I'm A Sucker For Extras - Chapter 26

Chapter 26

Aidan picked up Brody, who had collapsed, and carried her to the side of the road, where she leaned against a tree trunk.

Brody shivered and clung to Aidan’s arm.

Fortunately, not much time has passed yet.

“Brody, just endure for a moment. I’ll get the arrow out soon…”

Aidan gently supported Brody, pulling her towards him.

However, Brody cut Aidan off and pushed him away. “No, Your Grace. You first.”

Struggling to keep her slipping hand in place, Brody tried to sit up.

Had it been a minute since the poison entered? Time felt distorted in the chaos, but Brody guessed it hadn’t been more than five minutes.

“I’m fine now; it’s your turn…”

Aidan looked at Brody with eyes full of concern and heat.

“Your Grace, about the poison,” Brody gasped for breath, speaking intermittently, “If it won’t be treated after five minutes, you will need to cut your arm, and if it gets worse, I can’t guarantee your life.”

Brody furrowed her brow deeply.

The poison was initially intended by the original Brody to assassinate Aidan.

‘No way, this wasn’t going to kill Aidan.’

Such thoughts made Brody anxious.

“I can’t stand seeing that happen.”

Her complexion was awful, but her eyes were resolute.

Brody tried to tie a cloth around Aidan’s arm, but she lacked the strength. Aidan tried to tear the cloth himself, but Brody, fearing that movement would spread the poison faster, objected.

Distressed, Brody placed plants on Aidan’s arm. Robust green plants grew, entwining around Aidan’s thick forearm.

Aidan kept resentfully watching Brody’s use of her ability, but there was no other option.

If he’d died now, would Brody survive?

Each minute felt like an hour. Sweat dripped down Aidan’s forehead.

Brody continued to place more plants on the ground.

Leaves, stems, and petals were carefully collected and mixed in precise proportions for concoction. Brody fought against the urge to close her eyes.

Brody cursed her aching body as she finished the concoction.

“Take this.”

Aidan looked down, really watching Brody prepare the medicine. Aidan felt a mixture of reverence and pity, unsure of how to react.

Brody hesitated for a moment, then handed Aidan the offered medicine.

“Chew it well…”

He tried to swallow it roughly, thinking that the sooner he could cure himself, the sooner he could cure Brody, but at Brody’s insistence, he crushed it down with his teeth, hard and fast.

After a while, as the medicine took effect, the vivid violet streams in Aidan’s veins faded.

After checking for a few more symptoms, Brody breathed a sigh of relief and removed the plant from his arm.

Now it was Brody’s turn.

Feeling assured that Aidan was safe, pain surged through Brody’s body.

Brody leaned forward.

“Brody.”

Aidan hastily lifted her, gently placing her against a tree trunk after ensuring she wouldn’t fall. Aidan quickly attended to the necessary tasks for emergency treatment.

As Aidan carefully tore the clothes, Brody’s exposed shoulder blade revealed the arrow’s location. Fortunately, it had grazed her side, avoiding vital areas.

However, due to excessive use of her abilities and conflicting energies traversing her body, Brody’s temperature had significantly dropped.

Urgent first aid and raising her body temperature became a priority.

“Brody, please endure a bit more. Just a little…”

Aidan held Brody, who seemed uncontrollable, and quickly disinfected her wounds with a burning touch before using a carefully calibrated dagger to remove the arrow.

“Ugh.”

Although Brody’s body jerked at the sudden movement, she soon slumped down without the strength to resist.

Her warm breath falling on Aidan’s shoulders seemed to be all the response she could muster.

Her shoulders felt as hot as if they were in flames.

Aidan grabbed Brody’s face and stroked it several times before he applied a hemostatic agent and tightly bandaged the wound with linen.

In the next moment, Brody’s body began to twitch and convulse. Her entire body trembled as if electrified.

It was a state of shock.

“Brody, darn it! Brody!”

Aidan lifted Brody again, but her body only fell slack like a wet rag.

Brody, with her lips turning blue, managed to speak intermittently.

“It’s cold… Your Grace, too much…”

‘If only, if only I could be sick instead. It hurt like ice shards were embedded in my heart.’

Aidan embraced Brody tightly, pressing his lips to her forehead and then her cheeks.

Although her head was burning with fever, her body was overall cold.

“I will never, never let you die.”

With a vow, he stripped off all his clothes and slipped them on Brody. It was baggy because of their size difference, but that was good for hypothermia. Once he’d dressed her in everything he could and wrapped the cloth around her, he boiled water.

He filled a leather pouch with heated water and placed it between Brody’s armpits and on her stomach. Then, he held a bit of hot water into Brody’s mouth, drop by drop.

The boiled water reached an appropriate temperature as it flowed into her lips.

Brody grimaced, her bitten lips hurting and the inside of her mouth sore, but she held still and drank the water without resisting.

