IRER 22

Chapter 22
The Unwanted Act

“Brody, stop.”

At the sharp voice, Brody froze on the spot.

‘What? What’s going on…?’

She stood trembling where she was.

The term ‘froze’ wasn’t just figurative—it was literal.

Her body refused to move even a single inch.

Whether it was paralysis or something else, she felt like she had turned to stone. A terrible sensation crawled over her skin, like insects were scurrying all over her body.

“Come here, Brody.”

Brody’s eyes widened. A flicker of light in her pupils trembled violently.

‘That voice…?’

It wasn’t Aidan.

She hadn’t realized it earlier, caught off guard by her body’s sudden reaction.

But now she knew for certain—exactly whose voice it was.

Brody slowly turned her head. Click, clack. Her movements were stiff and unnatural, as if her joints were rusted shut.

Her blurry eyes turned toward the source of the voice.

And she saw him clearly.

A man with dazzling golden hair and a confident, smug face.

“How…?”

Aidan, now wearing a harsh expression, quickly turned to block Brody.

Duke Jax McCarthy stood tall before them, his cloak billowing as he spread his legs in a grand stance.

“Ah, what a twist of fate this is. To stumble upon you two by pure coincidence.”

Coincidence? Ha—there was no way.

Aidan scowled at the absurd claim.

Jax hadn’t seen Brody move up into the tree, so he must’ve been tailing Aidan.

Too embarrassed to admit he couldn’t find Brody on his own and had simply followed someone else, Jax was now acting like it was all happenstance.

Normally, Aidan would have noticed someone tailing him, but he’d been too focused on tracking Brody.

Though lacking Aidan’s physical prowess, Jax was still a duke—and one of the top knights in the capital.

To shadow someone who was preoccupied wasn’t a particularly difficult feat.

Aidan now regretted having underestimated Jax simply because of his exaggerated, theatrical personality.

Like an actor on stage, Jax brushed his hair back dramatically and said,

“Brody, stop wasting your life wandering. Come back with me.”

He stretched out his hand toward her in a perfectly practiced gesture. And Brody… began walking toward him.

Slow, dragging steps.

Aidan grabbed her arm in surprise.

But even as he held her, Brody’s legs continued to move forward, like a broken doll programmed to walk.

“Brody—don’t tell me—your body isn’t responding?”

Brody barely managed to shift her gaze to look at Aidan.

She wanted to nod, but her body felt like the joints were screwed too tightly. She couldn’t move a muscle.

Instead, her breathing grew shallow and strained.

Aidan, holding her, shouted in anger.

“What have you done?!”

“Oh my, Sir Aidan,” Jax replied with a nonchalant shrug. “How could you accuse me of such a thing? You shouldn’t threaten a lady like that.”

There was no one around, and from the outside, it appeared as if Aidan was forcibly holding onto Brody while she tried to walk willingly toward Jax.

Jax was playing the part of the innocent man flawlessly.

“Break away from him, Brody.”

Click.

With that new command, Brody’s body moved again on its own.

She couldn’t even lift a finger on her own—like being trapped in a waking nightmare, pinned down by sleep paralysis.

No matter how hard she tried to resist, she couldn’t remember Jax ever having a power like this in the original novel.

She was soaked in cold sweat, desperately trying to regain control over her limbs.

But her hand, cruelly and slowly, reached between Aidan’s arms to push him away.

Her nails dug into Aidan’s bare arm through the thin fabric.

‘Stop! Please! Stop!’

Brody screamed inside as she stared at her own hand clawing at Aidan.

She could feel her fingers piercing his skin—and blood began to stain his clothes where her hand touched.

“Damn it.”

Aidan had vowed never to let go of her, and he could have held on.

But when he saw the agony on Brody’s face as she wounded him, he changed his mind.

Holding onto her like this wasn’t going to help.

“I’m sorry, Brody.”

He bit his lip and pulled her waist sharply to the side.

“Ugh.”

Thud. Her light body flew like paper and landed on the soft earth.

At the same moment, Aidan unsheathed his sword and lunged at Jax like the wind.

Jax, startled but far from helpless, drew his sword just in time.

Clang.

The heavy metal echoed through the humid southern air.

Clang, clang, clang. Jax parried Aidan’s heavy blows.

But that was only impressive compared to their last encounter—when Aidan had defeated him within ten moves.

