ANGSD 26

Chapter 26

“…What did you say?!”

“I’m sorry.”

Seeing his face smiling brightly as he said he got lost, Aelin was utterly dumbfounded.

It was utterly absurd—and despite the dangers lurking in this dense forest at night, where any beast could pounce on them—the effect of that bright smile was somehow overwhelming.

‘He’s so handsome I can’t even get mad… seriously…!’

“Really, I’m sorry, ma’am.”

“It’s fine. Since it’s come to this, let’s rest for a bit, then.”

“…You don’t have to hold back. You can get mad.”

He looked like he was hoping Aelin would get mad at how she’d spent half the day training people like a mangy dog.

…Was this what he had been expecting?

Aelin suddenly thought.

He deliberately gave her the option to get off the carriage and walk, and then late in the day encouraged her to just give up and go back.

Half a day spent walking, and even when it ended in a ‘mistake,’ he smiled cheerfully.

‘It really feels like he’s testing me or something.’

Like the saying ‘find a place to lie down and stretch your legs,’ maybe he wanted to draw out her true nature?

Wondering if she was someone easy to handle—something like that?

“Fine. My schedule isn’t tight anyway, and I have time to spare. Honestly, I don’t even have the energy to be mad. I’m hungry. You said you wouldn’t let me starve. So what are you going to do? Floan, you’re responsible.”

But Aelin couldn’t meet those expectations.

Floan looked at her as she naturally plopped down on the dirt floor, then said to wait a moment and went off to hunt a rabbit or something.

‘What on earth is he thinking? I really can’t tell his intentions. He probably thought I’d give in easily…’

Though she didn’t know the exact reason, if this was some kind of mind game, Aelin had no intention of falling for his trick.

She sat down and thought deeply about Floan’s intentions but failed to figure it out, eventually lying back against a tree root and waiting for a long time.

“When is he coming?”

Since the sun had completely set and they were near the foothills, the night air felt especially cold. Aelin looked around and called Floan’s name.

Then she heard a rustling somewhere.

“Floan?”

Now that she thought about it, he hadn’t even brought a hunting rifle or a sword…?

Suddenly filled with unease, Aelin carefully called out her husband’s name again.

“Flo…an?”

Had she shouted too loudly? Maybe a bear nearby had noticed her?

Aelin, lowering her voice slightly from before, soon saw a silhouette in the distance.

What was that? She frowned, trying to see more clearly.

Since the sun was completely down, it was hard to tell if the shape was human or animal.

The figure was walking steadily toward Aelin.

‘…Is that… Floan?’

As the figure got closer, it became clear it was not human.

You know how people have a silhouette. That huge body surely wasn’t human…

Finally, Aelin realized what the shadow was.

“B-b-b-bear…!”

She wasn’t mistaken. It was definitely a bear.

The massive bear, its eyes wild and fierce, seemed to recognize Aelin and slowly walked toward her.

Aelin, holding her breath, covered her mouth carefully so no scream would escape and anger the bear, and started slowly backing away.

‘Why the heck is a bear here…?’

Well, it wasn’t that strange.

She hadn’t realized until now, but they were right in the middle of the forest.

A very dense one, at that.

So one bear, or even a family of three bears, could easily live here.

She shouldn’t move, but unlike her head, her body was preparing to sneak away.

No matter how many hardships she’d faced in her past life, being chased by a bear was a new threat.

As she slowly backed away, her foot betrayed her, accidentally stepping on a small twig.

In the quiet midnight forest, the sharp snap of the branch echoed.

“…Damn it…”

Maybe bears are more sensitive than she thought.

“Floaaaan! You bastard!!! I’m here!!! Your wife’s about to be eaten by a bear!!!”

Now she understood why horror movie protagonists never just quietly run—they scream their lungs out.

Even though she knew well that the best way was to stay quiet, not move, and play dead, the panic made her want to run right away, creating a cognitive dissonance.

If she survived, one day she wanted to research this cognitive dissonance—lamenting her short education—as she wildly sprinted.

What was Floan doing in this situation?

Eventually, she tripped on a damn tree root and fell.

No, not just fell—her right ankle twisted completely.

She didn’t feel pain yet. Instead, she swallowed dryly in fear that the bear approaching at full speed would rip her organs apart.

She had come south to avoid dying in the cold north, only to get killed by a southern bear!

Instead of tears from fear, a half-crazed laugh began to emerge.

“Ah, ahaha. C-crazy… I still have so much to do, and yet I’m going to die so meaningless—”

Just as she squeezed her eyes shut, resigned to death,

The bear that had been roaring suddenly became quiet.

When she slowly opened her eyes, the bear was standing still, its front paw raised.

…What was going on?

“Aelin!”

Did bears talk? Or did it know her name?

At that moment, the bear, still motionless, staggered and collapsed right beside her, kicking up a huge cloud of dust.

“Kyaaah!”

On the bear’s back was the face of the person she’d been desperately searching for.

“…Fl-Floaan…? I’m not eaten…”

“Aelin, what the hell—”

Floan pulled the sword out of the bear’s neck and threw it away, then quickly helped Aelin to her feet.

“Are you okay, Aelin?”

“…”

He checked her carefully for injuries as she looked pale.

“I almost really died, huh.”

“If you scream like that running, other beasts will come, too. Thanks to that, I could find you.”

“Oh… I see.”

Floan looked at her with worry as she nodded blankly, eyes unfocused.

Trying to lighten the mood, he changed the subject.

“But still, it’s amazing. You didn’t even cry when the bear fell right in front of your eyes—”

Just as if waiting for that, a thick tear dropped from her big eyes.

“Waaaaah— I’m hungry, it’s cold at night, and I’m scared all alone—No, you said you’d go hunt a rabbit. You’re not crawling into a rabbit hole or anything, so why is it taking so long!”

Aelin burst into tears, unleashing all her frustrations.

“I was worried you might have been eaten by the bear! I still have so much to do and didn’t want to die like this— I didn’t come here to die so meaningless—”

At the moment she cried, overwhelmed by relief,

Floan suddenly hugged her tightly.

“W-what are you—”

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have left you alone. You were really scared, weren’t you? I’m sorry.”

As he said that, he gently patted her back.

“No need to hug me just because of that—”

“I’m comforting you.”

“Huh…”

“And hugging is warm, right?”

“…”

Is this how you comfort someone?

Is this southern style comfort?

Even if she didn’t quite get it, his embrace was definitely warm.

Still sniffling, Aelin quietly placed her hands on Floan’s waist.