KTMD - Chapter 7

Large wolves emerged from the darkness, baring their sharp fangs as they approached.

I'd never learned or read anything about wolf-fighting techniques. I'd never even imagined encountering one. I'd gathered my wits, tried to maintain composure, and tried to muster all sorts of thoughts.

They say there are no bad dogs in the world. I thought back to the programs I used to enjoy in my life.

I slowly backed away, my eyes fixed on the trainer's fierce gaze as he faced the ferocious dog.

Should I never turn my back, and if someone charges at me, should I slam them into my body as a sign of rejection? The unrealistic situation has made me lose my sense of reality, and only strange thoughts come to mind.

The wolves, as they approached, felt as big as a house. The menacing presence filled me with fear and tension, my whole body froze, and goosebumps covered my skin. Was this a dream? Wolves couldn't be that big.

“Sit down!”

There was no way. The wolves, their noses wrinkled and growling, slowly closed the distance.

I never expected a death flag like this. I need to call for help, no matter who's around.

“Please save me!”

My screaming voice echoed outside the quiet forest.

I slowly backed away on wobbly legs and picked up a stick that had fallen nearby.

“Squawk!”

I struck the head of the wolf that had approached me hard. The others retreated slightly, then bared their teeth even more fiercely. I swung the stick once more, but the largest wolf held it tightly in its grip and wouldn't let go.

“Let go, you son of a bitch!”

I pulled and pulled like I was playing tug-of-war, but eventually I lost control. The recoil sent me sprawling, and the wolves began to slowly advance, threatening to tear my neck apart. The pressure made my legs ache, and I squeezed my eyes shut.

Bang-.

An ear-piercing gunshot rang out, followed by a shrill scream. A wolf, seemingly shot, fell to the ground.

"There you are. It's a problem if you get torn to pieces by wolves. We need to take the body whole so the admiral won't think twice and pay the price properly."

The men who came to my rescue were menacing, clad in Frogen uniforms. The only catch was that their goal was to preserve my body. What a misfortune. Of all people, they were mercenaries, or rather, messengers, sent by the admiral to kill me. Why am I so unlucky?

The frightened wolves ran away, and I was held captive by the mercenaries.

“Why did you run away on your own?”

A grim man with a long scar on his face twisted his lips in annoyance.

“Because I’m scared.”

“You seem to be quick-witted.”

The man chuckled, grabbed the back of my neck, and threw me at the mercenaries.

"It'd be best to kill her cleanly first. I've lured the men to the other side, so let's give first aid to the injured and then leave."

Am I really going to die like this? I collapsed to the floor, my face pale, and slowly pulled away. Even if it's a dream, I don't want to die like this.

“Come here.”

A man strode up to me and tried to grab me by the neck, so I struggled and bit his hand hard.

“You’re going to die anyway, so just stay still.”

The man who had bitten me snickered, shaking his hand clean of the bite marks. I couldn't defeat the burly mercenary with brute force. The pungent taste of blood lingered in my mouth.

“It won’t be of any use struggling like that.”

I heard the menacing laughter of the nearby mercenaries. In a final desperate attempt, I shouted with all my might, hoping someone would hear.

“Just touch me, I won’t stay still!”

“What can you do?”

A cold, rough hand, clammy with sweat, grabbed my throat. The grip slowly tightened, choking my throat, and I couldn't even scream. The pressure clouded my vision, and my breathing became increasingly labored. The man, who had been silently observing, bared his teeth and snickered.

“What can you do?”

My wrist, which was jabbing my fingernails into the air, was grabbed by one of his hands so tightly that it left a bruise.

Just as I lost consciousness and was on the verge of passing out, the grip around my neck loosened, and I was able to breathe. It was a clear playful act, like a predator toying with its prey before devouring it.

Oh, please, why did I have to go through this? What did I do so wrong? I can't escape this nightmare any longer, lying to myself.

Could the unfortunate fate of the supporting character, who was kidnapped to survive and find comfort, still fall to her death, be changed? The thought that death was simply a different reality filled me with despair.

The weight of humiliation, misery, and death, crushing me like iron bars, was suffocating. I was resilient in the face of imminent danger, but it was simply too much for me to handle.

I could only look at the man strangling me with a look of resignation.

The owner of this body must have been treated like this all her life. Did she intend for me to suffer so long and ultimately end my life in such misery? They giggled at my helpless face, like demons leading me to hell.

“Hey, you’re not crying? I thought you were going to cry and beg.”

Even in this situation, I didn't cry. At some point, I forgot why I was crying, and my tears dried up. Perhaps I was in hell. I hadn't lived a good life.

