“Ah…” Bella watched stupefied as Leon took out Brago in the blink of an eye, the poor ex-knight falling face-first into the flower field around him.

“Leon, why did you do that!? He clearly wanted to protect me from them, and even started thanking you!” She started to yell at him, but stopped when she actually took a good look at him. He was caked in blood, the thick, viscous liquid seeping into his clothes and hair, dyeing them a bright pink hue.

However, the most unsettling thing about him was the lack of feeling, or rather, the lack of emotion on his face, combined with his menacing blue eyes made her weak in the knees.

Trembling, Bella fell to the ground, her legs finally giving out after the sight and smell of the massacre assaulted her senses. It was all she could do to keep from vomiting, but the urge suddenly rose as Leon drew closer.

“Stop. Stop, you’re… your everything is gross!” Pointing to his hair and clothes before averting her eyes, she didn’t notice Leon take a step back and examine himself.

However, she did notice a loud splash across from her only moments after. She looked back to where Leon had been only to see him some distance away washing the gore out of his hair and clothes in the river.

“Wait no, come here!” She motioned towards Leon, who had just brought his head above water. Slowly, he got out of the river and walked towards her, a look of neutrality and lack of emotion still evident on his face.

She wondered why. Surely, it wasn’t the first time he had killed someone, his efficiency at incapacitating his opponents proved as much. However, instead of relieved or even happy they had gotten out of that predicament, he just looked tired.

Bella wondered how those beautiful eyes could hold so much apathy in them. Rather, how his eyes could every have seen so much violence to make him this numb towards the art of killing.

Before she noticed she lost track of time staring into his eyes, and quickly closed her own before coughing to reassert her position as the one leading the conversation. “Anyway, you can’t just jump into the water like that, with blood and guts all over you. Think of the ecosystem, you’ll pollute their water supply and then they’ll migrate, displacing other species. Especially in this forest, Aiga’s Embrace. There are many predatory animals in this forest, and it would cause a chain reaction if they were to migrate and start preying on other habitats!”

As soon as she finished her lecture, she opened her eyes to see the attractive man cocking his head to the left and staring blankly at her. ‘Oh Gods above, I forgot he doesn’t understand me.’ She gave up on the speech, and instead pointed to the fallen Brago.

She motioned throwing something over her shoulder, then made a walking gesture with two fingers and pointed in the direction of her house. Leon seemed to understand and started by inspecting the downed body of Brago.

Meanwhile, Bella got up and started walking back towards the mansion… or at least, she would have if her legs responded to her. “Uh… Leon?” luckily, he turned around in time to see her motion towards herself and a carrying motion with her arms.

Leon rudely responded with a sigh and returned back to her side, but faced opposit her, offering his back as her vehicle until she regained the sensation in her legs. She obliged with blushing cheeks, and reddened further as he hooked her left thigh with his arm before walking back over to Brago, whom she had completely forgotten about.

“Just leave him Leon. We can come back later.” He ignored her order, instead taking Brago by his collar in his right hand, and dragging his limp body across the forest floor in the direction of the Clairborne mansion.

As Leon walked along, Bella sunk her head into the space between his neck and right shoulder, taking delight in the comfort it provided. However, she also felt alarm as she could feel her dress riding up, and for her own purity and Brago’s life, she prayed he didn’t wake up before they reached the mansion.

---

As the mansion finally came into sight, I saw Jane tending to the garden in her front yard and called out to her. She looked up, and her face paled as she saw Bella on my back and me dragging back a bandit behind me.

“What happened? Explain it to me, now.” Her tone was hard, but also worried for the girl behind me.

“She can explain it to you, I’m going to bed.” I started to let Bella off my shoulders, when I noticed she had fallen asleep and was now loosely hanging off of me.

“She’s going to do what now? Put her in her room Leon, and then come to the dining room. I’ll tie this man’s wrists and ankles and bring him into the kitchen until we decide what to do with him.” I wanted to argue, but some trace amounts of annoyance and anger lingering in her tone made me do otherwise.

Whatever the reason, she was the mistress of a household that had taken me in for free, and let me freeload here while doing minimal work. As I would like to continue living here while recovering my memories, I swiftly decided that this was not my hill to die on.

While I continued to hold on to and support Bella, I let the thieves’ unconscious body fall to the floor. It surprised me: I was sure I had put enough power into that blow to snap his neck, but I guess some people in this country were more resilient than they looked.

Without so much as glancing back, I put my other arm around Bella’s thigh to stabilize her and walked up the stairs to the double doors, which Jane had apparently left open when she came outside.

