“Whew, thank goodness you’re safe!”
Among those who had witnessed the fight between Satin’s group and the werewolf was the innkeeper. He explained that he had heard the howl and peeked outside, only to spot the werewolf—and had been too frightened to come out. He apologized for not doing anything.
“There’s nothing to be sorry about. That’s totally understandable.”
Rita brushed off the innkeeper’s apology with ease, then asked,
“More importantly, are you really saying that monster had never attacked a person until now?”
“Yes, this was the first time it even made a sound. It used to just stand still even when it saw people, and then head back into the mountains.”
It didn’t sound like a lie. And really, there wasn’t any reason for him to lie about this. Rita nodded slowly.
“Well, at least it happened while we were around to stop it.”
True enough—but something about it still felt a little off.
‘Why now, of all times?’
Satin furrowed his brow, but the innkeeper didn’t seem to notice anything strange.
“Yes, truly. Thank you, all of you.”
As a gesture of gratitude, the innkeeper offered to waive their lodging fees. Rita, who had money to spare, apparently decided there was no need to turn down such generosity and accepted his offer with a smile. However, she declined his offer to show them to their rooms.
As they climbed to the second floor, Rita casually revealed the reason she hadn’t wanted an escort.
“My shoe’s busted.”
Satin reflexively looked down at her feet—then burst out laughing.
“Pfft…”
The front of Rita’s left shoe had been completely sliced off, like it had been neatly cut away. With every step she took, her sock would peek in and out of view.
“I can’t let anyone else see me looking like this. At least my toes are still intact, right?”
She grumbled loudly enough for Cain to hear, but Cain didn’t react at all. Apparently not expecting anything from him in the first place, Rita let it go and opened the door to her room. It was the first one on the second floor.
“Well then, get a good night’s rest. I’ll see you all in the morning.”
“See you tomorrow.”
Edward headed into the second room, and Satin picked the third. Just before he closed the door, he locked eyes with Cain—who had that look like he had something to say.
“Got something on your mind?”
“Yeah.”
Satin narrowed his eyes and looked up at him. So he’d waited until Rita and Edward were gone—was it that serious?
Satin let out a soft sigh and gave a nod. Cain spoke, his expression still sour.
“It’s been a while since we reunited, hasn’t it?”
“Well, yeah.”
In truth, the only one he’d reunited with was Cain—but there was no need to point that out. Satin just went along with it.
“You avoiding my help—don’t tell me it’s because you don’t remember?”
“What are you talking about? You’ve helped me plenty.”
Even though he knew what Cain was referring to, Satin pretended not to and mumbled,
“Thanks to you, I’ve got a place to stay, right? And you even came all this way with me. I’m grateful.”
“Cut the crap.”
“Uh…”
As soon as Cain frowned, Satin instinctively quieted down. Cain drew in a deep breath and crossed his arms. From the way he was watching Satin carefully while trying to keep a straight face, it was clear he wasn’t going anywhere soon. Satin sighed again and said,
“It’s just… back there, it looked like you didn’t really want to get involved.”
“Why would I?”
“Because I mentioned a reward. Didn’t seem like something you were eager to deal with.”
“That’s just—no, never mind.”
Cain had been about to snap but bit his tongue with a click instead. Satin waited for him to continue, but he stayed silent for a while.
‘Maybe I should just try to smooth things over a bit.’
Satin reached out and lightly tapped Cain’s arm. Cain flinched—just barely—then crossed his arms more tightly. His chest rose subtly as he puffed up.
He’s like an angry bird, Satin thought to himself, and spoke in a calm voice.
“I know you always do this because you’re worried about me. But I’m not a kid, okay? You don’t have to do everything for me.”
“What if you end up in danger?”
“I wouldn’t be reckless enough to let it come to that.”
“But you don’t know that for sure.”
“Well, yeah, but… what are the odds something like that would actually happen?”
Satin purposely kept his tone light as he glanced at Cain’s face—and immediately regretted it. Cain’s expression was grim. It seemed even the smallest hint of uncertainty was intolerable for him.
‘All because of Satin.’
Of course, the Satin he was blaming wasn’t himself, but the previous one—the original. Whether that Satin had been a good person or a bad one, there was no way to know now. But one thing was certain: he’d left a deep, lasting mark on Cain, one that had helped shape his entire personality.
‘I was an idiot.’
ㅇㅇ had been thinking about everything the wrong way from the start. The person who had created this world was his sister, and Satin had been the one she loved most. But the moment ㅇㅇ became Satin, the person his sister had loved ceased to exist. ㅇㅇ could never be that person.
So then what was ㅇㅇ—what was the current Satin?
He shook off the creeping thoughts and refocused on the Cain standing before him.
“Right. Earlier—you asked me what I was going to give you in return for your help. Was there something you actually wanted?”
“What?”
