Chapter 14: Lone Wolf (2)

 

The Blackwood estate had been lively for the first time in a while.

 

After a long time of only being haunted by the stench of death, a gust of hope blew in.

 

It was the wind led by the human Mercenary Group named Red Flames.

 

The sound of women's tears ceased, and the training sounds of men revived once again.

 

One by one, people who had fallen were standing up.

 

They held expectations for a future they thought would never come.

 

Except for one person.

 

"Sob... Hic..."

 

Every day, Ner Blackwood stayed locked in her room, shedding tears.

 

She was the one who had to make sacrifices to make all these miracles happen.

 

With no money or food, the only thing Blackwood could pay was one life, and it was her own.

 

Ner felt the injustice.

 

She couldn't understand why she had to be sold.

 

However, such selfish thoughts could not come out of her mouth, so she had to embrace all the absurdities alone.

 

She believed in her grandmother's prophecy like solid iron.

 

She thought salvation would come someday.

 

But she had never thought her dream would be shattered like this.

 

Her destined one did not appear, and instead, a mercenary came to take her.

 

To live the rest of her life with someone she didn't love...

 

That was something she despised more than death.

 

It was something she hated more than the torment from her brothers and sisters all along.

 

As a werewolf tribe member, she wanted to meet her long-awaited partner of destiny and share a passionate and deep love.

 

She wanted to experience such a burning love that they would die without each other.

 

But what awaited her was a future intertwined with a human.

 

Ner was familiar with numerous rumors about the human race.

 

They were weak and cruel.

 

Barbaric and devoid of honor.

 

Instinctively, they knew how to dig into their opponent's weaknesses and had no fear of becoming sordid and filthy.

 

Furthermore, they were also lewd. In particular, Ner had heard that human males were always in heat.

 

To relieve that sexual desire... there was also a system called 'polygamy.'

 

It was a system enjoyed only by the human race.

 

It involved one man leading numerous women.

 

Ner couldn't understand that culture.

 

It felt so dirty and impure to her.

 

If people weren't considered mere decorations, it was clearly impossible.

 

The Humans came up with the excuse that they could love multiple people at once, but Ner simply thought it was just a cowardly excuse.

 

And now, she ended up being sold to such a human.

 

It was incredibly humiliating.

 

Why did it have to be the human among so many tribes?

 

On top of that, he was a mercenary.

 

A mercenary who makes money by wielding a sword.

 

It was no secret that mercenaries liked alcohol and sex.

 

It was said that even the Wolfman tribe member indulged in such activities once they became mercenaries.

 

Of course, there was no way that the Humans were any less.

 

And now she would be living the rest of her life with the worst of the worst as her partner.

 

It could be a situation where she would be used like a sexual plaything.

 

Of course, in the first place, she would have hated whoever it was if it wasn't her destined partner... but the combination of the human and mercenary intensified the displeasure she felt.

 

Ner's grandmother's advice about her destined partner echoed in her ears.

 

‘You must not let go of that child.’

 

Her tears didn't stop.

 

"Grandmother... What should I do?"

 

She hadn't even thought that she could end up missing her destined partner like this.

 

Ner wanted to run away if only she could.

 

But with her conspicuously unique tail, it was more difficult to escape unnoticed than picking stars from the sky.

 

-Knock, knock, knock.

 

At that moment, someone knocked on the door.

 

Ner quickly wiped away her tears and composed her expression.

 

Before she could even give permission, the door opened.

 

“Ner.”

 

“…Older brother.”

 

Ner held on tightly to the blanket when an unpleasant person appeared.

 

She covered her face and pretended not to cry.

 

Her big brother, Gidon Blackwood, with his massive build, walked in.

 

"Hmph. Your groom has come to visit, and you're just stuck in your room. What disrespect is this? Do you even realize how difficult this situation has become for us thanks to you?"

 

Instead of answering, Ner crouched down.

 

He silently looked down at Ner and spoke.

 

"Ha, were you crying, by any chance?"

 

Followed by a sigh filled with contempt.

 

"... If you have even a little consideration for the territory's people, you should accept it with joy. But to show tears..."

 

Ner bit her lower lip.

 

There were countless things she wanted to say.

 

But she couldn't say them because she wasn't the party involved in the first place.

 

Gidon Blackwood had formed a soul bond with the partner he had designated.

 

Even though he surely knew how Ner felt, he came like this to provoke her.

 

Normally, Ner wouldn't have expressed her displeasure.

 

She had always feared Gidon.

 

But now she had nothing to lose.

 

Being sold to a human mercenary, what was there more scary than this?

 

Ner gathered her determination, suppressing the anger in her mind.

 

“…Please leave.”

 

Even so, what she finally managed to say out loud was a request for some time alone.

 

The fear of Gidon imprinted on her skin made her unable to say anything more.

 

“Tsk.”

 

Gidon maintained his silence for a long time, then turned away.

 

Normally, such rebellion would have incurred a great price.

