Mr. Kadan in the Deep Forest - Chapter 32
‘What’s his deal?’
Everything was suspicious. The stranger’s persistence. And the fact Kadan somehow understood that foreign tongue.
‘Could it be related to the memory I lost?’
Having finished preparing for the hunt, Kadan quietly left the cabin, determined to ask that madman directly when he encountered him.
Lost in thought, Kadan was so caught up in his hurried steps that he didn’t notice someone watching from afar.
＊ ＊ ＊
Splash! Ice-cold water poured over Luna’s face. Luna struggled to lift her heavy eyelids, coughing as the water entered her nose, making her tear up.
‘Where am I?’
Luna quickly scanned her surroundings as she regained her senses. She found herself lying in the middle of the village square, surrounded by villagers.
“How did you survive after being sold as a sacrifice?”
“Could it be that the death of Charles’ mother was due to the wrath of the master of the forest?”
“The cold this winter has been especially harsh, all because of her.”
“Last week, the beasts even came near the village, and eight people got injured. It must be her fault.”
“Look, she’s awake! She’s up!”
The villagers were busy gossiping about Luna. Her dazed mind couldn’t make sense of the situation.
‘I was definitely sleeping in the cabin. How did I end up here?’
Luna’s wet shirt began to freeze in the winter wind, and her whole body trembled uncontrollably. Curling up, she nervously looked around. Had she become too comfortable by Kadan’s side? It had been a long time since she had seen those scornful gazes around her.
“Alright, alright, calm down!”
The village chief stepped forward, striking the ground with his cane. The surrounding chatter gradually quieted.
“This winter, our village has been cursed by misfortune because of that slave who failed to fulfill her role as a sacrifice!”
“That’s right!”
The villagers unanimously agreed with the chief’s statement.
“The food storehouses were raided because the sacrifice brought misfortune. Isn’t that so?”
“Exactly!”
“And so, in the name of the village chief, I will punish this rebellious sacrifice. I hear she’s cursed…”
The chief’s disdainful gaze swept over Luna’s wet shirt. The fabric clung to her skin, subtly revealing her tattoos.
The village chief licked his lips, clearly disappointed. If it weren’t for that curse, he would have taken her as a mistress on the spot—she was such a beautiful woman.
Sensing the disgust in his eyes, Luna quickly wrapped her arms around herself. The chief sneered, “Hmph.”
“As it happens, the royal knights are staying nearby to hunt the beasts, so I’ve already reported it.”
“That’s right!”
“Good job, Chief!”
The villagers cheered in support of the chief.
“I’ve done nothing wrong! This tattoo isn’t a curse, it has a good meaning…”
“Shut up!”
Luna turned pale with fear and pleaded with the villagers, but the chief cut her off sharply.
The chief and everyone else treated her as a harbinger of misfortune.
Luna was dragged away by the villagers and thrown into a shabby storage shed. The dirt floor, littered with grains and straw, was filthy.
“Just wait here until you die.”
With those final words, the chief closed the shed door. Just before it shut completely, Luna saw the chief and a woman standing next to him through the narrow gap. The chief, exposing his yellow teeth, was praising the woman.
“Well done, Daisy. It was thanks to you that we were able to capture that rebellious slave.”
‘Daisy?’
Luna’s eyes trembled.
With a creaking sound, the door slammed shut, and the chilling sound of the hinges echoed through the shed.
-
- At the End of Despair
Crouched in the cold shed, Luna thought to herself. Her life had probably been like a dry leaf, fluttering down to the ground all along.
Perhaps, seeing her life fall to the ground with such pity, Kadan had come to her like the breeze of dawn. The memories she shared with him were like dewdrops on dry leaves, sparkling like precious jewels.
Holding onto those dewdrops, Luna now lay at the bottom of death’s abyss.
‘Whether I freeze to death or have my head chopped off by the knights… it doesn’t matter.’
Come to think of it, she had probably thought the same thing when she was offered as a sacrifice to the forest. But this time, it was different.
‘What would have happened if I hadn’t met Kadan?’
The more she thought about him, the more her long-time companion, death, seemed frightening. Her attachment to life clung to her heart like the cold, heavy wetness of her clothes. It would have been better to have died without knowing Kadan. If she had, she wouldn’t have developed such unnecessary desires.
‘Would Kadan know that I’m gone?’
He would probably find out soon. The sun would set a little more, and it would be time for Kadan to return. Luna hugged her knees tightly, imagining how surprised he would be when he realized she had vanished without a word.
‘I just want to say goodbye to him.’
Luna muttered softly to the dry ground, “Goodbye, Kadan.” Then, hot tears surged and flowed down her face.
Through the blurred vision caused by the tears, her left hand appeared in front of her. Her ring finger felt empty, where her ring should have been.
Had someone taken it thinking it was valuable? The token he gave her, the tomorrow she was supposed to share with him, and the warm space where his presence lingered—all of it had vanished.
Like the morning dew evaporating under the blazing sun, everything had disappeared. All that remained was her dry body, lying on the ground.