This time was no different. By the twelfth exchange, the victor was clear.

But there was no reason to take Jax prisoner this time.

The thirteenth strike aimed straight for Jax’s throat.

Even before the sword pierced him, Aidan’s cold gaze made Jax feel like his heart had already been skewered.

I’m going to die!

Feeling the breath of death closing in, Jax screamed in desperation.

“If I die, Brody dies too!”

“…!”

The sword that had just grazed Jax’s throat suddenly veered away.

A single drop of blood flicked from the tip, scattered into the air around them.

Aidan, having withdrawn his sword, growled as he stepped hard onto Jax’s chest and throat.

Jax’s head slammed into the ground as he gasped for air.

Looking up with a twisted face, he muttered,

“You’re awfully rough for a noble. Shouldn’t you show a bit more poise even now…”

Aidan had no interest in indulging his nonsense.

He brought the tip of his sword to Jax’s lips.

The blade, soaked in blood, hovered menacingly.

“Explain.”

“Why don’t you put the sword away first…”

Jax tried to play it off with a sly smile.

But the blade pushed further—wedging itself between his teeth.

“Talk. Or I’ll make you wish for death instead.”

Jax wanted to grit his teeth in frustration, but with a blade between them, he could barely speak.

“Wuh uh ah’re connec’ed.”

Aidan scowled.

The words were garbled—he couldn’t understand them at all.

Jax’s face flushed red with humiliation at his own unintelligible voice.

“Tch.”

Aidan rotated the sword slightly and pressed it against his neck.

“Speak clearly.”

Finally managing to close his mouth properly, Jax gritted his teeth and growled.

“Brody and I are connected.”

Aidan frowned and jerked his chin—a gesture for more explanation.

Jax groaned, then added,

“If you kill me while we’re connected, Brody dies too. She’s linked to the caster’s consciousness. If I die, she experiences the same death. You could say… our fates are intertwined.”

Just as he started slipping back into his theatrical tone, Aidan pushed the sword closer, silencing him.

So he couldn’t kill Jax.

But if he couldn’t kill him, he’d have to bind him—and travel with him, under constant surveillance.

Aidan’s brow twitched in irritation.

“Remove it.”

“Hah, surely you jest. The moment I remove it, my life is forfeit, thanks to you.”

Aidan narrowed his eyes.

So there was a way to break the link.

His gaze swept over Jax’s body, sword still at his neck.

That’s when he noticed a bracelet on Jax’s wrist—an odd fit for the rest of his outfit.

“Hold out your right arm.”

Flinch. Jax’s eyes widened, panic written across his face.

“Why… my arm…?”

When he hesitated, Aidan pressed harder with his foot.

Jax gasped and bit his lip.

Trembling with frustration, he slowly raised his arm.

“Take off the bracelet and put it on the ground.”

“Come now, Your Grace. You’re holding a blade to my neck—do you intend to rob me of my jewelry too? It’s expensive, yes, but—”

Jax grumbled and moved his left hand.

Naturally—he needed it to remove the bracelet.

But that movement wasn’t ordinary.

He suddenly scooped a handful of dirt from the ground and flung it at Aidan.

So crude.

The southern soil was damp and heavy. It didn’t scatter well.

Aidan stepped back with a knowing look, dodging easily, then swung his sword.

All he needed was that bracelet.

If necessary, he’d cut off Jax’s arm to get it.

“Grrhk.”

Jax blocked the strike with his arm.

The sword hit the bracelet—CRACK!—and shattered it.

The bracelet had been thick, sparing Jax’s arm, though Aidan’s sword still grazed his forearm.

Hearing the bracelet shatter, Aidan exhaled in relief.

But at that exact moment, Jax’s voice pierced the air.

“Brody! Protect me and stop the duke!”

“…!”

Aidan’s eyes flew open. The hair on his neck stood on end.

It wasn’t the bracelet?!

As Jax tried to flee, Aidan reflexively swung his sword again.

“Gaaagh!”

The forest echoed with his scream.

He’d aimed for Jax’s mouth, but the man dodged just in time, leaving a deep slash from jaw to chest.

“You bastard! My face!”

Clutching his chin, Jax howled.

Aidan, pressing him down with a boot, turned around.

Damn it.

By the time he looked, thick plant stems were already coiling toward him threateningly.