The warm and gentle touch on her hair, the protective arm around her waist

Pethra was fully enjoying her position right now. She was sitting in Aron's lap, hugging him tightly, fearing he might escape. Closing her eyes, she buried her face in his chest. She had stopped crying not too long ago, and now her sole focus was on listening to Aron's heartbeat, which brought her a sense of peace.

Reflecting on how quickly she had let her guard down around him, Pethra was surprised. If anyone saw them and witnessed their interactions from when they first met until now, they would undoubtedly assume that Aron had manipulated the little witch and planned to exploit her in some way. And honestly, Pethra felt the same way at first.

'What kind of man would pull a woman who tried to kill him a few hours ago onto his lap?'

However, the more she interacted with Aron, the thought of him manipulating her became less true. Pethra quickly realized that Aron held no hatred towards her. He never lied, deceived, or hurt her in any way, apart from the hit on her neck when he knocked her out, which she quickly forgot and understood why he did it.

Another thing that Pethra found strange about Aron was that he didn't hide his feelings or intentions. When he spoke about the slavers, he showed rage and hatred. When he interacted with her, he showed amusement, interest, similarities, sadness, and happiness.

Aron didn't hide his feelings, which puzzled the little witch, but she came to understand that the man she was now sitting on his lap and holding tightly in her arms didn't care at all about hiding his emotions. Aron simply acted the same way he felt inside.

"Aren't you a little too comfortable, 'friend number two'?" A voice suddenly interrupted her moment.

Pethra turned her face to the side to where the voice came from. The voice owner was a very angry black bird whose gaze could easily pierce one's skull if given enough time.

"Excuse me? 'Friend number two'?"

Raum narrowed his eyes. "I'm his first friend, the only true friend, and you're the second. Understand? I hold a higher position than you. Now move from that place; it's mine."

Raum was clearly annoyed by the fact that Pethra held Aron's attention for the past few hours, and he too wanted to be in the same place as her, in Aron's lap, receiving his gentle touch on the head.

"..." Pethra's eyebrow twitched a little. She didn't like his voice tone.

'Is he ordering me or something? Who do you think you are? Y-You… You black chicken.'

In response, Pethra hugged Aron even tighter and laid her cheek against his chest. "You can keep your 'friend number' thing. I'm more than that. I'm now his family, and family is above friends."

"..." Veins popped on Raum's head, and he was about to yell at the little witch when he was interrupted by Aron's sudden laughter.

"Pfft Hahaha... You two," Aron said, bringing Raum close to his chest and hugging them both. "Don't act like this towards each other. We are family now. I want you to respect and love each other. You are both important to me."

Aron's gentle voice and kind words caused some serious emotional damage to the two, mainly Pethra. But Aron's next move shocked them both. He kissed them both, giving Raum a kiss on top of his little black head and a kiss on Pethra's forehead.

"Be nice to each other, alright?" His words didn't fully register in their brains.

Pethra held her breath, her heart racing. The only thing she could do was stare at the man's face. Aron then stood up, holding her like a princess.

'Kyaaa! I'm having the best time of my life!' Pethra was freaking out from the inside.

"We've rested enough; we must go," Aron said, and both nodded in agreement. They began extracting the troll's cores with the help of Aron's new Greataxe. The process was easy, and Aron was grateful that his flames didn't destroy the cores.

Finishing up, they made their way back to the previous troll cave. After ensuring it was empty and clear of any monsters or danger, they entered. To their surprise, the cave was clean, with only a few scattered bones here and there. Pethra hoped they were from animals and not something else. Ignoring the bad smell, they found a clean place to sleep for the night.

'Hmm? The cave is too clean for trolls... I think they moved here recently,' Aron thought as he scanned the inside.

After gathering firewood, Aron looked up at the darkening sky and spoke to Pethra. "It's almost night time. Hey, Little Witch, use your magic and seal the entrance."

Without a word, Pethra approached the cave entrance and started channeling her magic. Soon, the entrance was covered by an earthen wall, leaving only a small opening for air.

Pethra felt a sense of satisfaction with the way she was using her magic. 'Honestly, Aron's way of thinking is refreshing. But thinking about it, it's logical to use earth magic in this way. I just never bothered expanding my understanding.'

"Huh?" The moment Pethra turned around, she was stunned by what she saw. At the far end of the cave, Aron was busy removing his armor.

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"!!!" Blushing at the sight, Pethra kept her eyes on him, as —Not so innocent thoughts— played on her mind. However, those thoughts faded instantly when she noticed something that shook her to the core.

Scars.

Terrible and horrifying scars covering Aron's back.

"Haah!!" Pethra couldn't help but gasp; her breath caught in her throat, and her staff slipped from her hand. Aron was alerted by the sudden sound that echoed throughout the cave; he turned around and saw Pethra, with a horrible look on her face, staring at his scars.

"What happened?" she asked. When he turned around, she saw even more scars. Aron narrowed his eyes, and he didn't answer her. In his silence, Pethra realized what she had just done.

"S-Sorry, I didn't mean to-" Pethra quickly lowered her head and apologized, but she was interrupted by Aron's sudden approach.

'Fool, Pethra! You fool! Why did you have to ask? It's clear as day that something bad happened to him!' Cold sweat trickled down her forehead. 'Please don't punish me, please.'

She was scared, really scared. Pethra's body started shaking wildly as she kept her head down.

