Ice God and The Lady - Chapter 17

Chapter 17

The second best room in the country, there must have been a bed that she couldn’t even imagine.

“Thank you for saying that.”

However, Holly vowed never to go there, and she replied bluntly.

“Really. Right now… no, but after we find your parents, let’s go together.”

She laughed awkwardly at his sincere suggestion. It was a good thing she was above him, so she couldn’t see his face. She wondered what would be different. Now, her head was full of thoughts about when and how she would get rid of Cahill.

“But, why are you so excited?”

If she left him alone, he would even hum a song, Holly asked, putting her face in front of him.

“It’s my first time with a friend.”

“Ah…”

Frowning, she let out a sigh-like moan. It was because she felt uncomfortable knowing that he was moved by meaningless words.

“Put me down. Let’s rest here today.”

“You’re not going any further?”

“They say we shouldn’t move in the woods after sunset.”

Even though they had no map, and she didn’t know how far she had come after frantically running away, she had heard that the forest of Lauriue, which was connected to Centria, was full of dangerous things.

“We ran hard, so we need to rest.”

Holly’s body, which was relaxed, wanted to lie down immediately.

“Are you tired?”

Cahill, who ran with his body, was gazing at her with an incomprehensible face. Holly was surprised, and at the same time, anger surged because of his inhuman stamina.

“Then, take a rest. Wait here.”

Saying so, he put her down and turned his body the way they had come.

“Where are you going? Haven’t you heard that it’s dangerous?”

Holly forgot to get angry and grabbed the hem of his robe with a worried look. The corners of Cahill’s lips stretched down to the side.

“I’ll be back soon.”

With a smile on his face, he calmly removed her hand before quickly disappearing over the dark wooden post. Holly stared blankly at his disappearing back, then twisted her face.

“I don’t know. If it becomes dangerous, he will cut it all down with that strange power.”

She gleefully threw her bag on the floor and looked around.

The first thing to do was to light a fire to prevent wild animals from approaching at night. Moments later, Holly lit a bonfire with ease, and she was dozing off against a tree. And, what woke her up was the sound of dragging something heavy.

The sound that got closer and closer made her sleep go away.

A shadow flickered in the light. She mustered up the courage to raise her head. Soon, she let out a gasp. It was dark all around her, so his white face seemed to be floating in the air.

“Cahill!”

The figure behind the shadow that surprised her was Cahill. He looked strangely at Holly, who wiped her startled chest.

“Who followed you?”

He glanced around her with sharpened eyes.

“No one’s here. What’s that?”

Holly reassured him in a hoarse voice, pointing to what he was carrying on his shoulder. That was what inflated his shadow, making him scary.

Cahill laid it down at his feet with a nonchalant look.

“How did you get it?”

It was a wild boar. She didn’t know if it was the one who had chased them earlier. Holly, who reflexively tried to run away after seeing the sharp fangs, stopped when she realized that he had been hanging it on his back.

“Dinner.”

She let out a sigh of relief at his calm tone. Come to think of it, Cahill had a strong body, even if his ability to handle snow was not strange enough.

“Why did you run away earlier when you could catch a wild boar?”

He stared blankly at her absurd question.

“You told me to run.”

Holly was at a loss for words at the reckless reply.

“Since when have you been listening to me so well?”

She then slapped his chest and let out her frustration. Though Cahill just smiled at her.

“How do you eat this? Can I roast it over the fire?”

Then, he picked the boar with one hand and tried to throw it whole into the fire.

“Wait! You have to take the skin off.”

At that, Holly groaned and grabbed his arm. She then gently touched the thick hide of the boar that he had laid down on the floor.

‘If I wash this well and dry it, wouldn’t it be useable as a duvet…?’

Holly had no idea that nights in the mountains were so cold.

Right now, she could stand it by leaning on Cahill’s warmth, but she thought it would be necessary to live alone in the future. Meanwhile, Cahill’s expression was strangely distorted as he looked at her, who could not take her hand off the boar hide so immersed in her thoughts.

“When I asked you to do it, you refused at once. Is that your preference?”

The side that Holly was fiddling with was probably the boar’s lower body.

“Can’t I put mine in, too? Or one by one. There are two holes anyway.”

Holly’s face went red as if it was about to explode at the blatant remark.

This was a female. Besides, she had no hobby of mixing bodies with animals. In addition, she had no intention of filling both holes. Three sentences were about to come out at once, so Holly couldn’t utter a word.

She silently rummaged through her bag and pulled out a dagger. Then, she pierced it with all her might, though the hide was so tough that the blade did not go in well. Holly did not give up and repeated several times to pick the boar hide.

On the other hand, Cahill, who was standing still, came and took the knife from her hand. And he skillfully skinned it.

“Do you know how to do this?”

As he was lacking in many ways other than physical work, Holly was greatly impressed with this unexpected talent.

‘Ah, is this also a physical activity?’

When she struggled to convince herself, Cahill replied.

“There is a hunting competition every winter. Whoever kills the biggest beast must skin the prey and present it to the King.”

Cahill succeeded in cutting the skin without breaking even with the short sword. Holly’s eyes twinkled, and she glanced at the newly acquired blanket.

“You can’t eat that.”

As if to appease a child, Holly calmly put the leather down on the floor in a kind tone.

Although she sparingly used spices, the stench was not completely erased. Holly held her breath and gnawed at the tough meat with her teeth.

With a side-eye, she could see Cahill trying to eat the charred husks.

“It’s all burnt there. You have to take it off and eat it.”

She took her hand and cut off the blackened part. Cahill watched her do what she was doing, then grabbed her hand and ate it with his mouth open like a child.

“Now that we’re done, let’s do it.”

When he saw her not reaching for the new meat, he spoke as if he had waited. Holly, who tried to close her eyes again, burst out laughing.

“Do you want to do it every day?”

Cahill shook his head at once.

“I didn’t know it could be this good until I did it with you.”

On his face, filled with the desire to do it right away, thoughts were running through Holly. She couldn’t immediately say no since she didn’t hate it either. She could forget the cold while doing it. However, there were no walls to cover the body and no blankets to lie on.

“But, not outside. Even if you want to, hang in there.”

Even in a soothing tone, Cahill narrowed his forehead.

“I want to do it, why do I need to hold on?”

This young master, no, this prince, who had never been denied anything he wanted to do, innocently blinked. Holly was speechless again.

“The sun has set anyway, so you said we shouldn’t move.”

Cahill took one step closer to her. He spoke in a soft voice and grabbed her shoulder. The eyes were dazzling. It felt like her lower stomach was stinging in those eyes.

‘N, no… I’m going to get caught up in this again.’

Holly bit the tender flesh in her mouth, trying to shake off the temptation.

After spending the night with Cahill, it was natural that her body wouldn’t be as light as usual due to the intense movements. As a result, the journey to find her parents kept getting delayed. A few days had passed since she left home, but she couldn’t get away from Centria.

‘Besides, I think I’m going to become addicted.’

Even the touch of his fingertips made her skin tingle, and she was terrified.

‘We won’t be able to be together forever, so I shouldn’t get used to it.’

Since she was still young, relying on someone was not her way of life. Holly caught her breath. She would need to get up early in the morning and leave Cahill behind. To do that, she had to keep her body in top condition.

As she stubbornly kept her mouth shut, Cahill let out a deep sigh with a helpless look.

“Then, just a kiss?”

You like it.

Cahill looked at her with a knowing look.

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