Chapter 13
On a bright moonlit night
With agile movements, Sion vaulted over the outer wall of the Grand Duke’s castle.
Watching the scenery of the castle flash by, I let out a sound of admiration.
“Whoa! Whoa—!”
Even to someone like me, who wasn’t from this world, his movements were clearly beyond human.
‘As expected of Sion! He really has what it takes to become the strongest knight in this world!’
Of course, there were two other knights on par with him, including the main male lead—but to me, they barely registered.
A moment later, Sion landed lightly on the terrace of the annex.
I clapped enthusiastically like a seal.
“Wow, Sion! That was amazing! So cool!”
Without reacting, Sion simply brushed off the snow that had settled on his robe.
After a moment, the terrace door opened.
“Young Master, you’ve returned!”
As if he had been waiting, Garen hurried over.
Sion handed the cage tucked under his arm to Garen.
“Take it.”
“…? What is this?”
Garen looked puzzled, then his eyes met mine inside the cage.
“It’s me.”
“Miss Rin?!”
Garen’s eyes widened in shock.
“Then… how about here?”
“Yeah, I like it. Let’s put it here.”
I nodded.
At last, with my approval, Garen sighed in relief and carefully set the cage down.
The location was right beside Sion’s bed.
“Jackpot.”
An absolute jackpot spot.
The best seat of all.
A perfect view where I could watch Sion’s sleepy, puppy-like face in the morning—and his defenseless, angelic sleeping 모습 at night in real time.
Well, considering the long road ahead, I’d need to recharge and heal whenever I could.
“Do you need anything else? You’ll have to stay in there for a while.”
“Hmm.”
I looked around the empty, bare cage. If I wanted to rest comfortably, I definitely needed something.
‘Hmm… what should I pick?’
It didn’t take long to decide.
“Sion’s gloves would be nice.”
An item still carrying the warmth of my favorite.
“Indeed, gloves are small and excellent for keeping warm.”
Garen nodded and stepped away.
“More importantly, I need to find a way out of this cage.”
I felt bored not being able to stick close to Sion like before.
And with less than a month left before the original storyline began—
Even now, the fateful day when Sion would meet the heroine was steadily approaching.
“Fangirl energy, huh…”
I racked my brain, drawing on over a decade of accumulated romance-fantasy experience.
‘How do these situations usually play out?’
Come to think of it, when I saw Sion earlier, something had almost come to mind.
Just as I was trying to recall it—
An unbelievable sight caught my eye.
Sion had started taking off his clothes.
“…??!!”
I abandoned my thoughts and grabbed the bars of the cage.
No way.
Oh gods of romance fantasy!
God of reincarnation!!
God of fangirling!!
Thank you…!!!
‘To think I’d get to see my favorite take his shirt off live…!!!’
Since Sion had his back turned, I could glimpse his tightly packed back muscles beneath the fabric.
I covered my mouth.
“C-crazy… this is insane.”
Perhaps from his harsh life and constant sword training, his body was far too well-balanced to be called that of an ordinary young man.
‘Once the original story starts and he bulks up even more, this is going to be unreal…! Am I really going to see that broad-shouldered northern knight covered in dense muscle in real life?! Is that really happening?!’
“Hehe… hehehehe…”
Not wanting to miss a single moment, I stared wide-eyed at his back.
Then suddenly—
Something blocked my view.
“How about this, Miss Rin?”
“!?”
Garen pushed a thick glove into the cage.
“This is the Young Master’s favorite—”
“Move! Move aside!!!”
Startled by my frantic gestures, Garen stepped back.
“W-what’s wrong…?”
But—
“What’s going on?”
Sion, now properly dressed again, approached us.
‘…Damn it.’
I slumped to the floor.
Seeing my devastated expression, Sion asked curiously,
“…You look unusually down. Is it because the cage feels suffocating?”
“…Yeah.”
“There should be a way. First, tell me everything from the beginning again.”
“…Okay.”
With a dejected face, I began explaining how I ended up like this.
I skillfully glossed over the part where I had tried to steal clothes and accessories, then shared everything I had overheard—the merchant couple’s conversation, the banquet with the Grand Duchess, and what I learned in the carriage.
In short:
“You guys got scammed.”
“…I see. That miser really made a bold move.”
Sion muttered, frowning slightly as if he knew the merchant guild leader.
“They truly have no sense of trust or honor. Even for merchants…”
Garen said angrily.
“I heard prices for various goods have surged this year. It seems greed got the better of them.”
“It’s obvious. There’s no way that woman didn’t see through such a shallow scheme.”
I agreed.
“So, will Her Grace the Grand Duchess take action?”
“Of course. In her own way.”
‘Her own way…’
Having endured ten years of cold treatment and oppression from her, Sion clearly knew how ruthless she could be.
“…Still, she wouldn’t go as far as killing people, right?”
I asked hesitantly.
The image of that crying seven-year-old girl flashed in my mind.
“Even if they committed fraud, going that far—especially with a child—feels excessive.”
“……”
“……”
Sion and Garen looked at me strangely.
“What? Why are you looking at me like that?”
Sion spoke flatly,
“That’s unexpected. I didn’t think you’d care about human affairs.”
“Indeed. It’s surprising to see you worry about someone other than the Young Master.”
“……”
‘What, do they think I’m heartless?’
…Well, not entirely wrong.
Even if this was another world, I still didn’t feel much goodwill toward humans—especially those who had mistreated Sion.
Except maybe Garen.
“…Well, they brought it on themselves.”
I muttered.
“But Miss Rin, this isn’t a minor case of fraud. If the amount equals half a year’s supply, the damage will be severe—for both the civilians and the knights at the borders.”
“Oh… really?”
“Yes. Without proper supplies, civilians will struggle through winter, and the knights fighting monsters will face even harsher battles.”
“Garen is right. This could lead to an unprecedented number of casualties.”
A heavy silence followed.
‘…That many people could die?’
The situation suddenly felt much more serious.
‘What happened in the original story?’
Nothing came to mind.
This was still a month before the story began.
‘But throughout the story, the North always suffered from severe supply shortages…’
So this incident must have played a big role.
‘Then the Grand Duchess probably failed to recover the stolen goods.’
I scratched my cheek.
Still, one thing at a time.
“Sion, help me get out of this cage first. Then we can deal with the situation. I’ll help too.”
Sion nodded.
“Alright. Do you have a plan?”
“Maybe… Give me a moment.”
I crossed my arms and thought.
‘Fangirl energy…’
I closed my eyes, focusing.
‘Focus. Find the solution.’
That way, I could stick to Sion again—using his solid, comfortable shoulders as my personal seat.
‘…Speaking of which, his back earlier was amazing.’
The image resurfaced.
…That sculpted back.
…Those perfectly defined muscles.
Even just watching had eased my fatigue.
“…Wait.”
I opened my eyes.
“…No way.”
“What is it?”
Instead of answering, I stared at Sion.
‘…No way.’
Even if this was some chaotic reincarnation event—
Even if I was a fangirl fairy—
‘There’s no way touching my favorite would recharge my energy… right?’
I wasn’t even the heroine with a romantic storyline.
Surely not.
…Right?
“…But still.”
I muttered, staring at Sion’s upper body.
“Better to confirm.”
Even I knew my logic was questionable, but my fangirl instincts took over.
“Sion.”
I said seriously,
“Sorry, but…”
“…?”
“Let me touch you.”
Sion’s face froze instantly.
