Chapter : 2
Nayeun forgot about the pain in her shock and jumped up from the bed.
The place where she had been sleeping was a space she had never seen in her life.
Kidnapped? Or am I still dreaming?
Pacing around the room in panic as if to grasp the situation, Nayeun approached the window that rattled in the wind.
The moment she pulled back the half-drawn curtain and looked outside, her body froze like ice.
The darkened scenery looked similar to an old foreign movie set in a long-past era.
Rows of unfamiliar-looking buildings and a tall tower rising in the distance…
Am I still in a dream?
Nayeun raised her trembling hand and pinched her cheek hard.
Contrary to her desperate wish that it was a dream, a sharp pain shot through her at once.
‘It’s not a dream…?’
At that moment, thunder and lightning crashed as if tearing the world apart.
Boom! Craaash!
“Kyaaah!”
The thunder was so loud that her shrill scream was completely swallowed up.
As if to awaken her to reality, the flashing lightning brightly illuminated the unfamiliar world outside the window.
With the darkness gone, the village looked even more shocking.
Nayeun screamed and stumbled backward. The door she hit behind her burst open with a bang.
Frozen in terror, she was pushed out through the opening as if spat out of the room.
“This is a dream. It’s all a dream…”
Then, like a madwoman, she ran around looking for an exit.
When another thunderclap struck like an explosion, Nayeun’s legs gave out and she collapsed, covering both ears.
Boom! Rumble—crash!
“So noisy.”
Ruban frowned at the thunder that had been ringing in his ears for a while and stood up.
Walking to the window to draw the curtains and reduce the noise, Ruban looked up at the flashing sky.
For some reason, he suddenly remembered his childhood self, trembling under the blankets with his ears covered because he was afraid of thunder and lightning. His mood sank.
After closing the curtains and sitting on the bed, he found a glass of strong liquor in his hand.
It was Adelian’s drastic prescription for his lord who hadn’t been able to sleep for days.
Did he not know that drinking at times like this was basically poison?
A hollow laugh escaped him.
Then, suddenly, the woman he had encountered in the forest a few days ago came to mind.
After bringing the collapsed woman to this village, he had his subordinates ask around the nearby forest villages, but not a single person knew a woman named Inael.
As Adelian had said, she was suspicious in more ways than one.
But there was an even bigger problem.
Himself.
If he thought rationally, it would have been right to make her stay somewhere else, not here where he was staying.
She was suspicious in every way.
Yet, despite Adelian’s strong objections, he had let her stay here.
It had been an impulsive decision.
He himself did not understand why he had done that.
What was even more unsettling was the fact that he kept thinking about her without realizing it.
A strange emotion he had never felt before flickered in his chest.
Ruban downed the strong liquor in one gulp and lay down on the bed.
He intended to get at least a little sleep.
But after some time had passed, his gray eyes slowly opened, filled with a sharp glint.
The place where he was staying was the largest inn in the area and its highest floor.
Only Ruban and the Blayer Knights were staying there.
For the sake of his light sleeping habits, the knights had taken rooms on the opposite side, so from the middle of the corridor to his room at the very end, there was no one staying.
In the dark dawn, hearing small footsteps approaching quickly, Ruban got up, grabbed his sword, and headed into the corridor.
He even welcomed the thought of a spy who might shorten the boredom of his sleepless night.
But Ruban stopped after only a few steps.
“Ha.”
In the corridor was Nayeun.
She was sitting in the middle of the hallway, curled up tightly.
Seeing her small, fragile figure, Ruban let out a short, hollow laugh, feeling both absurd and oddly unsettled.
He hung the sword he was holding back on his belt.
Her identity was suspicious, but whatever she might try to do would be nothing more than a tickle to him.
“What are you doing here?”
“……”
“Go back to your room.”
Staring at her unmoving back, he walked a few steps closer until he stood in front of her.
Up close, Nayeun was trembling all over, covering her ears with both hands.
She looked like a frightened baby squirrel with its tail caught.
Just then, thunder boomed again, and Nayeun curled up even tighter and whimpered softly.
“H-hic… hic…”
It felt strange.
