Farewell to the hero! chapter 20

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“Is this all your luggage?”

“Yes.”

Sehir checked my belongings and added them to the bundle already loaded on the black horse.

The horse, unfazed by the added weight, continued to bury its head in the feed trough.

It seemed its gluttony outweighed its physical fatigue.

“Wait here for a moment. I’ll be right back.”

Soon after, Kaindel said he had something to discuss with Sehir and disappeared, leaving me alone.

Standing there idly, I carefully surveyed the stable area.

The others…

I glanced around, curious about the whereabouts of the others, and spotted Ruen leisurely enjoying the shade of a nearby tree.

When our eyes met, Ruen immediately furrowed his brow harshly.

“Tch.”

The sharp sound, which I hadn’t heard in a while, almost made me flinch.

I didn’t have any complaints, though, since Ruen had always openly disliked me.

Even if he had agreed to travel with me, there was no way he’d suddenly change his attitude after being hostile toward me from the start.

Still, we’d be seeing each other every day, and I didn’t want things to be awkward between us.

After some hesitation, I took out the bread Helen had given me.

From what I had observed in the dining hall, Ruen seemed to like food.

I intended to use that to my advantage.

“Hey.”

“What?”

Ruen, about to cross his arms in annoyance, paused when he saw the bread.

Before he could lose interest, I quickly tore the bread in half.

I had aimed for a perfect split, but one piece ended up being bigger than the other.

I had no choice but to offer the larger piece to Ruen and asked, “Would you like some?”

His brown eyes, which had been scrutinizing me, filled with confusion.

“You want me to eat that?”

“Yes.”

“That?”

“Oh, do you not like bread?”

That couldn’t be right.

I dropped my gaze from Ruen’s piercing stare.

As the soft, white interior of the bread filled my vision, the awkwardness of the situation grew.

The confidence I had slowly withered under the weight of the silence.

Maybe I should’ve just given his the whole thing.

As I was contemplating, holding the remaining piece of bread, Ruen scratched his head roughly and said, “Fine. Give it here.”

The hand that had been ruffling his red hair irritably snatched the bread away.

His narrowed eyes gleamed sharply as if trying to determine what the bread was made of.

He stared at it for so long that I thought she might throw it away.

I looked up at his in silence.

His expression, one of annoyance as if he were dealing with an unwanted task, left an impression.

I would have preferred a “thank you,” but I was grateful enough that he even accepted it.

After all, this meant there was now a slight chance of getting closer to the person who disliked me the most in our group.

However, just as Ruen hesitated, a hand appeared out of nowhere and snatched the bread away.

“Oh.”

It was only then that I noticed the tall figure standing behind me.

I couldn’t believe I hadn’t noticed his presence earlier.

I tried to step away from the looming shadow, but something blocked me.

From the faint sensation, I easily guessed it was someone’s chest.

I tilted my head in confusion and saw Kaindel biting into the piece of bread he had taken.

At the same time, the strength drained from my left hand, which still held the remaining half of the bread.

Had he already finished his conversation with Sehir?

I didn’t even have time to be surprised by his sudden appearance.

My wandering eyes caught Sehir, who was now talking with Daniel.

I could tell by the way Sehir paid us no attention that his conversation with Kaindel had indeed ended.

When I looked back at Kaindel, I saw myself reflected in his clear green eyes, tinged with a gray hue.

After devouring the bread in a flash, Kaindel chuckled and wrapped his arm around my waist.

“It tastes good.”

“You wretched bastard, Kaindel!”

Ruen, who had been dazed by the sudden turn of events, snapped in anger.

Like me, he had been slow to grasp the situation since Kaindel had taken the bread so casually.

“I’m too important to be called a wretch, don’t you think?”

Kaindel, watching Ruen’s outburst, tilted his head slightly.

His slow-blinking lashes made him seem harmless, but knowing him, I found it rather deceitful.

Ignoring the stream of indignant words spilling from Ruen’s mouth, he gently massaged my earlobe.

“I thought you weren’t going to eat it since you just kept staring.”

“Are you messing with me?”

“Why?”

His smile suddenly froze, his face turning cold and pale in an instant.

The hand that had been playing with my ear stopped.

The tense energy radiating from him, conveyed through the skin where we were touching, made me grab his thick arm around my waist with both hands.

But the fierce hostility that had been so blatant disappeared as soon as I blinked.

The slight smile he gave me after showing a flash of emotion was gentle, as if it had all been a misunderstanding.

With a voice that matched his newfound kindness, Kaindel asked softly, “You weren’t planning to refuse, were you?”

“…”

Ruen clenched and unclenched his fists repeatedly, as if someone had revealed a secret he was trying to hide.

