I’m A Sucker For Extras - ✿ dusk blossoms ✿

Chapter 5

‘Why? Why again, what? I gave you the same amount of Meshu as before!’

The Duke’s expression was as cold as it was on the first day they met.

“Something seems wrong.”

Aidan said to Brody, putting his head in his hands, looking like he was going to die.

But Brody accepted that expression as an ‘I’m going to kill you’ look.

Even though she’d watched him for so long and gotten the feeling that he wasn’t really a bad guy, she was terrified when she saw that look.

‘They don’t call him the Ice Duke for nothing.’

Brody apologized, turning to Aidan with a pensive look on his face, then frantically trying to figure out what the problem was.

‘There must be a difference, a difference.’

-On the first day, one night with the Meshu..

-The second day, she was caught and fainted.

-The third day, just tea. After hearing a sound, she started giving him Meshu.

-The fourth day, a lethal dose of Meshu and an antidote.

-The fifth day, a moderate amount of Meshu. She heard another sound.

No, Meshu isn’t the answer, right? Then, what the hell is it…

Their intimate night together? Is it that satisfying? But that’s not it either. On the third and fourth days, she didn’t spend the night and there was no problem.

‘Then what’s the difference…’

While contemplating, Brody snapped her fingers and realized something.

And at the same time, he turned pale with shock.

‘On the third and fourth days, I gave the additional Meshu and antidote by kissing him.’

Then I realized there was ‘only one variable’ in the whole situation.

‘So the difference…… is ‘me’?’

* * *

Since then, Brody experimented every night.

After putting him to sleep with a moderate amount of Meshu, she just held his hand and observed.

If it was a problem of contact, this would solve it.

But it didn’t. Brody apologized again with a contemplative face as the Duke’s icy expression worsened, and the atmosphere of his subordinates around him also seemed to become harsh.

Feeling like she was sitting on a thorny cushion, Brody fought down the urge to escape.

Next, she tried kissing him.

It worked!.

‘Do I have to kiss him?’

She thought it was such a ridiculous cause, but this is a fantasy world where she, a plant mage, exists.

She figured she’d just have to accept it if it happened.

After a few days of meshus and kisses, Brody felt that the harsh atmosphere around him had calmed down, so she tried something else.

She dripped a drop of her own blood right into his mouth.

And the next day.

It had an effect.

‘It’s not about kissing; it’s about bodily fluids.’

‘But what was the point of finding out the cause?’

“I should be there anyway.’

If it’s just kissing a sleeping person, she thought she could endure it somehow. At least for the time being.

Moreover, as the Duke became more comfortable, the treatment of Brody by the soldiers gradually improved.

A woman living by the Duke’s side.

She wondered if they considered her a beloved mistress.

After escaping from the life-threatening crisis, Brody felt relieved and could think about other worries.

But what if it’s not just because the tea tastes good? What if there’s a reason he’s not obsessed with the taste?

Brody observed Aidan.

Aidan ignored Brody, whether she watched him or not.

Although she learned a lot through observation, she couldn’t find the cause.

They’d been in the room for a day or two now, and Brody was getting frustrated.

“Your Grace.”

Aidan was surprised at Brody’s call.

She had never spoken first.

“What is it?”

Aidan looked away from the map and stared at Brody with a puzzled face.

“How long do I have to stay here?”

“Is there something lacking?”

Brody frowned at his words.

‘Is it satisfying to live like this, unable to leave the room, like livestock?’

She supposes it’s ingrained in their minds that this is how they treat their ‘prisoners’.

Since it’s not a world where human rights are that important.

Surprisingly, Aidan seemed to have noticed Brody’s subtle change in expression.

He got up and approached Brody, asking,

“If there’s anything I can do, I’ll do it.”

Brody blinked her eyes in response to the unexpected reaction.

“Your Grace, I’ve thought about it a lot, but I don’t know what you want.”

“What does that mean?”

Aidan was taken aback to see Brody, who usually says very few words, open her mouth and speak so openly, so bluntly.

Brody was deliberately keeping quiet so she wouldn’t get tangled up in this place in order to get away.

“If you want a nice cup of tea, I’ll give you the recipe.”

Aidan winced.

‘She was going to give him the recipe—the one that would cure my chronic headaches?’

‘No. Did she know I suffered from headaches before that?’

“Or do you want to spend the night with me, which I don’t think is the case?”

This time, Aidan’s face flushed.

For her, as a modern person, it was easy to say such words, but in this world, it was different.

But she had spent only a limited amount of time in this world, and even with Brody’s memories, she had not experienced such details.

“I’ve heard that His Grace has changed women everyday, but it’s not like you always sleep with me, so I guess you want tea.”

