IRER 25

Chapter 25: The Murderous Tutor

When she saw Aidan, Brody turned her head to look at Jax.

Her body was tied to a tree, so she couldn’t shake him awake.

Instead, her obedient lips opened against her will and reported the lookout results to Jax.

“Hey, you bastard. Get up.”

Flinch. Brody was startled by her own voice.

The tone itself was calm—neither loud nor fluctuating.

It sounded mechanical, almost robotic.

But the words…?

When Jax didn’t stir, Brody’s lips moved again, once more without her volition.

“Hey, I told you to get up.”

Brody wanted nothing more than to bite her lips shut.

Her body wasn’t moving by her will, but it was still her body—imbued with her personality and essence.

Apparently, Brody’s subconscious had no intention of speaking politely to Jax.

Even if her body followed a command, it didn’t mean the exact wording could be dictated.

Unless he gave specific instructions like, ‘Say “Lord Jax, please wake up.”’, this was what he’d get.

The robotic tone didn’t bother Jax nearly as much as the coarse language. He stirred in his sleeping bag.

With a deep scowl, he blinked groggily, his brows furrowed.

Used to waking in soft beds at the perfect temperature and humidity, Jax didn’t appreciate waking up in the dirt and wind.

To make things worse, his day had begun with crude insults.

Fuming, he sat up.

“What the hell did you just…?”

That’s when he saw Brody—tied to a tree, looking straight at him.

Her expression was blank as stone, completely emotionless.

There was no malice in her gaze. She didn’t look like someone trying to insult him.

“Don’t just sit there like an idiot. Get up. Someone’s coming.”

Her voice was still monotonous and mechanical.

Jax was baffled, but now wasn’t the time to argue.

If her “programming” was working correctly, it meant she really had spotted someone nearby.

“You—you! We’ll talk later.”

Brody didn’t know whether to be satisfied or mortified.

What was clear was that the situation was unbearable: Aidan had come to rescue her, and yet she—acting as a lookout—was forced to report it to Jax.

Jax got dressed and tidied up the campsite.

Surprisingly, he didn’t look panicked.

Soon, a chilling command came from his mouth:

“Stop the Northern Grand Duke, Brody. If you’re about to be caught—kill him.”

“……!”

Only then did Brody understand his calm demeanor.

Why worry when your greatest weapon—Brody—was right there?

That cunning bastard quickly untied the rope around her wrist.

Her arms, stiff from being bound in one position, ached as they flopped back into place. But the pain was nothing compared to the horror she felt at the command.

“Kill him?”

As Brody felt her body rise against her will, she screamed internally.

Through her wide, shocked eyes, she saw Jax smiling smugly.

He met her gaze and said coldly,

“Why so surprised? Wasn’t killing him the reason you went north to begin with? Finish this mission, and Her Highness will reward you handsomely.”

Humming, Jax continued packing his things—rolling up his sleeping bag, dousing the fire, checking his tools, and adjusting his horse’s saddle.

He felt perfectly safe behind Brody, confident that with a bit of luck, he might even eliminate the Northern Duke entirely.

Then there would be no need to wait another three years. The North would collapse, and the princess would be pleased.

Their campsite had been in a wind-sheltered spot, slightly off the main path.

Brody trudged toward the road in the dim light of dawn.

About 50 meters away, the bushes rustled—and a tall, broad-shouldered man with black hair stepped out.

Even at a distance, his unique physique and striking features made it unmistakably Aidan.

He began walking slowly toward Brody, who stood alone in the middle of the road.

No. No, Your Highness… please…

Brody’s fingers trembled violently.

It wasn’t a voluntary reaction, but a physiological response driven by sheer distress.

Sweat poured like rain, and her pupils shook wildly.

She tried with all her might to warn him away.

Aidan, with sharp eyes, could see her clearly.

His face twisted with fury.

In just half a day, Brody looked like a wreck.

Her hair was disheveled, her clothes stained with blood and who-knew-what else.

Her face was pale, eyes and mouth sunken, and she looked like a ghost wandering the mountains in the gray dawn.

She had just started to regain color and vitality in the South.

Now, it was all undone.

Aidan blamed himself.

If he hadn’t searched for her, Jax never would have found her.

Despite Brody’s silent pleas, Aidan walked toward her.

At the same time, Jax finished packing and appeared behind Brody with his horse.

