Ner gently rubbed her face against the comfortable and warm pillow.
How long had she been asleep? With a Half-awake mind, Ner felt refreshed.
The breeze blowing was also fragrant, and the sunlight on her face felt warm.
She wanted to continue to fall asleep like this.
Adjusting her position for more comfort, she turned her head to rest her face on the pillow.
Ner, wake up.
At that mont, the pillow spoke to her.
The absurdity of the situation made her mind clear up instantly.
As Ner opened her eyes in surprise, she saw Bergs neck right in front of her.
Without realizing it, she had nestled close to his body, and she had entrusted her whole body to him.
The mont Ner was startled and tried to pull her body away, Berg firmly held onto her waist.
Ah...! I-Im going to fall-
Simultaneously, her face grew warm, and her heart pounded.
However, Berg calmly explained, -You wont fall. Relax.
Only then did Ner turn her eyes around to confirm her surroundings.
Her perception was still hazy and slow.
She realized they were now riding on a horse, with her legs on the right side and leaning against Berg.
Though it was stable now, she knew she might have fallen if Berg hadnt supported her.
- Swish.
Soon, Berg gently released his grip on Ners waist.
Ner blinked, trying to process the awkward sensation of soone touching her waist.
Thank you.
She felt embarrassed but expressed her gratitude to him.
Unsure how long she had slept leaning on him, she had suppressed her urge to breathe, feeling like she wanted to disappear into a rat hole.
She wondered if she had drooled and stole a quick glance at her mouth
However, Berg seed unfazed and simply kept on talking, paying no attention to anything else. As if it were the most natural thing.
Seeing him so composed, Ner felt foolish for being so embarrassed. She followed his lead, trying to calm her emotions while taking in her surroundings.
The scenery was vastly different from what she rembered, it was no longer the familiar forest of her hotown.
Instead of that, it was a vast plain that stretches endlessly.
The setting sun was sinking.
...Wow...
Unbeknownst to herself, she let out an exclamation of admiration.
As the sunset descended, dyeing the plain in golden hues, it was impossible not to feel its beauty.
Every ti the wind blew, the grasses swayed as if greeting them, creating ripples in the landscape.
Ner had never seen such a landscape before.
In the first place, she had never left her hotown this far.
Only now did she begin to feel the realization that she had left her hotown.
Amidst the awe-inspiring scenery, her heart was strangely becoming lancholic.
And in the anti, Berg spoke.
Were almost there. Just hold on a little longer.
...Yes.
How is your muscle pain?
As long as Im like this, I can endure.
Berg continuously showed concern for her body.
Every ti he asked about her well-being, her heart ward.
Knowing that soone cared for her well-being gave her a sense of security.
Soon, smoke rising from afar ca into her view.
Berg pointed at the smoke and said.
Were here. See that?
Ner followed his gesture and looked below to see a small village. Compared to Blackwood Territory, it seed quite humble.
Looking at the village, Ner nodded.
Yes, I can see it.
Seeing that modest village, an inexplicable sense of worry arose within her.
****
Were back!
I entered the village after a long ti.
Stockpin; It was the hotown of the Red Flas.
The whole village ca out to welco us.
As the subjugation had been massive, the entire village was filled with joy.
Adam Hyung and I were at the forefront, leading the way.
Many of Stockpins residents looked at Ner, who was sitting beside , with interest.
So, the vice-captain got married, huh?
Shes pretty.
Youre saying everyone fought to bring her here?
You fool! It was for the future...!
Ner shrank her body amid the cheers echoing around us.
Lowering her gaze, she looked at her chest.
Now, straighten your back.
At the sa ti, I lightly pressed her waist.
Ner flinched and looked at in surprise.
I also looked at her and asked her to act as we planned.
We had to show a good relationship with each other. If that wasnt possible, she should at least avoid showing a sad expression.
Eventually, Ner, as if making a pledge, tightly closed her lips and straightened her back.
Raising her head, she t the gaze of the villagers facing her.
She introduces herself with more dignity, more like an aristocrat.
By doing so, the glances of the people also changed.
Their eyes were filled with admiration as they looked at her like a noble lady.
The cheers grew louder, and there were more voices blessing us.
Vice-captain! Congratulations!
You must be happy!
At least have three children!
Amidst the jubilant atmosphere, Ner swallowed a gulp of saliva and looked at .
Her face seed to be getting redder.
She blinked as if breaking away from a serious expression, then took a deep breath and resud her performance.
****
As soon as we arrived, Hyung announced the casualties and offered sincere condolences to their families.
After discussing the schedule for the funeral, we dispersed.
The untold stories for the villagers would be conveyed by our mbers to their respective families.
More importantly, we prepared a feast so that sorrow would not descend upon the village.
We were tired of eating dried at and hard bread to fill our stomachs after the arduous subjugation.
