I'm A Sucker For Extras - Chapter 79

Chapter 79

‘Where are we going? ’

As Kaius galloped across the plains, they began to climb a steep slope.

The trees, once so lush with dense foliage, were now withered and gray.

If it weren’t for the snow, the landscape would have been eerie.

As Brody sat in front of Aidan, traversing the vast North on the back of the massive black horse, the sense of freshness that had soaked into Brody’s heart gradually began to fade away under the atmosphere.

‘What am I going to say…’

Just as Brody began to feel embarrassed about being lost in the daydream of a walk while admiring the desolate landscape, Aidan halted the horse at the edge of a cliff on the mountain.

“Whoa, whoa.”

He wordlessly helped Brody dismount, then returned to tie the horse’s reins roughly to a nearby tree.

All the while, Brody stared out over the cliffs.

‘…….’

Hoping for a breathtaking view, Brody was disappointed once again as the desolate and barren scenery stretched endlessly before her.

The landscape was as bare and barren as ever.

Brody pulled on her cloak, feeling the chill.

“Are you cold?”

“……I’m fine.”

Aidan’s heart sank at the answer. The word “fine” brought him back to the line Brody had drawn. He went to the saddle and grabbed the blanket, regardless of her answer.

Luckily, Brody didn’t refuse to let him put it on her.

The cloak belonged to Aidan, and as he wrapped the thick blanket around her, it looked like it was about to roll. Even her curly hair was pushed up against the blanket and puffed out into a flowing mass.

A look of satisfaction washed over Brody’s face as the chill eased. Aidan watched her and smiled sheepishly.

“Are you not cold?”

Brody asked, watching Aidan gather dry branches to start a fire and add water.

Dressed in nothing more than a thin shirt and simple armor, he looked cold.

“Not at all.”

But it seemed like Aidan didn’t feel the cold at all. Brody couldn’t help but wonder if the cloak was not meant to keep him warm but rather to display the dignity of the Duke.

Soon, Aidan returned with hot milk.

“Do you always carry this around?”

Brody turned his back to the landscape and accepted the steaming cup.

“Mmm. You never know what might happen outside the territory.”

“Aha…….”

Brody cupped the cup between her hands and began to sip and gulp.

But the hot milk quickly cooled down, making her previous blowing seem in vain.

‘Why did we come here? We were supposed to talk, but why aren’t we starting the conversation? ’

Brody kept her gaze fixed on her cup, letting time pass.

Usually when you climb a place like this, you are supposed to admire the view, but for some reason, Brody couldn’t bring herself to turn around and face the desolation.

Luckily, Aidan broke the ice.

“I’m sorry.”

Hmm, while it was good that he started the conversation, was that a sudden apology? What was he apologizing for?

Brody glanced at Aidan over her cup, unsure.

She could see the side of his face looking out over the cliffs.

He looked away and continued.

“In fact, when I made the contract with you, I never intended to keep it exactly as it was.”

“……?”

Brody’s head snapped up, surprised at the sudden confession.

Though he didn’t look in Brody’s direction, Aidan could sense the air of urgency in the place.

“I was to protect you, and you were to work for the North in return, but I had no intention of making you work.”

“Are you saying you just added that phrase so I wouldn’t be embarrassed? ”

“……Sort of. Even if we hadn’t made a contract or something, I would have protected you.”

Brody lowered her head sullenly.

It was touching to know that he was willing to protect her unconditionally.

‘Are you saying that even if I didn’t do anything, you would have given me a contract marriage and sent me away three years later? Do you plan to take care of all that by yourself? ‘

While she appreciated his consideration, she didn’t like the way Aidan was always looking out for her own interests.

Brody was a living person, not a porcelain doll. She had the ability to work for the North, and even if she didn’t, she would do as much as she could.

Brody wanted to be someone who stood alongside him, not a woman dependent on him.

She wanted to be someone he could lean on when he was struggling.

Aidan could see why Brody had frowned at his words.

After all the time he’d spent watching her, he understood Brody’s pride and ego, which was probably why she’d kept her thoughts to herself until now.

So he decided to elaborate a bit more.

“I’m not saying you can’t help, I’m just saying…… you don’t have to do anything. I’m just saying that having you by my side is enough.”

Aidan, who had been staring off into the distance, turned, and Brody raised her gaze.

Aidan’s piercing blue eyes were lit with a burning orange glow.

Jerk. He took a step closer.

Carefully, his outstretched hand brushed against the wheat-colored hair that reflected the red light.

Aidan’s words poured from the lengthening shadows.

“Brody, I’m happy just having you by my side.”

“…….”

Brody couldn’t answer. The deep green eyes just stared at him endlessly.

He averted his gaze without moving away. He lowered his head.

His naturally flowing jet-black hair tickled Brody’s forehead.

His low, hesitant voice came through his white breath.

“And yet I was so ashamed to show you the North like this.”

Aidan’s tightly closed eyes flashed back to the desolate landscape he’d just seen.

“What was the point of offering you the position of Duchess of the North, when it is nothing more than a heavy burden to bear, and there was little I could do for you in the first place.”

“Your Grace……, that’s not true, and now you’re protecting me and…….”

