For a moment, Leciel, who was cheering while shaking her hips, immediately straightened up at the feeling of someone’s gaze from somewhere.

She had been too complacent thinking there was no one around.

There might not be any humans watching, but there were monsters watching.

Being ignored by a monster would truly damage her dignity significantly.

“Ahem, you didn’t see anything just now. Got it?”

Although she knew there was no way they could understand her words, Leciel spoke to the monster with a solemn expression.

However, the gaze of the monster was directed not at Leciel but at a man lying on the ground.

Realizing this, Leciel hurriedly approached the man.

Just because the monster wasn’t attacking her didn’t mean it wouldn’t attack a person at all.

The man was bleeding. Seeing that, it was likely that he had been seriously injured by someone, and the ‘someone’ was likely the monster.

There were no other beings here except for monsters.

As Leciel moved to protect the man, the monster growled fiercely as if it didn’t like it.

“Hey, don’t bark like that.”

Leciel scolded sternly.

With just her tone, Leciel conveyed that she was reprimanding the monster.

Understanding the implications, the monster quickly lowered its tail and whimpered.

“Stay there.”

Just in case she needed the monster’s help.

The monster stared fiercely at the man from a suitable distance, showing its displeasure.

However, Leciel, without letting go of her guard against the demon, cautiously approached the man.

Although this place was at the edge of the monster forest, it was not easily accessible to ordinary people.

Those who even thought of entering were unlikely to exist.

But why, of all places, was there a man injured and lying here …?

Leciel cautiously reached out and tapped the man with her hand.

There was no immediate response.

However, there was a slight, subtle rise and fall of the chest.

She soon brought her finger to the man’s nose to confirm more clearly.

Indeed, she felt a faint breath, confirming that the man was alive.

“Now what?”

Even though the man was alive, Leciel was caught in her thought.

“First, we should probably treat his injuries, right?”

Although the man’s life was still intact, his condition seemed serious. If left untreated, it seemed likely that the message ‘he died’ would come up shortly.

However, there were no supplies readily available here to treat the man.

“Normally, it’s not advisable to bring a stranger into a child’s house, but I guess we’ll make an exception this time.”

Muttering to himself, Leciel tore a piece of her clothes to use as a makeshift bandage.

Though she felt a pang of regret for wasting what little clothing she had, what was more important than a person’s life?

With a heavy heart, Leciel gently wrapped the man’s wounds with the torn cloth.

“Now, it’s your turn to step up.”

Having hastily stopped the bleeding, Leciel turned to the demon.

Even though the monster might not understand her words, Leciel used a gesture of authority to indicate that it should keep watch over the man.

It might be difficult for her small body to move a sturdy adult man in his late twenties.

As Leciel looked at the rugged appearance of the monster, she felt a chill down her spine, but at the moment, the only one who could help her was that monster.

The monster seemed to understand Leciel’s words and opened its mouth as if it was waiting, ready to attack the man.

However, like training a large dog, Leciel sternly extended his index finger from side to side, gesturing firmly.

“No.”

With that word,

the monster’s expression turned sour.

It seemed disappointed that it couldn’t eat the seemingly delicious human it had found.

Although she felt sorry for the monster, Leciel couldn’t afford to surrender this man to it.

“Could you take this man to my home?”

Having already burdened with many things, carrying the man was too much for her alone.

However, the monster didn’t understand Leciel’s words.

‘There’s no choice.’

She had to use the world’s best language, body language.

With a solemn expression, Leciel gestured as if she were picking up the man and pointed towards her home.

Fortunately, although the monster didn’t understand human language, it had an excellent ability to understand Leciel’s body language.

The monster, with a displeased look, tapped its foot on the ground as if it didn’t like Leciel’s request, but eventually lifted the man as she wished.

“Be careful with the patient. Got it?”

With a gesture implying to handle the patient carefully, Leciel reluctantly reached out and gently stroked the monster’s head.

The monster seemed to like this gesture, as a low growling sound escaped from it.

With the help of the monster, Leciel arrived home safely.

“Don’t leave. Wait here.”

Although she had brought the man home, she felt uneasy about being alone with a stranger whose identity she didn’t know.

What if the man woke up and attacked her without realizing her help?

For her safety, Leciel made sure the monster didn’t leave.

The monster, unable to understand Leciel’s words, sat quietly in a corner as requested, watching Leciel’s actions curiously.

Soon, Leciel brought water to roughly wash the man’s wounds so she could assess them properly.

“Endure the pain.”

Well, the man was unconscious, so he wouldn’t feel the pain anyway.

After saying polite words, Leciel used the cleanest cloth in the house to gently wipe the man’s wounds with water.

“The injury seems more severe than I thought.”

Would she be able to treat it properly with the items in her first aid kit?

With a wound this deep, it seemed to require stitching.

However, since she wasn’t trained in medicine, she couldn’t confidently stitch the wound.

