I'm A Sucker For Extras - Chapter 45

Chapter 45

‘Well, it’s better this way.’

Aidan thought.

Feeling embarrassed for a brief moment due to the misunderstanding was preferable to making a mistake that couldn’t be undone.

If he had continued to embrace Brody, it would have turned into a bigger issue.

Given the restraint he had exercised until now, he needed to hold back even more.

However, Brody, who was unaware of his feelings, apologized inwardly and tried to lighten the situation by speaking cheerfully to Mrs. Murphy.

“Wow! It smells amazing!”

“…It’s potato soup. I mashed it finely because I thought it might be difficult for you to eat anything else.”

Oh, fortunately, a good topic for diversion emerged.

“Potatoes, have they already become available in the fortress?”

“Not exactly. I brought just a small amount.”

“Well, that makes sense. It wouldn’t be a large quantity. Since winter has arrived, farming must be finished.”

Mrs. Murphy nodded her head in agreement.

Brody, who always spoke succinctly to match her straightforward style, responded with a small nod.

It meant they could go out now. No, this implies she should leave quickly.

However, as Mrs. Murphy was about to grasp the door handle, she suddenly hesitated.

“…?”

She turned her head slightly with a subtle awkwardness, as if she were about to say something.

“…?”

After a moment, she awkwardly opened her mouth. “Everyone has been waiting for the lady to wake up. They were so excited about making the best potato soup…”

Having said that, she quickly greeted me and left.

Brody, left bewildered once again, blinked her eyes with an expression of confusion.

‘Is she secretly watching us? Or is there some kind of conspiracy? ‘

She was expecting a reprimand, but she was welcomed instead.

“Your Grace, am I the only one finding this strange? It’s a good thing, but why is her reaction so…?”

Aidan sighed and stirred the potato soup Mrs. Murphy had left behind. It looked like he was trying to cool it down for Brody to eat.

‘Perhaps he wants to feed me? ‘

Recalling the day when she woke up in an unknown inn after being attacked by Jax in the South, Brody pondered.

But unlike back then, when she hesitated whether to accept kindness regardless of her strength, now it seemed that Aidan’s help was not more than a gesture of goodwill.

“It’s River. It looks like he did something.”

Ah, yes……. Somehow, Brody was disappointed, but more than that, she was surprised by Aidan’s response, so she focused on the conversation and asked back.

“What? Chief of Staff River? He? He put me in a good light? …… Why?”

The smell of the brisket was more tempting than she’d expected, so Brody quickly picked up her cutlery as she waited for an answer.

But her grip wasn’t as strong as she thought it would be.

Her grip on the spoon faltered, and the tray wobbled unsteadily on her leg until a large hand reached out to help.

Aidan moved the tray aside, scooped up the soup, and brought it to her mouth.

“…….”

‘You do care.’

But a lot of things were different then.

In the South, Brody was anxious to do something regardless of whether her hands were strong or not; now she really didn’t seem to be much more than a wimp.

‘Now… Do I have to be in significant pain to earn his kindness? ‘

His assistance was warm, but it carried an equal amount of bitterness.

‘If only my hand wasn’t shaking, it would have been just me eating.’

Despite being warm, the help also brought a slightly bitter feeling.

Her stomach went into a bit of a rampage as the warm soup slid down into a stomach that had been empty for a while.

Brody looked at Aidan with a slight frown.

“…?”

To her surprise, Aidan’s expression crumpled.

‘Hmm, was it like that when he hugged me earlier? I didn’t know how it was because I was in a position where I couldn’t see his face. … .’

Taek. Somehow feeling down, Brody took the spoon from his hand.

Though grateful for the consideration, she didn’t want to go as far as bowing in thanks.

“I’ll just eat it myself.”

“Ah… um.”

Aidan stared at her in bewilderment at Brody’s sudden demeanor.

Knowing her independent nature, he thought his actions might be burdensome and decided not to insist, carefully stepping back.

Contrary to her expectations, he was completely absorbed in different thoughts, completely unaware of Brody’s reaction.

He was thinking about River.

‘I should have expected this. When I left my post for so long and left him alone without holding him accountable, I should have expected…

Aidan opened his mouth with a heavy voice.

“River, spread the word about the new crops you’ve grown.”

Brody’s hand, shaking as she struggled to eat the soup, paused. She looked at Aidan with a tilted head, and he continued.

“Not only that. He also spread a story that because of your background, you ran away, worried that you might be a burden to me. I am a person who went to find a benefactor in the North, a person with profound loyalty and love.”

Her nodding head turned into a shake this time. Of course. That’s how he framed it. Truly a behavior befitting Chief of Staff River.

“I feel uneasy about being indebted, but… Anyway, thanks to that, things will be resolved easily this time.”

“Indebted…?”

Aidan chuckled unexpectedly.

‘Brody, Brody. You really don’t know River.’

Because she doesn’t know, she can afford to be so relaxed.

“River didn’t plan this out for your sake. He used you.”

Brody thought carefully about his words.

That’s right. River wouldn’t do anything for her.

What if she wasn’t worth using? He would have sent someone to get rid of her without a trace.

That’s who River was.

“But it’s still impressive. Achieving the whims of a runaway Duke in a good direction for the North. Your chief of staff must care a lot about you.”

“It’s not me he cares about; but for the North, he still thinks I’m worth using for the North.”