However, something unexpected happened. Aron's hand reached out and gently lifted Pethra's chin, causing her to look up into his eyes. Aron's gaze was intense, but not in a menacing way. It was as if he were peering deep into Pethra's soul, trying to understand her thoughts and emotions. After a moment, he spoke softly.

"Don't lower your head. You did nothing wrong."

His warm and kind words instantly calmed her. Then Aron held her face with both hands and spoke seriously.

"Pethra, you're my family now, and my family needs to be strong. Bow to no one and answer to no one. Do whatever you want, whenever you want. I'll support you in anything as long as it doesn't harm our family in any way. And at the end of the day, you'll always return to me."

Aron lowered himself a little to be at the same level as Pethra, gazing deeply into her blue eyes.

"Pethra, I won't allow anyone to lay a finger on you. From the moment you became 'mine,' no harm will come near you. And if anyone dares to touch you, I promise that no matter who they are, my flames will consume them all. That is my pride." Aron declared, his voice echoing throughout the cave, shaking the little witch in every way possible.

Pethra was both surprised and touched by Aron's words. She had never had someone speak or care about her in this way. She was overwhelmed by a mixture of emotions that even she didn't fully understand. In that moment, something inside her broke, and she began developing something dangerous.

Obsession.

"And to answer your question, I don't really know what happened," Aron continued.

"Huh? Why?"

"I lost my memory, Little Witch. I don't remember my past, not even my own name. It's only been two or three days since I woke up."

Pethra was shocked to hear that Aron had lost his memory. She couldn't imagine how it must feel to not remember anything about oneself. Empathy surged within her, and her previous fear and worry melted away.

"I'm sorry to hear that, Aron," she said softly. "But is it okay to tell me this? I mean, this is something personal and a secret."

Aron smiled warmly at Pethra's concern. "It's alright, Little Witch. We are family now, and I won't hide anything from you. Well, both of you," he added, turning to Raum. "You too, my feathered friend."

Raum nodded in acknowledgment, still keeping his distance from the two of them. Aron then turned back to Pethra, his eyes softening. "I trust you, Pethra. And when I recover my memory, I'll tell you how I gained these scars." He patted Pethra's head, playfully messing up her blond hair in the process.

As Aron walked away, Pethra couldn't help but feel a mix of emotions. She was touched by Aron's kind words and his promise to protect her, as well as the trust he placed in her.

At the same time, she felt a growing sense of obsession towards Aron—a desire to be with him always. This was the only real and strong connection to another person that she had in her life.

A desire to make this connection even stronger, Pethra did something that she never thought was possible for her. She wanted to share her own secret.

"A-Aron, I want to tell you something." If not for the cave that resonated with her voice, no one would be able to hear it.

Aron stopped and turned around to face her. He didn't speak a word and just kept staring at her. Noticing his silence, Pethra took a deep breath, gathering all her courage. She raised her head and looked into Aron's eyes, which had returned to their normal black color.

"Aron, I'm not entirely human. I'm a half-breed—half-human, half-something. I don't know what that 'something' is, but all I know is that I'm not fully human."

Fear and concern were evident in her voice. Pethra knew that humans often despised half-breeds, and she had learned from a young age to hide this aspect of herself from anyone. But since Aron trusted her, she didn't want to betray his trust by keeping this secret. What if he found out on his own and started hating her or treating her the way people did in the past?

Raum narrowed his eyes, understanding why Pethra revealed this. He didn't say anything and shifted his gaze to Aron when he noticed his face. Raum sighed in relief.

Aron raised his eyebrows. "Oh! Well, that explains a lot."

"Huh?" Pethra was confused. She didn't like his reaction for a moment and prepared herself for the worst, but Aron's next words calmed her immediately.

"Well, when I look at you, I don't feel any hatred inside me."

Aron had discovered this after his first interaction with Pethra, but he hadn't paid much attention to it.

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know why, but when I see a human, hatred and rage start boiling inside me, but with you, that didn't happen."

'Now that I think about it, there is another person.' Aron thought, remembering every individual he had met so far.

"B-But! Don't you hate what I am? Aren't you disgusted by my existence?" Finally, the little witch stopped holding back and asked what troubled her the most.

Aron shook his head. "Nah! I don't care about that at all. In fact, I'm not human either."

"W-What!!!" Pethra was surprised by his reaction, but then she widened her eyes in disbelief when he said that he's not human. Curiosity was killing her, so Pethra gathered some courage and asked, "What are you?"

Aron displayed a wide smile, showing all of his teeth. "I'm a Dragon."

"..." Pethra felt a surge of shock throughout her entire being. Her mind went blank, unable to process Aron's words. She stood there, motionless like a statue, until Aron started to have a bad feeling, so he clapped his hands, and the sound snapped her out.

"D-D-Dragon! B-But that's impossible. Dragons are giant mythical beings that breathe fire, and you don't look—" She stopped as she recalled Aron's magic and the way he conjured fire from his mouth, which looked exactly like 'Dragon's breath' that she had read about in books.

Pethra's eyes widened with a mixture of awe and astonishment as she stared at Aron, who wore a devilish smile on his face, clearly enjoying her reaction.

"Holy shiiiii~... You are a Dragon!" she exclaimed, her voice tinged with excitement and disbelief.

"Pfft… HAHAHA~" Aron burst into laughter, unable to contain his amusement at her reaction.

"But Dragons are supposed to be extinct, and… STOP! Laughing!"

"I-I can't, the look on your face was… was, HAHAHAHA~"

"Ughhh!" Pethra felt the urge to slap him in the face, but she held back.

"Don't think too much about it... Come on, we should rest."