When the body grows distant, so does the heart.
Hans had never experienced those words so painfully as he did now.
The girl’s beauty was almost violent — a bit excessive, even.
Given how his standards had been lowered by the women he usually saw in the labyrinth, it stood out even more.
Eyes accustomed to the sight of sickly, grimy people would find even an average woman from the outside world breathtakingly beautiful.
But Alje wasn’t just an ordinary beauty.
Even among the most stunning women of the outside world, she would shine with a brilliance all her own.
If nothing had happened so far, it was likely thanks to Hans’s own intimidating presence — his rough appearance and the ever-present scowl on his face had kept any trouble at bay.
No matter how blinded one might be by beauty, it would be hard to miss the glint of a ready blade.
And now, having left Alje behind was no different.
Whatever her attitude toward humans might be, there were very few monsters in the labyrinth that could pose a threat to her.
“Hah…..”
It was all just an excuse.
Hans doused himself with water from the canteen he carried.
The unrefined water stung against his skin — a little mixed with Alje’s blood and the labyrinth’s poison — but it was a necessary step.
Creatures without the labyrinth’s toxic scent became easy targets for the monsters lurking there.
This disguise wasn’t perfect, but it was enough to avoid immediate fights.
Besides, the cold water helped cool his heated head.
Step.
Step.
As he walked, Hans gently stroked the doll tucked inside his coat.
The doll remained exactly as Gretel had given it — untouched by water, blood, or dust.
Its red-brown eyes, so much like its owner’s, stared up at him unblinkingly.
He wasn’t sure if Gretel was truly watching him through the doll or if he was just a madman talking to an inanimate object.
Still, Hans spoke.
“I didn’t do anything.”
Nothing had happened.
At least, nothing his conscience needed to feel guilty about.
Seeing her naked?
If Gretel ever saw Alje’s bare form, she wouldn’t blame Hans for it.
Not that such a situation would ever arise — after all, the girl’s monstrous nature had to remain a secret.
“I’m a pretty useful bastard, you know that? I’m innocent.”
A dog’s worth isn’t in its sharp teeth or tough hide.
A dog’s true value lies in its keen nose and its unwavering loyalty.
In that sense, Hans had confidence in himself.
His only motivation was survival, not wealth or power.
Fear had always been his leash, keeping him from lunging even when the tempting meat of desire was dangled before him.
And yet, Gretel surely knew this too — so why did he feel the need to keep making excuses like this?
“You’re all I’ve got.”
Words meant more for himself than anyone else.
He hadn’t bitten — but he had drooled.
And the guilt of that was something no human in the labyrinth could afford to feel.
Just like love.
Hans trudged through the sticky swamp, the mud clinging heavily to his pants.
Even the monsters rarely lived in such damp, unpleasant places.
Fortunately, his destination wasn’t far off.
A bright red fruit, as large as a child’s head, stood out against the bleak landscape.
As he approached, the swamp’s surface began to bubble ominously.
Hans drew his sword and, for a brief moment, let his mind wander.
It would’ve been easier if the problem ahead could be solved with a single swing of his blade — or if it was so insurmountable that giving up was the only option.
“Haah!”
He charged in with a loud shout, the vibrations stirring the plant-like monsters from their slumber.
They lashed out with root-like tendrils, and Hans pushed all lingering thoughts aside, focusing only on the fight ahead.
*
It was troublesome, but the battle didn’t take long.
Hans finished his task in the swamp within two hours and began his return journey.
Without a mount, it was a long trek.
By the time he reached the temporary base where Alje was waiting, the labyrinth’s artificial sky had begun to take on the colors of twilight.
The witch’s magic cast a dim, hazy sunset — nothing like the brilliant glow he’d seen reflected in those red-brown eyes hours earlier.
But even a faint light was still light.
His shadow stretched long under the crimson hue.
With every step, his anxiety grew.
What if something had happened?
What if his own weakness, his inability to control his desires, had led to Alje getting hurt?
He knew the girl was strong enough to fend off most monsters in the labyrinth — but still…her small frame looked so fragile.
“Alje.”
At the sound of her name, the girl lifted her head.
But her response wasn’t the usual one.