“You asked me what I’d give you for helping me. Was there something specific you had in mind?”
Cain’s expression changed in an instant. The stern scowl he’d worn just moments ago vanished, and for a second, he even looked a bit excited.
A sense of dread tickled at the back of Satin’s neck. He took a half-step back—then immediately regretted it.
Cain stepped forward, closing the distance between them. If anything, he was even closer now.
Glancing past Satin’s shoulder, Cain commented,
“Two beds.”
Satin instinctively looked behind him. “Oh… yeah, guess so.”
The innkeeper had said all the rooms on the second floor were vacant, so they could use whichever they liked. But he hadn’t explained whether the rooms were singles, doubles, or shared spaces. No mention of the bed types, either.
“No need for separate rooms, then.”
Cain’s expression was… odd. Satin gulped.
‘Isn’t there also no need to share the same room?’
Cain’s lips curved ever so slightly.
“You planning to stand there all night?”
There was no way he could block the door till morning, so Satin finally stepped aside. Cain walked in with an air of complete nonchalance and closed the door behind him. He lit the lamp by the door.
“I’ll take this bed.”
Almost immediately, Cain dropped his pack and slung off his robe, tossing it over the bed closest to the door. It wasn’t subtle—he was staking his claim. He’d have to take it off anyway to go wash, so he figured he might as well do it now and make his intent clear.
Satin sat on the inner bed and began untying his shoelaces. He steeled himself, determined not to let Cain’s actions get to him.
‘If I show discomfort, Cain’ll pick up on it.’
But as soon as he lifted his head after removing his shoes, their eyes met. Even though it wasn’t their first time sharing a room, Cain visibly flinched and turned away.
“I’ll go wash up first. Just relax.”
No one had told him to leave, but Cain made a swift exit anyway, slamming the door behind him.
‘Seriously… I told myself not to overthink this…’
***
The carriage felt more spacious today. With no new passengers, the four of them had the whole interior to themselves.
Rita was sprawled out, asleep in a position that took up half the bench. Edward sat in a meditative pose, legs stretched out and relaxed. Satin, on the other hand, had squeezed himself into the corner by the window, trying to take up as little space as possible.
The sight irritated Cain enough that he clicked his tongue. Satin, hearing it, shrank even closer to the window.
‘So annoying.’
There was a time when Satin had once thrown himself down a flight of stairs to protect Cain. He had fought through fire and ascended burning stairs to save him.
And now? Now Satin wouldn’t even ask him for small favors. Even though they’d spent plenty of time together since reuniting, Satin still kept him at arm’s length. Cain couldn’t stand it.
‘Last night was weird too.’
They’d shared a room many times before. There was no reason for things to feel awkward. But last night, Satin had been acting strangely cautious—avoiding eye contact, giving awkward little smiles every time their gazes met. Cain had ended up stiffening up, too. The current uncomfortable silence between them felt like a direct continuation of that.
Maybe he should say something—break the ice. But he had no idea what to say. And if he fumbled it, if Satin didn’t react well, it’d only make things worse. Why were Rita and Edward so unusually quiet today, anyway?
The tense silence only lifted when the carriage came to a halt. Like yesterday, they stepped out to stretch their limbs while the horses rested. Cain massaged his neck and shoulders—but kept his eyes fixed on Satin.
“Did you two fight?”
Rita’s sudden question made both Satin and Cain look at each other. Cain winced in surprise, brows furrowing instinctively, while Satin quickly turned his head and replied to Rita with forced casualness.
“We didn’t fight. Why’d you think that?”
“The vibe’s just… weird.”
“Really? I don’t feel anything off.”
Satin looked at Cain with an innocent smile, as if he truly had no idea what Rita was talking about. Cain, however, couldn’t feign ignorance so smoothly. His brow furrowed before he even realized it.
Rita didn’t miss a beat.
“See? Look at that. The clingy one’s sulking again—definitely something happened.”
Satin couldn’t keep up the act anymore. But he also seemed at a loss for a proper excuse. So instead, he muttered, “The sun’s kinda strong today,” and promptly ducked back into the carriage.
That was such an uncharacteristically obvious dodge that Rita blinked in surprise.
“Okay, seriously. What happened?”
“None of your business.”
“Oh, come on. We’re in this grand quest together. The least you can do is fill me in.”
“Grand quest, my ass.”
Cain clicked his tongue and climbed into the carriage.
Inside, Satin already had his eyes closed, pretending to sleep. The sight made Cain’s irritation bubble up again—but he kept it in check. Instead of calling him out for faking it, he just stared at Satin’s face.
Not much had changed since before they’d parted ways. When his eyes were open, Satin gave off a vaguely suspicious air, but when they were closed like this, he looked almost absurdly gentle.
‘If only whatever useless crap he was thinking about would actually show on his face.’
‘God, he’s annoying.’
