Chapter 3

He’s so handsome…

When I was the adopted daughter of the Marquis of Devoré, I occasionally attended noble banquets.

But I had never seen a face as beautiful as a sculpture.

His sharp nose.

His strong jawline.

His deep eyes.

Everything about him looked unreal.

For a moment, I wondered if he was a character from the novel.

But that didn’t seem likely.

There had never been a black-haired, black-eyed man like him in the story.

Still, it was hard to simply admire his appearance.

He had an intimidating presence that made him difficult to approach.

I suddenly felt as though I couldn’t breathe.

Maybe I shouldn’t have talked to him…

Just as I started regretting it—

Huh?

A strange metallic smell drifted to my nose with the wind.

It smelled like blood.

But it was different from human blood.

Where had I smelled it before?

Then I remembered.

“Ah! Wait a second!”

I quickly stopped him.

“Is this… monster blood?”

“And if it is?”

He answered as casually as if he were saying, “One plus one equals two.”

His calm attitude made my eyes widen.

“Then this is serious! You have a scratch on the back of your hand!”

This wasn’t the time to stand around.

If monster blood entered even a small wound, the flesh could rot.

Fortunately, he didn’t seem to have any major injuries.

But I still couldn’t relax.

Even a tiny scratch was dangerous.

I need disinfectant… and ointment…

I completely forgot how intimidating he had seemed a moment ago.

Blocking his path so he couldn’t leave, I hurriedly searched through my bag for medicine.

Unlike me, however, the man didn’t seem to understand the seriousness of the situation.

He even kept trying to pull his hand away.

You’re a grown man, not a child!

Before I knew it, I had started scolding him.

“Stay still! What if the monster blood gets into your wound? Are you afraid it’ll sting? If the wound gets infected, it’ll hurt much more later. Crying then won’t help!”

“Who’s going to cry? I don’t need this. It won’t have much effect on me anyway—”

I gave him a very stern look.

Whenever I used this look, all the children in my village immediately behaved.

And just as expected—

“…Hah.”

He let out a short laugh.

Then, as if giving up, he quietly allowed me to treat him.

His eyes seemed to be saying,

“What kind of strange woman is this?”

It doesn’t matter right now.

I couldn’t waste this chance.

Just like when treating stubborn children, I finished cleaning and dressing his wound before he even had time to react.

There.

Now I finally felt relieved.

As I let go of his hand, he looked down at the back of it with a puzzled expression.

“Not bad, right? I made this ointment myself.”

“You made it?”

“Yes. I’m a pharmacist.”

While we talked, the swelling around the wound had already gone down.

The pain had probably eased too.

The man continued staring at the back of his hand in surprise.

I couldn’t help smiling proudly.

To be honest, I had always been confident in my medicine.

For some reason, everything I made worked especially well.

…Maybe I was being too nosy.

Now that I’d calmed down, I suddenly felt embarrassed.

I had stopped a complete stranger and treated him like that.

But I couldn’t help it.

It was an occupational habit.

I’d always been unable to ignore injured people.

Lately, it had become even worse because of the children in my village.

Whenever they got hurt, instead of telling me honestly, they always hid it.

Then the wounds became worse.

Because of that, I had developed the habit of never walking past someone who looked injured.

Though this man doesn’t seem bothered at all.

I looked up at him.

Even with monster blood all over his robe, he looked perfectly calm.

He must be a monster hunter.

Unlike the capital, Winterwald was known for having many monsters.

The original story often mentioned the Duke and his knights defeating them.

This man was probably one of those hunters.

Thinking about it that way, his overwhelming presence made sense.

In that case…

As a grateful citizen, I couldn’t just do nothing.

“Here, take this. It’s very effective.”

“I should repay you.”

As I held out the ointment, he immediately reached into his robe for something.

“You don’t need to repay me for something like this. Just be more careful next time so you don’t get hurt.”

“I don’t like owing people.”

“Owing me? It’s only a little ointment.”

I waved both hands.

“Really, it’s fine. You’re a monster hunter, aren’t you?”

He paused for a moment before nodding.

Just as I thought.

“Then please think of this as a small thank-you gift. A few months ago, monsters threatened our village too.”