 

But they both knew that her sacrifice was worthwhile.

 

As a result, she was fortunate enough to push Gidon away before any substantial conversation could begin.

 

In the first place, there was no way that the new bride would be able to hold her wedding ceremony with bruises on her back.

 

"I'll give you just one day. We managed to come up with an excuse that you're sick today. But you must be prepared by tomorrow."

 

Ner was left alone in the room again.

 

She gripped the blanket tightly, expressing her anger.

 

Her allies were nowhere to be found.

 

Only enemies kept pouring in.

 

Even now, there was no family to comfort her as she became the hero of the territory by giving herself in.

 

If she had received a little more love while growing up, would she have faced a different fate?

 

Even though her older sisters were unmarried, there must have been a reason why she was being sold.

 

Ner looked up at the sky, where the moon had not yet risen, and prayed.

 

"Please... I don't have time."

 

She wished for someone to appear from the sky and rescue her.

 

It wouldn't be a bad idea to run away with him.

 

Whatever it may be, it would be better than being sold to a human mercenary.

 

“Please show up…”

 

Ner prayed and prayed while looking at the bright and clear sky.

 

****

 

After Adam Hyung and Gidon Blackwood's casual meeting came to an end, I strolled around with Hyung on Blackwood's estate.

 

None of us brought up uncomfortable topics.

 

It might have been because it was partly expected.

 

Ner Blackwood didn't show up, and that meant one thing.

 

She didn't want this marriage.

 

I tried to understand her.

 

In the first place, it was said that werewolves people only loved one person in their lifetime. They were a sincere race when it came to love.

 

A sudden strategic marriage would undoubtedly be bewildering to her.

 

Furthermore, it might be seen as humiliating for a noble to marry a mercenary.

 

Of course, expressing that displeasure was another matter.

 

Hyung and I discussed other topics first.

 

"I sent a reconnaissance party. We should be able to pinpoint the boss monsters' location by tomorrow."

 

"Make sure to thoroughly check the eastern forest as well. There might be a few more boss monsters hiding."

 

“I know. Did we decide to handle meals among ourselves?"

 

“Yes.”

 

Throughout the conversation, Adam Hyung couldn't hide his slight discomfort.

 

After the meeting with Gidon Blackwood, he never wore that foolish and malicious smile again.

 

It was to the point that I became uncomfortable and asked first.

 

“…Why.”

 

“What?”

 

“Hyung, it's written all over your face that something's bothering you. What's the matter?"

 

“…”

 

Adam Hyung stopped his walking.

 

He turned to me with a long sigh.

 

Adam Hyung, looking at me with a serious expression, spoke.

 

"...Berg, if you don't like it even now, you can give up on the request."

 

“What?”

 

"I was trying to find a good match for you, but I never expected this."

 

I lightly brushed off Adam Hyung's hand that was resting on my shoulder and said.

 

"It's fine. I didn't decide to marry because of that in the first place."

 

“…”

 

Seeing him still unable to loosen his expression, I raised my voice.

 

"It's okay. In the end, this is for Red Flames' sake."

 

His frustration made me uncomfortable.

 

"I brought you along even though you didn't want to, and I'm sorry that things have turned out this way.”

 

"If you were sorry, you shouldn't have made the suggestion in the first place. Isn't it foolish to think that the other party would naturally like me?"

 

“…I thought they would at least show sincerity in hiding their emotions. But we both saw it. If the other person-"

 

"It's okay, stop now. It's over."

 

No matter how much I spoke, he didn't loosen up his expression, so I added an explanation.

 

"Maybe it's better this way."

 

“What?”

 

"It means I take the other person seriously. So stop holding that expression. The decision has already been made, and there's no turning back. I even bought the ring."

 

“….”

 

"Just because it starts this way doesn't guarantee it will be like this till the end. I can make it work if I move forward and adapt. Were you close with me from the beginning? We became friends through fighting."

 

“Ha.”

 

"I'll take care of it hyung, so you should let it go now."

 

Our positions immediately reversed.

 

Now I was the one in favor of the marriage, and Hyung was on the opposing side.

 

He furrowed his brows, and I no longer comforted him.

 

It was a decision that had already been made. I hadn't even considered being swayed by such trivial matters.

 

I knew better than anyone else that falling in love with someone is not easy.

 

To convey that I had made up my mind, I asked.

 

“So, if this is the case, when is the wedding ceremony?"

 

“…In two days.”

 

"And the subjugation?"

 

“The subjugation will proceed after the marriage is over.”

 

It was a rational judgment.

 

People have different perspectives when they were in a hurry and when they were not.

 

If they refused to hand over Ner Blackwood after the subjugation, it would create a bigger problem.

 

I nodded my head.

 

I pushed away all the miscellaneous thoughts.

 

"It's okay, Hyung."

 

I looked at the waterfall flowing in the distance.

 

In two days.

 

As if making a determination, I whispered to myself.

 

"...I will try."