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Before Rahan could say a word, Iris quickly stood up from his lap.
It’s fine, that’s not it, I have something to tell you.
Just as he was about to say that.
“Oh my!”
Just as she tried to stand, Iris lost her footing and fell into the hot spring with a loud splash.
Flustered, Rahan helped her up. It seemed she had slipped on the algae inside the spring, which hadn't been maintained for a long time.
Naturally, both of them ended up soaked from head to toe.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m okay….”
Answering in a small voice while gauging Rahan’s reaction, Iris giggled.
“I feel like we’ve been asking each other if we’re okay for a while now.”
Rahan let out a hollow laugh at her words.
Since yesterday, Iris had been walking on eggshells around him. When in fact, he was the one who should be doing that.
‘Have you forgotten your manners just because you married the child of a demon!’
Rahan had not forgotten a single word he had overheard yesterday at dawn while pretending to be unconscious.
He didn't mind hearing such things about himself, but strangely, it didn't feel good to hear them directed at Iris, who had taken his side.
Of course, Rahan figured that Iris had likely chosen to marry him while being fully prepared for such things.
However, preparation and reality are two different matters. Rahan himself had experienced things far more grueling than he had prepared for during his expeditions.
Thus, Rahan decided he needed to speak clearly to Iris now that they were alone.
Of course.
“Ngh.”
After he dealt with the woman who was currently struggling to untie his shirt strings, oblivious to his inner thoughts.
“…What are you doing?”
“Ah.”
Iris, who had been clinging to the front of Rahan’s shirt, looked up and beamed at him.
“The warm water of the Sanctuary is more effective if you soak your whole body. But Rahan, it must be hard for you to move right now.”
That was true. He looked fine on the outside, but his entire body was throbbing.
In fact, the pain was so severe that even trying to move his arms was a struggle, which was why he had leaned on Iris to get here.
But that was one thing, and this was another.
“Iris…. I think I told you that you shouldn't do that to a man.”
At Rahan’s sigh-laden words, Iris tilted her head.
“As I told you, Rahan, you are my husband.”
…It was the same conversation repeating itself.
Rahan sighed and, thinking to hell with it, plopped down into the bottom of the hot spring with his clothes still on.
Iris let out an “Oh my,” but she didn't seem particularly surprised.
The hot water surged up to his chest. Trying to ignore the sensation of languor, Rahan spoke.
“Listen. You know that problems arose yesterday because we were having a conversation like this, right?”
“Ah.”
Thinking of something, Iris also sat down in the water facing Rahan. Also with her clothes on.
As a result, the white cotton shirt Iris was wearing became completely soaked, and Rahan instinctively squeezed his eyes shut.
He really had no idea what was going through her head.
“I was careless.”
That was the first thing Iris said.
“I should have checked if there were people around. It was supposed to be a secret between us; I was rash.”
If they were going to put it that way, he was the one who should be reflecting more. Rahan spoke in fluster.
“You did nothing wrong. I was the one who brought up the topic.”
“Still.”
As a knight, Rahan was far more deserving of reprimand than Iris.
However, since Iris was a priest, she likely didn't know much about a knight's energy perception.
But Rahan had finally begun to get a general grasp of this woman named Iris.
Bringing it up would only lead to a fruitless cycle of “I was wrong,” “No, I was more wrong,” and “I don’t know, maybe I was.”
So, Rahan tried to say what he had intended to say yesterday.
It is true that you and I are husband and wife. And the wedding night is originally something between you and me… setting aside the fact that the Grand Duke and Abbot Wilbert and others are involved, it is, regardless, an agreed-upon matter.
So, I don't think it's unfair or wrong for you to touch me like this.
Rather, I…
…But soon, you will become someone who doesn't need someone like me.
The words made his throat feel itchy just thinking about them.
If it had been anyone else, Rahan wouldn't have even considered saying such kind and considerate words.
He would have barked, “Are you an idiot?” and made the other person distance themselves first by saying things like “Get lost” or “You’re disgusting.”
But why? He didn't want to do that to Iris, whom he had only known for a few days.
Perhaps it was because she was a person with a pure soul, unlike himself, who had been through every hardship imaginable.
