I'm A Sucker For Extras - Chapter 40

Chapter 40

Brody’s and Aidan’s eyes met.

Aidan looked into Brody’s stern eyes with a calm gaze.

He broke the silence first.

“Are you up?”

“Oh, yes…”

Brody, with a rustle, got out of bed.

Although there was still some muscle soreness, it felt much lighter, thanks to the ointment and massage.

Brody approached the table where he sat.

“Can’t sleep?”

“Yeah, I guess I can finally move a bit now.”

“Well then, let me get you something. I’m all for sleep and rest, but I think you need to eat.”

Brody smiled and nodded.

Aidan placed bread, cheese, and soup on the table, previously received from the innkeeper.

“The soup is a bit cold. Just a moment, please wait.”

“Oh, stay here; I’ll handle it. I’ll also make some tea while I’m at it.”

Aidan, about to get up, sat back down upon hearing Brody mention making tea.

Probably because Brody was more skilled at making tea. On one side of the lodging, there was a fireplace with a makeshift pot and a kettle prepared.

She heated the soup and poured water into the kettle before picking up the tea leaves she wanted to brew.

When the water boiled and the tea leaves steeped well in the teacup, Brody took out a needle she had prepared.

It was prepared for extracting blood when she had bled for the purpose of relieving his headache, a process she found both challenging and painful.

She heated the needle to sterilize it, then pricked her fingertip to draw a drop of blood. She was used to getting this much from a sieve.

He dropped a drop of blood into each of her and Aidan’s teas, even though Brody didn’t need it. It was just in case the sharp Aidan noticed the difference between the two cups.

Fortunately, the fireplace was in a blind spot from Aidan’s view, making it easy to make the tea without her noticing.

Brody returned to the table with the warm soup and two cups of tea.

“Please, enjoy.”

Aidan looked at the teacup in front of him and then glanced at Brody with a curious expression.

“This?”

Brody nodded in response to his question.

It meant that the tea was suitable for alleviating his headache.

Aidan sighed with a troubled expression.

“It must still be tough for you. Can I make some medicine for you as well?”

“I’m fine now.”

Brody replied nonchalantly.

She quickly sat down, seemingly hungry, tore apart the bread, and dipped it into the soup.

Aidan watched Brody with relief as vitality returned to her.

For a while, he looked at her but then turned his gaze back to the documents.

When he averted his gaze, Brody, with a sidelong glance, watched him.

‘Don’t worry about it. We’re business partners. So, let’s focus on work, okay?’

Brodie thought he hadn’t done anything except focus on work.

‘I’m confident when it comes to being dedicated to work.’

She’d worked two jobs while going to school.

It wasn’t hard for her to work hard when she remembered the intensity of her previous life, when she was scrambling to keep up with her studies.

She was just tired and wanted to stop, but she had to do it.

After quickly finishing the meal, she immediately picked up her pencil.

“Can I take a look too?”

Aidan, who had been curiously watching her sudden enthusiasm, nodded.

She received a map and a blank piece of paper from him.

After thoroughly examining the contents, she wrote down the necessary information on the paper.

Aidan observed her with interest a few times but didn’t interfere.

In between, Brody sought his approval, asked him questions, and patiently explained without getting annoyed.

Soon, the paper was filled with information.

‘I wish I could see more information.’

Without realizing it, Brody found herself chewing the end of her pen, lost in thought.

The documents Aidan was holding seemed to be administrative papers he had to deal with, while detailed statistical data for each region seemed to be under River’s management.

She had meticulously listed what additional information she needed.

How much time has passed?

It seemed like the day was gradually brightening.

Aidan gripped his stiff neck and lifted his head to see Brody nodding off, quill in hand.

He tapped the table in front of Brody with his fingers, wearing a wry smile.

Brody’s eyes opened groggily.

“Brody, go back to sleep. You’re going to be running horses again today, and you’re going to be tired.”

“Yeah, I’ll be right back…….”

She said that and started dozing off again.

Aidan intended to stop working if Brody wanted to rest, but she didn’t seem to be getting up anytime soon.

Aidan laughed lightly as she looked at Brody with ink on her cheek and stretched.

Work was piling up, but it wasn’t necessary to push so hard as to sacrifice sleep.

Although his eyes were heavy, the headache had disappeared.

He stared at his teacup, then back at Brody, the object of his thoughts.

He had requested assistance with the affairs in the North, but he had no intention of burdening her with excessive tasks.

The rich, flowing hair, reminiscent of a field of fine wheat, spread over the table. Aidan swept her hair aside, looking at her face.

She had fallen asleep with her face on the table.

“It must be exhausting; why bother…”

He looked at her with a sense of pity.

Aidan then saw a paper with writing all over it beyond her face.

“Why did she write so much?”

Glancing at the paper, Aidan was surprised.

He couldn’t read a single character.

The paper was filled with an unknown language for him.

“Who is this woman…”

Aidan felt a sense of mystery and looked down at her sleeping face again.

Elegant eyebrows gently draw a curve. A neat forehead and a slender, soft bridge of the nose. Next to it, eyes that usually showed a lazy expression were closed, revealing lush, bright brown eyelashes. The slightly thick lips, which had a slightly intellectual touch, were slightly open, exhaling a steady breath.

