Tame or Be Captured (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 016
Though he felt sorry for the brown horse he’d been practicing riding until now, Shephy was incomparably faster.
Asha’s eyes widened, and she let out a childlike, joyful laugh.
Trees blurred past at speeds too fast to see, and cold wind struck her face fiercely, yet she felt not the slightest fear—only a comforting sense of security.
It felt as if she could never possibly fall from this back—such was the stability she sensed.
Eventually, they arrived at a cliff blanketed thickly in clouds and mist, as if it were a dwelling place for immortals.
Jackal steadied his roughened breath and deeply inhaled the fresh air through his nose.
This was a place he occasionally visited alone when his thoughts weighed heavily on him, seeking quiet contemplation.
Gazing down at the sweeping landscape from here always gave him the feeling of being in another world entirely.
In spring, this snowy, mist-covered white expanse bloomed with flowers in every color.
Compared to that, the current scenery seemed rather drab, yet it still held enough charm to be called a breathtaking view in its own right.
It was perfect for a date.
Jackal briefly flushed at the thought of a date but confidently stepped forward, convinced she would surely love it.
However, seeing him stride recklessly toward the cliff edge, Asha’s face rapidly turned pale.
“She—Shephy, stop…!”
Jackal moved closer to the cliff’s edge to get a better view of the billowing clouds, but Asha was suddenly overwhelmed by memories of that day—her stomach churned, and her head spun dizzily.
Asha squeezed her eyes shut, threw herself forward, and clung tightly to Shephy’s neck.
Only then did Jackal freeze in place, eyes wide with shock.
He could feel her body trembling faintly as she buried her face against his neck.
“Shephy… I—I hate it here… Let’s go back now… okay?”
Hearing Asha’s quivering voice, Jackal guessed what had happened, and his blue eyes turned coldly grim.
She’d mentioned escaping the emperor and returning to the past—but he’d never imagined the method involved jumping off a cliff.
Just picturing that damned tyrant chasing her to the cliff’s edge, forcing her into such peril, made his teeth grind involuntarily.
Jackal quickly moved away from the cliff to help her feel safe again.
Only when the cliff was completely out of sight did Asha finally climb shakily down from his back.
Seeing her forehead already beaded with cold sweat, Jackal gave her a genuinely apologetic look.
He’d taken her out hoping to cheer her up, only to deliver the worst possible mood instead.
He felt bitter knowing that his precious memories with Shephy might now be tainted by this unpleasant association.
Perhaps he’d unknowingly hung his head gloomily, because Asha—her face still pale—forced a smile and gently stroked his mane.
“I’m sorry… It must’ve been a magnificent view, and you probably wanted to show it to me, but I have some bad memories tied to cliffs…”
Jackal closed and opened his eyes slightly with a soft “prurr,” signaling he understood.
Grateful, Asha gently stroked the bridge of his nose and his forehead.
Just then—
A distant horn call suddenly rang out, making Jackal snap his head up and stare intently in that direction.
Asha, also startled, murmured softly.
“That’s the patrol squad’s horn…”
Jackal was inwardly surprised yet again that she recognized the patrol’s horn call.
But this wasn’t the time to linger in astonishment.
Moments later, a brown hawk swooped toward them with a fluttering “thump.”
The hawk circled briefly in the air, unable to find a landing spot, then lightly perched on Jackal’s nose bridge.
Though the note was meant for the chief, Asha—who didn’t know Shephy was actually Jackal—mistook it for a letter addressed to her and untied the message from the hawk’s leg to read it herself.
Scrawled hastily on the paper, alongside a bloodstain, were the words:
“Bandits ambushing at the eastern canyon. Requesting backup. G”
The “G” stood for Geb.
Now that he looked closer, this hawk was indeed Geb’s usual one—he often proudly wore it perched on his shoulder like an accessory.
Asha immediately decided she must inform Jackal of this news, but realizing they were deep in the mountains, she feared returning now would make their aid arrive too late.
With a determined look, she reattached the note to the hawk’s leg and sent it flying back into the sky.
Raising both hands toward the departing hawk, she called out:
“Please deliver this to Mr. Jackal or Mr. Sosa!”
After releasing the hawk, Asha swiftly remounted Shephy’s back.
Jackal, who had been seriously pondering whether to revert to his human form, turned in surprise to look at her.
Asha gently stroked his mane and said earnestly,
“Shephy, let’s go help them.”
Jackal immediately shook his head at such recklessness, but Asha calmly replied,
“It’s okay. Trust me.”
With a resolute expression, Asha reached for the bow slung across her back.
Jackal couldn’t believe she—who’d once been unable to shoot even wild animals—could possibly shoot at humans.
While he hesitated, a sudden gust of wind rose from Asha’s hand gripping the reins, softly brushing through his mane.
“…Let’s go, Shephy.”
In that moment, her words felt like an irresistible command—and Jackal was already racing forward like a madman.
Rushing toward the location indicated by the hawk, they spotted Geb and a few patrol members surrounded far off by a bandit gang.
Geb sat slumped weakly on the ground, a trickle of blood running down his forehead.
His leg appeared injured—likely struck by an arrow.
When the sound of galloping hooves reached them from afar, the lookout bandits turned and cried out in shock:
“It’s Lycaon!”
Geb, too, lifted his blurry gaze—and his eyes widened.
Asha, steady atop her wildly galloping horse, had already drawn her bowstring taut toward them.
Her golden hair whipped fiercely backward in the wind, and her violet eyes gleamed with intensity.
Without hesitation, Asha loosed an arrow toward the bandits.
“…Aaagh!”