Like other rcenary groups, our mbers needed a window to relieve the ntal burden accumulated during this ti.
As I heard, prostitutes from the neighboring village were also coming over.
mbers would probably relieve their sexual desires with the money they earned.
While preparing for the feast, Ner and I headed to my house.
Ner continued to look up at , as if she was uneasy about entering a house without any servants, just the two of us.
...How far are we going?
She asked.
It was a natural question considering my house was located in a remote corner of the village.
In this small village, I was living in a house with no neighbors around.
Over there.
I pointed to the erging house and tried to ease Ners uneasiness.
Like Adam Hyungs house, my house was spacious enough for commoners to live in, but... for a rcenary groups vice-captain, it was a small house.
It was a two-story house with six rooms.
Ner looked at the house she would be living in from now on and let out a shallow, long breath.
It seed like she was making a firm determination in her heart.
Indeed, living in such a magnificent place, she needed to be ntally prepared to enter a place like this.
.
.
.
.
- Creak...
Like the scream of a ghost, the creaking wooden door opened with a screech.
The vacant house greeted after a long ti.
The lightly scattered dust rose.
...Co in.
I brought Ner into the house.
Ner slowly set down her belongings while looking around the house.
Then, she stood there for a while, gazing at the interior, frozen and silent.
I could understand her reaction.
Just from looking at it, Ner didnt seem to fit in with the atmosphere of this house.
She had an undeniable noble aura about her, and while my house might be slightly bigger than others... it was still an ordinary commoners house.
Did she ever imagine as noble being brought into a place like this?
...Whats with all these bottles?
However, Ner pointed out sothing different from what I expected.
I looked around the inside of the house.
I hadnt cared much when I lived alone.
But now that she ntioned it, there were indeed many rolling bottles of liquor.
...Do you drink this much?
Its not like that... it piled up like this over the ti.
She didnt just stop there.
Why is it so dusty here?
Why bother cleaning it.
Why are there so many spider webs on the ceiling?
Thats right.
The floor is broken. Why didnt you fix it?
Well... you can just avoid stepping on it, cant you?
I found myself making excuses while catching her eye.
If I knew it would be like this, I should have cleaned up and gone on an subjugation.
But I couldnt find the right words to say.
In the end, all I could do was scratch my nose and look at Ner.
If I introduce the house she would live with in this way, I think it would only create a sense of rejection.
However, Ner stared back at and burst out laughing.
I didnt understand why she was laughing, so I just stood still.
She spoke.
...I feel like Im seeing a totally different side of you for the first ti. You seed like you knew how to handle everything.
Unexpectedly, she didnt show any displeasure.
Seizing the opportunity, I said.
Ill fix and clean everything tomorrow.
Ner replied.
Let help you.
I was surprised by her unexpected answer.
As an aristocratic young lady, I thought she wouldnt want to do things like this.
Ner turned her head and said softly, as if murmuring.
Were friends, after all.
Upon hearing that, a slow smile ford on my face.
I felt closer to her during our journey back ho.
Saving Shawn, the embrace we shared back then, sleeping together in a narrow bed, and riding together on the sa horse, to the point where she leaned on and fell asleep.
I truly felt that we were getting closer step by step.
That alone was enough for .
Just a few days ago, she rejected and was afraid of .
Perhaps she had already thought it would turn out like this.
I said to her, Lets wash up and go to the square. The feast will be enjoyable.
****
After washing up, we changed into comfortable clothes.
We put down our belongings and organized the instrunts.
Ner had safely stored her dical equipnt in our bedroom.
Although there were many rooms in the house, ultimately, we only needed one.
Using multiple rooms unnecessarily would only attract the attention of the villagers, and rumors would quickly spread.
Honestly, there was a bit of coercion on my part as well.
To beco closer in heart, we needed to be close in proximity.
If I had used separate rooms to be considerate of Ner, it wouldnt have been difficult to imagine spending our lives in an awkward and distant manner.
Fortunately, Ner seed to have anticipated sharing a room and didnt show any particular complaints.
Maybe she was relieved to see that nothing happened even though she slept close to the night before.
Soon we headed to the town square.
The noisy sounds were already resounding.
I couldnt hear cries of mourning. At least on this day, it was a day to enjoy.
It was also part of the mourning process.
Laughing, playing, and eating until we were full would make it easier for us to let go of our departed comrades.
Adam Hyung and I had learned this from our previous rcenary group.
In the town square, a large bonfire was burning.
As we appeared, the crowd erupted into cheers.
Ner stuck closely behind , and I could tell she was nervous from her tail curling up.
It was natural.
She was a stranger in this place.
If even I would feel nervous entering a village full of werewolves, then it was only natural for her to be tense.
I raised my hand in response to everyones cheers and led Ner.
I searched for a place to sit.