Although things had become quieter recently, monster waves had been occurring frequently over the past three years.

Without people like him, villages wouldn’t be safe.

I gently placed the ointment back into his hand and smiled.

“Thank you for protecting everyone.”

“…You’re from another region?”

“Yes. I came here because I have some business.”

“What kind of business?”

“Well… you could say I’m looking for work.”

Of course, that was only half true.

“Oh, by the way, do you know the way to the Duke’s mansion?”

“Go up that hill.”

He nodded toward the distance.

Following his gaze, I saw an enormous mansion that looked almost like a castle.

“Wow…”

“So that’s where it is.”

“Thank you for telling me!”

He gave a small nod.

What a strange man.

He acted unfriendly.

Yet he answered every question I asked.

The strangest thing, though, was how calm he remained.

How can someone be so relaxed while covered in monster blood?

Even monster hunters usually hated that.

Ah.

I almost forgot the most important thing.

“Please don’t underestimate even a small wound! If it gets infected, the flesh can rot. You were lucky this time, but next time it could become very serious!”

I put on the fiercest expression I could manage.

But—

“Hah.”

He only raised one corner of his mouth in amusement.

…It didn’t work.

That was my secret weapon.

The children back home always listened when I looked at them like that.

But I guess it wouldn’t work on an adult.

Still… did he really have to laugh?

I was being completely serious.

Trying to ignore my embarrassment, I bowed politely.

“Anyway, take care!”

The man started walking away.

Then he suddenly stopped.

“…It seems the Duke’s mansion will soon be hiring a healer.”

“Huh?”

Before I could ask what he meant, he disappeared into the crowd.

I stood there for quite a while, thinking about his words.

I’ve been wondering how I could meet Cain…

This is it!

***

Far away, the man quietly spoke to himself.

“How interesting.”

How could a simple ointment be so effective?

He looked down at the back of his hand.

The man—

Or rather, Cain—

was the head of House Ashelrn.

A family with overwhelming power and unimaginable wealth.

Its influence was said to rival even the imperial family.

But the Ashelrn family’s greatest secret was their dragon blood.

They were the only family in the Empire descended from dragons.

Their bodies were completely different from ordinary humans.

Because of that, normal medicine had almost no effect on them.

Even the imperial physicians would have difficulty producing medicine this effective.

Who exactly is she?

Unaware that he was watching her, the woman was happily looking around the streets.

Her curly pink hair fluttered gently in the wind.

“…Hah.”

The more he looked, the stranger she seemed.

She hadn’t been afraid of him.

She had even treated him like a stubborn child.

Being cheerful alone couldn’t explain such behavior.

Cain looked down at the back of his hand again.

The scratch had completely disappeared.

His dragon blood naturally healed wounds quickly.

But even considering that, this result was unusual.

Everything about her caught his attention.

Before he realized it, his eyes kept following her.

He convinced himself it was because of her medical skill.

I should bring her to the mansion immediately.

She’ll probably be able to help Jayden.

Even if his sick nephew didn’t exist, that ointment alone was enough reason to recruit her.

Having made up his mind, Cain started walking toward her.

Just then—

“Melody! Did you come to find me with Auntie?”

“Uu!”

A tiny child ran around happily before jumping into the woman’s arms.

…Her younger sister?

They look exactly alike.

Their pink hair.

Their fresh green eyes.

Everything about them looked almost identical.

Cain stopped walking.

I’ve already told her.

She’ll come.

After watching them for a moment, he returned home.

Soon he arrived at the Duke’s mansion.

His aide, Conrad, hurried over.

“Your Grace! You’ve returned!”

Cain handed him the robe he had been wearing.

He always wore it when hunting monsters for exercise.

As soon as he removed the magic tool that disguised him, his appearance changed.

His black hair instantly turned silver like silk.

His black eyes became deep red.

His already inhuman beauty became even more unreal.

Even though Conrad had seen it many times, he still looked at his master with admiration.

But, true to his dragon blood, Cain said nothing.

He simply walked toward his office.

Just before entering, he suddenly stopped.

“My lord? Is something wrong?”

“Post a notice.”

“We’re hiring a healer.”