“Ah, damn. If only you’d come a little later.”

But it wasn’t entirely unexpected.

“A predetermined story.”

If this were a book, the moment the reader closes it is obvious.

“......This is really terrible.”

Muttering softly, I looked at Tesilid again.

Unlike me, he had forgotten that this place was a dream and was devoted to everything. He even looked full of hope for the fish trap, so naturally, I didn’t want to be the first to break the peaceful time.

“Well, for now, this is enough.”

It had been quite a while since he set up the fish trap.

“Hey, look at this!”

There was a freshwater fish caught in the trap. Tesilid proudly showed me the struggling prize.

I didn’t hold back my applause.

“Wow, that’s awesome! Let’s eat it for dinner.”

“Yeah. I’ll try catching a few more.”

“I’m counting on you.”

When I gave him thumbs up with both hands, his expression turned serious, and he started to tend the trap again. In his focused face, I saw the pure look of a boy.

He really looked happy. So I was happy too.

Since we had come to the valley for once, I wanted to play in the water as well. I moved the mat a little closer to the water’s edge. Sitting perched, I lifted my skirt a bit and dipped my bare feet into the water.

While splashing my feet, about ten cooking recipes using fish came to mind.

I had always liked cooking, but having someone who enjoys eating makes the pleasure multiply.

“A nutritious stew... hyaaam.”

Perhaps the afternoon sun and the cool valley water matched my body temperature perfectly because I became drowsy. There was no need to resist laziness, so I lay down as I was.

The smell of grass flooded in and made me feel good. Sleepiness gently sprinkled over my eyelids.

“Hey.”

Just as I was about to fall asleep, I felt a shadow cast over my face.

Squinting faintly, I saw the now unsurprising sight. The face of a peerless handsome man quietly looking down on me.

Tesilid, sitting next to me, leaned his upper body to cast the shadow.

His gentle voice wrapped around my ears.

“Want to sleep?”

“Mm.”

“You can take a nap.”

“Mm.”

Rather than an answer, it was more like a moan, and then I closed my eyes. I was already sleepy, and he was stroking my hair, making it hard to stay awake.

I’m going to sleep. He said it’s okay...

Just as my consciousness was beginning to drift away halfway,

Something felt strange. An uneasy sensation prevented me from falling asleep, forcing my heavy eyelids to open.

And then...

“.......”

“.......”

Why is that handsome face in front of me again? And much closer than before.

Looking at his calm face with no sign of embarrassment, a sudden sense of déjà vu came over me.

......Could you be Reid?

I unconsciously drew a breath, and I saw him do the same, his chest swelling as well. He was tense too.

[‘The scales that judge souls’ are panting for you instead.]

Judging by the honest reaction, it seemed to be Tesilid. Of course, knowing that didn’t change the situation.

Still, I had to endure the tension that rose to the top of my head while facing Tesilid up close.

At a distance close enough for breaths to mingle, it was Tesilid who bravely spoke first.

“Hey.”

“Mm.”

“Not pushing me away?”

“......I thought if I waited, you’d back off.”

“.......”

“.......”

Was it backfiring? He settled more firmly on top of me as if having no intention of moving away.

Then, meeting my clear gaze, he asked,

“Why do you think I’ll back off?”

“Well, because you’re......”

Faithful, devout, and polite......

“A paladin......”

“But I was excommunicated.”

“.......”

“I was excommunicated.”

“.......”

It felt like being hit on the head.

A reaffirmation of a fact I had completely forgotten. Within the context of the current situation, it created a strange meaning.

The thought that struck me then was this:

Isn’t this atmosphere dangerous?

Well, of course it was always dangerous, but that was a different meaning. Now it was more fundamental...

“Hey.”

The resonance in Tesilid’s voice was deeper than ever. My instinct sounded an alarm.

“This is dangerous.”

“To you......”

Really dangerous!

“Wait! No! Stop!”

“......!”

I immediately covered his mouth with my hand. Maybe I used too much force without realizing it because I nearly pushed him backward, almost reversing our positions.

[‘The language that constructs worlds’ sighs in relief.]

[‘The manager of creative economy’ praises the self-control in keeping proper boundaries.]

[‘The overseer of divine secrets’ regrets missing the chance to summon a dragon.]

[‘The sharp-tongued balancer’ wonders if it even matters since it’s a dream.]

