IRER 05

Chapter 5. Misunderstandings and Truths

‘Why? Why again? What now? I gave him the same thing as before!’

The Grand Duke’s expression had reverted to what it had looked like the first day they met.

“Something must’ve gone wrong.”

Aidan clutched his head like he was about to die and spoke to Brody.

But Brody interpreted his expression as one that looked ready to kill.

Even though she had come to think he wasn’t such a bad person while observing him over time, she still felt terrified whenever she faced that grim expression.

‘He didn’t earn the nickname “Icewall Grand Duke” for nothing.’

Pale-faced, Brody bowed in apology to Aidan, then frantically racked her brain to figure out what had gone wrong.

‘There has to be a difference—something different.’

Day one, the night with Meshu.
Day two, she was captured and passed out.
Day three, just the tea. He scolded her, and she started feeding Meshu.
Day four, a lethal dose of Meshu with an antidote.
Day five, a proper amount of Meshu—and another scolding.

So wasn’t Meshu the answer? Then what could it be…?

One night? Was that it? Was he that satisfied with it? But that couldn’t be it either. They didn’t spend the night together on the third and fourth days, yet there were no issues. Then what was the difference?

As she pondered, a realization struck Brody like lightning.

And she went completely pale.

‘On the third and fourth days, I kissed him to feed him the extra Meshu or antidote.’

In every situation, there was only one variable.

‘The difference… was me?’

After that, Brody experimented every night.

She would put him to sleep with a moderate dose of Meshu and simply hold his hand while sleeping.

‘If the problem is physical contact, this should solve it.’

But it didn’t work. Brody had to apologize profusely again, her face pale.

When the Icewall Grand Duke’s expression darkened, the mood among his subordinates grew increasingly tense as well.

Sitting on pins and needles, Brody desperately resisted the urge to escape.

Next, she tried kissing him.

It worked.

‘So I really have to kiss him?’

It was absurd, but this was a fantasy world—one where someone like her, a botanical mage, could exist.

She figured she had no choice but to accept it.

After several nights of this routine—putting him to sleep with Meshu, then kissing him—Brody tried something new once the hostile atmosphere around her began to subside.

She let a drop of her own blood fall into his mouth.

And the next day—

It worked!

‘So it wasn’t the kiss—it was bodily fluids.’

Still, what good was understanding the cause?

‘Either way, he needs me beside him.’

Still, if all she had to do was kiss him while he slept, she could endure it—for now.

Moreover, once the Grand Duke grew more at ease, the soldiers’ treatment of Brody also improved.

She seemed to be regarded as the woman he kept by his side—perhaps as a favored mistress.

Now that she had narrowly escaped death, Brody finally had the peace of mind to contemplate other things.

‘So… it’s not that the tea tastes good? He’s not obsessed with the flavor—there must be another reason?’

Brody began observing Aidan.

He ignored her stares, letting her watch him freely.

Through continuous observation, she learned many things about him—but not the root cause of his condition.

But staying cooped up in the barracks without moving was starting to drive her crazy.

“Your Grace.”

Aidan flinched in surprise at Brody’s voice.

She had never spoken to him first before.

“What is it?”

He looked up from the map, his expression curious.

“How long do I have to stay here?”

“Is there something you lack?”

Brody furrowed her brows slightly at that.

Was he really expecting her to be content, confined in a tent like livestock?

Well, maybe in his mind, this was already generous treatment for a prisoner.

After all, this wasn’t a world that treasured human rights.

Surprisingly, though, Aidan seemed to pick up on the subtle shift in her expression.

He stood up and approached her.

“If there’s anything I can do, I will.”

Brody blinked in surprise at his unexpected reaction.

“Your Grace, I’ve thought about this a lot, but I still don’t understand what you want from me.”

“What do you mean?”

Aidan was startled to see Brody—normally so silent—speaking so fluently and boldly.

‘Was she not shy or cautious, but deliberately keeping quiet?’

And indeed, that was the case.

She had kept quiet on purpose, hoping not to get entangled in this place and to eventually escape.

“If you want the delicious tea, I’ll give you the recipe.”

Aidan flinched.

She was offering the secret that relieved his chronic headaches?

Wait—did that mean she knew he suffered from chronic headaches?

“Or… is it that you want to spend the night with me? Though, I doubt that’s the case.”

This time, Aidan’s face flushed red.

Was she not embarrassed, saying something like that so casually?

For Brody, a modern woman, such words weren’t difficult to say—but in this world, it was different.

Though she carried Brody’s memories, she hadn’t truly internalized all the nuances of this world’s norms.

“I heard that you sleep with a different woman every day… um, I mean, you take in a different woman each day. But you haven’t slept with me, so I’m assuming it’s the tea you want.”

Even Brody seemed to feel the phrase “take in” was too much, so she quickly softened her wording.

But Aidan still turned pale at her words.

“I replace women every day?”

