The carriage rolled steadily down the road as Caius listened to Holan’s voice from inside the cabin, feeling a bit helpless.

  "Belle, when you arrive at Hydis, make sure not to show your face, alright?"

  "Otherwise, you’ll attract a lot of troublemakers like Caius who will come bothering you. Even though you’ll have an instructor with you, and they won’t dare to do anything in Hydis, they’ll still annoy you to death."

  Caius: "..."

  Belle listened to Holan’s words, lowering her head as she murmured, "He... isn’t a bad guy..."

  Caius immediately looked smug, raising an eyebrow at Holan in a taunting manner.

  Holan was speechless for a moment before she pulled Belle into an embrace and said, "Alright, maybe he isn’t, but others are. Just remember to listen to your instructor, okay?"

  Belle remained silent, and Holan wasn’t sure if she had taken her words to heart.

  At this moment, Caius added, "It’s never wrong to listen to Instructor Holan."

  Belle nodded lightly. "Mm."

  Caius: "Don’t just ‘mm.’ Say you understand."

  Belle: "I understand."

  Caius: "Good mushroom."

  Holan: "..."

  Seeing the increasingly smug look on Caius’s face, Holan had an urge to pinch him just to see how thick his skin really was.

  The carriage rolled smoothly along the road as night gradually fell.

  Belle, likely tense from the journey, began nodding off, her small head bobbing slightly as sleepiness overtook her. Her tall yet delicate figure swayed gently with the movement of the carriage.

  Caius noticed this but said nothing. He simply shifted closer to her, turning his back towards her.

  As Belle’s head bobbed again, it finally rested against Caius’s back. Perhaps she was too tired, for she quickly fell asleep in that position.

  Kiki was also curled up on Caius’s other side, fast asleep, her long feline tail wrapped around his arm.

  Hearing the faint sound of snoring in his ears, Caius gently pulled on the reins, slowing the carriage down.

  Holan watched his broad, sturdy back and felt a wave of drowsiness herself. Being with this big guy had a strangely comforting effect, as if she was wrapped in a cocoon of safety.

  And yet, he was only a Gold-ranked warrior...

  Holan yawned and moved behind Caius. First, she carefully tucked Belle in with a blanket before turning around and sitting down, wrapping herself up as well and leaning against Caius’s back.

  Now, Caius had a little Catfolk girl on his left, an elegant instructor on his left back, and a delicate mushroom girl on his right back.

  Caius turned his head slightly and glanced at Holan.

  She was looking up at him too, a playful gleam in her large eyes.

  Caius chuckled but said nothing, focusing on guiding the carriage.

  "Big guy," Holan’s voice echoed softly in his ears, laced with the resonance of magical transmission. Caius knew she was using magic to speak directly to him.

  He let out a small hum to acknowledge her.

  "Can you really protect her?" Holan asked.

  Caius understood what she meant—she doubted whether he was truly capable of keeping this fragile, pitiable girl safe.

  He didn’t answer verbally but nodded firmly.

  Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

  "Even if the ones trying to harm her are far stronger than you, would you still do it?"

  Caius nodded again.

  "Then why are you so determined to protect her?"

  Caius chuckled. "Because she’s beautiful."

  "Just because of that?" Holan was momentarily stunned.

  "Isn’t that enough?" Caius countered.

  Holan: "..."

  It was a straightforward answer, but also a sincere one.

  If Caius had given some grandiose speech, she wouldn’t have believed him. But this—this, she believed.

  Because Caius was a man. And men are naturally drawn to beauty.

  Caius made no attempt to hide his instincts; instead, he admitted them openly. This, ironically, made Holan regard him with even more respect.

  So, she asked again, "Do you think I’m beautiful?"

  "Of course," Caius answered without hesitation.

  He had called her a beautiful instructor countless times before. Women liked hearing the answers they wanted, so Caius was happy to oblige.

  "Then, would you protect me the same way?" Holan suddenly asked.

  Caius opened his mouth slightly, turning to look at her, only to find her gazing up at him like an innocent, clueless girl.

  But he wasn’t fooled.

  To him, Holan was a beautiful and intelligent woman—one who knew the value of restraint. She shouldn’t be asking such a near-confession-like question.

  At that moment, Caius’s mind raced, quickly realizing—it was a trap!

  If he answered "yes," it would mean he treated all beautiful women the same, and that Belle wasn’t special to him.

  And what women wanted... was to be special.

