IRER 18

Chapter 18

Attending to the Grand Duke

Happy moments passed all too quickly.

Brodie, having regained her senses (?), pushed him away and slipped out of his arms.

Feeling a pang of regret, Aidan let her go.

“Are you alright?”

However, her voice was still shaky with sobs.

“I’m fine. Perfectly fine.”

Aidan smiled, trying to reassure her.

But he soon realized it was pointless.

It was too dark to see each other’s expressions.

So he fumbled forward with both hands until he found her face, then pressed his forehead gently against hers.

“See? I’m very much alive.”

When their noses brushed, Brodie shivered as though jolted by electricity.

This wasn’t the time to be like this.

She felt as if she might lose her mind if she wasn’t careful.

Trying to hide her flustered state, Brodie shoved him away with a flare of temper.

“Good for you that you’re alright. I don’t even know if I’m dead or alive right now.”

She reached upward.

From far above the cliff, faint greenish-blue lights, like fireflies, drifted gently down toward them.

Aidan watched the descending lights with an entranced expression. They reminded him of softly falling northern snowflakes.

But when one of the glowing orbs floated closer, Aidan finally realized what it was.

They were flower petals soaked in light.

The fluttering petals cascaded around them and even between them, piling softly at their feet.

Aidan reached out and caught one.

Bathed in the bluish warm light, they could finally make each other out.

The faint glow shimmered in Brodie’s eyes, making them sparkle with a mysterious beauty.

Aidan wondered if this might all be a dream.

It felt like the two of them were the only people in this dark world.

He thought, even if this moment lasted forever, it would be alright.

Brodie, too, couldn’t tear her eyes away from the falling petals for a while—even though it had all been her doing.

Just then, a petal that had caught her gaze fluttered down and landed on Aidan’s head.

Naturally, her eyes followed it—and met Aidan’s.

He was gazing at her with warmth and a fond smile.

A look that said, “You’re so lovable I might go mad.”

Their eyes locked in a tangle of complicated feelings.

Brodie’s heart began to pound uncontrollably.

But she quickly shook her head to clear it.

There wasn’t much time.

“These are glow-petals. They absorb sunlight from above and glow for a little while. The light will fade soon.”

Using the faint light, she scanned their surroundings.

“Perfect. Just as I hoped.”

She murmured to herself with satisfaction.

Aidan looked around in amazement.

A thick layer of moss, about two hand spans deep, covered a three-meter radius around them.

That dampness that had soaked his back—it was the moss.

The moss had cushioned his fall and saved his life.

“Are you sure nothing’s broken?”

Aidan moved his limbs and checked his body.

“Seems I’m all in one piece.”

Brodie let out a sigh and nodded.

She removed her cloak and gathered as many glow-petals as she could onto it, lifting it up like a makeshift lantern.

It wasn’t enough to fully light the area, but it was enough to see where they were stepping.

More than anything, it created a beautiful, romantic atmosphere.

“Alright, let’s get going—oh!”

Just as Brodie tried to stand, she suddenly staggered hard.

Startled, Aidan caught her.

Now that she had removed her cloak, her soft dress left her bare skin directly exposed to his hand.

“Ahem… Are you alright?”

Trying to hide his reddening face, he asked.

“I… I’m not sure. I’ve never felt like this before.”

Maybe it was because she had used too much strength.

Or maybe because she had jumped off a cliff for the first time in her life.

Her vision spun, her legs wobbled—her body seemed desperate to collapse.

Seeing her lean into his hold, Aidan lifted her up without hesitation.

She didn’t resist. She doubted she could walk on her own anyway.

With Brodie in his arms and petals bundled against her, Aidan began walking.

It seemed the bottom of the vertical pit connected to a horizontally stretching cave.

Stepping carefully around slick rocks, they eventually saw a misshapen arch-shaped silhouette of light in the distance.

It was the exit.

As they neared it, the roaring sound of water filled their ears.

Crossing the boundary between darkness and light, Aidan stepped into the sunlight—and couldn’t believe his eyes.

A waterfall at least ten meters high cascaded before him.

The space was strange—not quite indoors or outdoors.

It was surrounded by cliffs like a circular arena, but the ceiling was open to the sky.

On one wall, a waterfall fell into a small lake below.

Small, but easily over 100 meters wide.

A hole in one side of the cliff wall acted as an exit, and the water seemed to flow out through it.

“Amazing.”

The words escaped his mouth at the sight.

And now that they were in the light, their own appearance was equally amazing.

