Tame or Be Captured (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 010
The horse came to its senses and immediately took a stiff step backward.
At that human-like expression, Asha suddenly burst into laughter.
“You’re the one, aren’t you?”
Without hesitation, Asha approached the horse and gently stroked its muzzle.
Frozen in place, the horse cautiously glanced at her from time to time, accepting her touch.
“Good boy, that’s right.”
While stroking its mane, Asha suddenly noticed something and asked in surprise,
“You’re wet? If you don’t dry off properly in this dead of winter, you’ll catch a cold.”
Asha quickly fetched a large towel, placed it over the horse’s head, and began drying its coat.
At her delicate touch, Jackal, hidden beneath the towel, lowered his head and—unaware—felt his cheeks flush.
At that moment, he felt truly fortunate to be in the form of a horse with ash-gray fur.
Asha tied the towel cutely under its chin like a red hat and said with a smile,
“Thank you for bringing me here.”
When the horse peeked up at her from under the towel, Asha spoke wistfully,
“This is the first time in my life someone came to save me. Everyone else only ever came to capture or kill me…”
Asha briefly wore a bitter expression, then forced a bright tone as she asked,
“By any chance… did you come looking for your master?”
“…Hmmph.”
The horse snorted in reply.
“But what should we do…? I stormed out in anger earlier. Still, if we wait, he’ll come back someday. Until then, stay with me.”
Asha led the horse onto the carpet and sat down, then gently stroked its back, which was rigid with tension.
Having been alone in the imperial palace for so long, she’d always longed for someone she could caress like this.
Jackal lay quietly on the carpet, hearing her mention his anger, and peeked up at her with curious eyes.
He wondered if he’d really looked that furious earlier.
But Asha, mistaking his expression for puzzlement, sighed and said,
“…I think I must’ve made your master hate me. Maybe we’ll never meet again—not even you and me.”
At those words, the horse unconsciously shook his head side to side.
Asha smiled and asked,
“You disagree?”
“Hmmph.”
“Thank you. You’re all I have.”
Asha glanced around, then fetched some water in a bowl and held it out.
“I wish I could give you something, but this isn’t even my home, so I’ve got nothing to offer. For now, just drink some water here until your master returns, okay?”
For a moment, the horse seemed hesitant—but soon flicked out his tongue and slowly drank the water.
He wasn’t sure if it tasted so sweet because he’d sweated heavily from the bath… or simply because Asha had given it to him.
Asha watched him with a soft smile, then murmured quietly,
“In my next life… I’d rather be reborn as a horse than a butterfly…”
The horse looked at her in confusion, so Asha faintly added,
“Because as a horse, I could go anywhere freely. In this life… death was the only escape I had…”
At those words, the blue in Jackal’s eyes grew sorrowful.
Asha lay down beside the horse and gently stroked its muzzle again as she said,
“I’m not your master, but… I wish you’d come stay by my side like this sometimes. Somehow, I feel like you really understand what I say.”
The horse answered by closing his eyes tightly once, then opening them again.
“Today, I accidentally said something to your master that I never could’ve said face-to-face. I’ll apologize properly when I see him again. In this life… I’ll definitely make sure that man doesn’t get captured and killed by the emperor…”
Asha muttered on like this until, lulled by the alcohol, she drifted off to sleep.
Now, only the sound of her gentle breathing filled the room.
Once certain she was fast asleep, a human-shaped shadow suddenly rose from atop the fireplace.
Jackal carefully lifted Asha from the carpet and carried her to his bed.
Deeply intoxicated, Asha didn’t stir even through his movements.
He stood beside the bed for a long while, gazing down at her with a complex expression.
Then, raising one hand, he gently swept a few strands of hair that had fallen onto her face behind her ear.
Just then—
“Chief, are you in here? I heard you were at the bathhouse, but you weren’t there…”
Sosa opened the door—and his eyes widened at the sight of Jackal standing completely nude before Asha.
His beast-like body, the sharply defined split of muscles along his back, and the contoured bronze curve of his hips below all burned sharply into Sosa’s vision.
Jackal turned calmly toward the doorway and asked in a low voice,
“…Are we animals or something? Why does our organization have so many people who don’t know how to knock?”
“Ah—sorry… Well, have a good time, then…”
As Sosa carefully closed the door to leave, Jackal strode over and firmly grasped the doorknob.
“Good time, nothing. I need to talk to you. Spend tonight with me.”