Between blinking eyelashes, it seemed like Brody glanced at Aidan’s face a few times.

‘The strong guy called the Northern Ice Duke was… crying…….’

Wondering if she was dreaming, Brody soon slipped into darkness.

❖ ❖ ❖

The dense dream clung persistently.

It had to be a dream, right?

Where does it start, and where does it end?

Her mind flashed back and forth, from Doyeon’s family to the people Brody had met, to Jax and River, to the princess and the captive women.

She woke up, drenched in sweat from the nightmare, but another dream continued.

If she was going to possess someone, it would be better to become a wealthy noblewoman.

What is this?

What did I wish for? I just wanted to live quietly and peacefully.

She felt like she would never wake up from this dream.

Among the terrifying dreams, the scariest was the one where she killed Aidan.

It seemed like she poisoned him, and suddenly Brody’s nails were digging into Aidan’s arm, with blood seeping through.

Even as she was dying from her own actions, Aidan reassured Brody, saying everything was okay.

Brody was paralyzed, unable to cry out or touch him.

Only tears streamed down her face.

The next moment—or maybe it wasn’t a continuous moment because it was a dream—another dream unfolded.

Aidan carefully held her in a soft blanket.

His thick arms, which seemed to be twice as long as Brody’s, cradled her steadily against his chest, as if he were wearing a suit of armor.

Like a warm water bag, Brody burrowed into Aidan’s arms.

Her trembling chin gradually settled when pressed against his arm.

It was warm and soothing.

He stroked Brody’s hair, kissed her forehead, and patted her back as if she were a child.

His nose grew increasingly runny, so Brody buried her forehead in his neck.

She remembered his crying face again.

She thought he was beautiful in his tears, but for some reason she hated seeing him cry.

While gently stroking his sturdy shoulders that her hands reached, she softly whispered, ‘I’m okay. It’s okay.’

As if on cue, the nightmarish dream gradually faded into calm.

Unconsciously, plants blossomed around her, and the sound of birds chirping filled the air. Deer roamed near her, nibbling on grass.

She lay on the warm grass, cooing contentedly for a while before opening her eyes to gaze at the sky.

‘I love you, my dear.’

The words came to her from an unknown source.

Rather than entering her ears as language, it flowed from heart to heart, and Brody’s heart warmed.

At that moment, she saw white fluff floating in the air. Dandelion seeds? But instead of flying away, the fluff settled down.

Snow…? It was an unusual scene for a vibrant spring day.

Spring…? No, the season had suddenly changed to winter. A glacier emitting a vivid blue light that seemed to have lasted for thousands of years surrounded her.

Even though she expected it to be cold, when she reached out to catch some snow, the snowflakes were warm.

Gazing at the enchanting snow,

“Huk.”

Brody opened her eyes, feeling an intense pain.

Or maybe the intense pain was caused by opening her eyes.

Her gaze wandered around, trying to understand reality.

A slightly aged but neatly crafted wooden ceiling caught her eye.

The light seeping through the window crack indicated it was late afternoon.

‘Where is this? ‘

Brody realized she was lying down but failed to sit up.

Is my body not responding? Am I still being controlled?

Brody cautiously attempted to move her fingertips, but a strange sensation enveloped her left hand.

Brody’s hand was completely enveloped by a large hand. The owner of that large hand displayed a forehead covered with black hair to Brody.

“Your Grace…?”

Brody’s memories gradually returned, allowing her to comprehend the current situation.

As she squirmed, suddenly Adian’s body swiftly leaned down, and his head lifted.

“Brody?!”

“Ah.”

Brody shuddered instinctively at the sudden commotion. With that shudder came a terrible pain.

“Brody, are you awake? Brody!”

He rose abruptly from his seat and enveloped Brody’s face with his large hand.

Aidan watched as Brody blinked, shuddered slightly, and buried his face in the nape of her neck.

When he slowly lifted his face a moment later, his eyes were flushed red.

“What, was it that bad?”

Brody asked casually, smiling awkwardly.

“Yeah……. It’s been a week since you’ve been unconscious.”

He replied with a hoarse voice, and the sound of labored breathing could be heard.

“Oh… it’s been that long.”

There’s no such thing as fluids in this era. You can’t nourish yourself while you sleep.

The scent of death that briefly passed through her left Brody’s chest feeling uneasy.

To divert her thoughts, Brody opened her mouth.

“I…… still can’t move; does that mean the spell hasn’t broken yet?”

She asked him, burying herself in her pillow and rolling her eyes.

“No, it’s not that. It’s just that you’re still lacking energy.”

“I see. Ugh…”

As Brody tried to turn her body, Aidan quickly supported her.

Slipping his arm beneath her neck and pulling at her waist, her body easily followed.

He looked down at Brody, with her leaning against him.

Wrinkles formed on her forehead, possibly due to the pain spreading.

Adian, looking concerned, gently stroked her cheek.