"He told us not to leave the woods until his returns…."

Matthew looked convincing enough for Jean to believe it. Jean's heart sank to the deepest pit as he remembered that his fiancee, Saint Raphael, yelled at him to stop approaching his big brother because Maximillien's mind had been taken over by the dark sprout. 

But because of his overconfidence and foolishness, he tried to purify his big brother. And resulted in him fainting after getting pierced.

He might also be the reason why Saint Raphael was struggling in the first place because Jean was a burden to him.

"D—Do you think he is safe right now? And my big brother, and Wolf..."

Matthew looked sad as he sat on the bed. He held Jean's hand gently and shook his head, "I have a friend that's still trying to survive by visiting the ruined Eau Saumont City to scavenge for food. And he said there is no sign of Saint Raphael, or Wolf, especially after Palace of Eau Saumont was ruined to the ground."

"And about His Highness Maximillien Eau Saumont, he is currently still rampaging everywhere with his giant water dragons and tentacles."

Jean bit his lower lip. He didn't want to admit that he might be the cause of the doom in the first place. Because of his greediness, wanting to stay with all of them.

He was greedy, and he finally got his lesson, a big lesson. 

"I—I will search for big brother first—Ah!" Jean tried to get up, but the pain on his shoulder suddenly pulled him back, stopping him from getting out of the bed.

"Young Master!" Matthew looked worried. He propped Jean carefully and sat him on the bed. "You're still recovering. When His Holiness handed you to me, your wound was terrible…."

[Pupa: Lies. He is the one that made this wound.]

[Aish, I know. I doubt that Raphael will leave me severely wounded for so long. He must've healed me with his holy magic.]

[I just don't want to break Matthew's guise right now. I'm afraid he will go on a rampage. If he can make Maximillien, Wolf, and Raphael turn out like this, then he has even greater power than what he shows in front of us.]

Jean looked around and then asked Matthew, "Did you build this hut by yourself?"

"Uh… I found this empty hut while I was running away," Matthew said. "And you live alone?"

"Well, I have you…." Matthew had a bitter smile on his face. "I don't even know if my parents are still alive or not. I've just returned from Eau Saumont City yesterday and found everything has been absolutely destroyed, including my house…."

"Young Master, you should recover first, then you can try to search for Saint Raphael, your favourite knight, or your Big brother," Matthew suggested. 

Jean stared at Matthew, who looked tired but still kind enough to show a gentle smile to me. He felt guilty as he had become a burden for Matthew, "Thank you for taking care of me. I will surely pay it back…."

"Pay it back?" Matthew frowned, disliking that sentence. "What do you mean by paying it back? Young Master, I'm doing this because I care for you!" 

"Ah—I—I'm just, I don't know how to show my gratitude…." Jean lowered his gaze in shame. "I'm not used to be under the care of someone else other than my big brother, Angel Raphael, or Wolf…."

"Then you'll be under my care from now on. It's okay, Young Master. I will take care of you nicely until you're fully recovered," There was a faint smirk on Matthew's face, which Jean could barely see. Matthew put his hand on Jean's wound. He caressed it gently, and strangely, Jean didn't feel any pain at all.

In fact, the moment Matthew touched the wound, the burning sensation lessened, and the pain also vanished.

But when Matthew released his hand, the pain returned, and the burning sensation was even worse than before. 

Jean endured the uncomfortable pain in his shoulder. He didn't want to sound too clingy, especially to Matthew. Since he was the one who caused everything, he should be the one who took responsibility. 

"I'll go and cook a mushroom soup for you. Please stay here, and if you need my help, just call my name. I'm cooking outside," Matthew said. 

Jean saw that Matthew was strangely happy to take care of him. As if he didn't find Jean to be a burden at all. 

After Matthew left the room, Jean touched his wound and winced out of pain, "Aw… it hurts so much…."

[Pupa, where are the male leads? Raphael? Maximillien? Wolf?]

[Pupa: I told you. I cannot detect their presence. But they're definitely not dead yet. Because if one of them dies, the world will automatically restart.]

[I guess we have to leave this place first to see what the heck is happening. I wonder if Matthew is telling the truth… that my big brother has destroyed everything.]

[Hey, Pupa, be useful for me for once and check the nearest city from here.]

[Pupa: For an unknown reason, I cannot leave far from you. I can go to the Headquarter, but after Matthew teleported us here, I've realized there is a strange force that forbid me from leaving the woods.]

[… Don't joke like that…]

[Pupa: I'm not even joking.]

Jean gulped after realizing that he would be stuck with Matthew for a long time, at least until his wound was healed.

**

Matthew returned with a bowl of mushroom soup. The fragrant smell attracted Jean immediately, and his stomach grumbled.

Jean's cheeks reddened as Matthew laughed heartily, "Young Master, are you hungry?"

"Un, I'm starving…."

Matthew sat beside Jean and stirred the mushroom soup, "I will help you, Young Master."

"I—I can eat it myself…." Jean tried to refuse when Matthew wanted to spoon-feed him. 

Matthew shook his head and insisted, "I fed you when you were unconscious for days. I will help you until you've fully recovered."

Thus, Matthew spoon-fed the pampered Young Master Jean. While Jean felt that Matthew doted him too much, the latter didn't seem to mind at all. In fact, he looked delighted when Young Master Jean obediently ate the mushroom soup that he cooked. 

After he ate everything, Jean felt weak and sleepy. He was a lot sleepier than he expected, so he rubbed his eyes and said, "Um… Matthew, Jean is sleepy…."

"That's because you're finally full. Rest first, Young Master…."

"Un…" Jean laid slowly on the bed and pulled the blanket. "Thank you for taking care of me, Matthew…."

"It's okay. Jean doesn't need to thank me. It's my pleasure to take care of a beautiful, gentle flower like you…."

"Un…"

It wasn't long until Jean fell into a deep slumber, deeper than a normal person should be. Because Matthew had used his magic inside the mushroom soup.

The smile on Matthew's face faltered after Jean was asleep. He caressed Jean's cheek, but he was still unsatisfied, "Why do you want to leave? Do you really want to be independent and leave me alone? After all the things I've done to get you?"

"My beloved Jean, this is our safe haven."