  Holan’s question was as tricky as "Who’s prettier, me or XXX?"—a classic trap question. And not just a trap question, but a deadly one!

  No wonder she was an instructor—such a complex question rolled off her tongue effortlessly.

  So, Caius pretended to think deeply, pausing for a moment before finally responding.

  "If you were as helpless as the little mushroom and needed protection, then I would."

  "But clearly, you don’t need it. You’re stronger than me, so..." He deliberately paused before flashing a grin.

  "So instead of unnecessary protection, I’d rather offer you romance and excitement you’ve never experienced before."

  "Like the candlelit dinner you promised me."

  Holan covered her mouth, laughing. "I only promised to treat you to dinner. I never said anything about candles."

  Caius smirked. "That’s fine, I can bring my own candles."

  Holan’s laughter turned her eyes into crescent moons. She had long since gotten used to Caius’s shamelessness.

  And this playful "push and pull" amused her greatly.

  So, Holan nodded and leaned into Caius’s back, settling into a comfortable spot. "How about tomorrow night, mercenary?"

  "I’m sure it’ll be a memorable evening, Instructor Holan."

  "Then... goodnight."

  "Sweet dreams."

  The night passed without further conversation.

  When Holan woke up, dawn was already breaking.

  Waking up naturally felt wonderful.

  The only discomfort was sleeping while leaning in the carriage, but a little stretching would fix that.

  Holan straightened up, stretched lazily, then looked at Caius.

  He was still sitting there, as solid as an iron tower.

  Meanwhile, the little Catfolk girl had somehow burrowed into Caius’s arms, curled up against his lap like it was a pillow.

  Belle was still resting against him, which meant that Caius hadn’t moved all night.

  "Where are we now?" Holan asked softly.

  "About a third of the way left to go," Caius replied.

  Since he had slowed the carriage deliberately, they still had some distance to cover, but they would arrive before noon.

  Just then, a soft murmur came from the mushroom girl’s direction.

  Belle was waking up.

  Drowsily, she stood up inside the carriage, momentarily disoriented.

  Luckily, the carriage was a large cargo wagon with a tall roof—otherwise, she would have hit her head.

  She swayed forward and suddenly let out a surprised yelp as she tripped over the wooden ledge of the carriage.

  Caius reacted swiftly, extending his right arm to catch her before gently setting her back down.

  "Silly mushroom, do you think you’re still in the orphanage?"

  “Mm...” Belle glanced around, finally realizing—she had already left the orphanage. Right now, she was inside a carriage heading toward Hydis.

  “Sorry...” she murmured softly, feeling like she might have caused trouble for Caius.

  “Stop saying sorry all the time. I'd rather hear you say, ‘I love you.’” Caius chuckled.

  “Hey!” Holan lightly tapped him and then turned to Belle. “Ignore him, he's just messing with you. That’s not something you say casually.”

  But then, Holan noticed that Belle had lowered her head without saying a word.

  She raised an eyebrow and shot a look at Caius. “See? You went too far with your joke.”

  Caius froze for a moment and turned to Belle. Normally, she always kept her head down due to her lack of confidence, her gaze usually falling diagonally toward the ground rather than looking straight ahead.

  But this time, Belle had completely lowered her head—so much that her small face was almost parallel to the floor.

  Did he really go too far?

  Caius leaned in. “Mushroom?”

  Belle didn’t respond and continued looking down.

  Caius glanced at Holan, who crossed her arms with a look that clearly said, “You started this, you fix it.”

  With no other choice, Caius said gently, “Look up.”

  To his surprise, Belle obediently lifted her head, though she still didn’t say anything.

  Caius reached out and gently brushed aside her bangs.

  She didn’t flinch—this was a good sign. As long as she wasn’t crying, things weren’t too bad.

  But the moment her bangs were lifted, Caius saw her face had turned completely red.

  His heart skipped a beat.

  In that instant, he realized—he hadn’t made her cry by taking the joke too far.

  Instead, Mushroom had taken it seriously. She was embarrassed.

  The white mushroom had turned into a pink mushroom.

  Even her ears were red.

  She bit her lip, her large eyes staring up at Caius, filled with panic and unease, like little whirlpools spinning in circles.

  And that look—made Caius’s heart race uncontrollably.

  “Ahem... I was just teasing you. Don’t overthink it,” Caius said, scratching his cheek.

  Upon hearing this, Belle slowly calmed down and gave a small nod.

  “Mm.”

  But Holan raised an eyebrow.

  Was this big guy... blushing?