Chapter 24
A Body That Obeys
Brody slowly raised her head and looked at Jax.
Sensing her gaze, Jax met her eyes.
Brody was looking at him intently with clear, unwavering eyes.
There was no fear, awe, or servility in them.
Was this how she used to look?
Jax was momentarily startled and drew in a breath.
Before going to the North, Brody hadn’t even been able to meet his eyes properly.
Her gaze always wavered with uncertainty, but was full of blind admiration. She always prioritized Jax above all, picking up on his every breath and gesture with hypersensitive awareness.
Jax had hated that about her. It made her look pathetic and lowly. When she hovered around him, it made him feel diminished.
“What? What do you want?” Jax asked curtly as Brody continued to look him in the eye.
Brody shifted her gaze to the gag in her mouth.
It was clearly a request to remove it.
Jax sighed. “I’ll take it off, but don’t scream. Let’s not waste our energy.”
Brody nodded.
She had no intention of screaming anyway.
“Puhah…”
As the gag came off, Brody let out a long sigh.
After catching her breath for a moment, she said,
“I’m hungry.”
“What?”
“Do you know how much energy I used today because of Your Grace? I need to eat to survive. You’re not planning to drag a corpse into the capital, are you?”
“Huh…”
Jax stared blankly at her bold words.
Actually, it wasn’t the first time she’d surprised him like this.
Back when he found her in the South, she had coldly rejected him.
At the time, he thought it was because Aidan was beside her, and she was leaning on his authority.
But even now, alone with Jax, Brody was neither shrinking nor hesitating. She was saying what she wanted, straightforwardly.
Jax let out a dry chuckle. “If you’re so hungry, make some fruit.”
“I can’t. I’m too hungry. Do you think fruit just appears out of nowhere?”
Sassing him now?
Jax, taken aback, muttered, “Useless as ever.”
Brody’s brows twitched briefly at that, then smoothed out.
He really cuts people down like it’s breathing, she thought, holding back her rising anger.
Jax rummaged through their supplies and tossed her some jerky.
But how could she eat it with her hands and feet tied?
She asked again, “Untie my hands.”
“If you’re planning to escape, then I’d call you a fool.”
“Then feed me yourself.”
She said it, fully expecting him to refuse.
But to her surprise, Jax grumbled, drew his dagger, sliced the jerky into small pieces, and began feeding her.
Ugh, just untie me already… she thought.
Still, Brody obediently chewed and ate the jerky without complaint.
If she wanted to escape, she needed her strength.
Though her empty stomach churned at the tough meat, she forced it down, chewing thoroughly.
“Did you sleep with him?”
“Pfft!”
At Jax’s sudden question, Brody choked and coughed violently, jerky spraying from her mouth.
Jax looked at her with disgust, then sighed and wiped her mouth with a handkerchief.
“So filthy…”
Brody grimaced.
But Jax seemed intrigued by her reaction—not ashamed or humiliated, just irritated.
“The Grand Duke seems quite taken with you. Who would’ve thought you had those kinds of skills?” he said with a leering smile.
His eyes sent a chill down her spine.
That was blatant harassment.
Brody narrowed her eyes and snapped,
“Is that the refined speech His Grace the Duke is always bragging about? How very noble of you.”
Jax flushed. He heard the accusation between the lines.
You used to call me vulgar all the time—look at you now.
In the past, no matter what he said, Brody would bow her head and accept it, believing he was always right.
But now she was criticizing him like a normal person would. That didn’t sit well with him.
He had never allowed himself to act disgracefully in front of others.
What, me? Worried about appearances in front of someone like her?
Annoyed, Jax glared at Brody.
“He must have treated you well. You’ve changed. I suppose he gave you confidence to stand on your own?”
He turned and approached her.
Brody glared back with sharp, unflinching eyes.
“Hmph. You really have changed. That prickly attitude suits you,” he murmured, reaching out to grab her cheek.
Brody recoiled, her eyes wide with disgust.
Jax gripped her face and brushed her lips with his thumb.
“You’ve become a woman,” he said.
Thump, thump. Her heart pounded.
A chill ran down her spine, hairs standing on end.
His lewd gaze made her stomach churn. She wanted to throw up the jerky she had forced down.
Why is he doing this?
Was he stirred by her no-longer-submissive attitude?