From afar, Shawn waved at us.
Shawn...!
Seeing Shawn looking well, I approached him.
He slowly stood up and bowed to Ner with his waist bent.
Thank you, Ner-nim.
Ner looked at Shawn, surprised by his gratitude.
Thanks to you, Im alive. I wont forget this favor.
Ner looked up at , gently holding onto my sleeve.
Then she replied in a raised voice.
...Yes.
We eventually sat next to Shawn.
The atmosphere of the feast was getting livelier.
So skilled mbers played instrunts, and so started singing along with the music.
Baran brought so drinks for the mbers, and Theodore appeared with roasted at.
Ners eyes were fixed on the at.
Her tail was also cautiously swaying.
I could tell she wanted to eat it.
Looking at that, I said to her.
Ill bring it. Wait here.
Ah. Thank... Thank you.
****
Ner was amazed by the feast, it was her first ti attending such an event.
Her only similar experience was attending a noble ball.
But this feast before her was quite different.
It was more primitive, yet the people seed happier.
They were bursting with laughter, and everyone showed their true selves.
This unpretentious celebration sohow appealed to her more.
From afar, Berg was surrounded by mbers, laughing and enjoying the celebration due to his marriage.
Even without getting close, it was apparent that he was receiving jokes from the others.
Seeing Berg in such a state, Ner smiled and eagerly waited for his return.
At the sa ti, she noticed a strange sight in the village.
So won were looking at her with displeasure.
Feeling the animosity, Ner cautiously asked Shawn next to her.
Can I ask you a question?
Yes, of course.
Why... does it seem like those people dont like ? Do the werewolves are hated by humans?
Shawn looked around as Ner questioned him.
And just as Ner described, he burst into laughter while looking at the people giving her strange looks.
Watching Shawn laugh for a while, Ner was puzzled.
Finally, after calming his laughter, Shawn spoke.
Those people?
Yes.
They are all people who liked the vice-captain.
......Really?
Ner blinked at his surprising words.
The won giving her looks of animosity were not just one or two.
All of them? Arent there too many? Rather hating werewolves is-
No, all of them. Ner-nim, the vice-captain is extrely popular.
Ner fell silent as Shawn spoke.
The werewolfs standard of beauty may be different, but from the human perspective, the vice-captain is handso, wealthy, fit, and although gruff, he is kind and gentle. Its strange if you dont fall for him after just hearing him speak.
Ner looked at her husband, Berg.
She realized that she had married soone like that.
Shawn giggled next to her and announced one more fact.
By the way, among those people, no one has dared to make a move on the vice-captain.
....Really?
Ner-nim is the first one. Its the first ti I have seen a woman touch the vice-captain. Today, when you were lying on the hoarse and leaning on the vice-captains chest, I thought it was a dream.
Ner felt her temperature rising.
For so reason, she felt hot. When she turned her eyes to Berg, he was coming towards them with a plate in one hand and a drink in the other.
In the anti, a woman approached him. She had heavy makeup and revealing clothes, giving off an air of promiscuity.
With a raised voice, Shawn said to Ner.
Look, shes going over there. Uh-oh...
Ner felt tense for so reason.
Soon, the woman stood in front of Berg.
Since the distance was close, her voice could be heard.
Brother, you look handso today. How about being with ...
The woman naturally tried to touch Bergs chest.
Upon that, Bergs expression turned colder than ever as he said.
Dont touch .
The woman shut her mouth like a bee stung.
Berg passed by her.
Shawn burst into laughter next to Ner.
However, Ners heart sank as she looked at Bergs cold expression.
She realized that he was soone who could have such a chilly expression.
She had a feeling that she knew why people said he hated won.
But as Berg approached Ner, his expression softened.
By the ti he was right in front of her, he even had a smile on his face.
Here.
He handed Ner a plate with at on it.
Ner accepted the plate and felt a warm emotion for so reason.
The fact that he treated her like this again made her feel special.
Thank you.
Ner said.
Berg nodded his head.
Shawn teased from the side.
Hes only warm to his woman.
Afterward, Ner mustered up the courage.
He asked her to act as a friendly couple.
He might even dislike her touching him.
He might be holding back his emotions for the sake of other mbers.
...Of course, on the other hand, her acting didnt seem very convincing so far.
Regardless, now that she knew the significance of this feast as a mourning event, she understood that she needed to continue the act more than ever.
Ner cautiously picked up a piece of at and handed it to Berg.
Berg smiled and tried to take the at with his hand.
But Ner closed her eyes tightly and pushed the at towards his mouth.
Bergs approaching hand stopped.
Soon after, he smiled and took the at she handed to his mouth and ate it.
Afterward, Ner quickly withdrew her hand.
Thank you. Berg said.
His words carried a complex aning of gratitude.
Ner nodded her head with a smile.
End of Chapter
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