TVCWB Chapter 20

Chapter 20

“Yaaawn.”

Perea opened her eyes with a big yawn. Sleeping in a sleeping bag instead of a cozy bed had left her body sore in several places.

Back in her academy days, she could camp outdoors for an entire week and still feel energetic.
Now, she was feeling her age a little — she clicked her tongue with mild regret.

Careful not to wake Theo, who was still asleep beside her, Perea quietly got up.
Ray’s sleeping bag, which he had laid out perfectly flat the night before, was already empty — not a single wrinkle on it.

When Theo had fallen asleep and Perea was drifting off as well, Ray had still been sitting nearby, wide awake.

She had asked him whether he planned to stay up all night on guard duty, but he hadn’t answered.
Even without saying so, she guessed he had stayed awake to watch over Theo.

‘Then he must be exhausted now… can he even drive the wagon today?’
Thinking that, she decided to find him — she intended to offer to take over the driving.

He wouldn’t be far; she just needed to glance around.

As she expected, Ray was nearby.

“Sir Ray!”

Perea jogged over and waved cheerfully.

Ray started to lift his hand to wave back — then quickly stopped himself and brushed his hand through his hair instead.
If he let his guard down even a little, he’d be dragged into her energy first thing in the morning.

But his twitching ears and softly swaying tail betrayed him.
Even if he controlled his expression, his body’s reactions were impossible to hide.

Perea noticed it right away.
Because of that, she didn’t feel hurt by his usual cold face — instead, she smiled brightly and stood in front of him.

“Good morning!”

“Mm…”

Ray averted his gaze. He hadn’t slept even ten minutes, so this bright, sunny greeting felt awkward.

‘As I thought. He didn’t sleep at all. Poor knight.’

Convinced he’d been awake the whole night, Perea reached out her hand.

“…?”

Ray raised one eyebrow at the soft, pale hand suddenly extended toward him.

When he didn’t seem to understand, Perea shook her hand once more.

“You stayed up all night, didn’t you? So from here to Lium, I’ll drive the wagon. Please give me the key.”

“What…?”

“You can sleep the whole way there!”

Her radiant smile was terrifying.
Ray, who had never backed down even from powerful enemies or monsters, suddenly wanted to flee from this human woman.

Seeing him flinch and step back, Perea tilted her head in confusion.
Her brown hair swayed with the motion, releasing a faint floral scent that brushed against Ray’s nose.
He gritted his teeth, determined not to be distracted.

“I can… keep driving.”

He replied stiffly, gripping the key inside his pocket.

Perea didn’t understand why he refused to hand it over. She just smiled again.

“I’m good at reading maps, too! You must be tired from staying up all night — I can handle this much!”

“No…”

‘As if I could sleep while you’re driving!’

Just remembering that time when he’d felt like his life was in danger inside her wagon made cold sweat form on his forehead.

“You can’t drive.”

“What? Of course I can! You’ve even ridden in the wagon when I drove before.”

“I meant your driving manners are terrible.”

His blunt tone was as merciless as when he had told Theo the truth the night before. Ray was, in a way, an equally fair man — brutally honest to everyone.

Perea was so shocked she just opened and closed her mouth like a fish.
Her expression was so comical that Ray couldn’t hold back and burst out laughing.

His ice-blue eyes softened, his usually firm lips curved upward, and his broad shoulders shook slightly as his silver hair shimmered in the morning light.

For someone who always looked serious and cold, his smile was stunning — almost violently beautiful.

Perea froze, unable to even close her open mouth, completely captivated by that rare smile.

If Theo hadn’t suddenly woken up with a loud whine, she might have actually shouted, “Don’t move!” just to keep that expression forever.

Luckily—or unluckily—Theo’s cry snapped them both back to normal.
Ray’s face returned to its usual calm mask, and Perea blinked rapidly, as if waking from a trance.

They quickly hurried back to the boy.
He was crying miserably, thinking he’d been left alone in the middle of the forest.

“Where did you gooo!”

“Over there, beside the bushes! We didn’t go far at all!”

“Liar!”

“No, really! We were right there. Isn’t that true, Sir Ray?”

Theo kicked his blanket angrily.
Though it was true they had left him alone for a short while, Perea worked hard to calm him down.

Ray, meanwhile, didn’t say a single word — whether he was too tired or simply refused to play babysitter, she couldn’t tell.

Eventually, after much coaxing, Theo stopped crying.
Exhausted from his tantrum, he held Perea’s hand tightly while eating breakfast, his eyes still glistening with leftover tears.

Feeling guilty, Perea stayed quiet and helped him eat.
She sliced the meat into small pieces and fed him gently, smiling as he chewed happily.

His round yellow ears twitched and his tail swayed — clear signs that his mood had improved.

Despite everything, seeing him eat meat so cheerfully in the morning melted her heart.
She completely forgot how much he had cried just minutes earlier and gazed at him with eyes full of warmth.

“You should eat, too.”

“Ah, thank you. You should eat as well, Sir Ray.”

On the plate he handed her were a few pieces of bacon and a slice of bread.
Neither Ray nor Theo — both predator beastmen — ever touched bread when there was meat available.

So if there was bread on the plate, it meant Ray had prepared it for her.

Surprised by his unexpected thoughtfulness, Perea blinked.
Moments like this always revealed how unexpectedly considerate Ray could be.

“Mmm, Perea. If you only eat bread, you won’t get strong,” Theo said, frowning adorably.

As a predator beastman, it made sense he thought protein was everything. But for a human like Perea, a little carbohydrate was plenty.

Smiling, she began to explain gently, using simple words Theo could understand.
Her explanation went on for quite a while — long enough that the freshly toasted bread had gone cold.

Without saying a word, Ray quietly took her plate and reheated the bread over the fire for her.
It was a small, wordless act of kindness — the kind that made the morning meal feel peaceful and warm.

After finishing their satisfying breakfast, the three of them packed up the campsite and climbed onto the wagon.

Perea tried one more time to ask for the key, but Ray firmly refused again.

“Here. Take this instead.”

“What’s this?”

Ray handed her three small, dark stones that glimmered faintly.
They were too rough to be called gemstones, but too shiny to be ordinary rocks.

Perea examined them curiously, turning them in her hands under the sunlight, but couldn’t figure out what they were.

Watching her struggle, Ray chuckled and casually gave the answer.

“They’re Wulphira monster stones. I killed three of them at dawn.”

“Wha… what?”

“You’ve never seen an unprocessed monster stone before? You said you majored in monster studies.”

The flood of information left Perea stunned.
Even setting aside the fact that she was holding monster stones, the idea that he had fought three Wulphira alone that morning was shocking enough.

“Wulphira — that wolf-like monster, right? Oh my goodness… wait, you didn’t get hurt, did you?!”

Startled, Perea immediately began checking him from head to toe for injuries.

While she carefully inspected him, Ray’s long, white tail twitched restlessly behind him — swaying back and forth like a reed in the wind.