Only when the door closed did Jackal turn his head, gazing wistfully at the door but forcibly letting go.

He thought that if she lay next to him right now, something might truly happen.

And with his injured body, he couldn’t display his full abilities… No.

Jackal swallowed the thought quietly and pulled the blanket up to his chin.

(This is a time separator.)

The request date had approached.

The Ricaons went on a search together to find the missing minority children.

Jackal donned a deep blue cloak, pulling the hood tightly over his head.

In the current situation, the royal attention was concentrated on the northern region, particularly the minorities, so any rash action would likely lead to discovery.

But since all requests had to be finally decided by him, Jackal always met the client personally on such important matters.

Even though he was injured, he wouldn’t feel reassured until he saw things with his own eyes since Asha’s safety was involved.

The hood pulled down, his gaze fixed forward, a cold atmosphere flowed from him.

Asha watched him for a long time from the side.

Feeling her gaze, Jackal swiftly glanced at her with sharp eyes, then gave a small smile.

Looking at him, whose expression changed immediately when he saw her, Asha’s heart beat faster.

It was the same face as when they first met, but now his eyes looking at her were completely different, and her own feelings toward him had changed too.

Or perhaps, she didn’t realize it then, but maybe his words about love at first sight were true.

She wanted to ask him to take her along just like then, but knowing how concerned he was about this issue, Asha gave up and said something else.

“……Come back safely. If it’s dangerous, blow the horn right away. Then I’ll grab my bow and run to save you.”

At her words, Jackal chuckled, and the Ricaons made a noise like a wolf’s howl, whistling.

Before mounting his horse, Jackal walked over to Asha, gently took her face, and kissed her forehead, saying,

“I’ll be back.”

The Ricaons laughed and mounted their horses, even at their affectionate actions.

Asha, with a slightly flushed face, tightly held the necklace Jackal had given her.

And she gazed longingly at their receding figures.
As they completely disappeared from sight, Asha looked up at the sky with a worried face.

It was a day when dark clouds hung heavily, and the strong wind gave an ominous feeling.

(This is a time separator.)

The mercenaries arrived at the lakeside where they had agreed to meet the client.

The request document stated that the children had gone fishing in the lake and had not returned.

Since Asha had also not returned after going into the forest to gather food, it seemed like a similar situation, so the request had been made.

Dismounting from his horse, Wild horse Jackal spotted a man standing far away under a large zelkova tree, the promised meeting place.

“Is that the client?”

As he approached, the man flinched.

“……Yes, that’s correct.”

“Let’s confirm each other’s faces first.”

As Jackal took off his hat first, the man hesitated a moment before also removing his.

Brown hair with yellowish eyes.

He had the characteristics of the Nasun tribe.

Jackal’s guard was slightly lowered as he asked dryly.

“I didn’t expect that old man to request us.”

The man’s eyes widened at the comment.

“That’s…… actually, the village chief doesn’t know about this. This is a request I made to the mercenaries on my own.”

Jackal’s eyebrows shot up, a small reaction that caused the man to tremble in fear.

“You should know that we don’t accept individual requests without the village chief’s approval.”

“B, but…… I thought the village chief would not approve if I requested the mercenaries, so I had no choice……. I will pay as much as you want, please accept the request…….”

The man prostrated himself on the ground, imploring him desperately.

Watching him trembling pitifully as if paralyzed by fear, Jackal closed his mouth, and his adjutant also looked troubled beside him.

Certainly, the village chief would not be particularly interested in missing orphans whose origin wasn’t certain.

It was a common occurrence for minorities to be captured overnight, so they wouldn’t go looking for missing persons one by one.

And Asha was also on that list.

Jackal clenched his fist, unseen.

If the people missing from the village had not been ordinary citizens but tribal chiefs, would the village chief Horak have remained idle?

If he had known that Asha was in danger, would he have left her in such peril?

No. He would have tried to find even a small clue. Even if it meant sacrificing another person in the village…….

Knowing his discriminatory nature well, Jackal’s expression hardened.

He had hoped to use this opportunity to talk directly with the chief and try to resolve the feelings that had built up over the past.

But as expected, the chief was not the kind of person to apologize first or create an opportunity for reconciliation.

He had turned his back first, so it would have been the end if Jackal had done the same, but Jackal wanted to show that he was a different person.

“……Is this the place where the children disappeared?”

The client’s eyes widened at that, having given up hope.