Oops. Even though she changed her phrasing, the damage was done.

‘Brody, you should’ve watched your mouth.’

This was a society ruled by hierarchy. He was a Grand Duke. She was a war prisoner.

For someone who had killed countless people, taking her life would be nothing.

Though Brody panicked, Aidan didn’t seem angry at her word choice.

“I’ve never done anything like that. Not even once.”

“…Huh?”

Stunned beyond belief, Brody cautiously asked,

“Uh… well… maybe not every day… I may have exaggerated a bit…”

“That’s not it. I mean—ugh. You were my first.”

“…?”

Aidan’s entire face turned crimson. Not just his cheeks, but his ears and even the back of his neck.

As he bashfully confessed she was his first, Brody’s face reddened too.

“W-Women have entered my tent… But they just came in and left… Dammit, River, that bastard! I told him I didn’t want that! So that’s where the rumors came from?”

Whether that last part was a question or muttering, Brody decided she should respond anyway.

“Yes… The rumor is that every day, you use a different woman and then kill her in the morning. I don’t know what your people believe, but that’s what the prisoners think—and they were terrified. The women never came back, after all…”

“What?”

Aidan’s pupils trembled.

Brody nodded solemnly at his reaction.

It was a little surprising, but based on his usual behavior, the rumor being false actually made more sense.

Some parts of the rumor were false.
But some were true.

The female prisoners left the Grand Duke’s tent unharmed.

But outside, soldiers and high-ranking officers took those women.

Those women never returned to the prison barracks, and so the other female prisoners assumed they had been killed.

No one could know what happened inside the Grand Duke’s tent.

But what happened after—most soldiers were vaguely aware.

Chief Strategist River ensured that these rumors never reached Aidan’s ears.

That’s why Aidan hadn’t known.

“Do you intend to punish them severely?”

Standing before the furious Aidan, River asked calmly.

Though he had committed a grave offense by hiding this from Aidan, he showed no remorse or fear.

“We forbade this under military law!”

“The camp is in a foul mood. If the prisoners help pacify it, isn’t that a blessing?”

“River!”

Aidan drew his sword in an instant and held it to River’s throat.

It was only by a paper-thin margin that River’s neck remained intact.

Yet River didn’t even flinch.

“If you intend to kill me, go ahead. Either way, heading to the capital is no different than marching to our deaths.”

“No—it’s not just to die! If we wanted to die, we wouldn’t have taken the stain of rebellion! We’re going to live, and you know that better than anyone!”

“Many soldiers have already died. Those remaining no longer hope for tomorrow.”

“So that means we should sacrifice the weak? Do you really think a world built by survivors who trampled over women and children will be a good one? It’ll just be hell for the innocent!”

River’s eyes flickered.

He knew the Grand Duke’s words were right.

But he also knew they weren’t fighting this war with saints. This grim balance was all that kept the camp from falling apart.

He clenched his teeth and responded harshly.

“Then kill me if you hate it that much.”

“…What?”

River’s tone was emotionless—without a hint of hesitation.

“There isn’t enough food to feed the prisoners. You know why this war began.”

Aidan’s grip on the sword tightened.

The images of the North’s desolation under imperial exploitation flashed through his mind, tearing at his soul.

“Except for the five noblewomen of value, the rest are of no use to the North. There’s only one answer.”

“We can use them for labor.”

“We can’t farm. What use is labor? We need food, not hands.”

“If they’re not needed, release them.”

“Sure. Some might escape. But most will be snatched up by mad soldiers the moment they’re released. The North’s discipline will become a laughingstock. Or don’t tell me you want us to escort them all the way to the central region and release them safely?”

At that, the Icewall Grand Duke sheathed his sword with a growl.

He had resolved to die in order to survive. But now, in order not to die, he faced unbearable sacrifices.

River stared gloomily at Aidan.

He knew how crushing the burden on Aidan’s shoulders was—but River was not someone who could lighten that burden. He was only here to press it down.

“Severe punishment will be carried out,” Aidan said through gritted teeth.

“Then I’ll kill the prisoners as well.”

Aidan couldn’t reply.

He couldn’t starve his soldiers to feed prisoners.

And if the women were going to suffer and die anyway… perhaps a swift death was kinder.

Aidan pressed a hand to his forehead in anguish.

His large palm obscured his eyes.

There had to be a way. Could he reduce his own rations?

No—he was already barely eating.

Even with no solution in sight, the Icewall Grand Duke couldn’t bring himself to speak the final words.

“Wait!”

Suddenly, a woman’s voice pierced the dark, tense air of the command tent.

Chief Strategist River turned to the voice’s source, eyes cold.

It was Brody.

She must’ve been the one who informed Aidan of the “truth.”

No wonder River viewed her, the Grand Duke’s favored woman, with disdain.

“This isn’t your place to speak.”

“I have a solution!”

River blinked in disbelief at her bold reply.