I'm A Sucker For Extras - Chapter 12

Chapter 12

It was strange.

Normally she would have been outside, if not in front of the camp, watching him return.

She was often in the fields, but this was not her field.

He had told her to stay at Perdan Fortress because it might be dangerous, but he was secretly pleased when she insisted on coming down with him.

He didn’t want to make it dangerous for her, but at the same time, he didn’t want her to be far away. In that strange feeling so he agreed.

‘I thought we had gotten closer….’

Glancing around lightly, finding her nowhere, he guessed she might be in the tent. She was probably tired, as they had moved quite a bit. The battle had ended sooner than he’d expected, so she hadn’t expected him to be here so soon.

She wasn’t lazy, but she did sleep a lot. Well, with her thin and emaciated body, she probably needed to replenish energy to move around.

‘Her stamina is not that good.’

Aidan thought, remembering the moment he’d held her in his arms, her bones catching easily. The collarbone and ribs that cast sharp shadows.

‘I should feed her well when we get back. If we win the war, the food problem will be solved.’

He was surprised at himself for recalling that moment, and he felt a sense of absurdity. So, he shook his head and dispelled the thoughts.

Aidan preferred her to be sleeping in his tent like a sprawled hamster. Seeing her in that state made him feel warm, and it made him feel a little more like a human being, like he was doing human things.

He headed toward the tent with familiar steps.

“My Lord!”

It was then that a soldier came, carrying the Chief of Staff’s message.

“It seems you should come. The prisoner is causing a commotion….”

“I told you to treat the valuable hostage well.”

“Yes, there doesn’t seem to be any issue with treatment. But, he’s yelling and demanding to release someone while shouting for you, Your Grace.”

Aidan sighed as he thought of the face of the prisoner, Duke Jax McCarthy. Such a fuss for a polite-looking guy.

He turned his steps toward the tent where Jax was held.

The soldiers guarding the tent opened the way for the Duke.

“What’s going on?”

“It seems the prisoner is looking for a woman, Brody or something. He’s insisting on releasing some poor girl.”

Chief of Staff River cynically replied with clenched fists.

“Brody?”

“A remarkable lady, it seems. Even as a prisoner, he is looking for her.”

“Rude!”

Jax’s roar echoed in the tent in the way a very stuffy air would shake it.

Aidan frowned, and River, as if expecting it, covered his ears.

“Is there a woman named Brody among the prisoners?”

“Well, I’m not sure. Mrs. Murphy manages the list of women prisoners, and she shook her head when I asked.”

“She might have changed her name.”

River shrugged with clenched fists, implying how would he find her.

“You didn’t kill him, did you?!”

Jax’s raucous shout shook the barracks once more.

Why would he do that when he could just say it, River thought, clicking her tongue in annoyance.

“She might not be that easy to find. If you provide reasons about why you’re looking for her, we might decide whether or not to make the effort.”

“Damn it.”

In response to Aidan’s blatant words, Jax exaggeratedly displayed signs of distress. He began to doubt whether he was living as if he were alone on a theater stage, harboring rational suspicions.

While River looked disgusted, Aidan patiently waited.

Jax seemed to have suffered enough, as his final movements involved him hunching over and muttering something. It resembled the posture of someone delivering a monologue.

Although the words were murmured in a very low voice and not easily heard, they resonated clearly in Aidan’s ears, protected by the guardianship of spirits.

“You failed in your assassination, Brody. I should have stopped you.”

Aidan was taken aback.

But again, the sound was inaudible to the others, as River merely gave him an annoyed look.

“Why do you want that woman, my dear captive? There should be a valid reason for us to make a decision.”

Reaver sarcastically responded in a polite tone.

Jax either didn’t understand the sarcasm or chose to ignore it as he continued speaking without showing any anger.

“That woman is more precious to me than anything else. I made a momentary mistake letting her go, but if she returns, I have confidence that I can treat her better than anyone else.”

“Hmm… Who asked for such information in the first place?”

River’s lips twisted coldly.

Jax, intoxicated by his self-confidence, continued speaking.

“Her Highness the Princess also cherishes her greatly. If I return with her, I could receive significant favor.”

Favor? Thinking about royal favor while in the midst of war? River found it absurd, but he couldn’t deny that it was the first time Jax said something intriguing.

“So… you’re saying there’s value in her as a hostage?”

“That’s correct.”

When River showed interest, Jax appeared pleased.

“Well, then, let’s give our dear captive’s request a try. Can you give us any clues aside from her name, like her appearance or…….”

“The woman’s name is Brody. She’s beautiful, with light brown hair the color of milk chocolate and sparkling green eyes like emeralds.”

Upon hearing this, Aidan and River both thought of the same person simultaneously. However, Aidan showed a composed expression while River shook his head.

“If we only go by that clue, it could be Bree, right?”

“No, it’s not her she’d be embarrassed to hear such a beautiful description.”

River replied.

