I'm A Sucker For Extras - Chapter 31

Chapter 31

Jax, who had been struggling, finally slumped his body.

At a wave of Brody’s hand, the plant that bound him disappeared, and Jax didn’t move.

‘Did she… kill him? ‘

Aidan looked back and forth between Brody and Jax with astonished eyes.

Brody embraced Aidan again, burying her face in his shoulders. Her body was trembling.

“Let’s go, my lord.”

Brody, while removing the violet leaves that had grown near Jax’s nose for the last time, spoke.

Upon closer inspection, Aidan could see Jax’s chest rising and falling.

Brody had used the “Dreamspot leaf” to induce unconsciousness in Jax.

Aidan patted Brody on the back and slowly pulled himself up.

“Oh! That!”

Out of the blue, Brody, who was nestled against Aidan, reached out her hand.

At the end of her pointing finger lay Jax’s sword.

Aidan, with a puzzled expression but willingly, lifted Jax’s sword so that Brody could see.

“This must be an expensive sword, right?”

Saying so, Brody chuckled.

❖ ❖ ❖

After the blond man violently closed the door, the chaos inside the room subsided, as if no more swords were being shuffled.

Time passed with little reaction. Those gathered outside the door scattered, and only a few remained by the time the door opened again.

The rugged man, holding the frail and pale woman, stepped outside.

The innkeeper seemed to want to say something, but having witnessed the swordplay just now, he couldn’t bring himself to speak out and just stood there, looking distressed.

Aidan moved slowly with the hood of his robe pulled down.

People who had gathered in the hallway stared at him in amazement. As he walked, a path opened up as if a red sea were parting.

“Ar… are you leaving, my lord? Just… like that…?”

Seeing the change in address from ‘guest’ to ‘my lord’ from the innkeeper, Aidan sighed. He had intended to call the innkeeper separately and explain, but he changed his mind.

It would be better to tell the story in front of a group of people.

“The lunatic is lying inside. Oh, he’s not dead. Just temporarily unconscious. It’s better to leave him like that until he wakes up.”

“Uh… um, so you mean, leave him just like that?”

The innkeeper asked with a puzzled face, and Brody intervened.

“Yes, just treat him like any other guest. I’ll pay for it with this.”

As Brody added, Aidan presented Jax’s sword with a complicated expression.

Jax’s sword, like a noble’s sword, was of good quality, splendid, and looked expensive at first glance.

The deep wrinkles on the innkeeper’s face diminished in an instant.

However, the astute innkeeper, after looking back and forth between the sword handed to him and Aidan’s waist, hesitated again.

“This is…”

He recognized the owner of the sword that had caused the commotion in the room.

“As you know, the one who damaged the furniture in that room is that strange blond man. We, as a couple, are victims whose pleasant time was interrupted.”

The onlookers nodded, agreeing that this couple was not responsible for the disturbance.

‘Although this is far from enough, at least for now…’

Brody thought, calming her mind.

“Let’s go, honey. I can’t stay here any longer. I’m afraid of what that strange man might do.”

Brody tapped Aidan’s shoulders with a reassuring gesture.

‘Honey.’

Aidan stiffened at the word again.

It was to be expected, since Brody had insisted that they put on a proper married couple act until they got out of here. It wasn’t the first time he’d heard the word, which had already started when Jax showed up.

When Brody noticed Aidan’s lack of movement, she tilted her head inquisitively and finally nodded as if a switch had been turned on.

Brody, seeing Aidan’s ears turning red, asked with concern, “Are you okay? Is there anything wrong?”

“Oh, no, I’m fine. Totally fine, my wife. It’s nothing, really.”

He said it, and he did it. He called her his wife! He felt proud of his courage. However, despite saying it was nothing, his face was getting redder and redder. Brody noticed his awkwardness and gave him a puzzled look.

‘Gosh, what’s wrong with that title…’

Brody internally chuckled at Aidan’s innocence, which always seemed more innocent than she expected.

But Brody didn’t say anything else; she just leaned on his shoulder as he watched him push his way through the crowd and hurry outside.

Soon, the innkeeper brought Aidan’s horse, Kaius, from the stable.

“Do you think you can ride?”

Aidan asked with concern as he helped Brody onto the horse.

Brody could already feel her body ache at the prospect of being on horseback for some time to come, but she nodded.

“We have to. We can’t stay here.”

Aidan, with a gloomy expression, nodded back, and Brody leaned on him.

He urged his horse into a light canter and turned to Brody.

“Do you think it’ll be okay?”

“What? Ah, you mean the innkeeper.”

Aidan nodded.