I stared at the yellowing sky with bloodshot eyes, feeling like I was drowning. I should have just been shot by the admiral and died. I was being tortured for no reason.

The mercenary let go of my wrist, which he had been holding as if he was going to break it, and smiled faintly.

“The reaction isn’t very interesting, so let’s end it here.”

A short knife dangling from the belt of a man who was trying to strangle me with both hands caught my eye in a blurry vision. For a split second, a choice arose: kill this man, or end my own life.

If you choose the former, you'll be in even worse shape.

I summoned all my remaining strength and punched him in the face, then pulled his sword from its sheath and swung it wildly. My foul nature, unable to bear the pain, wouldn't allow me to commit suicide.

“Ahhh! This crazy bitch!”

In a short moment, a man with a long cut under his eye clutched his face and screamed.

My grip gave out, and I dropped the sword. It clanked against the floor with a metallic clank. I tried to slit his throat, but the experienced mercenary instinctively dodged.

“She’s the admiral’s daughter, so she’s quite poisonous. We’ll get in trouble, so just kill her quickly.”

As soon as the man who appeared to be the leader clicked his tongue and spoke, a man clutched his face, from which blood was streaming down his face, looked at me with bloodshot eyes, and muttered an incomprehensible curse.

“I’ll kill you right away, just as you wish.”

That couldn't possibly be my wish. I'd hate to experience a death like this, even in my dreams. Of course, this is definitely real.

The moment the mercenary's sword was about to plunge into my chest, a gunshot rang out. Blood gushed from the man's head, who dropped the sword with a dazed expression, along with the echoing reverberation.

I tried to push the body of the man who had collapsed towards me, but it was so heavy that it seemed dead. Of course, I was completely drained of strength.

The mercenary captain suddenly stood up and loaded his gun.

“It seems the colonel’s men heard the gunshots and came in pursuit.”

“What should we do?”

“Let’s run away for now. Our numbers are out of sync because of the previous skirmish.”

They retreated, guns aimed, into the gunfire-filled darkness, intent on fleeing, but they were already surrounded, with nowhere to escape. As the mercenaries dropped their guns and raised their hands in surrender, soldiers hiding in the forest emerged, rifles aimed.

Noah came closer to me, finding me lying there in a mess, my clothes torn and tattered like rags.

Perhaps because of the darkening surroundings, his dark blue eyes held no emotion. He stood motionless, his expressionless face staring down at me, and asked me kindly.

“Can I save you?”

Aren't you here to save me? I don't even know what your intention is in asking this question in this situation.

I let go of my understanding and weakly waved to the pretty, crazy man who was my only savior.

“Yes... I can’t breathe.”

He strode over to me, kicked the fallen man's body away, and then grabbed my hand to help me up. Noah, who had untied my disheveled clothes, smiled reassuringly.

“I plan to kill them all, so if you can’t stand this, close your eyes. It doesn’t matter if you do.”

The back of my neck felt chilled by the eerie, murderous words. Noah aimed his gun at the already dead mercenary's back and fired a few more shots. His three hundred eyes passed me and turned toward the mercenaries.

“Colonel Rotsilt, we had no choice.”

The mercenary captain, his face scarred, raised his hand and spoke in a cowardly voice. Noah stared at him intently, his pistol clanking as he cocked it.

“What can you do?”

“I’ll tell you all the information, but at least save our lives...”

A sharp gunshot silenced his mouth.

“Ugh!”

The mercenary captain groaned and clutched his bullet-riddled thigh as he collapsed to the ground.

“I don’t need any information.”

Noah tilted his head, holding a pistol in one hand.

“Please save me! There was a reason!”

As the muzzle of the pistol he held was pointed at his forehead, the mercenary captain began to beg, terrified and even shedding tears. Noah, one corner of his mouth raised, asked again.

"Reason?"

“Yes... I’m sorry. Please spare my life.”

“I tried to save one. Who should I save?”

He glanced at his mercenaries for a moment, then nodded as if making up his mind.

“Please spare me. You can do whatever you want with them.”

Noah chuckled as if he had seen the lowest point of humanity.

“Go ahead.”

A glimmer of hope rose in the mercenary captain's eyes as he saw the man's smile change to one of tolerance.

“Thank you, thank you! I will never forget your kindness!”

He jumped to his feet, limped back, and began to walk away. Noah snapped his fingers, caught the rifle of the soldier next to him, slinging it over his shoulder before aiming it at the mercenary captain.

A single gunshot rang out, deafeningly loud, and the forest, briefly quiet, fell into chaos again. Noah, having accurately shot the fleeing mercenary captain in the head, threw his gun to the ground and turned around.

