Chapter 1 (Part 6)

Romseed Village was quiet and quaint. It was an ordinary village except for the fact that a High Priest was born there about 100 years ago. She wiped the sweat off her forehead and nose with a handkerchief and entered the herb shop.

“Brienne!”

Luten greeted her with a smile. On the other hand, she was not pleased, even though she was smiling outwardly.

‘The shop owner isn’t here today either.’

Normally, the kind-looking owner would be sitting in front of the shop. But recently, the owner was nowhere to be seen, and his son Luten was tending the herb shop. Luten clearly didn’t like the herb shop and didn’t visit often, but ever since she first met him six months ago, he had been sticking to this place. She stepped aside slightly because Luten was too close.

“You’ve been scarce lately, and now you come.”

He stood close in front of her, ignoring her discomfort. His long nose hair stood out. She avoided looking at it and held out the sack.

“How much can I get for this?”

Luten stopped her hand with a sly smile. As his hand suddenly touched hers, she immediately withdrew her hand from the sack. Luten leisurely leaned against the cabinet next to him.

“Are you busy?”

“I need to buy groceries and return before sunset.”

“Where do you live?”

Luten was always curious about her home. Because of creditors, she never revealed her home address, no matter how friendly they got.

She stepped back and spoke.

“I told you before, I don’t know the exact address because it’s in the mountains.”

She smiled as kindly as possible. After all, she needed to maintain a good relationship with Luten since he often received letters for her and sold her herbs at quite a high price.

“Still, we’re quite close, so can’t you at least tell me your address? I sell your herbs well, don’t I?”

“I’m sorry. I’ll let you know more precisely once I get familiar with the geography around.”

“Do you know you’ve been saying that for 5 months?”

She just smiled. Smiling like this was best when there was nothing to say. It kept the atmosphere relatively pleasant.

Luten looked at her face for a long time and then smiled.

“Still, I’m glad you came.”

He soon moved away from the cabinet and took the bag she brought. There was a metal scale nearby, but he passed by it. He took out money from the cash register and handed it to her.

“Aren’t you going to check the herbs in the bag?”

“My father said the herbs you sell are of such good quality that it’s fine.”

“But you should weigh them….”

Luten laughed.

“Then why don’t you have lunch with me? I was just about to try something delicious….”

“I’m sorry. If I eat lunch here, it’ll be too dark by the time I go home.”

“I’ll take you home.”

She quickly waved her hand.

“There’s no need for that. The mountain path is rough, so it’ll be hard for you on the way back.”

Her hands were sweaty. Luten was particularly persistent today. If there had been another herb shop, she wouldn’t have come here. But going to another village was out of the question. It took five hours from home, and the round trip alone was half a day.

Luten stared at her with dark eyes. Every time he looked at her like that, her heart pounded uneasily. Trying to change the atmosphere, she spoke.

“Where’s the owner? I never see him when I come here.”

Luten looked at her for a moment before speaking.

“I told him to rest. I’m going to inherit this place anyway.”

He subtly puffed his chest. As if to show off.

A sense of regret welled up inside her.

‘He was a kind and nice man. Now I have to deal with only Luten.’

Luten scrutinized her and narrowed his eyes sharply.

“You seem dissatisfied.”

“No! I was just surprised not to see the owner who used to be here often.”

“My father has aged a lot. It’s time for me to take over.”

Then he looked around as if he found it burdensome. As if he didn’t want to handle it. Then he looked at her and raised his cheeks.

“Come often. I’ll give you a good price for the herbs.”

She answered with a smile. It was hard to visit often when he made it so burdensome. His gaze felt particularly heavy. Since she had already received the money, she felt there was no need to stay any longer and spoke.

“Then I’ll be going now.”

As she turned to leave, a voice called out from behind.

“You got a letter!”

A letter. Just in case, she had registered her name here. She had never received a letter before. Nervously, she approached him. Luten bent over, rummaged through something, and then handed her an old envelope.

“Thank you.”

She grabbed the envelope, but Luten didn’t let go. As she looked at him in surprise, he slowly released his hand.

“There’s nothing written on the envelope. Who’s it from?”

“I don’t know either. This is my first time receiving such a letter.”

“You’ve never received such a letter before.”

“Yes.”

Upon inspecting the envelope, it seemed fortunately unopened. She quickly thanked him.