Suppressing her fury, Brody said coldly,
“Do you want to sleep with me?”
His hand flinched at her words.
He had only approached her to humiliate her—but the moment his thumb touched her lips, lust had surged before he could stop it.
But he refused to acknowledge it.
Me? With someone like you?
Brody saw the change in his eyes and delivered the final blow.
“If you want to, I’ll do it. But I’ll tell Her Highness the Princess the truth, so go ahead.”
As expected, Jax shoved her away hard.
“How dare you! I was just teasing, and you think you can challenge me? You think Her Highness would believe your nonsense? She’d dismiss it as a delusional fantasy!”
Brody stumbled back but chuckled inside.
Jax, you’re so easy to read. Completely transparent.
Jax stepped away, but something inside him was unsettled.
What? “If you want, I’ll do it”?! Wasn’t she always the one throwing herself at me?
His anger wouldn’t subside.
Glaring at the composed Brody, he suddenly took off his jacket.
What now? Brody froze in confusion.
Jax looked pleased at her reaction and approached her slowly.
No way… He’s really going to…?
His lascivious face came so close she could feel his body heat. He wrapped his arms around her as if to embrace her.
Brody bit her lip in anxiety.
As far as she knew, Jax wasn’t a promiscuous man. He’d always been devoted to the princess…
Then she felt his breath on her neck, and revulsion crept up her spine.
It was the same warm air, the same exhaled carbon dioxide—but how could it feel so different from Aidan’s?
Nauseated, she shut her eyes tightly.
Just then, she felt her wrists loosen.
Jax had untied the ropes.
As he stepped back, he said,
“Heal me.”
“…What?”
Was she hallucinating?
For a moment, orange light shimmered faintly around them.
Then Brody’s body went rigid.
Just like it had during the day.
“Heal me, Brody.”
With the sickening feeling of bugs crawling under her skin, her body moved against her will.
“I’m injured because of you. Especially my face. Heal me properly—don’t leave a scar.”
Wounds on his jaw, his chest, and arms.
Though she’d only seen his back when he collapsed to the ground, she was certain Aidan had caused them.
“Right. You’d rather side with that barbarian than your own brother, huh?”
Of course, you bastard. All you’ve ever done is beat her down.
You have no idea how much Aidan has cared for me…
Her heart burned with resentment, but she couldn’t speak. Her body simply obeyed.
Despite her exhaustion, she summoned herbs and drew on high-level healing knowledge to tend to Jax’s wounds with precision.
Even if it was by command, it made her stomach churn to be healing this infuriating man.
And when she thought of Aidan, his face shimmered in her mind.
Somehow, she believed he would come for her. That he would find a way—even if she didn’t know how.
After the treatment, Jax calmly put his clothes back on.
Then he tied Brody’s hands again and secured her to a tree.
And retreated into his sleeping bag.
What? He’s just going to leave me here like this? What an ass!
But Brody couldn’t speak, couldn’t move—she just sat there like a doll, motionless.
Before getting into his sleeping bag, Jax gave her one last look and said—
It was a command, of course.
“Don’t sleep. Keep watch. And reflect on your actions. Maybe then you’ll learn something.”
“…!”
What?! You issue that command and just go to sleep?! You absolute lunatic! Selfish bastard!
Brody mentally cursed him in every foul way she knew.
Thankfully, the “don’t sleep and keep watch” command applied to her body only. The “reflect” part, aimed at her mind, didn’t take.
But even that was no relief.
Her body was on the brink of collapse from fatigue, yet she couldn’t lie down or rest. Her mind yearned for sleep, but her eyes refused to close.
Brody trembled in misery, eyes wide open, as morning approached.
And with dawn, came hope.
Something flickered into her weary vision.
At first, she thought it was a wild animal.
But it didn’t move like a four-legged beast.
From the bushes, black hair swayed.
No way… Is it really? Already? We left on horseback, and Aidan had to go back to the village for his own mount—how is he already here?
She hesitated to believe it. But no matter how she looked, it was him.
Tears welled up with relief.
Then, instantly, she regretted it.
Regretted trusting her own intelligence.
“Don’t sleep. Keep watch.”
Her body, following the command, had dutifully kept watch—
And now, her lips opened to wake Jax.
No!!!