She didn’t beam with a bright smile or call out cheerfully like she always did.
Instead, she looked up at him silently, her eyes filled with a quiet sadness, like a puppy left out in the rain.
The area around her showed no signs of disturbance — no hint that anything had happened while he was gone.
But that didn’t ease the ache in Hans’s chest.
He realized, too late, that he may have been too heartless.
The labyrinth was a cold, suffocating place, and time spent alone among its damp, crawling creatures couldn’t have been pleasant for her.
Of course, his newfound concern was probably just a way to justify his own guilt.
Still, this time, Hans didn’t wait for the girl to come to him — he closed the distance first.
He set the vivid red fruit down near the squirming insects that served as their meager company.
“Ugh…”
But Alje hesitated, not approaching right away.
And Hans quickly realized why — his appearance was a mess.
After wading through the swamp’s mud, it was only natural that he looked filthy.
He’d even deliberately rubbed some of the grime into his skin as part of his disguise.
It was a necessary precaution, but seeing the way she hesitated only added to his regret.
Hans wouldn’t be able to wash for a while — he’d have to stay like this for the time being.
Once the mud dried, it would become an even better camouflage than the water-soaked disguise he had used earlier.
It wouldn’t be a pleasant sight for any ordinary girl, that was for sure.
“Are you okay, mister? Are you hurt anywhere?”
But Alje only hesitated for a brief moment before running toward him without a second thought.
“As you can see, I’m fine. Well… maybe ‘as you can see’ isn’t quite right, considering this mess.”
“I’m glad, but… ugh, I can’t see anything because of all this mud.”
Without hesitation, Alje reached out and began patting him down, checking his body for injuries.
It was purely a treatment and diagnostic act — but even so, Hans couldn’t help but feel a certain… stimulation from it.
Fortunately, after hours of trudging through the swamp, his discomfort and exhaustion had dulled his desires, so he managed to avoid making a fool of himself this time.
Hans shifted his shoulders slightly, trying to evade Alje’s touch.
“Hold still! You might have gotten hurt without realizing it. And if you end up getting an infection…”
“You’ll just get dirty.”
“So what!”
Alje spoke with unexpected firmness — and then, the next thing she did completely caught Hans off guard.
She threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly, mud and all.
“I’ve been too selfish, haven’t I? I’m sorry.”
“…What?”
What on earth had she been thinking about while she was left alone?
In this lifeless labyrinth — where the wind scraped across barren rocks, dust rose in the air, and countless crawling insects moved about without a shred of vitality .
“For so long, you’ve protected me so well… I guess I started taking it for granted.”
This isn’t the world I used to live in — this is the labyrinth.
And if I try to stay clean, it only means someone else has to get dirtier on my behalf.
“No… it must have been the same even back then. When I lived as a saint, there were probably people sweeping away the dust and taking on the filth for me — I just didn’t know it.”
As she leaned into him, Hans felt his heart beat just a little faster.
He wasn’t some inexperienced boy who didn’t know a woman’s touch — and yet, even this simple contact stirred something in him.
Strands of her hair brushed against his nose, and a sweet scent spread around him — as if she had been freshly bathed and perfumed.
Even as the mud and grime from his body spread onto her, that fragrance remained vivid.
And Hans realized something else.
The Alje he had met on that hill of corpses had never smelled like this.
This was a natural, pure scent — so rich and unmistakable that not even the fresh scent of blood had been able to mask it.
“But you’re not my servant, or my knight, right?”
And with those words, she smiled softly.
That smile was still pure and innocent.
It was the kind of smile one made after making up their mind, but before taking any real action.
Alje was still untouched by the filth of the labyrinth — though it seemed she had finally resolved to take her first step into the mire.
Maybe she thought it was her own selfishness — her complaints about the insects’ slime and filth — that had made Hans leave her behind this time.
It was a thoughtful realization, but at the same time, it created a distance between them.
If she understood that, perhaps she was finally starting to reflect on her own childish behavior.
Considering human nature — the tendency to push responsibility onto others — the fact that a girl raised like a sheltered flower had reached such self-awareness was truly impressive.
“I won’t act like a child anymore.”
The problem was… that wasn’t exactly the direction Hans had hoped this would go.