I barely avoided the genre deviation penalty. But I couldn’t be happy. It was now time to pay the price.

‘Gasp! Tesilid!’

I met the ocean-colored eyes over my hand covering his mouth.

They were once sparkling ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) beautifully with unique hues like constellations, but now their focus was blurry, trembling wildly.

Clearly, those were wounded eyes.

‘Ahhh! Damn it. The long lecture!’

I had to explain, somehow, some way...!

But instead of explanation, I wasn’t even given the chance to make excuses.

“Ah... sorry, Ai. I just... made a mistake.”

“N-no, Terry. It’s not that.”

“Really sorry. I’ll apologize.”

“Ah, no, that’s not it.”

The moment he turned his gaze aside, I felt urgency. I reached out, feeling I had to hold onto him, but the timing was bad.

At that moment, he stood up from his seat, and my fingertips grasped nothing but air.

“.......”

Tesilid hadn’t intended it at all. Still, his gesture as if avoiding me oddly made my heart ache.

But it seemed he was too hurt to be alone.

The gloomy handsome man stood still, looking down at one spot.

At the end of the gaze I followed was the water’s edge next to the mat. More precisely, my feet, just out of the water and wet.

He approached there and lowered his posture. And the next moment, my face flushed deeply.

“Ah......”

Tesilid picked up a towel nearby and wrapped my wet feet. His touch, wiping the moisture, was careful and extremely polite.

Considering his devotion, the meaning of this act, which was close to service and atonement for the wrong he thought he had done to me earlier, was obvious.

But I couldn’t accept it so plainly. My mind kept searching for meanings beyond that.

Because it’s strange.

You do this so naturally, and I quietly accept it.

Both of us are too strange.

“.......”

“.......”

The touch that felt like it would burst my heart ended only after putting shoes on my feet as well.

He said with his gaze lowered.

“Go home first, Ai.”

“.......”

“I’ll come in a little while.”

We both needed time to calm down.

But I thought we couldn’t hesitate any longer. I reached out immediately. This time my fingertips didn’t miss the edge of his shirt.

“Hurry up and come.”

“.......”

“Let’s talk at home...”

The small gesture could be both a wound and comfort, and it was the same for him.

Seeing my fingertips barely holding the hem of his shirt, Tesilid’s expression softened as if melting.

“Yeah, Ai.”

His smile looked like it held all the kindness in the world toward me.

My pounding heart wouldn’t calm down, so I hurried ahead toward home.

✠

Though marked as a heretic and excommunicated, Tesilid Argent could not quit being a faithful paladin.

As proof, even now, he held gratitude toward ‘strict order and good.’

He didn’t care about the previous rounds, where he bore the hatred and murderous intent of the whole world. This round was too sweet.

It felt as if this round was the reward given to him after bitter endurance, and that he had walked the path of suffering until now to meet this round.

A simple and peaceful life, far away from the world that hated him, with someone who cherished him.

Only after living it did he realize he wanted this all along.

And he wanted a little more.

He dared to hope for more than he had now.

The picture of the future was always painted with the present as its material. And he was not a very imaginative painter. He still wanted the ordinary, no different from others.

That was a life with Ayleth Rodeline.

He wanted to spend seasons safely with her, piling up time together. To share the freshness of spring, the coolness of summer, the bittersweetness of autumn, and the warmth of winter.

Like any other couple, he wanted to look into her eyes often, hear her laughter, and hold hands.

Daring and audacious though it was, he wanted to devour her voice.

He wanted to possess a warmth that felt warmer than spring.

“......Ha.”

His past confidence in endurance and restraint seemed pointless. Once he realized his desire, he couldn’t control it.

And today, he crossed the line.

After Ayleth returned home first, Tesilid stayed alone under the shade of a tree for a long time. He intended to reflect and wait until the fever disappeared.

‘Because I have to see her face when I go back...’

He must not make the same mistake again. He must only show a neat and disciplined appearance.

Only the appearance she would like.

This was his best, so he would do his best. So.

He wanted to be loved.

“Ah.”

At that moment when he realized the last form of his desire,

Soft footsteps quietly stepping on the grass echoed in his ears. Believing this was a paradise only for the two of them, he immediately reacted.

“...Ai?”

The direction he turned his head to revealed......

“Sir Tesilid, you were here all along.”

There are rules.

Misfortune is cunning and always comes when one is most off-guard.