Jackal carefully ensured she maintained her balance as he charged swiftly through the encirclement.
A new light shone in Asha’s eyes.
‘Now I won’t hesitate to save someone.’
In her past life, on the day her minority village was massacred, she’d been paralyzed by fear and fled mindlessly.
How many times had she regretted it—if only she’d realized sooner that she was a butterfly, that she possessed this power?
Though she still couldn’t bring herself to take lives needlessly, she now felt certain she could save lives without hesitation.
And at the moment she made that resolve, her butterfly power grew even stronger.
Asha loaded arrows onto her bow with blinding speed, sending them flying one after another.
To an onlooker, it seemed as if she were shooting arrows haphazardly—but astonishingly, every single shot struck its mark.
Golden wind relentlessly swirled around her hands and arrows.
That wind ensured each arrow hit precisely where she willed, no matter how casually released.
Wind-infused arrows pierced the bandits’ skin like whirlwinds.
Jackal felt an inexplicable thrill and grew even more excited, galloping wildly.
Fortunately, the bandits weren’t too numerous, and Asha managed to defeat them all on her own.
After finishing off the last bandit, Asha swept her long hair back with a tough gesture and looked down at Geb.
“Are you all right?”
Geb stared up at her, mouth agape in dumbfounded awe.
All around her lay groaning bandits sprawled on the ground.
After stammering for a moment, Geb finally asked,
“How did you even know to come here? I specifically sent a note to the chief…”
Beside him, Jackal flinched slightly, but Asha answered calmly,
“We found your hawk while Shephy and I were out for a stroll.”
Geb let out a dry chuckle.
The absurd name “Shephy” was funny enough, and the word “stroll” felt wildly out of place in this situation—but what really stunned him was that she recognized his hawk.
Noticing his injury, Asha rushed forward in alarm.
“You’re hurt! Let me see!”
“…It’s fine. Don’t fuss over me, sister.”
“Sister…?”
Asha blinked in surprise.
His form of address had shifted from “Your Highness” to “Miss,” and now it was “sister.”
Though she’d never been called “sister” by a man before, Asha seriously pondered it.
‘Is that… a good thing? Still, “sister” sounds stronger than “miss,” right?’
Geb, equally serious, continued,
“I let my guard down. Never thought those bastards would target the patrol squad…”
“They probably intended to use you as bait.”
Geb looked slightly taken aback by Asha’s reply.
“…What?”
“They likely wanted to force us into negotiations by using you as bait.”
Unconsciously, Asha had already started referring to Lycaon as “us,” but Geb was too flustered to notice and asked,
“How could you possibly know that?”
Asha gave a faint, bitter smile.
“It’s obvious. What would they gain by killing you? At best, they’d incur the chief’s wrath and face annihilation. This is probably revenge for last time—they must want something bigger and more valuable than the supplies Lycaon took back then. Don’t ask how I know. I’ve been through enough to read their minds without even looking. I’ve suffered at their hands many times myself.”
“…”
Geb grew solemn at her last words.
It seemed he’d greatly misunderstood her all along.
He’d assumed she lived a sheltered, carefree life like a princess—but clearly, she, too, had weathered countless trials.
Lost in thought, he suddenly met eyes with the horse behind her.
The horse, with eyes uncannily similar to the chief’s blue ones, slowly blinked once—as if confirming, “Your thoughts are correct.”
“…?”
Geb blinked in confusion at the horse’s oddly human-like expression, then jumped in surprise because of Asha.
Without warning, Asha pulled out a handkerchief and began staunching the bleeding on his leg.
Too flustered to protest, Geb could only blink as Asha focused solely on tying a firm knot.
“Once we get back to the village, we’ll treat your wound first. If it gets infected, you might not walk properly for a long time—and then the chief will scold you.”
At her last remark, Geb couldn’t help but laugh.
They rode back to the village together.
After a long silence, Geb spoke almost to himself,
“…You were pretty cool back there, sister.”
Asha turned to look at him and asked,
“But will you keep calling me ‘sister’ from now on?”
Geb raised an eyebrow playfully and asked with a sly grin,
“What? Is that not allowed?”
“Then I’ll call you however I like, too.”
Asha closed her eyes with feigned aloofness and declared,
“Since you owe me your life, you’re buying my meal today, older brother.”
Geb chuckled.
“Fair enough.”
Just then, Shephy let out a disgruntled “prurr.”
He was secretly jealous of their cheerful mood.
Asha quickly soothed him, gently stroking his mane as she said,
“Let’s get you fed soon, Shephy. You really worked hard today.”
Geb watched her quietly for a moment, then asked,
“Did the chief give you that horse?”
Jackal flinched.
Male lead reborn without memories — but he still falls for her.
The person he finds displeasing in this life turns out to be his cherished wife-master in previous life…
Xie Zhi and Fang Xianxing who had known each other for less than three days through a blind date sat in the same car in front of the civil affairs bureau. They had a disagreement and failed to get married.
Xie Zhi immediately took out his phone, slid through his contacts, and randomly selected the next marriage candidate.
The woman snatched his phone and hung up. Looking at his phone wallpaper, she awkwardly changed the subject: “An ancient painting, eh? It looks pretty good, it’s just that the person in the painting looks a bit like me.”
When he heard this, he sarcastically mocked her for being so delusional, completely unaware that, the person in front of him was the reincarnation of Wen Ru, the famous prime minister of Yuan Shun whom he most admired…
The female CEO who doesn’t want to get married with a divorce agreement in hand × The male archaeological researcher who will only get married if he’s sure he can get divorced
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.