“…Huh?”
Sosa’s eyes went wide.
Realizing his words had come out oddly again, Jackal growled, “Damn it…” and ran a hand roughly through his hair.
Sosa, blushing awkwardly, averted his gaze and said,
“Could you at least put some clothes on first?”
“…Wait a moment.”
Jackal hastily threw on some clothes hanging nearby and stepped outside with him.
The cold night breeze swept through his hair—but thanks to Asha’s careful drying, he didn’t feel particularly chilled.
After a moment of hesitation, Sosa carefully asked,
“But… why were you naked in the first place…?”
Jackal shot him a sidelong glance and replied casually,
“What, can’t I be naked in my own house?”
Sosa rolled his eyes.
“It’s not that… but rumors are already spreading among the members. Acting like this—how can people not misunderstand?”
Jackal, slightly annoyed, raked his fingers through his hair again.
“I didn’t have any clothes with me. Did you expect me to walk from the bathhouse to my room stark naked? That rumor would be even more ridiculous.”
“Oh.”
Sosa nodded seriously, as if this were a grave matter.
Jackal rubbed his forehead, then murmured quietly,
“…She stroked my head.”
Sosa let out a soft chuckle, prompting Jackal to glare at him.
“If Lady Asha knew that horse was actually you—and that you were standing there stark naked—what do you think her reaction would be?”
Sosa giggled again, clearly amused by the mental image.
Jackal stared straight ahead with a stern face and said flatly,
“I’ll take that secret to my grave.”
“So you intend to keep lingering around Lady Asha in horse form from now on?”
“…Yes. She seemed to speak her true feelings openly in front of the horse today. It might be good to visit occasionally in that form for reconnaissance. She even seemed to wish I’d come by often…”
“You sly horse, you.”
When Jackal scowled at him, Sosa merely blinked innocently, as if to say, “Did I just say something strange?”
Jackal soon looked ahead again and spoke.
“I plan to accept Asha into Lycaon.”
Sosa’s eyes widened slightly.
“Is that true?”
“But not as my mate—she’ll join as a hunter, according to her own wishes. I intend to train her rigorously from now on.”
Jackal walked on as he spoke.
“Tell Geb to come to the headquarters.”
“Yes.”
Sosa recalled what had happened at the hideout earlier.
Jackal was surely summoning Geb to interrogate him about today’s incident.
Jackal had already arrived at the headquarters and was alone, organizing his thoughts—when shortly after, Geb entered the hall.
With arms crossed, Jackal leaned casually against the wooden table used for strategy meetings and glanced toward the door.
Geb’s face was flushed, his eyes bloodshot—clearly still drunk.
As Geb stepped forward and stood straight, Jackal asked calmly,
“Do you know why I called you here?”
Geb answered evenly,
“To interrogate me about what happened earlier, I assume.”
“I called you to apologize.”
“…?”
Taken aback, Geb looked up at him with slightly widened eyes.
Jackal continued calmly,
“I heard from Sosa—there were signs of intruders near the village boundary.”
“…Yes.”
“In a situation where the organization itself could be at risk, I accepted a stranger without reason—so I understand why you’d feel frustrated and angry, from your position as patrol captain.”
“…”
Indeed, ever since discovering signs of intrusion as patrol leader, Geb had been on edge.
“I’m sorry for grabbing you by the collar like that out of nowhere earlier.”
At this sincere apology, Geb relaxed his expression, lowered his gaze, and said,
“I also spoke too harshly earlier. I’m sorry for provoking her first and even giving her that strong liquor. Is she alright now?”
“She passed out.”
“…”
Geb sighed, as if he’d expected as much.
Even someone like himself—who could hold his liquor well—was this disoriented; there was no way she’d be fine.
Jackal looked at him seriously and continued,
“I intend to bring her into the organization—not as my mate, but as a hunter. That decision won’t change.”
Geb hesitated, then lifted his head with a hint of caution and asked,
“Why? Give me a reason I, as patrol captain, can accept.”
Unable to reveal Asha’s secret, Jackal paused thoughtfully before speaking gravely,
“She’s no ordinary woman.”
To him, this was an extremely cautious answer—but Geb, flabbergasted, let out an involuntary laugh.
Jackal narrowed his eyes slightly.
“Are you mocking me?”
“No. If you’re this serious, there must be something to it. It does make me wonder why she so boldly declared to me earlier that she’d join the patrol team.”
