By the time Hilda woke up, it was already evening.

  As soon as she opened her eyes, she saw Caius in the camp, training the little catgirl.

  The catgirl was drenched in sweat, swinging her arms with relentless effort. It all seemed just like yesterday.

  But as Hilda looked at Caius’s back, a faint blush crept onto her cheeks.

  Just then, Caius turned around. “Yo, you're up.”

  “Mm.” Hilda nodded and stood up, then added somewhat apologetically, “Sorry… because of me, we’re behind schedule…”

  “No big deal,” Caius waved it off with a carefree shake of his head, then chuckled. “If I’d known your alcohol tolerance was that bad, half a glass would’ve been enough.”

  Hilda tilted her head in confusion. “Is my alcohol tolerance that bad?”

  “You passed out after one drink, and you’re saying it’s not?” Caius raised a brow.

  “I passed out?” Hilda looked even more confused.

  Caius was momentarily taken aback, then cautiously asked, “You don’t remember?”

  Hilda thought for a moment, then shook her head. “No… I remember eating some skewers and drinking a little, then feeling fuzzy. After that… I woke up and it was already evening…”

  “Then… do you remember what happened after you got drunk?” Caius asked again.

  “No…” Hilda's expression grew tense. “What happened?”

  Caius’s lips twitched. After a brief pause, he shook his head. “Nothing.”

  “Liar, something definitely happened.” Hilda stared at him.

  “I’m serious,” Caius said. But for someone who could normally lie without batting an eye, his gaze was noticeably evasive.

  “Really?” Hilda, usually sharp-eyed, didn’t seem to catch that and instead looked at him skeptically.

  “Really.” Caius nodded earnestly.

  “Okay then, I’ll believe you.” With that, Hilda clasped her hands behind her back and skipped away toward the woods nearby. As she walked, she said cheerfully, “I’ve been asleep for so long, I feel bad. I’ll go scout the area a bit.”

  Caius called out, “Don’t go too far! You’ll get lost again.”

  “Got it~” Hilda waved without turning around.

  Caius clicked his tongue.

  Good thing she doesn’t remember. Otherwise, the Little Swan might have lost her mind.

  She had been… pretty rebellious at the time.

  What he didn’t know was that behind him, Hilda’s face had turned crimson.

  Did she not remember?

  No—she remembered everything.

  She remembered all too clearly.

  Every word she had said while drunk, even snatching the cigarette from Caius’s mouth and taking a puff—she remembered it all.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  That was why she didn’t dare face Caius now. She had used the excuse of scouting the area to flee, to calm herself down.

  A few hundred meters away from the camp, in the forest, she looked around to make sure Caius couldn’t see her. Then she ducked behind a tree, squatted down, and covered her burning face.

  “What the hell did I do…” she murmured. Even with her face buried in her hands, her pale earlobes were visibly flushed.

  She still didn’t know what came over her then.

  To actually snatch the cigarette right out of Caius’s mouth—and take a drag.

  Honestly, she shouldn’t have choked on it.

  The cigarette had a strong kick, yes, but she was a Platinum-ranked warrior mage. Breathing in smoke shouldn’t have fazed her.

  The reason she choked… was because the moment she placed it between her lips and inhaled, she realized—it had already been in Caius’s mouth.

  She could still feel the lingering dampness left on the tip from his lips.

  That realization made her cough.

  In that moment, she couldn’t bring herself to meet Caius’s gaze, couldn’t even reply.

  That’s right—the Little Swan had resorted to the oldest trick in the book. Pretending to be asleep.

  She feigned unconsciousness on the spot.

  And as the alcohol hit her for real… she actually did fall asleep.

  When she woke up, the memories flooded back, playing over and over in her mind.

  Even now, they wouldn’t leave her alone.

  She slowly lowered her hands from her face and started drawing circles in the dirt with her finger, recalling Caius’s earlier certainty.

  He probably said nothing happened just to spare her from embarrassment.

  Her gaze turned vacant for a moment, then she pouted.

  “Big liar…”

  But then, unexpectedly, she smiled.

  She didn’t even know why. She hated being lied to more than anything. But when she thought of how Caius kept saying “nothing happened” while his eyes darted around guiltily—it was oddly funny.

  She lifted a hand to gently touch her lips, as if the damp cigarette butt was still there.

  Then she suddenly shook her head and slapped her cheeks lightly.

  “Stop thinking about it, nothing happened… absolutely nothing happened…”

  But a smile still tugged at her lips.

  She began drawing in the dirt again, this time three small circles.

  Two were eyes. One was a pig’s snout.

  She dotted the nostrils and added floppy, leaf-shaped ears on each side. A mischievous grin appeared on her face.

  “This time it was my fault… I can’t blame you.”

  “Even if you lied to me, I’ll forgive you.”

  “But you’re not allowed to lie next time, okay?”

  “Big dumb pig!”

  She patted the dirt off her knees and stood up, then turned toward the forest. “Alright, time to scout. I have to remember the way back this time, or that big dumb pig is going to laugh at me again.”

  …

  Night fell.

  Back at the camp, Caius arched an eyebrow and glanced at the time.

  An hour and a half had passed. Why hadn’t the Little Swan returned?

  Did she get lost again?

  Caius rubbed his temples. He never should’ve let her go off alone.

  But at the time, something about her clear, bright eyes had made him falter. So he hadn’t stopped her.

  Now, that unsettling feeling of being watched was creeping back again, making it hard for him to sit still.

  He stood up and called to the catgirl, getting ready to head out and search.

  But just then, a rustling sound came from the mountain forest.

  Caius perked up, stepping forward, thinking it was Hilda.

  Then his pupils contracted.

  He immediately yanked the catgirl back.

  A shadow burst out of the underbrush—no, it flew out.

  Landing a few meters in front of him.

  Caius narrowed his eyes.

  “Help… me…”

  It was a man.

  Blood streamed from his throat, wounds carved savagely across his body. One leg was bent at an impossible angle.

  His voice was hoarse and faint, bubbles of blood rising as he spoke.

  Caius didn’t rush forward. Instead, his gaze locked onto the patch of grass the man had spread out.

  It was pitch black—utterly devoid of light.

  Tonight, there was no moon. The sky above was a void of darkness, not even the faint glimmer of starlight remained. Caius couldn’t make out anything within the underbrush.

  But Kiki saw it.

  “Big guy, there’s something there, meow!” she warned, pointing her paw at the darkness ahead.

  Caius gave a small nod. He couldn’t see it, but he could feel it. Smell it.

  That nauseatingly familiar stench of blood.

  It wasn’t coming from the blood-drenched man lying before him.

  The darkness was absolute. Silent. Even the chirping of insects and the rustle of birds had vanished.

  Caius gripped his warhammer tighter, holding his breath, sharpening his senses.

  And then—a massive shadow lunged from the grass with a piercing screech.

  A savage glint flashed in Caius’s eyes. He swung his warhammer with brutal force.

  "BOOM!!!"

  The figure was sent flying like a severed kite, vanishing into the blackness. From the grass, more shadows emerged, low growls rumbling from their throats.

  Caius bared his teeth in a grin.

  “Looks like I won’t be getting any sleep tonight.”