If she stitched it wrong, it could worsen the injury or even cause it to fester.

In the end, Leciel reluctantly cleaned the wounds and disinfected them with the antiseptic from the first aid kit.

Then, she generously applied ointment and wrapped them in bandages.

“Please get better.”

Although it was more like a makeshift treatment given the severity of the injuries, Leciel decided to compensate for the lack of medical expertise with sincerity.

They said that food tasted better when made with sincerity, so perhaps wound treatment would also be more effective with sincerity.

Of course, it was unreasonable logic, but there was no other way.

“But he’s really handsome.”

After sighing that the treatment was finally over, Leciel marveled at the man’s face as she murmured.

With skin so fair, one might think he was Snow White.

Indeed, if Snow White saw him, she might be surprised and bow down to him.

Especially with his jet-black hair, contrasting with his fair skin, he exuded a strangely mysterious aura.

“Moreover, he’s a cold beauty.”

Sharp jawline, prominent nose. Even with his eyes closed, he emanated a strange chilly atmosphere.

He was a cold beauty no matter how you looked at him.

“It’s a shame. I’d like to see him with his eyes open.”

Even with his eyes closed, he was handsome. It would be even more handsome if he opened his eyes.

“Those eyelashes are enviable too.”

She wanted those eyelashes even if it meant plucking them and sticking them in her own eyes.

His fluttering eyelashes were so long and thick, truly the king of eyelashes.

They said that just extending eyelashes made it feel like wearing makeup, so it seemed quite acceptable in this dreary world to use them as a substitute for makeup.

‘With this appearance, it might be okay to keep him at home for display, even if he’s a bad guy.’

If she kept the monster as a bodyguard, the man might not easily attack her.

Well, even if she didn’t keep him for display, if the man in front of her wasn’t a bad person, with her young body, she might be able to ask for help with things she couldn’t do herself.

It seemed that if he had married early, he might have had children of his own by now. Surely, he wouldn’t ruthlessly refuse the request of his own child if he had one.

“Now that the treatment is over, I should get back to work.”

After tidying up the firewood she brought and preparing the meal, and since there was a patient, she thought that it seemed better to light the stove earlier than usual today.

With that in mind, Leciel warned the monster not to let the man go.

For the monster, which couldn’t understand language, she once again used body language.

After pointing her finger at the man and making a threatening gesture, she made a motion like she was hitting it for misbehaving, and also warned it to be gentle.

The monster seemed to understand the meaning of Leciel’s actions and, with a curious expression, extended its finger as if to say it knew what it meant.

“Promise.”

With the meaning of a promise, Leciel showed his little finger.

Upon seeing this, the monster extended its own finger, seemingly understanding what it meant, and with a strange expression as if it were about to say, “I’ll kill him,” with its fluffy fur and sharp nails, it seemed more like it was agreeing to a promise.

Having understood the meaning that the monster wanted to convey, Leciel began her work with peace of mind.

However, she couldn’t completely relax, so while being busy with household chores, she intermittently checked to see if the monster was not trying to attack the man.

“Well, let’s try some food now.”

Today felt like she had worked harder than usual, so she made a richer meal.

Well, it was just that there was more meat and greens.

“Here, this is yours.”

Since the monster had helped her bring the man here and had stayed to guard him without leaving, Leciel handed a cooked piece of meat to the monster as well.

Since the monster had kindly hunted for her yesterday morning, there was plenty of meat.

The monster, with a curious expression, stabbed the meat in front of it with its claws, then, after seeing Leciel eating the meat, started eating along with her.

‘Cute.’

After taking a bite of the meat, the monster’s eyes widened as if to say, “Wow, this taste exists?” Then, after a bite, it chuckled, then ate another bite and chuckled again.

After finishing the meal, Leciel checked the stove once more before attempting to lie down in bed to rest, but … she couldn’t.

The only bed available had the injured man lying on it.

However, lying on the floor was not an option for her back, so Leciel had to find another way.

And that was to use the monster as a bed.

However, the monster currently guarding the house wasn’t a pleasant sight to sleep next to, as she might wake up in the middle of the night, see its face, and faint.

So Leciel called for Mimi.

“Mimi!”

Despite worrying about whether she would come when called, Mimi promptly appeared at the sound of her loud voice.

Understanding Mimi’s hesitation at entering the room, as if unsure if she could open the door or not, Leciel gestured for her to come in, welcoming her inside.

‘Yeah, Mimi should be fine. I won’t faint even if I wake up and see her.’

With her thick, fluffy tail and fur as a blanket, it would be very warm to sleep with her.

Looking at Mimi with a satisfied expression, Leciel comfortably lay down on her body and fell asleep.

With a puzzled expression as to what Leciel was doing, Mimi wagged her head, but she simply lay down quietly, allowing Leciel to sleep comfortably.

* * *

The next day, before Leciel could wake up, the man Mimi had brought in opened his eyes.