“She said she’d join the patrol team?”
Surprised—he hadn’t heard this before—Jackal asked, and Geb replied with a lazy smile,
“Yes. She was already treating me like a comrade, so things just… led to me giving her that strong drink.”
“The patrol team…”
Jackal rubbed his chin with feigned seriousness, then finally declared,
“She’d suit it well.”
Geb’s laugh died mid-breath, his mouth hanging open in genuine disbelief.
But Jackal remained composed as he added,
“She’ll do well.”
Geb asked incredulously,
“How can you be so sure? There’s never been a female hunter in Lycaon before.”
The patrol team consisted of the organization’s most agile members and undertook missions fraught with unpredictable danger.
Jackal swallowed the words “Because she’s a butterfly” and instead said,
“I have my reasons. Just as I trust you.”
“…”
Caught off guard by the unexpected weight of those words, Geb blinked dumbly.
Jackal gave his shoulder a few firm pats and said,
“Take good care of her from now on. Who knows? She might save your life someday.”
Geb snorted.
“That won’t happen. What could I possibly have done to owe my life to her?”
Jackal said nothing, only fixed him with a steady gaze.
Under that look, the smile slowly faded from Geb’s lips.
He was dead serious.
Ex-husband Wants Reconciliation
One-line summary: Chasing the wife to the crematorium (making an effort to attract someone who has become indifferent), the female lead doesn’t look back, the second male lead takes the position.
Intro:
To repay the kindness of the older generation, Su Mu crossed into a female-dominated world and became a live-in daughter-in-law of the Yan family, single-handedly saving the Yan family from fire and water.
But her husband, Yan Jiyue, the eldest son of the Yan family, treated her with sarcasm and never showed her a good face.
It wasn’t until after Su Mu’s death that this pampered and arrogant young master shed a few fake tears and pretended to want to die for love.
This life’s kindness was enough. If there was a next life, she would definitely kick Yan Jiyue away.
Who knew that the heavens would be so kind as to allow her to be reborn, returning to the time when she had just married into the Yan family.
Su Mu glanced at the Yan eldest son, who still spoke coldly to her, and threw a divorce letter in front of him.
“Let’s divorce!”
***
Yan Jiyue never imagined that he would be reborn. He happily went to find Su Mu, wanting to make up for the mistakes he had made in his ignorant youth.
Wasn’t the reason the heavens allowed him to be reborn to let him reconcile with Su Mu?
But when he pushed open the door to Su Mu’s room, the person lying on the bed was another man.
Su Mu’s personal attendant, Xie Yi.
Yan Jiyue hated him so much that his teeth itched. In front of Su Mu, Xie Yi was a gentle and considerate whisperer of sweet nothings, but in reality, he was vicious-hearted and deliberately sabotaged their husband and wife relationship.
In the previous life, it was he who secretly hid in Su Mu’s coffin and committed suicide, stealing a step ahead of him to be buried with Su Mu.
Yan Jiyue’s eyes were filled with hatred as he cursed, “What kind of thing are you? Your background is lowly, what right do you have to occupy Su Mu?”
Xie Yi looked at the sleeping Su Mu and no longer pretended to be a whisperer of sweet nothings.
He proudly stuck out his belly, “I have the right because my belly is capable of giving the Wife-master a daughter.”
***
Yan Jiyue was consumed with jealousy. He spread rumors that Xie Yi had once been branded with the mark of a “harlot” on his chest.
But on the night Xie Yi cut off the flesh bearing that mark, Su Mu suddenly realized something was amiss.
“How did you know the exact moment I was poisoned? And why did you show up a month early?”
Xie Yi remained silent, blood from his wound soaking through his robes. His sapphire eyes brimmed with anguish – or was it just a flawless act?
Between a once-arrogant husband now seeking redemption, and a gentle soul willing to die for her – who truly held the darkest secrets? And could it be that Su Mu and Yan Jiyue weren’t the only ones given a second chance at life…?
[Reading Guide]
1. True divorce, chasing the wife to the crematorium, the female lead doesn’t look back, the male lead is Xie Yi.
2. The ex-husband did not cheat, he just realized too late and didn’t realize that he liked the female lead.
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No way…did Karaf set up this situation with the assassin or kidnapping attempt to earn points?
Not practically, it is a form of torture. Jackel didn’t jump into the water on his own while tied to the boulder.
It seems backward that the Empress is invited to a Duchess’ tea party.