both hands as if calming a wild beast and slowly stepped back again. Then she lay down on the mat and glanced at him from the side. He couldn’t tell how long he had slept. The lamp was still burning.

“…How did you approach me without a sound?”

He asked while gripping the sword tightly beneath the blanket.

Hisa blinked slowly. The answer should have been simple, yet she blinked several times as if thinking. Hong Yeom-rang didn’t rush her and waited.

“Well… I don’t know. Maybe… because I don’t wear shoes?”

She answered slowly, then stretched her feet toward him.

She was barefoot. Seeing feet still smeared with bits of mud so suddenly made Hong Yeom-rang frown. Just not wearing shoes wasn’t enough to erase one’s presence.

So she wasn’t just a village fool. She was someone to be wary of.

Still, it felt off to cut her down with a sword. The only things she had done were touch his hair and cover him with a blanket. Hong Yeom-rang wanted something decisive. As his gaze sharpened, Hisa smiled again.

Seeing that smile, trying so hard to look harmless, only made his expression grow colder.

As if uneasy, Hisa started biting her fingertip again.

“At dawn, bring the shaman here. If not, I’ll kill both of you.”

“The shaman broke a bone and went to a physician in the neighboring village.”

This time, she answered clearly without hesitation. Her voice was calm and even. Like her steady breathing, it oddly didn’t irritate him.

“The rain was heavy, and the bridge collapsed, so she won’t be back for a while.”

As she spoke, she bit her finger again. The blood that had barely stopped began to seep out once more.

“Stop biting your fingers.”

“Okay.”

At his remark, Hisa obediently lowered her hand. Now she just grabbed and released the edge of the mat. Somehow, his attention kept drifting to her hands. Before he knew it, his gaze was fixed there. Noticing his eyes on her, Hisa stopped fidgeting.

Then she quickly hid her hands behind her back.

“What.”

Hong Yeom-rang rarely spoke first to anyone, but something about it irritated him. At that, Hisa suddenly burst into laughter. He had no idea what was so funny, but she laughed like a carefree child.

“You keep staring at my hands.”

At the end of her crescent-shaped eyes, there was a faint mole.

“You’re the one making it distracting.”

She had been biting her fingers, then fidgeting with the mat. Of course his eyes would go there. At his sharp reply, Hisa just smiled again, clear and bright. Then suddenly, she sat up.

“I’m going to come closer now, so don’t be surprised. Don’t draw your sword either.”

What kind of trick was this.

Keeping his grip on the sword hidden under the blanket, Hong Yeom-rang prepared himself. He gave a small nod. He wanted her to do something like a monster. He was waiting for a chance to cut her down without hesitation.

Hisa slowly crawled closer on her knees.

Then she spread all ten fingers wide in front of him.

Her fingers, covered in wounds and flushed red, were suddenly right before his eyes.

“They’re ugly, right!”

…They were ugly.

He had never seen such ugly fingers. Not a single one was normal. He couldn’t understand why she was showing them to him. This girl was different. The way she thought was clearly not like a normal person.

“So what.”

“So you don’t have to look at something ugly. If you want to look, then look all you want now.”

She showed both sides of her hands as she spoke. When she seemed to think he had seen enough, she backed away on her knees to the mat again. Then she lay down like it was her own room and looked at him.

He was speechless. He didn’t know what to say. For the first time in his life, Hong Yeom-rang had met someone who left him at a loss.

If he raised his sword and cut her down, he would be the one losing.

A strange feeling washed over him, and he bit the inside of his cheek.

“So. Are you looking at me like that too?”

“No. You’re handsome, so I don’t mind taking the time to look.”

Her eyes curved again as she smiled.

She wasn’t teasing. It was a genuinely satisfied smile. Knowing there wasn’t even a hint of malice in her words made Hong Yeom-rang’s temper flare all the way up.

He knew what he looked like. Even just hearing whispers behind him, most people talked about his face.

When he was young, men mistook him for a pretty girl and approached him. After he matured, women approached him instead. Most would avert their gaze or hesitate the moment their eyes met his.

But someone saying outright that she looked at him because he was handsome, and staring at him so openly, was something even Hong Yeom-rang had never experienced.

“Don’t get mad. Go back to sleep.”

“Who said I’m mad.”

Hisa didn’t respond and only smiled softly. Then she closed her eyes first.

As if she knew he wouldn’t close his unless she made herself defenseless first.

This was strange. Hong Yeom-rang had encountered something he couldn’t predict. She didn’t seem like a fool when she spoke, yet she was oddly one-sided. He kept gripping and releasing the sword hilt. Even as he pondered what she was, the steady sound of her breathing filled the cave.