You Can't Catch the Wind (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 11
“Mr. Kyle, I truly appreciate Ash Trading Company’s kind intentions, but… this seems a bit excessive.”
Ael sat inside the carriage, looking at him beside her with a stunned expression.
Beside Ael, beautifully wrapped boxes were piled high—so much so that anyone seeing the carriage might mistake it for a delivery cart rather than one meant for personal transport.
Calon chuckled and shook his head.
“Excessive? We can’t just let someone who’s done so much for our company leave empty-handed. One of my company’s principles is to repay kindness tenfold.”
“Still… even so…”
Isn’t this going too far?
Ael recalled the day Elise first debuted in high society.
She couldn’t remember exactly how many gifts had arrived at their home the next day, but she clearly remembered they’d had to stack them several layers deep in the parlor.
And now, the pile of gifts beside her matched that quantity.
‘It’s not even about the number. All of these seem to be luxury items.’
Even the ribbons wrapping the boxes looked expensive.
She hadn’t dared ask what was inside, but judging by the fragrant tea aroma filling the carriage, at least one box must contain an entire set of tea leaves.
Ael knew well how costly tea imported from the Empire was—Elise always grumbled about how hard it was to secure even a modest amount for Viscount Aradis’s household.
Even the Viscount and Viscountess, who usually indulged Elise in nearly everything, rarely managed to procure that particular tea.
‘And yet here it is, packed generously into such a large box…’
Ael began to feel uneasy.
“Even if Miss Nisha is the branch manager here, is it really alright for her to hand out company goods so freely to others? What if you get reprimanded by the guild master because of me?”
“The guild master? I’m sure he’ll say it’s fine.”
“How can you be so certain, Mr. Kyle? Do you know him well?”
At Ael’s question, Calon fell briefly silent—he couldn’t very well say the guild master was himself.
“…That person has a generous hand.”
Calon offered a modest compliment about himself.
When among people who didn’t know his true identity, he often spoke casually about “Calon Ash.”
Sometimes he praised Calon Ash; other times, he pretended to complain about him.
He’d grown so accustomed to referring to himself as if he were someone else that it usually came naturally—but oddly enough, today it felt awkward.
He feared Ael would be terribly embarrassed if she ever found out Calon Ash was him.
‘But that won’t happen anyway.’
He’d come to Denertum for multiple reasons and planned to stay quite a while—but revealing his identity wasn’t part of the plan.
Currently, only a handful of people at the Denertum branch, including Nisha, knew who he truly was; everyone else simply assumed he was a new colleague sent from headquarters.
‘I’ll only stay about a year.’
By then, he expected his tasks here would be complete. Once finished, this remote corner of the world would no longer hold his interest.
Upon achieving his goal, he’d return to the Empire—or perhaps move on to another branch in a different country to handle matters there.
For the sake of an uncertain future, it was best that Calon Ash remained an enigmatic figure.
So he could praise himself shamelessly as much as he liked…
Yet, lost in thought, Calon realized something odd about himself today.
Even this act of personally escorting Ael home was unusual.
Originally, Nisha was supposed to take her back. Ael had firmly insisted that merely lending her a carriage was more than enough, but Nisha had refused to back down.
Just as Nisha was about to step into the carriage, an urgent issue arose at the trading company, requiring her immediate attention.
At that point, it would have been simplest to just let Ael ride home alone.
‘…Yet I volunteered to take her myself.’
Even if he asked himself now why he’d done it, Calon couldn’t explain his own actions.
‘Was it just for fun?’
With his arms crossed, Calon watched Ael, who still looked flustered and unsure what to do with all the gifts.
She truly was interesting. While others would have been sneaking glances at him, she hadn’t shown the slightest interest in his face—only an obvious discomfort with all the attention, eager to leave as quickly as possible.
Yet the moment economics books were mentioned, she’d practically pounced on him, begging for an explanation.
Calon found that both amusing and… strangely regretful.
‘Regretful? Why would I feel that?’
He’d already asked himself that question several times today when the coachman spoke up.
“We’ve arrived. Is this the right place?”
“Yes, this is it.”
Ael nodded, recognizing her house through the window, and hurriedly gathered the paper bag Kyle had first handed her, preparing to disembark.
Just then—
“Rida, you!”
Before she could even step down, Elise’s ear-splitting shout rang out. The sharpness in that voice made Ael’s breath catch in her throat.
“Elise…”
Peering out the window, Ael saw Elise standing with her arms crossed, glaring at her in utter disbelief.
