Mr. Kadan in the Deep Forest - Chapter 42
“The village and the forest were like a battleground. It seems Daisy died too.”
“Daisy…?”
“Yes. She went to the enemy camp, saying she knew the leader of the enemy forces. She got involved and ended up dying. People were pointing fingers at her.”
At first, those who met Daisy thought she was a calm and kind woman. But after just a few days, her selfish nature would show. She was excellent at quietly taking care of her own interests. The type of person who was stingy with her own belongings but wasteful with others.
In front of men, she would sway her body gently. She subtly slandered village women, leaving her with few friends.
When Daisy was chosen as the forest’s sacrifice, more than half of the village agreed. Perhaps frustrated, she used her cunning to suggest buying a slave to avoid death. The same thing happened when Kadan became more popular.
“She’s something else. Kadan doesn’t even care about her, but she still goes after him, saying there’s no tree that doesn’t fall after being chopped ten times. She’s so full of herself, flirting with all the village men.”
“Did she not get to Ruth?”
“The fox can see the fox, Lady.”
Ruth replied, mimicking a polite nobleman’s greeting as he finished the explanation.
Luna had been gripping her hands tightly, her fingers trembling with a cold shake. She breathed in deeply and turned her gaze to the window. The setting sun appeared unusually red today, almost like blood.
“Wait by the river. Then the enemy’s bodies will float by.”
Luna muttered the old saying to herself.
“What does that mean?”
“It’s a saying about revenge. I remember reading it when I was a child. It just came to me now.”
In truth, Luna had already suspected. Daisy must have been the one who reported her to the village and had her captured by the knights.
It wasn’t that Luna wasn’t angry; it was just that, rather than letting herself be consumed by rage, she focused on what she could do now.
The anger and grief she had been holding in quietly bubbled up, and tears welled up in her eyes.
‘No. This isn’t the time. There’s no time. I must focus on Kadan.’
Only Kadan. Luna swallowed her tears, refusing to let them fall.
“One more time… Please, Ruth.”
“I didn’t want to say this, but you should give up, Luna. The cabin’s been empty for months. There’s no trace of him.”
Not even the villagers knew where he had gone. Moreover, the military’s movements were odd. There had been no official announcement, but the kingdom’s army seemed to be retreating.
“I have a bad feeling about this. Stop this and come with me south. My cousin runs a huge farm in the south…”
“Ruth, I can’t leave here.”
Luna firmly brushed past him. Ruth reached out and grabbed her arm.
“How dare you lay your hands on the saint!”
The priests who had been watching frowned, but Luna waved them off with her hand, dismissing them.
Now, only the two of them remained in the room. Ruth took a deep breath and, after months of holding back, finally expressed what he had been thinking.
“Is it because of that perverted king who only likes virgins? Did the king tie your ankles in the temple?”
“No.”
“You don’t care about titles. You’re not really interested in money either.”
“…”
“This must be hard for you.”
“Did it show?”
“Yeah, it showed. When you’re here waving your hand, people keep calling you ‘Saint, Saint,’ and you don’t like that, do you? You just want to be famous.”
Ruth grabbed Luna’s arm tightly before slowly letting go.
“You thought that if you became famous, Kadan would come find you, right?”
Luna’s eyes widened at his words. She had always known he was quick to pick up on things.
Just as he said, Luna had imagined it every day—the moment Kadan would come to find her. He was a man with a head far larger than others, so he would stand out even in a crowd.
The moment he saw her, would he immediately run to the balcony? If he kissed her, she would accept it without hesitation.
Then, she would take his hand and return to the warm, cozy home they once shared. She would lie in the bed he made, buried in his warmth. She wouldn’t worry about Kadan dying because of the cursed tattoo… she would just live happily and peacefully.
The thought was so sweet. Luna finally let the tears she had been holding back fall. Ruth wiped away the tears dripping with his sleeves.
“Damn it, you really like that Kadan guy, huh?”
Ruth’s voice was tinged with anger. Luna nodded weakly, still crying.
“Yes… I do. Sob.”
“What’s so great about that guy? If it were me, I would’ve gone after you the instant you disappeared.”
“Maybe he’s waiting at the cabin… sob.”
“Waiting? There’s no one at that cabin!”
Ruth raised both hands, his veins popping in frustration.
“Everyone in the kingdom knows you’ve become the saint. There were even special editions of the newspaper with your portrait that got spread to the small villages. But that guy? He’s not coming. It’s been this long, and he hasn’t shown up!”
Luna bit her lip and sobbed quietly. She, too, had thought the same thing—that he hadn’t come to find her. That maybe they had truly parted ways.