Amid the scent of the sharp fragrance he had applied in the evening, Brody’s unique scent lingered.

Perhaps it was because she was a plant mage. A subtle blend of the clean scent of wood and the earthy fragrance of the forest wafted through the air. It was a scent that drove him crazy.

Aidan instinctively reached out to her face but hesitated and pulled back his hand, glancing around. Then, as if determined, he bit his lip.

He quietly approached and lifted Brody, who was uncomfortably lying on the table.

Brody made a vague sound but didn’t wake up from her sleep.

Aidan carefully laid her on the bed and covered her with a blanket.

“Sigh…”

Staring at the empty space next to her for a moment, Aidan, after a deep sigh, finally turned away.

He organized the documents and carefully set aside the paper Brody had written. It seemed inappropriate for someone to see a paper written in an unknown language.

“I can’t believe she just threw this out there.”

It wasn’t something one would do anywhere. Perhaps it was a matter of trusting oneself.

‘Trust…’

He sighed and, despite his large frame, squeezed his body into a small chair. With his fists supporting his head, he lowered it momentarily to get some rest.

Soon, morning arrived. Brody, who had slept for a few more hours, opened her eyes in the faint sunlight. Although it was clear that it was morning with the sun gradually brightening outside, the weather seemed gloomy with a hint of mist, characteristic of the humid winter climate in this area.

Wriggling on the bed and getting up, Brody confirmed, once again, that her side was empty.

Not just empty, but without any traces… There was some rational suspicion.

Turning her gaze towards the table, Aidan was looking out of the window with an indifferent expression.

‘No, if your feelings have cooled towards me, fine, but why don’t you get proper sleep? Is it unpleasant for you to come near me? Am I some kind of germ? ’

Although she felt anger swelling up, Brody tried to lower her voice.

“You didn’t sleep?”

“No, I did.”

Aidan turned his gaze towards the sound coming from the bed.

Despite his robust physique, deep fatigue was evident in his eyes.

‘If it bothers you that much, get a twin room. Beyond that, you can even use separate rooms. Just let me know.’ She was about to say something like that, but Brody stopped when she saw him faintly smiling.

He looked troubled, and for a moment, he seemed pitiful.

‘We’re partners, after all. For my work to go well, he needs to do well too.’

With a determined mindset, Brody handed him herbal remedies for fatigue alongside the morning meal.

Aidan, glancing at the plant she had brewed, hesitated for a moment but then accepted it with gratitude.

The journey northward resumed.

“We should be able to enter the fortress before sunset today.”

“Yes.”

Although Aidan’s response seemed indifferent, Brody started feeling tense.

Now, they were heading to the north. It was the beginning of what she would genuinely have to navigate through.

“At least I should be prepared for the blame.”

-The girl who blinded the eyes of the Northern Duke, who had just ended the war, caused him to wander in the South.-

That would be the first gaze she would have to face.

‘It’s the Duke’s fault for following her blindly, not her for running away. No, she wasn’t running away; she was a commoner who was promised freedom.’

However, the people in the North who needed the Grand Duke didn’t see it that way.

She climbed onto her horse, ready to face any hostility, small or large. Ignoring her aching muscles, she stroked her mane affectionately.

“Take care of me again today, Creambroni.”

“Creambroni? Is that your horse’s name?”

Teddy asked cheerfully as Brody greeted the horse.

“Yeah, it seemed to go well with the color, so I named her that.”

“It’s a pretty name. Brody, Broni. It sounds like it’s derived from Madam’s name.”

“Oh, haha.”

Brody awkwardly laughed, thinking, ‘As expected, I lack the talent for naming.’ Brody, Bri, Creambroni. It seemed like she couldn’t get out of this level.

Because Aidan named his horse Kaius, shortened from Black Ice. She tried to name the horse in accordance with its color.

“It was nice to give her a name. You have to take good care of me, Creambroni.”

Aidan attached Kaius to Creambroni and approached her.

“Creambroni, you behaved today too.”

Creambroni seemed to respond with a cheerful neigh at the unexpected timing.

“Haha, this fellow is quite lively. Neil, you take care too.”

Teddy also encouraged his horse, Neil.

Taking that encouragement as a signal, Aidan set Kaius off.

“Ha!”

The three horses started energetically galloping.

Now, heading towards the gateway of the North, the Perdan Fortress.

❖ ❖ ❖

Winters in the North were short.

Even though it was not yet evening, around that time, the sun was about to set.

The three people could see the large and white Perdan Fortress in the distance.

It was overwhelming even when they had seen it before, and seeing it again felt just as overwhelming. The grandeur was tremendous.

Unlike when they descended from the north, the sunset painted the white fortress with beautiful pink and orange hues from their left.

“I assume you’ve prepared well, Teddy?”

Aidan had planned to proceed quietly through the entire journey to spare Brody from any burden, considering her discomfort.

They didn’t plan to reveal the fact that Aidan was a Duke. They would act like ordinary travelers.

“Yes, of course. We will serve you quietly and comfortably.”

Teddy smiled playfully, glancing at both of them.

Aidan and Brody didn’t know what that smile meant.