Suddenly, a question out of the blue made the aide swallow his saliva.

They say that’s the scariest thing for a woman to hear.

The aide quickly rolled his eyes, trying to figure out the situation.

“What, what are you talking about all of a sudden?”

“Just forget it. Go for a walk holding hands. Ah, can’t hold hands because you’re a horse, right?”

Asha ‘hmphed’ and turned her head sharply, striding away.

The aide’s eyes widened at her words, and he hastily opened the door and went inside.

“Captain! Did you by any chance tell Asha about my true identity?”

But the aide, who was about to get angry, stopped in his tracks, seeing Jackal sitting on the bed in a dejected pose.

“Oh my….”

The aide grabbed his forehead with one hand, his head aching.

(This is a time separator.)

‘I was completely fooled by the two wild horses.’

He got angry at the thought of them looking at his shabby self all this time and laughing inwardly.

But then, someone knocked on the door, ‘knock knock.’

Since there was no answer, a cautious voice came from outside.

“……Asha, it’s me, the aide……”

“What do you want?”

Asha’s words were sharper than the aide had thought, and he hesitated outside.

“That, I’m sorry for deceiving you…… You must have been shocked to find out that the Captain is a horse, and I’m ashamed to shock you again with such shocking news…… Please forgive me and the Captain……”

Asha sighed and said,

“Come in for now.”

The aide entered like a criminal, his shoulders slumped.

He was very sullen, as it seemed like the Captain’s successful companion welcome had turned into a failure again.

The aide folded his hands and spoke politely,

“If it’s okay with you, I’d like to tell you about our tribe in detail now.”

Asha was intrigued by his words but pretended not to be and coughed, “hem hem,” and said,

“Go ahead and talk. I’ll think about calming down after listening.”

The aide’s face brightened slightly.

“Really? Thank you for giving me a chance. As you may have guessed, our Kelpi tribe is…… in a situation where it’s almost extinct.”

Asha’s eyes widened at his words.

“Is that so……?”

“I’m the last descendant of the tribe along with the Captain.”

Asha was momentarily frozen in shock.

The aide sighed and continued his words.

“We were a tribe with fewer people than other tribes from the beginning, but, as you know, according to the custom of the minority tribe that we cannot marry within the same tribe, our Kelpi tribe found it difficult to leave descendants. I think you know why without me saying.”

Asha understood what that meant right away.

There would have been few women who did not leave when they found out that the man they were dating could transform into a horse.

“But there was one big event that led to the extinction of the tribe. It was when Chief Horak, the representative of the minority tribe that you know, sent the Kelpi tribe to war as warriors to protect the village.”

Asha was even more astonished, her mouth agape.

The aide spoke awkwardly,

“Of course, it must have been his great will to protect the minority tribe. He probably thought that the Kelpi tribe, who were robust and agile since childhood and could transform into horses, was perfect for serving as warriors for the village.”

“So…… did you leave the village because of that?”

“Yes. In fact, before we left, the chief and the Captain had a big fight. The chief said something harsh to the Captain. He said that all your tribesmen were massacred because you didn’t go on duty and continue the lineage.”

Asha was unable to say anything, shocked.

“The chief had pressured the Captain several times to serve as a warrior and go on secret missions. Since the Captain’s parents were the leaders of the Kelpi tribe, it was his turn to inherit their position after they passed away.”

Asha suddenly remembered the day when Jackal handed over the dagger, which was his parents’ heirloom.

‘That wasn’t a gift, it was more like a heavy duty.’
‘I have a sword that takes my breath away just by looking at it.’

He said that protecting the minority was his purpose in life, so one could only imagine how angry and absurd he must have felt.

Asha was at a loss for words, disappointed by the true face of the minority she had been proud of.

“The village chief has been trying to order the captain to do something, but I’m not the successor, so I don’t know the details. However, the captain was deeply wounded in his heart that day and decided to leave the village. The chief yelled at him to leave the village immediately if he wouldn’t fulfill the guardian’s duty.”

The lieutenant smiled bitterly.

“Before leaving the village, the captain asked me if I would go with him. It must have been the captain’s consideration. If I hadn’t left the village, all his duties would have been passed on to me. Maybe I would have been used as a horse for the warriors to ride on. I am a gentle horse who loves peace, so my combat ability is not very high compared to the captain.”