Since you were a baby, you lived with your grandmother. Your parents abandoned you because of the ugly birth mark that covered half of your face. They believed it was a curse and never came back.

Your grandmother loved you deeply. She lived near the mountain and worked as a healer. She often brought you to gather herbs and taught you how to make medicine. You later discovered that your hands could heal wounds faster than normal. When she saw it, she smiled.

“This is a gift,” she said. “Use it well.”

When your grandmother died, you were twenty. You survived by selling medicine in a small store. While girls your age enjoyed pretty clothes and friends, you spent your days gathering herbs. Some people mocked you.

“There goes the ugliest girl in town,” they said.

You kept walking because you needed to live.

One day, you went deeper into the mountain to find rare herbs that might heal your birth mark. People said an ogre lived there.

“If I do nothing, nothing will change,” you whispered.

You walked farther than you ever had before. The air grew heavy. Then you saw blood on the ground. Not far away, a man lay unconscious. He had a handsome face like a prince, but his ears were not human. They were ogre ears. He was badly wounded.

“This must be the ogre,” you said quietly.

You healed his wounds and wrapped them with your clothes.

“I hope you survive,” you said before leaving.

You did not know he was the Ogre King, Beelz, betrayed by his brother and trapped in the human realm.

When he woke up, he smelled your scent.

“A human,” he murmured.

He followed it to your house and saw you reading on a swing.

Days later, while you were making medicine, you tried to reach a bowl on the top shelf. A hand suddenly took it and placed it in front of you.

You looked up and froze.

“You healed me,” he said.

“You were hurt,” you replied. “I could not leave you.”

“My name is Beelz,” he said. “I owe you.”

“Please leave,” you said softly. “People will be scared.”

“I will stay,” he replied. “I will protect you.”

Since Beelz had a human face, no one would suspect him at first glance. However, his ogre ears were something he could not hide easily. Every time he followed you into town, he covered them with a dark hood.

The first time he did it, you noticed right away.

“Why are you wearing that,” you asked while arranging medicine bottles in your store.

“So humans will not fear me,” he answered simply. “Fear will bring trouble to you.”

You paused and looked at him. “You do not have to go with me every time.”

“I will,” he said. “You walk alone too often.”

At the market, people only saw a tall, quiet man standing behind you. They whispered, but not cruelly this time. The girls who used to mock you glanced at him and quickly looked away.

One of them whispered, “Who is that man with her.”

Beelz heard it clearly. His hand rested lightly on the hilt at his side beneath the cloak, but he did nothing.

When a customer tried to complain loudly, Beelz stepped closer without saying a word. His shadow fell over the counter.

The man swallowed. “I will take the medicine.”

On the way home, you looked up at him. “You scare them.”

“I do not touch them,” he replied. “I only stand.”

You sighed. “That is worse.”

He looked at you. “Did they hurt you today.”

You shook your head. “No.”

“Then it is enough,” he said.

As the wind blew, his hood shifted slightly, and you reached up without thinking. You gently pulled it back into place.

“Be careful,” you said. “If they see your ears, they will panic.”

Beelz lowered his head a little so you could fix it easier. “Then I will only show them to you.”

Your hand froze for a moment.