“Brody, stop.”

That day, at the sound of the command, Brody froze on the spot.

‘What? What’s going on…?’

Brody stood still, trembling.

It wasn’t just a description of how she felt.

Her body really didn’t move at all.

Along with a heavy sensation as if paralyzed, or turned to stone, a horrible feeling came over her as if bugs were crawling all over her body.

“Come here, Brody.”

Brody’s eyes widened. The light in her pupils flickered and shook.

‘That voice…?’

Coincidentally, the owner of the voice was not Aidan.

Earlier, she was too flustered by her sudden bodily reaction to recognize it.

But now, she knew for sure.

Who the owner of that voice was.

Brody slowly turned around. Her movements were unnatural and stiff.

Her cloudy eyes looked towards where the sound had come from.

But in her eyes, it was seen very clearly.

A selfconfident man with dazzling blonde hair.

“How…?”

Aidan blocked Brody’s path, a fierce expression on his face.

Duke Jax McCarthy stood tall and proud, legs spread, flaunting his cloak in front of them.

“Oh, what a jest fate plays on us. To come across you two on a chance stroll.”

Chance? Ha, that can’t be it.

Aidan furrowed his brows at his absurd line.

He hadn’t noticed Brody moving up to the tree, so he must have followed behind.

Embarrassed that he had to follow like a sneak after being unable to find Brody on his own, he rambled on like that.

Normally, he would have noticed he was being followed, but he was too focused on tracking Brody.

Although he was inferior to Jax in physical skill, Jax was, after all, a duke and one of the city’s top knights.

Stalking someone without being noticed wasn’t hard for him.

Aidan regretted underestimating Jax because of his exaggerated and pompous personality.

Jax, like an actor on stage, stylishly brushed his hair back and said,

“Brody, don’t waste your life wandering anymore. Come back with me.”

He reached out to Brody with a wellpracticed pose, and then Brody began to walk slowly, stumbling towards Jax.

Aidan was startled and grabbed Brody’s arm.

Startled, Brody, like a broken doll, continued to try to walk, her legs crossing within his arms.

“Brody, surely, your body isn’t listening to you?”

Brody could only turn her eyes to look at Aidan.

She wanted to nod, but her joints felt as if they were tightly screwed, unable to move at all.

Instead, her breath quickened.

Aidan, holding Brody, shouted in anger,

“What is this nonsense!”

“Oh, oh, young master. How can I say this? Why frighten the lady like that?”

Jax shrugged his shoulders and replied with an unconcerned look.

It was lucky that no one was around, for the scene looked like Aidan had snatched Brody, who voluntarily wanted to go to Jax.

Jax acted as if he had done nothing at all.

“Shake it off and come, Brody.”

Startled again. At the new command, Brody’s body began to move on its own once more.

Being unable to move a single finger, it felt as if she were trapped in a nightmare, pinned down by scissors.

She thought hard but couldn’t recall any memory of Jax having this ability in the original novel.

Soaked in cold sweat, she tried with all her might to control her movements, but Brody’s hand cruelly slowly rose and began to push Aidan away.

Her outstretched nails dug into Aidan’s arm, who was lightly dressed.

“Stop! Please! Stop!”

Brody looked down at her own hand, clawing at Aiden, and internally cursed.

The feeling of her fingertips digging into his skin was conveyed unfamiliarly.

Starting near her fingers, his clothes began to gradually become stained and soaked with blood.

“Damn.”

Aiden was determined not to let go of Brody, and was confident in doing so, but seeing Brody’s face growing pale while hurting him, he soon changed his mind.

Stopping Brody like this was not the way.

“I’m sorry, Brody.”

Aiden bit his lip and pulled her waist, rolling her over.

“Uh.”

Thump. With the force of his heavy arm, Brody’s light body spun around like a top and flew down onto the soft ground.

At the same time, Aiden, who had quickly drawn his sword, dashed like the wind toward Jax.

Jax was taken aback, but it was not above him to draw a sword, considering the distance.

Clang.

Soon, the heavy metallic sound made the humid southern air tremble.

Clang, clang, clang. Jax skillfully parried Aiden’s heavy sword falling down on him.

But that was a story compared to the time when the battle was decided during the tenfold clash on the battlefield before.

This time, too, after about twelve rounds, the victory and defeat were already determined.

However, it was different from then.

Now, Aiden had no reason to take Jax prisoner.

The thirteenth attack aimed sharply at Jax’s throat.

Before being pierced by the sword tip, Jax already felt as if his heart was punctured by Aiden’s ruthless gaze.

I’m going to die! Jax cried out in desperation, feeling the relentless approach of death’s breath.

“If you kill me, Brody will die too!”

“……!”

The sword that had nicked Jax’s throat quickly retracted.