It was early in the morning when the woman woke up.

The effect of the herb was gone, and the woman had no strength in her body. Her head hurt terribly, and she didn't have the energy to lift a finger.

It seemed that she was hungry and could even eat her own raw flesh, but she was in fact so powerless that she would not be able to lift a spoon even when a table was set.

The woman sat blankly and blinked her eyes.

"Are you awake?"

The woman was startled by a man's voice and turned her head. And she was once again surprised. It was because she heard the sound of water splashing from under her neck before she could see the man's face.

When she lifted her head, she saw the man wearing the red goblin mask. It was an elaborately crafted mask.

The woman narrowed her eyes, checked the mask, and she recalled yesterday. The woman who gathered her fragmented memories and managed to put it together somehow frowned.

"Who are you?"

"It's the goblin."

Sir Goblin. She bit her lip when she realized the identity of the man she had called. The man reached out and touched the woman's cheek. The woman replied, brushing her own cheek from the hand.

"You are a human being."

"I am also your fiance."

"Then....... marriage,"

As the woman was dumbfounded and tried to refute. The man coldly interrupted her words.

"Before you say it, let me make it clear. That herb is a drug prohibited by national law, and those who eat it, grow it, and ignore it are all subject to death. Wherever the herb is, it must be burned."

The woman hurriedly shut her mouth.

Burn it? She recalled her mother's grave next to her hut.

It was midwinter when her mother died. In the middle of winter, the woman dug the frozen ground with her bare hands. It took her three full days, and she was barely able to dig enough to lay her mother down. She wanted to dig a little deeper, but all of her ten nails were broken and that was the limit.

Was he going to burn it down?

If the body is burnt, her mother will not be able to rest......?

The woman looked at the man with a pale face, without saying a word. Her father said he would give her mother's body to the dog if the woman would ever die, so the woman survived a tough life. But now if her mother is to be set on fire, she would lose her rest.

The man asked.

"At that time, you promised to marry me. Didn't you?"

Tears welled up. The woman tried not to cry, but the tears eventually fell. She shouldn't cry, or else she'd be beaten.

"Yes. I did."

"......."

"Because I did...... Please do not burn it. There is my mother's grave...... Please do not burn it."

Tears fell from the woman's eyes. Even as she forced herself to swallow the tears, her tears continued to fall. What to do. What if that man is offended and burns the mountain?

The woman's shoulders shook and she started crying.

"Lady, I won't burn it."

The man said in a troubled voice.

When she lifted her head, she saw the man's eyes. He seemed perplexed. His hand stood still in mid-air. It was strange that the man was swaying, so she blinked and tears fell again.

At that moment, the man hugged her as if he couldn't take it any longer.

"I swear. I will never burn it."

Hearing that, the woman could not contain her sorrow and burst into tears.

I shouldn't cry. But her tears did not stop. Tears continued to flow even after she forcibly swallowed the cry. As the woman clenched her teeth and her body shook, the man patted her naked shoulder.

"Lady, you can cry."

"Bu, but, I, I'm ugly, so if I cry, I will be beaten."

If she cries out loud when she is beaten, she will get even more scolded. She used to be beaten harshly, saying that the ugly bitch was crying and acting poorly. With those words, the man suddenly lifted her chin. It was a cautious but firm hand.

The eyes and gaze met behind the mask. The woman looked up at those dark eyes and sniffed. She doesn't know what the man's face looked like, but the man's eyes were amazing. It looked as if she had seen it somewhere. The woman forgot to cry for a moment looking at the eyes.

The man said,

"There is something the Lady doesn't know, but the Lady is a really pretty person."

"...... what?"

His words brought tears to her open eyes. The man smiled softly as she doubted her own hearing; perhaps her tears had dried up and even blocked her ear canal from the shock too.