Perhaps feeling that the expression “changed woman” was too much, Brody changed her words and asked gently.

That got Aidan thinking.

“I change women every day?”

Oops, I changed the wording, but did the word “changed” still convey the message?

‘Brody, be careful with your words. Be careful.’

This is a society with a caste system. That person is a duke and she is a war prisoner.

It would be too easy for someone who kills people every day to take her life.

Brody was taken aback, but he didn’t seem angered by the words.

“I haven’t done such a thing. I have never done that even once.”

“…What?”

Aiden was not only shocked but also dumbfounded by Brody’s response.

“Well… That’s right. Maybe not everyday… It’s a bit exaggerated…”

“No… that’s not it. I… Well, you see, um, you were the first.”

“…?”

Aiden’s face turned red. Not just the cheeks, but also both ears and the neck.

Seeing Aiden shyly confess that it was his first, Brody’s face also turned pale.

“Women just came in and out, damn River. Even though I said I didn’t like it, did the rumor spread like that?”

Whether the last words were a question or a mutter, Brody felt the need to explain, and so she did.

“Yes… You call for a woman everyday and then kill them every morning after you’re done with them. I don’t know the entire rumors that spread among the duke’s people, but the prisoners talked about it. They said the women never came back, so that’s more…….”

“What?”

Aiden’s pupils shook.

Brody, though embarrassed, agreed with Aiden’s reaction.

It was a bit embarrassing, but considering his usual behavior, it seemed more plausible that the rumors were lies.

* * *

Some of the rumors were false, but some were true.

Female prisoners were released from the Duke’s mansion unharmed, but outside, soldiers and high-ranking officers took those women away.

Anyway, those taken prisoners never returned to the prisoner’s quarters, so among the female prisoners, the rumor spread that they were killed.

While it was impossible to know what happened inside the Duke’s barracks, most soldiers would have known what happened to the female prisoners afterward.

And Chief of Staff River managed to keep those rumors from reaching the Duke.

So Aiden didn’t know about that fact.

“Do you need to enforce severe punishment?”

Aidan was furious, and Chief of Staff River asked him bluntly.

Even though he deliberately committed such atrocities to survive, he showed no sign of remorse or fear.

“Isn’t this forbidden by military law?”

“The atmosphere in the camp is gloomy. It’s fortunate if they are comforted by the prisoners.”

“River!”

Aiden drew his sword and pressed it against River’s neck.

It missed River’s neck by the width of a piece of paper.

However, without blinking an eye, River said, “If you’re going to kill me, kill me. After all, we’re going down to the Imperial City, aren’t we?”

“No, we can’t die! If we could just die, we wouldn’t have to bear the stigma of this rebellion! You know better than anyone that we have to live!”

“Many soldiers have already died. The remaining soldiers no longer expect tomorrow to arrive.”

“So, should we sacrifice the weaker ones more? If you kill those women and win the war, do you think those who survive will make a better world? You’ll only make a world that’s a hellhole for women and children anyway.”

River’s eyes flickered.

He knew. The Duke’s words were reasonable.

But River also knew that he hadn’t gone into battle with only adult soldiers. This unholy balance that was supposed to quell the foul mood that threatened to erupt at any moment.

There was no way, he thought.

Ready to do anything for the North, he gritted his teeth viciously and spat out the words.

“If you don’t like it, kill me.”

“What?”

River’s expression remained impassive as he blurted out the words, showing no sign of distress.

“We don’t have enough food to feed the prisoners. You know why this war started, don’t you?”

Aiden strengthened his grip on the sword.

Images of the devastation in the north caused by the imperial usurpation flashed through his mind, one after another.

“Aside from the five noblewomen who are worthy prisoners, they are not exactly helpful to the north. Isn’t there one way to use them?”

“We could use them as labor.”

“What labor when they can’t farm. What the North needs is food, not labor.”

“If you don’t need them, just release them.”

“Yes, let’s do that. Some may escape, but most will be caught by the insane soldiers as soon as they are released. It will be a sight to see the discipline of the North. Or, do you mean to warmly escort them to the central region and release them?”

The Duke, with a rough move, thrust his sword into the ground and let out a roar.

He had decided to die to survive, and it had cost him so much to not die.

River looked at Aiden with a grim expression.

He knew the burden on Aiden’s shoulders was cruelly heavy, but he was the one who was supposed to carry it, not the one who could lighten it.

“Punishment will be enforced rigorously.”

Aiden spoke as if squeezing the words.

“Yes, then we will kill the prisoners.”

Aiden couldn’t respond to those words.

He couldn’t starve the soldiers to feed the prisoners.

If staying here meant suffering and dying from cruel acts, wouldn’t it be better to just die?

Aiden pressed his forehead as if in pain.

His large hand covered his eyes.