GDTN 15

Chapter  15

Selene was in the middle of replying, driven by some lingering sense of obligation.

“…I’ve never done it before.”

As soon as she finished speaking, her head tilted and she swayed, collapsing forward.

Baras caught her and pulled her into his arms so she would lean against him. It was a completely different outcome from her earlier confident attitude toward alcohol.

She must be terribly weak to alcohol; her shallow, uneven breaths made her seem both pitiful and strangely endearing.

He recalled everything from the time he first brought Selene here up to the present.

The week before the wedding. The wedding night. And the week after.

He didn’t know who, how, or why. But he did know when.

On the day of the wedding. Especially from the wedding night onward, Selene had changed.

Baras was certain. That was the moment.

He hypothesized that this woman might be a “witch.” It wasn’t the first time he had felt vaguely bewitched by her; perhaps it hadn’t been a coincidence after all.

Baras couldn’t even push away the woman now leaning against his chest, occasionally rubbing her face against him, and he sat motionless for a long time like a statue, waiting for the carriage.

Her fragile, rabbit-like body wouldn’t be able to endure riding a horse for long. And if she drank alcohol again, a carriage would be even more necessary for the return trip, so he had already ordered a comfortable, cushioned carriage in advance.

Since the sun was already setting, Zahrt should arrive with the carriage soon.

Later

The sun had completely set and the air had grown cold, but still no carriage sound could be heard in the distance.

By now, Selene had completely melted into Baras as if she were dissolving like sugar.

Her body began to tremble slightly, then she pressed further into him.

“…Uuung. Cold…”

She began to whimper and cling to his waist with both arms. Baras, who had been holding perfectly still, felt something snap in his mind.

As if it weren’t already exhausting enough, this woman was lighting a fire in his nerves.

He swallowed a sigh and pulled his cloak around her. Carefully, he removed her arms from around him and lifted her into his arms.

She was lighter than expected, despite how much she had drunk. Thinking this, he carried her carefully into the log cabin, making sure not to wake her.

Inside the cabin was only a fireplace. It hadn’t even been built for proper use in the first place.

The problem was that there was no firewood.

He would have to lay her down on the hard floor and go out to gather fuel.

Just as he gently set her down and pulled his arm away from behind her head, she suddenly shifted.

She used his arm like a pillow, rubbing her cheek against it as she searched for a comfortable position. Baras froze completely, like a moth caught in a spiderweb.

Why was he so helpless before this woman? She really must be a witch.

If this woman was a witch, then where was the “real Selene”?

Could he even find her?

As the cold wind inside the cabin faded, Selene, who had briefly stopped trembling, reached out again as if cold.

Seeing her fingertips, Baras opened his vest and lay down on his side, spreading it open like a blanket.

The woman in front of him seemed to understand immediately and slipped her hand inside his vest, pressing closer.

At that soft, unfamiliar sensation against his body, Baras let out a short breath he couldn’t suppress.

“…Ha.”

Startled by the sound, he closed his mouth and stared into the distance.

Selene was clearly wearing clothes. Thin, yes, but still clothed. He had also covered her with his cloak. And yet, what was this impossible sensation?

In his eyes, Selene was nothing more than a small, frail, undernourished woman.

…She was a witch. There was no doubt. He didn’t know what she had done to him, but she was undeniably uncanny.

After a long struggle with himself, he closed his eyes tightly. No matter how many times he tried to steady his racing heart, it didn’t work.

In the end, he pulled her fully into his arms using his vest and held her tightly.

Every instinct in him screamed to crush her against his chest, but he restrained himself, afraid she might wake up or suffocate.

At this point, he didn’t care anymore.

Even if she was a witch, it didn’t matter.

If a peerless witch could swallow an empire, then what was a man like him in comparison?

Baras held her firmly and surrendered himself to the sensations overwhelming him. The slight movements from within his arms were strangely pleasant.

Whenever she shifted, the soft pressure against him deepened, and he would once again be forced to take a deep breath, though he never loosened his grip.

Eventually, as if giving up, she relaxed her body completely.

Then she moved again—this time placing her knee against his leg.