Just as he had taken the time to be gentle with her before dealing with the knight yesterday, he wanted to do so again.
‘I’m sorry. I must have scared you.’
He remembered how flustered he had been when Iris burst into tears, relieved like a child, at those words.
Just because of that? he had wondered, but last night, Rahan realized the reason clearly.
Iris Achen.
She didn't fit any of the profiles Rahan had expected before coming to Wind Rock Monastery.
She wasn't desperate to leave the countryside where she had been stuck for twenty years, nor did she despise or ignore Rahan.
On the contrary, she was surprisingly naive and, at the same time, kind.
Kind enough to willingly express anger toward the place she belonged to for Rahan's sake.
In a way, one could find her pathetic. One could try to teach her that the world isn't that simple.
But Rahan didn't want to treat a good person like a fool.
Of course, that wasn't all. The path she would walk ahead, having to oppose House Achen, would likely be far more grueling than a sudden marriage to someone like him.
You don't need to treat me with such kindness and closeness. If you act that kindly to everyone, you'll only end up getting hurt.
And since we will soon be nothing to each other…
It felt as if all those words would tumble out the moment he opened his mouth.
But why? When he faced Iris's sprout-like eyes looking at him, for some reason, he couldn't speak.
The words telling her she didn't need to care about him.
Why wouldn't that one sentence come out?
“You know.”
It was Iris who spoke first, instead of the long-silent Rahan.
“Thank you.”
Rahan just blinked. Seeing him, Iris blushed shyly.
“I felt like I hadn't said this yet.”
“…All of a sudden?”
“Oh, honestly!”
Iris wrinkled her nose.
“You saved my life! I should have said that first.”
Yesterday at dawn, Rahan had lost consciousness again while listening to Iris stand up to Priest Vera.
And when he opened his eyes, the sun was already high in the sky.
Since Priest Marid had immediately called Iris and brought her here upon confirming he had regained consciousness, there had naturally been no time for her to say it.
“No….”
I already heard you were thankful enough yesterday at dawn.
Of course, he couldn't say that. So, he needlessly bit his lip.
Somehow, he felt that he was the one who should be saying thank you.
“I’m used to that kind of thing. So you don't have to say it.”
It was the truth, but it was also a half-truth.
From the moment he gripped a sword, Rahan had been placed in countless moments that decided life or death.
That didn't mean he enjoyed killing people. It wasn't simply due to a repulsion toward killing.
It was a fact no one knew, but his killings had once been demonic work. Since then, Rahan had always felt a repulsion toward murder.
However, he also believed it was only natural for him to step forward in a situation like yesterday.
In those expeditions he undertook for the Grand Duke, he was always the one to end the situation the fastest.
What ability could Iris possibly have? She deserved to be protected in that moment.
But why? Iris's expression hardened at his words.
“Uh….”
Rahan was often told he was exceptionally quick-witted, but he always found it difficult to read this girl.
Thus, even now, he didn't know why Iris's expression was twisting.
Still, he could tell he had done something wrong. In times like this, it was better to change the subject.
Rahan quickly spoke again.
“And, sorry.”
“For what?”
“Well…”
For some reason, the words wouldn't come out easily. Was it because they were words he had never uttered in his life?
“I showed you a side of me you shouldn't have seen yesterday.”
Without thinking that Iris was watching, Rahan had stabbed the knight's thigh. It was obvious that it must have looked quite cruel to Iris.
Furthermore, though it was a very foolish thought… if he had been just a bit faster.
“I might have been able to keep the knight alive—the one you told me not to kill…. Ah, of course, he wouldn't have been able to hold a sword for the rest of his life, but still.”
If Riet had heard this, she might have drawn her sword against Rahan, shouting, ‘You’re a demon in disguise! I won't be fooled, you demon!’
That was how radical a statement it was for Rahan.
On the road of expedition, he had been a man who never hesitated to take another's life, saying, ‘Showing mercy only increases the number of people aiming for my back.’
However, hearing those words, Iris looked at him as if she found him even more absurd.
“Rahan. What on earth are you talking about right now?”
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