The Seed Thief

Vol. 1 Chapter 3.6

When Lulu almost reached him, she staggeringly stepped on rocks covered in algae.

"Eh?"

The next moment, Lulu, who was approaching with a soap, stumbled on a slippery rock.

'I'm falling!'

Lulu instinctively shut her eyes, anticipating cold water. But contrary to her expectation, warm arms grabbed her.

"Are you alright?"

Before Ervandas knew it, he had risen and grabbed her. Despite being frozen in fear by the approaching insane witch, his knightly instinct kicked in.

As Ervandas thought, 'Let's help her up and quickly create some distance,' Lulu looked at the hands holding her and spread her arms, beaming.

"You helped me?"

The creek was deep enough to submerge up to the neck when sitting. If she had fallen hard, she would have been struck by the rocky creek bed.

'But I captured you!'

To Lulu, Ervandas, who had appeared handsome yesterday, now looked even more striking. When she awoke, he had not only tidied the floor but also thoroughly cleaned every inch, even atop shelves where Lulu's hands couldn't reach.

Just being handsome wouldn't be enough; he even helped her without running away.

Great job in catching this man!

Praising herself, Lulu embraced Ervandas.

"Thank you!"

"Huh? Uh!"

Taken aback by Lulu's sudden embrace, Ervandas lost his balance this time and stumbled. Fearing they would both fall, instead of pushing Lulu away, he hugged her tighter to prevent her from getting hurt.

'Wait. Why am I doing this?'

Why would he, a knight, have to help this witch?

Feeling something was off, Ervandas tried to push Lulu away, but it was too late. With a loud Splash! their bodies fell into the stream. As cold water poured over his face, Ervandas thought.

It seemed the witch's curse had reached his subconscious.

The two hastily tried to rise from the stream. Lulu coughed out the water that had entered her mouth and nose. She then realized, unlike the usual cold and rocky bottom, she was lying on a warm and soft surface.

It was Ervandas's body lying beneath her.

'This.....'

Nice?

While Ervandas wiped the water from his face, Lulu looked at the body she lay upon.

Whenever she bathed, a chilling eeriness would creep from the cold stones at the bottom. Bumping into them was also painful. But sitting on his body, the warmth of their contact made even the water chill a pleasant temperature.

Then, from now on...

'When I bathe, Er should come too.'

Of course, her intention wasn't merely to use him as a floor rug. During bathing, there were always hard-to-reach places. Wouldn't it be nice to have someone help with such spots?

When lathered her hair with soap, her arms would eventually ache due to its length, and her neck would stiffen from the weight. But if he helped, it could finish much faster without pain.

Certainly, this help wouldn't be one-sided. She could help him wash in return!

'Starting today!'

While Lulu entertained scheming thoughts, Ervandas continued wiping the dripping water from his face, his head turned away from her.