“That clue alone makes it too difficult to find her. Such beauties are abundant in the North. However, I won’t disagree that the captive’s woman must be exceptional. Are there no other clues?”

“Her height is average. Her figure is… ordinary. Oh, her skin is slightly on the fair side.”

What should we do if everything is ordinary? Furthermore, mentioning skin color, which can change depending on the circumstances? River, unable to endure, was about to retort when Jax hesitated before speaking again.

“…And she has extensive knowledge about plants.”

‘He should have said that first!’ Feeling irritated, River’s expression changed after he fully comprehended the information. Then, he noticed Aidan’s surprised expression.

Both men thought of the same person again.

However, this time, neither of them nodded or shook their heads.

They remained frozen, silently contemplating.

“Bree…?”

“No, what did you hear? It’s Brody. Oh, that poor woman, sacrificing herself for love! I am a man with many sins.”

Aidan felt like his head was struck with a hammer.

‘Am I really on the battlefield right now? I’ve never experienced such a dazed feeling in my head.’

“Your Grace! Urgent news!”

However, before he could grasp the situation, a soldier rushed into the tent.

“You should go down to the plain! We need to negotiate with the imperial family”

They haven’t even fought a battle for tomorrow, and they already want to negotiate, how easy is it to get their tail between their legs?

Aidan turned outside the tent with a bewildered feeling.

“Oh, Princess. You haven’t abandoned me.”

The echoing voice of the golden fool behind him made Aidan uneasy.

Suspicious that the imperial palace sent him to set up a conflict. Aidan and River entrusted the supervision of the captives and headed towards the battlefield.

❖ ❖ ❖

The plain, with the sunset and dark clouds, looked dismal.

On the city wall, the Northern Duke, standing alongside a few knights where arrows wouldn’t reach, gazed at the woman standing on the wall.

She wore luxurious clothes, boasting golden hair that glowed under the fertile red sky.

“Her Royal Highness Myra, the Princess of the Riley Royal Family, please show courtesy.”

A herald standing beside the princess shouted loudly.

The Duke stood crookedly, only nodding his head in the same posture with clenched fists, as if greeting.

“How rude!”

The herald expressed anger.

“Courtesy is shown to those who deserve it, and loyalty is given to those who is worthy of it.”

Aidan spoke coldly.

When the herald tried to say more, the princess raised her hand to stop him.

With grace and composure, the princess spoke quietly, yet her voice echoed through the plain, seemingly using artifacts left from the ancient magic era.

“Your Majesty has acknowledged your circumstances. But does that mean this unjust rebellion is justified?”

Circumstances? Was it such a simple word to describe the situation?

If Aidan could, he thought about grabbing the emperor by the hair, taking him to the north, and showing him what the corpse of a loved one looks like.

The northern situation was dismal enough to make him that way.

“Whether it is justified or not is for you to judge. I’m sure you didn’t come down for such meaningless talk.”

The princess frowned, but she kept her composure.

She raised her hand gracefully, and soldiers standing on the city wall raised something. No, someone.

A soldier with good eyesight shouted.

“It’s the chief of Lan Ying Village!”

“Oh…… my son, who was sent away five years ago.”

“This is Mrs. Lizzy from next door.”

There was an uproar among the northern soldiers who recognized them.

Aidan contemplated, looking around the city wall.

“If you don’t comply with my words, I will kill them.”

The princess’s calm words had an effective impact on the soldiers, calming their agitation.

Watching the surroundings quiet down, the princess took a step forward. Her lips opened.

“Duke Aidan of the Northern Region, listen to the decree of His Majesty the Emperor!”

“Speaking like an emperor!”

It wasn’t the Duke interrupted the princess’s words.

The voice came from somewhere near the city wall.

“Your Grace! No need to listen. Do you think we’ll survive if we return to the north? There’s only the option of starving to death and this old man doesn’t want to deprive the northerners of their future!”

The village chief of Lan Ying, with a face covered in deep wrinkles and scars, said so, twisting out of the hands of the soldier holding him.

In the blink of an eye, a small object fell from the city wall, and at its end, a loud sound echoed.

Although it was a small sound, in the dreadful silence of the plain, that sound made everyone’s heart chill.

“Your Grace! Please make the north a happy place for our children!”

An unknown woman cried out, twisting her body. In the Duke’s eyes, traces of tears clinging to the distressed face of the falling woman could be seen.

Afterward, desperate cries, screams, people flowing down to the ground, and the poignant sound created by their determination echoed one after another.

Soldiers turned their heads or closed their eyes, but the Northern Duke, Aidan, was looking straight at them with a firm expression.

His eyes had a tinge of blood, and the tendons protruding from his tightly clenched fist trembled.

“Stoppp!”

At that moment, a voice echoed through the plain.

The echo of the shout caused a momentary stillness in the voices of the prisoners bursting out from the city wall. The fighting stopped.

The one who stopped them was the resounding voice of the Princess, sounding like it was burning through the plain.