IDGM 63

Chapter 63

“…Pardon?”

The hand clutching the carving knife suddenly froze.

I didn’t avoid his gaze but looked straight into his eyes.

“I’ve been curious for a while.”

“Curious… about what?”

“We’re both human, yet we’re so different.”

I pointed back and forth between his arm and mine.

My arm was thin, soft-looking, with no noticeable definition at all—while his was thick, rugged, and bulging with muscle, as if we belonged to two completely different species.

As I seriously compared his body with mine, Kallius burst out laughing and held out his arm.

“Go ahead, touch it all you want.”

I carefully laid my hand on his bare skin where he’d rolled up his sleeve. Warmth immediately spread through my fingertips.

Startled by the unexpected sensation, I asked,

“It’s so… hard.”

No wonder linking arms with him always felt awkward and uncomfortable—it wasn’t the clothes or armor. His arm itself was like solid steel.

“Is this a physical trait of Ronhaim people?”

The only other man who had seen my bare body was Viscount Pelsus, and his body wasn’t like this.
His chest and stomach bulged out and sagged, and his flesh had been just as soft as mine.

But the men of Ronhaim all looked hard and sturdy, almost like golems.

So I had assumed that this hardness and muscular build were simply a physical trait of northerners.

Kallius shrugged.

“It’s true that northerners tend to be larger than southerners. But I’ve never thought the muscles themselves were different. I can’t really say.”

“Is that so.”

I traced his arm carefully, from wrist to shoulder.

It was an arm that radiated strength.

Glancing down at my own arm, I felt a wave of inferiority and let my shoulders droop.

“I want to be like you, Kallius.”

“Like me…?”

As if struck by an idea, Kallius suddenly pulled a sheet of paper from the nightstand drawer and began sketching with a quill.

A round circle for a head, a few long lines, and some lumpy arms and legs.

“Is this what you mean?”

When he handed it to me, I opened my mouth wide.

It was so grotesque it was impossible to appreciate with any sense of refinement.

“Wait—this is supposed to be me?”

“Doesn’t it look like you?”

“Good heavens.”

“It’s identical. If you had a body like mine with Chloe’s face, this is exactly how you’d look.”

“No way! Not even close!”

“Check the mirror. You look just like this.”

“Are you saying my hair is all patchy and my eyes are sharp like that?”

Annoyed, I snatched the quill from him and, just as he had, drew a rough circle and scribbled some lines for a face, then added a thin body.

“If I look like this picture, then you look like this one.”

“Ah, come on. You should at least draw me bigger than Chloe.”

He extended the body I drew with much longer legs.

“You mean you’re this much taller than me? Impossible.”

I slashed half of the legs with an X.

“More like this.”

“No, the difference is greater than that.”

“I doubt it. Want to measure?”

And so, before long, we were comparing our leg lengths on the bed.

Soon it escalated into tickling each other, rolling around on the blankets.

“Ahaha! That tickles!”

“You started it first.”

“Using your strength, seriously?”

“Don’t you realize who’s actually using more strength right now?”

“Eek! Wait, wait! Ahaha, stop, it’s ticklish!”

The bedroom turned into a whirlwind of playful chaos.

After a long while of playing around, I collapsed onto the bed, completely exhausted.

The only sound in the shared bedroom was my own heavy breathing.

Lamia had once said that spending the night with the person you love was an incredibly happy and delightful thing—
and in a different sense, she was absolutely right.

“Love… I’m not sure about that.”

I shrugged inwardly, denying it.

But still, I felt undeniably cheerful at this moment.

Then Kallius turned toward me, resting his head on one arm, and called me.

“Chloe.”

Crackle, crackle—the sound of firewood burning. His voice fell over me softly, like a warm blanket.

I looked at him, feeling cozy.

“Yes, Kallius?”

“Are you uncomfortable living in Ronhaim?”

I shook my head immediately.

“No, not at all. Everyone’s kind.”

“Even though there are still people who doubt and watch you warily, you think so?”

“They only act that way because they want to protect you and Ronhaim.”

As I spoke, I stroked the blanket near the fireplace side.

That side was much warmer than the opposite side, which the fire didn’t reach.

“And besides, even though they’re suspicious and cautious, no one has treated me badly.”

Like locking me in a bedroom for days, or making me miss meals and serving only cold leftovers.

Having endured plenty of such treatment before, I appreciated the honesty of the servants and knights here, who kept watch but never stooped to cruelty.

Kallius carefully asked,

“Have you been treated cruelly before?”

I smiled bitterly in silence.

“So many times I can’t even remember them all.”

Even though he couldn’t possibly hear my thoughts, he reached into the blankets and found my hand, holding it firmly.

His touch was far warmer than the fire-heated sheets.

“…”

Why is it that I always feel like crying when I’m with him?

I took a deep breath, holding back the tears that threatened to fall.

“I have another question.”

“Go on.”

“Why are you so kind to me?”

Still lying on my back and staring at the ceiling, I turned my body to face him.

Now we lay face-to-face.

Though we were so close, I felt comfortable and natural—so different from before.

“I just don’t understand why you treat me so well.”

Kallius gave a gentle smile.

“Because I made a promise.”

“A promise?”

What did that mean?

I blinked in confusion, and he tucked my hair behind my ear as he explained.

“I made a promise with a childhood friend… someone I parted from long ago.”

His hand brushed my cheek, tickling faintly.

“We promised that even if we never met again, we wouldn’t forget each other. That we’d keep our bond alive in our hearts. That wherever and however we met again, we’d trust and support each other.”

“That’s… romantic.”

His words stirred something faint in my memory, and I pulled out a blurry recollection from my childhood.

“Maybe all children make such promises. I think I remember making one like that too.”

Kallius smiled more deeply.

“Is that so?”

“Yes. But… what does that have to do with treating me kindly?”

For some reason, he chuckled, his voice vibrating low in his throat.

“…?”

Puzzled, I stared at him, and he gave me a completely unexpected answer.

“Chloe, you resemble my friend.”

“Really? That’s strange. My friend looked like you too. And now you’re saying your friend looked like me?”

“Exactly. Isn’t that amusing? Even I get a little confused sometimes.”

“Confused about what?”

He didn’t answer. He only shook his head, as though he didn’t know himself.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

I brushed it off and asked another question.

“Do you think your friend still remembers that promise, like you do?”

“Most likely not.”

“How do you know?”

“Because I once met them again, by chance…”

“You did?”

My voice rose with excitement at the unexpected turn, eager to hear more.

But Kallius just gave me a bitter smile and stared at me intently.

“They didn’t remember me. It was as if they’d completely forgotten.”

“Ah…”

His words brought me disappointment, far from the romantic tale I’d hoped for.

I stubbornly tried to deny his conclusion, not wanting the story to end so bleakly.

“Surely it was a misunderstanding. Maybe you misread it.”

“I wish that were the case.”

But on his face, I saw no such hope.
He seemed certain it hadn’t been a mistake.

He pulled the blanket higher, covering me carefully.

“It’s late. If we oversleep tomorrow, people will amuse themselves imagining what went on here all night.”

“…!”

Why did Lamia’s mischievous laugh suddenly echo in my head at those words?

Quickly, I shut my eyes and pretended to fall asleep.

“Let’s sleep now.”

Kallius lay down properly beside me.

I thought he’d drift off, but instead, he whispered softly,

“Good night, Chloe.”

It was an unfamiliar, ticklish goodnight.

I wanted to return the words, but shyness sealed my lips.

At last, in a trembling voice, I managed,

“Good night… Kallius.”