I trudged up towards Bella’s room, and came to a stop in front of an impressively decorated Azure door.

“Come on Bella, at least get up by you-pff!” I turned my head and got a face full of hair. Annoyed, I blew it out of my mouth and opened the door to Bella’s room which was surprisingly… plain?

Blue walls, a blue ceiling, and blue furniture clearly indicated to me where she stood on her national color, and fabric, along with various sewing kits and several unfinished clothing projects gave me a peek into how Bella’s mind operated. She wasn’t someone that could finish things long-term, but instead someone whose will turned on a dime and whose fascinations were constantly in flux. After a while, my eyes adjusted to the sudden attack of blue and I could make out her bed in the far left corner of the room.

I laid her out, and apologized in advance for any smell that might stick on her. Although I did take a dip in the river, I was sure that not even half of the stench of blood had come off.

Apologizing once again mentally, I left the room and closed the door behind her, sighing as I noticed my dirty footsteps staining her floor. Not like I could help it though…

---

I entered the dining room in time to see Jane sitting at the head of the table, and gazing at me expectantly.

“Well? Is she safe and sound?” I told her that I left Bella in her room, and that to the best of my knowledge she was safe.

Jane slammed her fist on the table, stood up and glared at me. “That’s not what I mean you idiot! Her chastity, is her chastity alright!?”

I stood there, dumbfounded, which she apparently took as a negative response. “Ah, I knew I shouldn’t have let you both wander alone! Damn it, or wait, did you take it yourself!?”

I slumped my shoulders and sighed. “You’re actually insane. I can’t believe I’m actually living with you.” She giggled and sat back down.

“I know nothing happened. Mr. Shields told me as much earlier.” She pointed behind me and I turned to see the dirty bandit standing against the wall with his arms crossed, giving me a cautious look.

I exhaled a breath I didn’t know I was holding and turned back around, “I know you’re letting me stay here for free, and beggars can’t exactly be choosers, but please tell me why the bandit I almost killed is standing behind me?”

Jane smiled, and pointed to the floor. “He’s not a bandit…” she said, then continued in a different language, “Well, he looks and most definitely smells like one, but I can vouch for him.” The man blushed at this comment, and shrunk back as he hugged himself.

“Ah, sorry. You were always a clean freak, weren’t you? No matter, he came to return something very important to me, which has put me in a good mood. In return, I’m thinking of letting you and Bella both go to meet my benefactor and listen to his request.”

I stared at her blankly, but she just continued to smile at me in return. “Why would you bother sending us? Surely it would put Bella in less danger and you could actually make negotiations yourself.”

Her smile widened and she began, “It’s not only for my benefit. I want Bella to start seeing the world, but I also want you to get some experience as well.” I cocked my head, and she shook hers disapprovingly in response.

Jane pointed behind me once again, back towards the filthy human named Mr. Shields. “Do you know who that is?” I shook my head, and she rubbed her temples. “Of course not, because as he was trying to explain to you who he was, you assaulted him under the misconception that he was a bandit.”

I looked back at Mr. Shields, looked up at his mud-caked hair and torn pants, then back at Jane. “Was I wrong to think so?”

Jane closed her eyes, “No, you weren’t Leon, but that’s not my point. You know too little about the language of our country, and it almost cost me a peace treaty with a messenger of King Pola.

I looked back at Mr. Shields, then back to Jane once more. “I don’t see it.” She looked up as well, and studied the poor man before winking at me.

“To be fair, in his current form I don’t either, but don’t underestimate the power of social connections, and you and Bella gaining some wouldn’t hurt you both in the slightest. Of course, I don’t expect you to go to the capital immediately, but once you have learned enough of the language from me to become proficient in it, I expect you to conduct yourself in a proper manner, and not-” she pointed to Mr. Shields- “resolving things through pure violence.”

“Thank you for your willingness to teach me, I hope I can meet your expectations.” Jane nodded at my comment, and said something to Mr. Shields before sending him away for something.

“Oh, Leon, I need you to actually help and get wood tomorrow. I understand that it didn’t work out today for various reasons, but don’t worry, I’ll properly equip you for that job.” Her tone worried me a bit, but I was also curious of what she meant by that as well.

“More importantly, I want you to register at the adventurers guild at the capital. That way, you can take quests whenever you feel as if you need money. I know it’s just a wish, but I hope you can become someone famous one day.”

“For now, let me give you a history lesson on the past 20 years of our nation, as well as the current king and the circumstances surrounding what Mr. Shields wants to know: the death of the Prince, and subsequently, my daughter: Rora Clairborne.”