“Thank you. I’ll be going now.”

As she turned to leave, Luten grabbed her shoulder. She flinched and looked at him as he quickly blocked her path.

“Why are you in such a hurry? I gave you a good price for the herbs. Can’t you stay a bit longer?”

For a moment, her face hardened. Luten took a step closer.

“You haven’t been here in a while, and my father’s not here today, so I have plenty of time.”

She backed away and said.

“I have herbs drying and need to return before sunset.”

As she tried to pass by him, Luten blocked her again. When she looked up, Luten was very close.

“Do you really have a man?”

Luten leaned his head toward her face. She backed away, but he kept getting closer.

“Every time I see you, you speak as if you’re hiding something.”

Then something touched her back. Startled, she turned around to find a herb shelf. Some herbs fell to the ground. Luten didn’t stop and pressed his shoe against her toes. He frowned as if displeased.

“How hard is it to have lunch together?”

“Please step aside. I really don’t have time.”

She tried to move to the side, but Luten grabbed her wrist.

“If you keep acting like this, it puts me in a difficult position. I’ve always given you a good price for the herbs.”

“…….”

“I even ignored my father’s complaints about giving you too much and treated you well.”

His aggrieved tone was quite intense. Her tightly gripped wrist hurt. She frowned and lowered her wrist.

“I never asked you to do that. Let go.”

No matter how hard she shook her arm, Luten’s hand didn’t budge. Instead, the more force she applied, the tighter he gripped her wrist. As if waiting for her to tire out.

“Are you done talking? After everything I’ve done for you?”

She could smell his breath. It was a disgusting smell, like food waste. She tried to break free by swinging her wrist, but her hand accidentally hit his chin. Luten’s eyes widened, and his rough hand pushed her shoulder hard. Her back hit the shelf before she could even feel the pain. Luten, breathing heavily, approached her.

“You….”

His eyes were bloodshot. Just as she was about to lift her knee to kick him, the door swung open. The sudden noise made Luten stop and turn around. She saw a vaguely familiar figure. Wondering if it was who she thought, she kept watching as Luten was suddenly lifted off the ground. Cardin had grabbed him by the neck. Luten couldn’t hide his startled expression. Cardin glanced at her once, then tightened his grip on Luten’s neck.

“Ugh, ugh!”

Luten hit Cardin’s arm as if he couldn’t breathe. His hand shook like a leaf on Cardin’s arm, which was bulging with veins. His face turned red. Fearing for his life, she quickly grabbed Cardin’s arm.

Cardin looked back at her. She hurriedly spoke.

“I’m okay. You can stop.”

Cardin let go. Luten fell to the ground like a shed skin.

She quickly stepped aside and said.

“Let’s go.”

She was afraid of getting into trouble if they stayed there. She also didn’t want Cardin’s presence to be known any further. If Madame Arten, known for her loose tongue, found out, rumors would spread throughout the village. With that thought, she quickly grabbed Cardin’s hand. Cardin hesitated for a moment but then followed her out. Only after breathing the outside air did she feel a sense of liberation. She took a deep breath and quickly let go of his hand. Cardin stared intently at her.

“Are you okay?”

She nodded without looking at him. Quickly wiping the sweat off her forehead in the sudden heat, Cardin handed her a water bottle.

“Thank you.”

She awkwardly smiled and drank the water.

“Was this owner always like this?”

She couldn’t readily answer. His gaze was fierce as if waiting for her response. After hesitating for a moment, she spoke.

“He wasn’t like this usually, but strangely today….”

“Don’t go here anymore. Or go with me.”

Hearing that, a question suddenly arose.

“How did you get here?”

“I was worried about you going alone, so I came. The path was quite well laid out.”

It was unexpected that he had followed the path. And that he came because he was worried. She was in a daze when he continued.

“Do you have any more errands? I’ll go with you.”

He seemed like a knight guarding her. Strangely, she felt at ease. It was an emotion she hadn’t experienced when alone.

“Brienne.”

As a gentle breeze blew, their eyes met, bringing her back to reality in an instant.

“Wait here for a moment. Anyway, when I go to the grocery store, it’s all women, and it won’t take long.”

“Are you okay?”

“Yes. I’ll be right back!”

She hurriedly ran to the grocery store. She didn’t want Cardin to be seen by others unnecessarily. She didn’t want to be caught up in all sorts of rumors.