Hair disheveled, skin scratched, clothes torn and soaked.

Having landed in moss, their bodies were stained with dark, damp patches.

Aidan gently set Brodie down by the water’s edge.

“Shall we wash up a bit?”

Brodie nodded.

He stared at the falling water with awe and joy in his eyes.

Then, stripping off his top, he strode into the water.

The scorching heat of the chase had drenched him in sweat.

Though he was used to the cold, the heat had been unfamiliar and exhausting.

The cool water was a lifesaver.

Realizing how dirty he was, he felt a flash of shame.

He had been wandering around like a madman searching for Brodie, without even washing.

And then he had picked her up like that?

She didn’t even complain about the smell—thank goodness.

He scrubbed himself thoroughly.

Brodie smiled faintly, watching the oddly cheerful Aidan.

She sat down where he had placed her and dipped her feet into the water.

The warmth of the sun helped, but as soon as the water touched her skin, she flinched and pulled back.

It felt like ice.

She wanted to wash off the moss but couldn’t bring herself to go in.

So she took a handkerchief from her cloak pocket and dipped it into the water, using it to wipe herself little by little.

Meanwhile, Aidan was marveling at how warm the water was.

“It’s this warm?”

In Iterhiel, his northern estate, water shortage wasn’t an issue—thanks to the glaciers.

But the cold prevented most plants from growing.

The mid-north region could grow some plants, but water was scarce—especially in drought years like this one.

Thinking of the barrenness of the north, he marveled at the richness of the south.

If he could, he’d bring some of this abundance back with him.

The north…

Suddenly, a heavy thought weighed down on him.

He trusted River, but he had to return quickly.

He turned to look at Brodie.

She was letting down her tangled hair, patting it with a towel.

Beautiful, but somehow uncomfortable.

He stepped closer and took the towel from her hands.

“Let me help.”

Brodie sighed with a look of resignation.

Meanwhile, Aidan was grinning from ear to ear like a fool.

He wiped her gently, carefully removing moss and grime from her exposed skin.

“So it’s the other way around today.”

At his comment, Brodie let out a short laugh.

“Even getting attended to by the Grand Duke himself.”

Aidan answered seriously, his face focused.

“This much is nothing.”

Then he saw her hands—and froze.

Her palms were covered in rope-burn-like wounds.

“I got them when I was climbing down the vines earlier. I knew there was moss below, but I was still too scared to just jump.”

“Don’t do that again. Watching you jump was scarier than falling myself.”

“So you wanted me to let you die?”

She had a point.

The cave floor was full of rocks.

If Brodie hadn’t jumped, if the moss hadn’t been there—Aidan wouldn’t have made it back to the north alive.

He had gambled when he leapt over that pit.

He wasn’t sure he could make it across—but Brodie had, so he assumed there had to be a way.

If she helped him, he’d live. If not, he’d die.

The gamble had paid off, but Aidan didn’t feel good about it.

He hadn’t expected her to risk this much.

But at the same time, he was glad.

She had gone that far to save him.

She didn’t want him to die.

That contradiction made Aidan scowl.

“Does your head hurt?”

“No. I took medicine this morning.”

“Oh, the medicine!“

Brodie suddenly smacked his arm.

Because he had taken off his shirt and was soaked, it made a loud, sharp sound.

It didn’t hurt much, but Aidan was so stunned by her unexpected outburst that he just stared at her.

“Do you know how hard it was to make that medicine? And you just wasted it?”

“S-sorry. I didn’t realize it was that hard to make…”

Brodie didn’t respond, unwilling to explain further.

She didn’t want to tell him exactly how the headache remedy worked.

Aidan smiled as he watched her pout.

People in the north usually kept their faces expressionless—so he was glad to see her emotions come through.

But then he suddenly turned his head away.

The thin southern clothes she wore were damp from the moss, clinging tightly to her body.

He tried his best not to look.

But her flushed face only added fuel to the fire.

“Flushed?”

Only then did he realize something was wrong with her.

Her body was hot, trembling, and her lips had turned a purplish blue.

“Brodie, why didn’t you say you weren’t feeling well?”

“I was just about to.”

She thought to herself, ‘Because I was happy.’ But said something else aloud instead.

Aidan panicked, pacing in place.

He’d seen many men get sick—but watching Brodie like this made her seem so delicate that she might vanish at any moment.

When he said that aloud, Brodie laughed.

Turning her gaze to the ground, she spoke.

Maybe it was the fever, but her face was burning red.

“Let’s go home. To my house.”