“I didn’t say I would save you.”

At Noah's words, the faces of the remaining mercenaries turned pale, and they stared off into the distance, unable to even think of running away. Blood splattered across the wooden pillar behind the fallen corpse.

“Shoot them all except one.”

As soon as Noah's command was given, a choked blast of gunfire erupted, accompanied by painful screams. The one who had been spared collapsed, trembling, and looked up at Noah with terrified eyes.

He was startled as he saw Noah slowly approaching and started to back away on his butt.

“Go back and tell him.”

“What are you talking about...?”

“What you saw, what I said. Without exception.”

The last surviving man fled in panic. He kept looking back, afraid that he might become like his leader, and even fell and rolled around.

Noah came over, took off his coat, covered me, and smiled prettily.

“There is no one but me.”

The tone was gentle, but it felt out of the blue. What could I possibly say after seeing this? I opened my mouth for a moment, my expression bewildered.

"I'm the only one who can protect you, Princess. So don't run away anymore."

“I didn’t run away. I...”

My last resort, the one I barely escaped, was to be by your side, and now I have nowhere to return. Suddenly thrust into a world I don't know, even my family has been slapped in the back of the head, and I've barely escaped the brink of death countless times.

Rather, it is a pitiful and absurd situation where I am being protected by a noble colonel from the enemy country that kidnapped me.

A man with a cruel disposition but a handsome appearance.

You probably already knew that someone was sent from your country to kill me.

My negotiating value is now virtually nonexistent. Sadly, that's the reality.

I fully accepted the miserable reality that I was completely alone in this world, with nowhere to turn and nowhere to go.

A single word of protection, perhaps sincere, sounded like a faint sliver of comfort. A bitter sadness, buried somewhere I didn't even know, surged up fiercely.

He was my only lesser evil in the midst of the worst.

A burning sensation burned my eyes, and tears welled up in my eyes. Only then did I remove the mask of composure I had been wearing.

“That’s right. If it weren’t for you, I would have died.”

Noah took out a handkerchief and wiped away the tears flowing down my cheek, then spoke in a soothing voice.

“Did I make you cry?”

“Why are you trying to protect me?”

I simply couldn't fathom what this pretty, crazy Duke was thinking. He wrapped his arm around my shoulder and locked eyes with mine.

“You have nothing. Except me.”

I was confused as to whether it was meant rationally or just sympathy.

A faint emotion flashed across Noah's face, which seemed so empty and hollow that he seemed incapable of feeling compassion or loving others.

He seemed to be reminiscing, or perhaps appreciating something projected from me. The man was so complex and nuanced that I couldn't fully grasp his thoughts, but that hollow expression felt somehow familiar.

I let out a deep sigh. There was no point in protesting now. No one would be so crazy as to demand to be sent back to their limbs. I don't know him well. If I resisted him any longer, I might die at his whim.

“What should I do now?”

I couldn't see what my future held, so I asked him instead. Maybe he was offering a deal.

I felt like I could do anything if only he would protect me and let me live a normal life in this hellish world.

At my question, his eyes, visible beneath his silvery hair, reflecting the moonlight, curved elegantly. The beautiful features—crescent-shaped eyes, straight nose, and sharp jawline—were so close together.

He spoke in a soft, breathy voice.

"I told you, if you run away from me, you'll die. So stay by my side."

“Just that?”

That can't be. Life is about tradeoffs. There must be something you desire, weighing the pros and cons.

There is no reason to take in a woman who has nowhere to go without a reason.

I've been thinking about this for a while, but it seems like that man had sensed my desperation from the beginning. After pointing a gun at me and mentioning death, he changed his attitude and gave me what I wanted. If he already knew my situation was hopeless, my exhausting struggles would have been futile. I was clearly being played by that man.

I can't read his mind. It's a disadvantage.

He asked with a strangely languid expression that had a dark aura.

“Then what are you going to do for me?”

“I’ll make you money, if you just do as I say...”

“That’s something I can do on my own; I don’t need help.”

I even think it was a bit of a fraudulent statement.

My hope of becoming a business partner by proposing a business with modern knowledge that would not destroy civilization was ruthlessly crushed.

I was penniless, but I couldn't possibly give to Noah, who lacked absolutely everything. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't come up with what he wanted, so I asked him directly.

“Do you want my body?”

Noah showed no sign of agitation at my intuitive question. Instead, he smiled calmly, like a boy with pure intentions of wanting a toy.

“Yeah, I want them all. Just for me.”

I threw it out there with a hopeful mind, but the answer was surprisingly honest.

I don't know why he wants me so much.

Because it's been a long time since the story became different from the original.

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