“Have you lost your mind? It’s been ages since you left—get inside already!”
Her words sounded like those of a family member worried about someone who’d gone out in the morning and hadn’t returned—but the venom in her tone suggested she was ready to grab Ael by the hair and shake her senseless.
Elise never stepped outside the house under normal circumstances.
To her, a noblewoman’s activities belonged strictly within the confines of a mansion or another estate; wandering about outdoors was shameful and unbefitting of her station.
Yet here she was, standing right at the front gate.
Ael broke into a cold sweat without even realizing it.
Lately, anything related to the Grand Duke made Elise especially sharp-tongued.
Even Viscountess Aradis had been at her wit’s end dealing with Elise’s constant irritability—today, it seemed that fury was about to land squarely on Ael.
Flustered, Ael scrambled out of the carriage and rushed toward Elise, holding out the paper bag.
“I’m sorry! I went out and got hurt, so…”
Before she could finish, a sharp pain shot through her head—Elise had grabbed her hair and yanked hard.
Already exhausted from the day’s chaos, Ael’s body swayed weakly. Her injured ankle throbbed, and her knees buckled.
Even as she teetered on the verge of collapse, Ael clutched tightly to the paper bag.
If she dropped this too, Elise’s wrath would go far beyond mere hair-pulling. She had to hold on to it, at least…
At that moment, her falling body stilled—someone had grabbed her arm.
Recognizing the familiar touch, Ael looked up at the hand steadying her.
Just as he had earlier that day, Kyle was once again preventing her from falling.
“Who are you?”
Startled by this unexpected interference, Elise turned to look at him.
She’d been so consumed by the frustration she’d nursed all day waiting for Ael that she hadn’t noticed anyone else around.
Truthfully, she hadn’t cared to notice—she never imagined anyone noteworthy enough to warrant her attention would be near Ael.
But the moment she saw the man who’d caught Ael, Elise momentarily forgot what she’d been about to do, unable to tear her eyes away from him.
‘Who is he?’
One thing was certain: she’d never seen him before.
And for good reason—if she’d ever laid eyes on a face like that, she surely would have remembered.
The man was strikingly handsome—so much so that he momentarily made her forget her anger toward Ael.
Even the Grand Duke, whom she was currently courting and who was considered quite handsome in society, would pale in comparison standing beside this stranger.
It wasn’t just his face. His tall stature—towering over her—and his solid, well-built frame visible even beneath his clothes completed the impression.
He looked as though a statue from the Royal Art Museum depicting a mythological hero had stepped right off its pedestal.
Above all, there was an aura about him—an unspoken intensity in his quiet gaze that radiated authority.
‘Not even the Grand Duke has that kind of presence…’
Instinctively sensing his superiority, Elise released Ael’s hair and quickly smoothed her own appearance.
“What’s going on!”
Hearing Elise’s voice, Viscount Aradis and Viscountess Aradis hurried out from the house, their faces as furious as Elise’s.
Under normal circumstances, Ael would have returned swiftly on her own. But today, for some unknown reason, she hadn’t come back until evening.
Ordinary parents might have shown concern first—but the Viscount and Viscountess couldn’t hide their irritation.
They’d spent the entire day enduring Elise’s worsening temper, all because Ael had returned late.
Male lead fell into her trap — and shattered when she walked away
This is also on my reread list!
This one is a slow burn, but when it burns, it burns hard.
Definitely worth a read, y’all!
The story follows a thousand-year-old seductive spirit who, on a bet, sets out to charm the male lead—a once-promising but unfortunate cultivator.
But just when she succeeds in making him fall for her, she heartlessly leaves, driving him to madness.
Determined to find her at all costs, he captures her, keeping her by his side no matter what, even if she hates him.
I love this kind of trope—I enjoy watching the male lead suffer in agony.
The ending drags a bit with unnecessary filler, but that’s fine.
As long as I enjoy the beginning, I’m good.
Intro
As an enchantress, Su Heng possesses captivating eyes and charming beauty, easily manipulating the joys and sorrows of living beings at her fingertips.
But to enchant a god, making him taste the bitterness of love’s separation, long-lasting resentment, unattainable desires, and inability to let go…
Do you dare?
Su Heng assists a divine lord in his cultivation, aiming to make him experience all the sufferings of love, so that he can attain the Great Dao.
Only after being chased down from the heavens by the divine lord, confined and completely possessed by him, does she realize how successful she has been.
The once gentle and polite youth has transformed into someone she no longer recognizes.
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
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