Mr. Kadan in the Deep Forest - Chapter 45
“Please! That’s not it, Sir Kadan! It’s a misunderstanding!”
“It was painful to accept. Why was it Ruth and not me? I couldn’t sleep because I was so curious. The whole world seemed to turn yellow. It felt like I was trapped in your eyes.”
Kadan swiftly spun the sword he was holding. The movement was light and natural, as if the sword was an extension of his body.
The sword soon stopped spinning, its tip precisely at Ruth’s neck. Blood started to flow. If Kadan applied just a little more pressure, Ruth would die without even having a chance to scream.
“But now I don’t care. If I kill this bastard, your only choice will be me.”
At that moment, Luna suddenly sprang up and rushed toward Kadan.
“Kadan, please wait, please.”
“Huh?”
Who was she protecting now? Kadan ground his teeth, alternating between glaring at Luna and Ruth.
“Don’t do this. Ruth is the one who saved me when I was about to die!”
Saved her? Kadan slowly raised one eyebrow.
Yes, I appreciate that Ruth saved Luna. But I did the same. I saved you, so why was it him and not me?
Kadan’s emotions surged. He was holding the sword, but it felt as though he himself had been wounded. His eyes swelled with frustration.
The hero who once charged into the enemy camp with twin swords, slaying hundreds, now had an expression as if he might die at a woman’s word.
“It’s true, Kadan. I can explain.”
Luna placed her hand over his hand that was gripping the sword. Then, slowly and gently, she pressed down, encouraging him to lower the weapon.
“I’ll explain everything, so please don’t kill Ruth.”
If this had happened before, Luna would never have imagined that Kadan would kill someone. But the Kadan who appeared after half a year had changed. The once gentle forest keeper now stood before her as a tyrant stained with the blood of others.
“If I don’t want to…”
Kadan’s anger flared up as Luna stopped him. It felt as if black smoke had filled him from head to toe. Luna’s desperate and fragile touch sent a tremor through his hand, but he refused to lower the sword.
The man Luna chose over me, abandoning my ring. Yes, I should let him go— not to Luna, but to hell.
“Kadan, please.”
Tears fell from Luna’s fearful eyes. Whose tears were they for? As she cried for Ruth, Kadan’s mind, once clouded with anger, now seemed to burn red with fury.
Luna, sensing his emotions, gave up waiting for him to lower the sword. Instead, she wrapped her arms around his waist.
As Luna pressed herself into his arms, her cheek brushed against the sword Kadan was holding. Fortunately, it was the broad side of the blade, not the sharp edge, that touched her cheek, so she wasn’t harmed.
Kadan quickly adjusted the direction of the sword. However, the sword’s rotation caused the tip to dig deeper into Ruth’s neck.
“Hah.”
A long sigh escaped Kadan, and it fell hot onto Luna’s crown. He threw the sword carelessly to the ground, unable to bear the thought of Luna accidentally getting cut by it while still in his arms.
“Thank you… thank you.”
Luna squeezed Kadan’s waist tighter to express her gratitude. Her soft body pressed firmly against his solid armor. Kadan glanced down at her, and then let out a growl, almost like a beast scratching its throat.
“You’ll need to explain yourself properly. In a way that I can understand.”
At the same time, Luna’s body was lifted off the ground. Kadan supported her back and under her knees as he carried her. Luna wrapped her arms around his sturdy neck, pressing her forehead against his chest.
“Yes, Kadan. I’ll explain.”
Thump-thump. The sound of her healthy heart beat in rhythm with his. Another tear welled up in Luna’s eyes as she listened to it. Her tiny heart echoed the pace of his own.
‘Now I feel like I’m with the Kadan I know.’
Luna smiled brightly, rubbing her forehead against his broad chest, unaware of the dark thoughts running through his mind.
“Sir K-Kadan!”
At that moment, Ruth mustered the courage to call out to Kadan. He felt an unsettling sense that if Luna left his arms now, he might never see her again.
“Sir! Where are you taking Luna?”
Kadan paused as he was about to leave the banquet hall with Luna in his arms. His eyes, filled with irritation, glinted under the raised sword.
When he had first set foot on the kingdom’s land, he had received word from his spy about Luna’s new status as a noble.
But why was Ruth, a commoner, still calling Luna so familiarly? That sharp-minded fool must have known the situation. Had he been maintaining a close relationship with Luna all this time?
Such a thought led to darker imaginings, and Kadan’s expression grew grimmer. What had Ruth asked again? Ah, he had asked where Kadan was taking Luna. Kadan’s lips curled up slightly.
“You don’t need to know.”
A sudden urge to mark Luna as his in front of Ruth overtook him. The jealousy he had been holding back for over half a year flared up into a malicious impulse, coloring his vision a deep red.
Kadan quickly tore the large cloth Luna had been wearing from her head and tossed it to the floor.
“Kadan?”
Luna emerged clad in pure white vestments, radiating an ethereal grace like a summer night fairy with an unfamiliar allure.