In response to his immediate, casually laid response, Brody blinked her eyes.

What kind of relationship do they have to talk like that?

So far, the two of them seem to have more than just a superior-subordinate relationship.

Because if they were, a lot of the things River was doing would be problematic. Even if they didn’t cross a certain line. But the way he treated the Grand Duke was disrespectful enough.

It seemed more like a relationship between brothers or close friends—something like that.

But now he sounded as if there was nothing left between them except the North, and that made him sound bitter.

Aidan, noticing Brody’s uncertainty about how to react to his words, sighed and continued his story with a lowered head.

“So, what I’m saying is, there’s nothing for you to be grateful about.”

Well, regardless of River’s intentions, the outcome isn’t bad, is it? Brody couldn’t take the situation as seriously as Aidan did.

“Then I don’t owe him anything. I’ll take what you’ve given me and put it to good use for the North.”

Aidan eventually sighed at her words.

It seemed like his message didn’t get through properly.

“Brody, that’s not it. The current situation is too much.”

“What do you mean it’s too much?”

“People call you the ‘Goddess of Luck.'”

“Ah, um, cough, cough.”

Suddenly hearing sarcasm, Brody coughed, and Aidan offered her a handkerchief.

Oh, how embarrassing. That… being called that just because she grew some potatoes…

She wiped her mouth with the handkerchief and mumbled in response.

“Indeed, that’s a bit excessive.”

“In wartime, it was used as a temporary joke, a pleasant one. But not now. Do you understand what that means? It means people want you to continue living like that. That’s how high the expectations are.”

Brody pressed her handkerchief against her mouth, lost in thought.

Brody was used to expectations.

In her previous life, she carried the burden of her family’s life and walked that path.

So, that…

How much it could devour a person…

‘In my previous life, I lived according to others’ expectations, but now it’s different. I’m prepared to betray any expectations and live the way I want. That’s my resolution, even to the point of experiencing death.’

A decision made through experiencing death.

She will no longer live foolishly like that.

This time, for herself. She will live freely.

The next three years were a time she had to go through unavoidably for that.

After three years, she could leave.

They might curse at her when she leaves, but she’d be living in a place where she couldn’t hear them anyway. It didn’t matter, she thought.

“Brody, you’re leaving in three years.”

Suddenly, as if reading her mind, Aidan’s words made Brody’s hand, which was again reaching for the soup, stop.

She calmly lowered her gaze, seemingly unaffected by Aidan’s sudden revelation.

“That’s right, Your Excellency. So it’s okay. I can leave in three years.”

Aidan shook his head, wondering if he meant to deny Brody’s words.

“Do you think you can be free in three years?”

Brody, surprised, raised her head as if she were reading Aidan’s mind.

‘What is he suddenly talking about? Is he planning to break the contract? ? ‘

Seeing Brody nibbling her lips, Aidan read what she misunderstood. Her determination to leave still seemed firm.

‘What a contradictory feeling. How can I let her go while trying to make an effort to keep her? ‘

It wasn’t unexpected, but it was heartbreaking to hear it again.

He responded with complicated emotions.

“Yes, I will, of course, keep the promise. But I’m not sure if River and the North will let you go. It seems like they made up their minds to use you, and if he does, there’s no telling what will happen in three years.”

“Oh…”

Brody felt both relieved and embarrassed at his response.

He was, in fact, worrying about Brody.

‘But I…I keep thinking about myself, counting on his favor.’

‘I shouldn’t use others to live the way I want.’

Therefore, Brody thought. At least, she wanted to be helpful to him and to the North, and she wanted to do her best for both.

With a firm heart, Brody raised her head again.

Meeting Aidan’s eyes without wavering, she spoke calmly.

“Your Excellency, that’s a problem for later. First, we need to deal with what’s in front of us before we can consider such issues.”

Brody’s reproach caused Aidan’s previously strong assertion to waver.

‘First, we need to deal with what’s in front of us.’

Aidan recalled the image of the princess.

The Princess was undeniably different from the Emperor, whose greed and indolence had led to an overweight body that he couldn’t control. She seemed ambitious, but she also appeared ruthless.

Moreover, she seemed intelligent, and she even knew how to use elemental abilities.

‘Was it a wise decision to grant a three-year reprieve? ‘

Perhaps it would have been better to completely overthrow the empire at that time. However, if they had done that, they would have lost the people on the castle walls and the grain warehouses across the empire, and everyone would have faced mutual destruction.

The princess could have been someone who could choose that brutal path.

Even if she burned herself, she was someone who was willing to set others on fire.

She seemed extremely dangerous.

As Aidan made a pained expression with his mouth shut, Brody got up from the bed and gently took his hand.

“Your Excellency, what we should worry about now is the North.”

Aidan hesitated when she grabbed his hand, but he couldn’t bring himself to pull it away.

Her words were right.

He listened to Brody’s words with a solemn expression.

“You know, Your Excellency, I can do it. I can help your North.”

Aidan’s heart pounded when he heard her words.

It wasn’t a flutter of excitement, but of anticipation.

‘Help for the North… the plant mage, she…’

He remembered the words the princess shot at him not long ago in front of the fortress.

“Have you thought about what it means to take her to the North?”

‘Yes, the woman in front of him might be tempting. She’s a talent the North can’t afford to miss.’

‘Can she truly be happy in the North?’

Aidan’s eyes began to flicker and wander, his pupils shaking in various directions.