Baras’s eyes flew open in shock. While he was still trying to process what had happened, Selene settled her weight onto one of his legs and went still again.

He could no longer think straight. Her presence overwhelmed him completely, as though she was dismantling him piece by piece.

Had stimulation stolen all sense of time?

While Baras was locked in an internal battle, dawn began to break outside.

Day 9

Just before he lost his sanity completely, he was relieved to see the sun rise.

Carefully, he removed his arm from behind Selene’s head.

Then he took off his vest and draped it over her before quickly stepping outside.

He inhaled the cold morning air deeply and stretched. It had been… an extremely difficult night.

Just in case she came out and felt cold again, he prepared to make soup and hung a pot over the firepit when he heard the sound of a carriage approaching in the distance.

Zahrt drove the carriage while feeling extremely tense.

His anxiety had begun the previous evening, but he still delayed departure until dawn.

Anna had told him to arrive at sunrise, so he had followed that order—but he couldn’t help thinking it would have been better to leave the day before.

Even if I get beaten, I’ll survive. They’re not going to kill me, right?

As he approached the small cabin, which felt like the gate to hell, he was surprised to see his lord in an unexpectedly calm mood.

After bowing, he was called over.

Baras spoke in a low voice, almost a whisper.

“Investigate any witches or sorcerers who were in the North around my wedding.”

Confused, Zahrt agreed.

Baras continued, increasingly frustrated.

“Selene seems to have been replaced on the wedding day. We need to find the ‘real Selene.’”

Zahrt was shocked.

“That’s impossible. There was no sign of intrusion in the inner estate.”

Baras nodded slowly. A thought had already occurred to him.

“It may not be a physical replacement. Her soul may have been switched. If we find the witches or sorcerers who were in the North at that time, it may help us locate the real Selene.”

As Zahrt processed this, he suddenly stood up.

“Your Highness, she’s coming out!”

Selene, brushing her slightly disheveled hair, stepped outside and froze at the unfamiliar voice.

Seeing her unguarded appearance, Baras’s eyes sharpened.

He immediately stood, walked toward her, took the dress and coat Zahrt had prepared, and pushed her back into the cabin.

He had no intention of letting her outside in those tight riding clothes.

“Change into this.”

Once she was inside and the door closed, Baras suddenly became distracted, wondering where the dress strings were and whether they were tied at the back—if so, should he go in and help her?

A short while later, Selene came out neatly dressed on her own and returned his vest.

Baras accepted it and put it on.

“Zahrt Hain Ogerus, Viscount. You will see him often, so remember his face.”

Selene nodded. She vaguely remembered him from the original story—he had only appeared briefly. They said he was as much of a madman as his lord.

She smiled politely at Zahrt, who returned a friendly grin.

“Nice to meet you. I look forward to working with you.”

At that moment, Baras and Zahrt’s gazes collided sharply in midair. It lasted only an instant, and Zahrt quickly bowed again so she wouldn’t notice.

Zahrt had personally brought Selene from her homeland to Bellias. They had spoken several times before the wedding.

And yet she was treating him like someone she had never seen before.

There was no need for further testing. No further evidence was required.

Selene’s Perspective

When Baras had covered her with his vest and left, Selene had woken up at the sound of the door and cold wind slipping in.

However, she was so drunk she had no memory of what had happened and couldn’t bring herself to go outside.

She tried to get up, but her entire body ached. Apparently horseback riding really was a full-body workout.

She didn’t know it, but Selene’s original body was actually accustomed to riding; the soreness came from extreme tension.

She pulled the vest up over herself, covering even her nose. It was so large it could replace a blanket, and it carried a faint woody scent.

As if she were being held in someone’s arms, she quietly enjoyed the feeling.

Then she heard a carriage outside.

Maybe Anna had arrived.

Through muffled voices, she caught fragments of conversation.

“…real Selene?”

She held her breath and moved closer to the wall where she could hear better.

“…soul… replaced… find Selene…”

Piecing together the words she could hear clearly, she concluded:

“They’re looking for the real Selene whose soul was swapped.”