His face twisted in frustration.

Watching him, I let out a sigh.

All my effort had been wasted, and it felt like I was back to square one.

The relationship I had hoped to improve seemed worse than before, leaving me feeling bitter.

My plan was to ask Ruen to watch over me on the journey, promising that I wouldn’t be a burden now that he had accepted the bread.

But Kaindel’s interference had thrown everything off course.

I sighed deeply, cursing the golden-haired nuisance.

I couldn’t understand why he was doing such childish things.

“It’s fine.”

Ruen stopped gnawing on his lips and turned away.

He seemed somewhat unsettled, maybe because he couldn’t find the right words to say to Kaindel.

Whatever the reason, it was an unexpected outcome given his personality.

I was surprised he didn’t start a fight with Kaindel.

For a moment, I thought I saw his flushed cheeks peeking through his red hair as it fluttered in the wind.

Was Ruen embarrassed?

The absurd thought faded before it could take root.

I had probably misread the situation because of his red hair.

I watched as Ruen walked toward the others before letting out a small groan from the tightening grip around my waist.

“Ugh.”

“Don’t cheat on me, Isa.”

Kaindel whispered playfully, stealing my attention once again.

His soft tone didn’t match the strange words he was using.

Thump, thump.

His warm breath tickled the nape of my neck, causing my heart to react.

I let out a dry laugh at my body’s overly honest response.

I even liked the way he was being so childish.

“I was just trying to get closer to his by giving his bread.”

“Get closer?”

“Yes, Ruen doesn’t like me. Since we’ll be traveling together, I figured I should do something.”

“Is that so?”

Satisfied with my explanation, I tried to break free from his embrace.

Maybe I had relaxed too much in his arms, because I felt dizzy as I tried to regain my balance on my own.

Rubbing the goosebumps off my neck, I shook my head.

Kaindel flashed me a bright smile as I moved away from him.

“Don’t waste your energy on things that aren’t necessary.”

Was he referring to the bread I gave Ruen?

I looked up at him curiously.

If that’s what he meant, then his logic was ridiculous.

For me, getting closer to Ruen wasn’t unnecessary but inevitable.

Since I had chosen to follow Kaindel, this was a challenge I would have to face.

So, I felt the need to push back.

“We’re going to see each other every day. I don’t want things to be awkward.”

“Then you should get an apology from his first, Isa.”

“…”

I was left speechless.

Kaindel’s words reminded me of something I had almost forgotten, and my resolve crumbled like snow melting in the sun.

“No matter how much effort you put in, Ruen’s insults won’t disappear.”

“How do you know if his words are just insults or not?”

“Because I’m the one who needs you.”

“Ruen’s right. The information I have was just overheard. It’s not trustworthy…”

“Think about why you ended up feeling that way.”

“…”

I finally understood why Kaindel had been acting so forcefully.

And in that moment of clarity, I realized that his childish actions, though not what I had wanted, were still done for my sake.

He just didn’t know how to express it properly, which left me at a loss for words.

“Just don’t do this next time. I can handle it myself.”

“Have you ever ridden a horse?”

My dry lips parted slightly as I carefully strung together my plea, only for it to be ignored by Kaindel, who had already moved on to another topic.

I considered pointing out his dismissive attitude toward my request, but I quickly gave up.

Kaindel was always like this.

He did things that made no sense to me yet somehow made me understand, and did things that made it impossible not to hate him, yet I couldn’t bring myself to.

In front of Kaindel, I always ended up losing.

“Have you ever ridden a pony?”

I pondered over his question and shook my head.

The horses, now having emptied their feed buckets, were grazing on the grass.

Could their enormous appetites be the reason they grew so big?

Anyway, I’d never ridden anything larger than a pony, and even that was an experience from my early childhood.

“A pony, huh?”

Kaindel muttered, letting out a deflating laugh before bringing over the black horse we had seen earlier.

The horse, well-maintained with its glossy mane, obediently followed Kaindel without a hint of rebellion.

“Ponies and regular horses are different. Plus, the horse we’re riding is a Holsteiner breed, which is particularly difficult to handle.”

“Holsteiner?”

“They’re famous for their agility. They’re also known as war horses. Never heard of them?”

“No, this is the first time.”

I knew various ingredients but was completely ignorant about horse breeds.

I hadn’t even known that something like the Holsteiner breed existed until today.

Suddenly, curiosity flared up inside me.

Despite its muscular build, it was known for agility—that was fascinating.

“As fascinating as it is, don’t get too close. If it kicks you with its hind legs, it’ll be a real headache.”

Kaindel stepped in front of me, blocking my approach as I instinctively drew closer to the horse.

The horse’s body concealed behind his shoulder as he moved aside.

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