When Jax arrived, Aidan stopped in his tracks.

Brody let Jax approach from behind without resisting—because she had no choice.

Jax stepped slightly to her side and reached over her shoulder.

He gently grabbed her chin and pulled.

Her head twisted toward him, her body leaning against his.

If he placed his left hand around her waist, it would look exactly like an embrace.

He opened his mouth.

“Well done, Brody. Thanks to you, I’ve captured the famous Ice Wall Duke so easily.”

In Brody’s half-glazed eyes, half the sky and half of Jax’s face came into view.

Move. Please, move.

Please, let me move of my own will. Please…

Brody repeated the desperate prayer over and over, trying to focus not on Jax’s grotesque face or his sinister words but on her own body.

Then, her mind went white.

“You remember the command, don’t you? Do it right, and who knows—I might reward you handsomely.”

Still holding her chin, Jax brought his face close.

His left hand slithered like a snake from her lower back to her ribs, pulling her tightly in.

His wet tongue slid from her cheek to the corner of her mouth.

“I’ll give you what you want, Brody. What you’ve always desired.”

All the while, his eyes, twisted with malice, stared straight at Aidan—a clear provocation.

Come on, attack me, Ice Wall Duke. Then the woman you love will kill you.

Brody’s spine tingled. Her hair stood on end.

Shock turned to overwhelming disgust and humiliation.

Her vision blinked black, red, and blue.

Her legs nearly gave out.

At the same moment, Aidan’s face turned red, like boiling oil.

His torso swelled with explosive rage.

Yet he did not draw his sword.

He couldn’t kill Jax—Brody would die.

He couldn’t attack him—Brody would stop him.

Instead, Aidan walked forward unarmed.

Jax released Brody and stepped back.

From a short distance, Jax crossed his arms and watched like a spectator in the Colosseum.

Twenty paces to reach her.

Aidan forced himself to ignore Jax and focus solely on Brody.

She looked blankly at Aidan as he approached.

When there were ten steps left, strange plants began to sprout in front of him.

Brody screamed inwardly, but her body didn’t obey. Aidan didn’t stop.

As her powers awakened, Aidan suddenly broke into a run.

Without defense, he dove straight into the mass of magical plants.

Thorns and vines clawed, pulled, and struck him.

They cut his skin, bound his limbs, and wormed into him.

Yet he pushed forward, tearing through them with sheer force.

The plants failed to stop him.

Brody stared in horror.

The command in her mind burned bright like a brand:

“Stop the Northern Duke, Brody. If you’re about to be caught—kill him.”

No! If you grab me… I’ll have to kill you!

She tried to faint, to think of anything else.

Don’t think! Don’t remember! You don’t know any plant names! Don’t even try!

She hoped closing her eyes would mean they’d never open again.

Please…!

But alas, Brody was a competent botanist.

Poisonous plants bloomed in front of her.

At that moment, Aidan reached out his hand.

In slow motion, his large hand filled her vision.

The poisonous vine coiled up his arm like an insect burrowing into his flesh.

It pierced through his skin and wrapped around him.

Crimson-violet streaks began to bloom like veins beneath his skin.

Brody’s eyes widened in horror.

“Brody!”

But at that same moment, Aidan grabbed her wrist.

Everything happened in a flash.

He embraced her, tearing through the plants.

They rustled violently from the force.

“Your… Highness…”

Brody’s lips trembled as they forced out the words.

Suddenly, from the wrist he held, a cold energy began to spread.

She felt a freezing chill pierce her entire body—but that chill drove out the seething heat that had wriggled through her veins like bugs.

The frost swept through her body, and as it did, the plants around her were encased in white frost, shattering like glass.

A cold wind blew around them, cleansing everything.

With sharp pain, her senses returned.

With trembling fingers, Brody gripped Aidan’s arm.

“Your Highness… so reckless…”

A tear rolled down her trembling cheek.

Aidan smiled gently at her.

“H-How…?”

But the crystalline beauty of the moment shattered with Jax’s horrified scream.

“Tch.”

Brody’s body collapsed into Aidan’s arms.

He caught her safely, then glared furiously at Jax, who sat astride his horse.

Jax held a crossbow, though it had no arrow now.

As the sound of galloping hooves faded, Aidan looked down.

Brody’s back was slowly turning red.

A bolt was lodged deep in her shoulder.