Inside the carriage, Rene was gazing out the window with her chin propped up.

Not long after, the carriage door opened and Adel entered, taking a seat beside her.

Rene discreetly turned her gaze and stole a glance at Adel.

'Is he really a priest?'

Having observed Adel for two months, Rene's mind was in turmoil.

It had been about a month ago.

That incident had overturned Rene's perception of Adel as merely a 'sinister escort.'

The black fog enshrouding Adel, taking the form of a black dragon.

It was undoubtedly the Demon God of Pride, known only through legends.

She couldn't eavesdrop on their conversation due to some magical device.

However, it was clear that Adel was conversing with the Demon God.

The only beings capable of communicating with Demon God were priests or legendary heroes who had reached the same level as Demon God.

That was why Rene suspected that Adel might be a priest.

If he were the latter, he should have been stronger than her father, Crete, but he didn't seem that powerful.

'Still, he doesn't seem like a bad person.'

Rene stole a glance at Adel's face.

Crimson hair and eyes that were elongated and slanted.

At first, she had been wary due to his sinister aura, but upon closer inspection, his face wasn't as bad as she had thought.

Perhaps it was even a charming face.

It wasn't just his appearance that made her favorable towards him.

Among the people in the Bares mansion, there was no one who liked Rene.

They were only afraid of her because of her drastically changed personality compared to her childhood.

However, Adel was different from them.

Despite his position as an escort, he treated Rene without hesitation.

─ Would you like some water? The young lady should do that herself... Haha, of course, I'll do it.

─ I found the location of the secret realm, but I'll take a little more of the gold...

─ ...I misspoke. It's only fair to split it evenly.

...In truth, it was more like being treated casually, bordering on impertinent, but even that aspect of him felt refreshing to her.

Furthermore, she had recently begun to feel a sense of familiarity with him.

The mana of a half-demon had a strong human scent, which was normally repulsive to demons.

However, after Adel had conversed with the Demon God, the mana unique to the Bares family had grown stronger.

If she had a younger brother, wouldn't he feel like Adel?

With that thought, Rene quietly closed her eyelids.

In the midst of it, a scene suddenly came to Rene's mind.

“…….”

As she recalled that incident, both of Rene's cheeks flushed red.

The ring that Adel had put on her index finger in the realm of the undead.

Rene glanced down and looked at the ring on her index finger.

The meaning of a being giving a ring to another being in the Demon Realm.

'Eternal Oath.'

Adel had not said what he was vowing, and Rene was very curious about it, but she did not say it out loud.

Seeing Adel's relaxed expression made her feel foolish for even entertaining such concerns...

And so Rene turned her attention away from Adel, and before she knew it, the carriage was slowly heading towards the capital.

* * *

“…….”

“…….”

An awkward silence passed between me and Rene.

I didn't know why Rene was staring at me, but I tried my best to ignore it.

It was clear that she was making a troublesome misunderstanding.

However, there was no one in the world who was not uncomfortable with this kind of silence.

Especially me, who had lived in Korea, could not bear this silence and said something to the coachman.

"When will we arrive?"

"Hmm... We'll probably arrive within an hour. The Bares family and the capital are close."

"I see."

That was the end of my conversation with the coachman.

I wonder if my friendliness is the problem.

I suddenly felt doubtful, but I ignored it and pondered the coachman's words.

And the coachman said, 'We'll arrive in an hour.'

That means we are in the vicinity of the capital.

Unless they were suicidal, no one would dare to commit robbery so close to the capital's soldiers.

Hmm, then there's nothing to do for an hour.

What should I do…….

For now, it seemed like a good idea to break the awkward silence.

I looked out the window of the carriage and opened my mouth.

"The weather is quite nice today."

"It's similar to other days."

"Oh, I see that now……."

Hearing Rene's reply, I had to wonder if she was indirectly expressing her dislike for talking to me.

But when I looked at Rene's face, it didn't seem like she was trying to avoid conversation.

As her escort for two months, I had learned a few things,

Rene had a habit of lightly brushing her hair back when she felt bored.

Perhaps it's because she doesn't talk much.

I thought long and hard before opening my mouth.

"What are your plans for the future, Miss?"

"Plans?"

"Yes, similar to the reason you want to enroll in Sytan. Would you mind telling me?"

"Hmm..."

Rene closed her eyes, deep in thought.

It seemed like she was contemplating whether or not to tell me her reason.

As if she had organized her thoughts, Rene slowly began to speak.

"I'm going to kill a human."