Aidan cut Brody off with a low shake of his head.

“Protecting you? I created a situation where you needed to be protected. I should have let you go when you ran away. But because I wanted you… because I wanted you so badly… I…”

If Aidan hadn’t gone looking for Brody, she might have been fine on her own, undetected by Jax.

He remembered the landscape he’d seen in the South. He remembered the faces he’d seen in the South, their faces full of life through the greenery. The house in the trees, the smiling faces with cold drinks, the surroundings with plants that had been on his side.

Aidan had taken them away.

“But I couldn’t tell you, for fear you would resent me, so I hid …… the truth. So protecting you was not a reward, but something I felt I had to do. The fact that the North benefited from it was just a coincidence. Didn’t you want to live leisurely? So I wanted you to be as comfortable as possible. I wished for you to live without any worries or concerns, as if you were on vacation, for three years.”

Brody blinked.

She understood what he was saying and why he was thinking that way.

‘But I…’

Brody thought back to the moment, not long ago, when she realized how Aidan had tracked her with his ice spirit power.

It was absurd. It was ridiculous to think that she could be tracked no matter where she was with the ice crystal stone.

‘But when I was captured by Jax, there was an ice crystal stone, so tracking was possible. And then Jax could have found me regardless of what you were doing. Then I would have been dragged to the Empire and lived like a puppet.’

Thinking like that, she didn’t feel as bad as she thought she would.

No, maybe she started thinking that way because she didn’t feel bad.

Brody lifted her eyes and looked at Aidan.

His face was contorted in anguish, tinged with regret and remorse.

‘It’s really serious.’

It was hard to be angry at him, watching his face so still.

From his appearance to the atmosphere, there was no corner that she didn’t like.

‘That’s why I keep losing.’

She’d been embarrassed when she’d met him in the South.

Even though she was someone with a clear personality who could cut ties decisively, she strangely became emotionally entangled with Aidan’s affairs.

She can’t quite push him away, so she allows him to spend the night.

She couldn’t deny that she felt shaken every time he approached her.

Brody smiled bitterly at her own thoughts. She opened her mouth with a complicated expression.

“Then what do you want me to do about it?”

“…….”

Aidan hesitated to answer. So Brody spoke again.

“Should I just stay like this with you in this desolate North and spend my time alone in the room, soaking in the bathtub?”

Aidan groaned and covered his face.

His deeply shaded brow furrowed even deeper with the headache.

“……You’re not very nice.”

At the sudden low tone that crawled out, anger somehow filled Brody. She grabbed the hand that was covering Aidan’s face and spoke.

“Your Grace, please. Enough with the apologies and stubbornness…”

“I know. I know I’m stubborn.”

Aidan grabbed Brody’s hand, which she had unexpectedly held, with determination and warmth emanating from her hand.

Brody was taken aback by the sudden firmness of his grasp and warmth and looked at him wordlessly.

Aidan lifted his head and locked eyes with her.

Although his expression was still filled with anguish, there was determination in his eyes.

He spoke up.

“At first, I was reluctant to accept your help. Frankly, I was embarrassed for you to see the North in this state, and I didn’t think I’d need your skills as the plant mage to regrow the mountain vegetation across the North. The North is-,”

Aidan trailed off and took a breath, his voice growing increasingly heated.

“The North is my territory, my responsibility as Duke. This mess of a North is something I have to solve, something I thought I could solve. I didn’t want your help, didn’t need it… It was about my pride.”

“…….”

“And I realized after we had a meeting how arrogant I was. I didn’t realize how little I knew about you.”

He chuckled awkwardly.

“It was something neither River nor I could have done, and I have to be a fool not to realize that it was a great opportunity for the North. As Lord of the North, I can’t pretend to be oblivious to that tempting offer.”

Brody realized what he was saying. Her heart fluttered, and she brought her free hand to her chest.

Aidan’s eyes fluttered with heat as he looked at her.

A bright, wise woman. How could he not love her? How could he not admire her?

Aidan spoke solemnly.

“So, I want to ask you honestly again.”

“Ah.”

Brody was startled when he suddenly dropped to his knees.

Aidan glanced up at her, then lowered his head and rested his forehead against the back of her hand.

He hesitated for a moment.

Why wouldn’t he? His decision now was a matter of conflicting emotions. It was acknowledging Brody’s will but ultimately stepping her closer to danger for the North.

Aidan crumpled up his heart and faced reality. He had to admit what he had to admit and then do what he had to do.

In anguish, but unwilling to transfer his anguish to Brody, he spoke in a firm voice.

“I beg you, Brody, as Duke of the North, I beg you to help the North, for it is in dire need of your help.”

“…….”

Whistling. A cold northerly wind blew in and swept over the cliffs.

Aidan’s dark cloak, draped over Brody’s shoulders, billowed in the wind’s path.

Aidan’s flaxen hair flowed freely, strand by strand, scattering the fading light of the setting sun.

The majestic silhouette of the slender woman and the humble shadow of the massive warrior seemed like scenes from a legend.

Brody looked at the great Duke of the North, kneeling before her.

Then her mouth opened.

“Whatever happens in the North has nothing to do with me.”