For some reason, looking at her made the memory of his own childhood flash through his mind again.
After watching her for a moment, he bent down and carefully grasped her thin, trembling shoulders.
Was she that frightened?
Her small head jerked up.
The moment his reflection appeared clearly in her tear-filled eyes—
Ruban swallowed dryly at the trembling that spread from deep in his chest.
It was a thrill he had never felt even when he planted his banner on the highest point of enemy territory.
Tears pooled in her large eyes and flowed down her cheeks, and as if possessed, Ruban reached out his hand.
Just as his fingertips were about to touch her cheek, her body gave way and collapsed weakly toward the cold stone floor of the corridor.
It’s stifling…
A hot heat spread through her body.
In her hazy state, Nayeun pushed away the sheets and tried to sit up, when an unfamiliar voice came from somewhere.
“Just lie down.”
Startled, she turned her head and saw a man sitting on a wooden chair a short distance from the bed.
It was Ruban, the man who had saved her from the wolf.
Searching her vague memories, it seemed she had wandered around in panic and met him earlier.
So… it really isn’t a dream?
Still unable to believe it, Nayeun looked around hurriedly.
Noticing her darting black eyes, Ruban placed the report he had been holding onto the table.
The small tap sound snapped Nayeun back to her senses, and she gathered her strength to sit up.
“Where is this place…? And who are you?”
At her question, which sounded as if she were confronting a criminal, he slightly frowned in displeasure.
“Shouldn’t you thank me first for saving your life?”
“Ah… I’m sorry. I was too out of it and was rude. Thank you so much for saving me…”
Not knowing what was going on and seeing displeasure on the face of the man who had helped her, Nayeun suddenly felt afraid.
Her hurried apology and thanks came out in a small, tearful voice.
Seeing her completely frightened state, Ruban let out a faint sigh and ran a hand over his forehead.
“I should apologize too for hurting you. I didn’t expect you to be flung away like that. How is your body? If you’re in a lot of pain, I’ll call a physician right now.”
“You were trying to save me… My body is fine, so you don’t need to worry… Ngh.”
Nayeun tried to smile as she answered, but as if her lying body were protesting, her head suddenly throbbed as though it were splitting apart.
“A body that was unconscious for a week can’t be fine.”
“…I was unconscious for a week?”
“Yes. The wound on your forehead was serious. For two of those days, you were hovering between life and death.”
At Ruban’s words, Nayeun’s face darkened rapidly.
She had always been physically weak, but to think she had been unconscious for a whole week.
The fear that she might never have woken up washed over her.
Ruban stared at her intently.
Feeling his persistent gaze, Nayeun shrank back, and Ruban spoke again.
“Now tell me. Who are you, where did you come from, and why were you alone there?”
“Before that… could you tell me where this place is? I’m just… very confused.”
She added the last part cautiously, worried that he might be offended again.
Fortunately, as if understanding her intention, Ruban nodded and spoke.
“This is an inn in Morona Village. I met you in the forest while passing through on my way back to my territory, and for whatever reason, I knocked you aside with my horse, and you were injured.”
Morona Village? Territory? What does all of this mean…?
Unable to find anything to say, Nayeun closed her mouth and only blinked.
After waiting for a moment, he urged her for an answer as if growing impatient.
“Do you really remember nothing?”
Nayeun tried to think calmly.
If she spoke carelessly now, she might be treated as a crazy person.
Hadn’t that already happened when she said in the forest that this might be a dream?
She needed time to organize her thoughts on her own.
“Ah… suddenly… my head, my head hurts so much.”
“…I guess you overexerted yourself as soon as you woke up. Get some more rest.”
Even to herself, her acting felt awkward, but Ruban nodded with a faintly worried expression.
She pulled her trembling hands under the sheet and sat still, waiting for him to leave the room.
But Ruban picked up the papers he had set down and remained seated.
S-stay…?
Sensing her flustered gaze, he lifted his head.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Are you… going to stay here?”
For a moment, a look of disbelief crossed his usually cold face.
Then, an unexpectedly wronged tone came from his mouth.
“This… is my room.”