It had occurred to him that the innkeeper who had pawned Jax’s sword could have it taken from him without any compensation, or worse, harmed.

Brody replied calmly.

“It will be all right, that man. He’d never do anything to damage his reputation. He’d give it to him for a pittance.”

Aidan couldn’t help but be convinced.

He was no stranger to the Duke’s wealth, and Brody knew the Duke’s character better than he did.

But somehow he didn’t like seeing Brody so sure of the man.

‘I see. I should have cut off his breath.’

It would be in Brody’s best interest to get rid of him and leave no trace.

But Aidan had seen Brody’s reluctance to kill Jax.

Was it her generosity that kept her from killing Jax, who had treated Brody so casually, or was there some lingering compassion that weakened her heart?

Unable to fathom Brody’s discomfort with killing, Aidan hugged her tighter, trying to shake off his anxiety.

The horse, which had been walking at a leisurely pace, started to gallop at a frightening speed as soon as it left the village. It seemed like they were in a hurry, perhaps to escape Jax’s pursuit.

‘Ugh…’

Brody, who had been lying on the bed all day, suddenly felt her body shaking when riding the horse. Even though Aidan firmly held her, riding a horse didn’t offer the comfort of a moving car.

If it was going to hurt either way, wouldn’t it be better to endure the pain for a shorter time by riding faster? But Brody, who had been enduring, finally pulled Aidan’s clothes off.

“Brody…”

Aidan looked at her with a worried gaze.

With the horse galloping beneath them, Brody looked at Aidan and then closed her eyes as the pain became unbearable.

Sensing something was wrong, Aidan looked at her with concern. Brody’s face turned pale, and she just shook her head, signaling that it was okay.

Deciding that they had pushed too hard for a forced ride today, Aidan quickly explored the surroundings and set up a small tent in a suitable place.

‘He really should have been killed.’

Unfurling a blanket, laying Brody down, starting a fire, and creating a warm water bag for her to hold.

Brody, stretched out without the strength to turn over, watched Aidan busily at work and then closed her heavy eyes.

Aidan simmered the dried meat to make a broth that Brody could easily eat, and then he looked up at the sky.

Playing a strange flute-like instrument, he produced no sound, but a white dove flew in and landed on Aidan’s shoulder.

It was a well-trained messenger pigeon from the Northern Frontier.

Though Aidan had seen him multiple times, he ignored him as he didn’t want to expose his whereabouts. When he finally called him, he quickly scribbled something on a piece of paper, tied it to the pigeon’s leg, and sent it flying.

Winter was approaching the continent.

The faster they climbed, the more they felt the climate and vegetation changing rapidly.

As the weather got colder, Aidan’s horse flew faster and faster.

But Brody, feeling the chill, began to lean on Aidan more and more.

Aidan willingly offered his chest to support her. With Aidan’s body warming up as she rode, it was enough to keep Brody warm, and he even took off her riding coat to ensure that Brody could share the warmth directly from his bare body.

After attaching her to his body, he wrapped his robe around himself and Brody to keep them warm.

Even though they did that, Brody’s figure wasn’t clearly visible, making it seem as if there was only one person riding the horse.

Even so, Aidan regretted that he hadn’t packed a windbreaker because he never gets cold.

Brody lowered his eyebrows at Aidan, who had done everything he could to protect her.

“I’m sorry, my lord.”

“What are you sorry for? You’ve done nothing wrong.”

“…”

“It’s not difficult for me at all. Why did you apologize when it wasn’t any different when you came down from the northern fortress before? It’s just like back then.”

Brody didn’t respond and weakly smiled.

“At that time… I was doing your business, not mine.”

She hadn’t thought much of it since she was helping him with his work.

But now, due to Brody’s affairs, she had to accept his favor. There was no other way, and she couldn’t help it.

Brody was used to standing on her own, having always had to take full responsibility for herself in her previous life, and this unconditional favor was foreign to her.

In the back of her heart, a sense of debt was building.

Covering up that uncomfortable feeling, she once again sank into the world of darkness.

❖ ❖ ❖

‘How long has passed since then? ’

With the cheerful sound of hooves hitting the ground, Brody snapped back to reality.

In her eyes, blinking to grasp reality, a gradient of yellow and deep red that tinted the sky entered. It seemed that the sun was beginning to set.

She scrambled to her feet and looked around.

The horses carrying Aidan and Brody were traveling on a well-marked, square stone path.

The stone path was built higher than the others, giving them a bird’s-eye view of the surrounding landscape.

“What are these sounds and smells?”

Brody’s mouth dropped open as she looked around and saw what she expected to see.