IPUAVNP Chapter 125

Episode 125

 

Kyle, who had briefly returned home early in the morning, did not head back to the cabin right away.

Instead, he went to the lake he often visited when his heart was heavy and sat there aimlessly until late afternoon.

He couldn’t face Brody.

Just the memory of her yelling at him and crying tore him apart, like falling into a personal hell.

The weight of his past mistakes suffocated him, tearing his heart to shreds.

He was a man unworthy of being by her side.

Realizing this truth now made him want to end his own life.

Yet, even so, Kyle couldn’t bring himself to die—not out of fear of death, but because death meant he would never see her again. He would never touch her again.

The mere thought of that terrified him more than anything else.

All he wanted was to hold on to even the smallest piece of her, to be near her in any way he could.

Though he loathed himself for being so pitifully selfish, Kyle ultimately mounted his horse and headed toward where Brody was.

But as he neared the narrow path leading into the pine forest, he stopped his horse.

The thought of seeing her again filled him with dread. He feared looking into her eyes as she told him she was leaving for good.

He hesitated several times before finally mustering enough courage—ironically, because he suddenly remembered she hadn’t eaten yet.

He hadn’t prepared her any food yesterday either. The thought that Brody might have gone hungry because of him spurred him into action.

Even though he himself hadn’t eaten since last night, all that mattered to him was her meal.

That trivial thought gave him the strength to press on, and he urged his horse forward into the forest trail.

But before he could go far, he heard the loud clatter of galloping hooves behind him.

“Boss!”

It was the Oswald brothers.

They rode up to him, bursting with excitement, shouting at the top of their lungs.

“Boss! Didn’t you hear? Brody didn’t tell you anything? Leonit Baldwin was here today!”

“Why didn’t you show up to the meeting? If you had, you’d have witnessed the most satisfying scene in real time!”

Normally, the mere mention of Leonit Baldwin—one of his lifelong rivals—would have drawn a reaction from Kyle.

But today, it was as though he hadn’t heard a word.

He stared straight ahead, indifferent to their chatter.

The boisterous twins, too caught up in their excitement, continued yelling beside him.

“Boss, are you listening? Leonit Baldwin showed up this morning with the emissaries, spouting nonsense about reaffirming peace. But the leader completely humiliated him, and he left with his tail between his legs!”

“You should’ve seen their faces, bright red with shame as they left!”

The Oswald brothers had frequently clashed with Baldwin’s emissaries alongside Kyle, making today’s events particularly satisfying for them.

“That ***** Leonit was so embarrassed he practically fled!”

“By the way, he didn’t bring that guy this time, did he? You know, the one who carries that blowgun and shoots poison darts.”

Oswald made a mock gesture of blowing into a blowgun, laughing as his brother Oswin joined in. But as the latter noticed Kyle’s silence, his grin slowly faded.

Only then did Oswin begin to sense that something was wrong.

Peering at Kyle’s face, partially obscured by his position on the horse, he asked cautiously.

“Boss, is something wrong? You don’t look so good.”

Kyle didn’t answer. He simply kept riding toward the cabin, as if he hadn’t heard them at all.

The twins, initially eager to share their news, now felt awkward and muttered to each other.

“What’s going on? Are they still fighting?”

“Looks like they had a big one this time.”

“See? I told you it’s better to keep some distance than to stay together all the time.”

Even as they whispered between themselves, Kyle remained unresponsive.

The twins reluctantly followed him until they reached the cabin.

Once there, Kyle dismounted, tied his horse to a nearby tree without a word, and headed toward the cabin.

“What happened? How bad was their fight for him to act like this?”

Grumbling, the brothers turned to leave, sensing it wasn’t the right time.

But just as they were about to head back, a loud crash and Kyle’s desperate yell echoed from the cabin.

“Brody!”

“What the—?!”

Startled, the twins jumped off their horses and ran toward the cabin.

Inside, they found the door lock ripped off its hinges and Kyle tearing through the cabin like a madman, shouting Brody’s name.

“Boss! What’s going on?”

Panicked, they grabbed him, trying to stop his frantic search.

Kyle, who had been checking every corner where no one could possibly be, turned to them and barked.

“Search the entire area right now! Find Brody and bring her back! Now!”

Realizing the gravity of the situation, the twins’ faces turned pale.

Brody, who should have been in the cabin, was gone.

Without a moment’s hesitation, they transformed into wolves and dashed out of the cabin to follow her scent.

Kyle moved to follow but stumbled, overwhelmed by a sudden headache.

Ever since he realized Brody was gone, his pounding heart felt like a hammer beating against his brain.

‘She’s gone. Where did she go?’

Then, like a lightning strike, a realization hit him.

Brody didn’t leave on her own. She couldn’t have.

His gaze turned to the broken lock on the door.

Near it stood Oswald, who had been sniffing the ground for a scent.

“Boss.”

Oswald raised his head, his expression grim.

“It seems… Zelda was here.”

 

***

 

At that very moment, in the council chamber, discussions about Baldwin’s visit were underway when the doors burst open with a deafening crash.

“Kyle…?”

The figure that stormed into the room was none other than Kyle himself.

Everyone stood, startled by his disheveled appearance and heavy breathing.

Kyle’s eyes zeroed in on Zelda.

Without hesitation, he lunged at her, grabbing her arms and shouting with a voice filled with desperation and fury.

“What did you do? Why did you meet Brody? Why were you there? Where did you take her? Where is she?”

“Brother!”

“Kyle!”

The sight of Kyle, acting like a wild, uncontrollable beast, caused Alexander and Abel to rush over and restrain him.

“Brother, what’s going on? What happened?”

Abel, who had frozen in shock at Kyle’s outburst, quickly pulled Zelda away from him. But Kyle still couldn’t regain his senses.

He now turned his fury toward Alexander, who was holding him back.

“It was Father, wasn’t it? That’s why he called for me this morning! So you could take her away while I was gone!”

“Kyle, what nonsense are you spouting? Get a grip!”

Alexander shouted, gripping him tightly.

Despite his father’s attempts to snap him out of it, Kyle, consumed by distrust and anger toward his family, continued to wreak havoc in the council chamber.

Just then, the Oswald twins burst into the room.

“Captain! We’ve found the ones who took Miss Brody!”

Instantly, all eyes in the room turned toward them.

Oswald approached and dropped a thin bamboo tube onto the floor.

“A blowgun,” he said.

The hollow bamboo, used to fire poisoned darts, was something Oswald immediately recognized.

Coincidentally, it was identical to the kind used by the underlings of Leonit Baldwin, who had visited earlier that day.

Speaking with certainty, Oswald declared,

“Captain, it seems Leonit Baldwin is behind Miss Brody’s abduction.”

 

***

 

Meanwhile, Leonit Baldwin and his men, guilty and nervous, had fled from the northern village, riding without rest through the Roden Valley.

Only after crossing the border into the plains of their territory did they allow themselves to relax and examine their captive—a rabbit they had sedated with a poisoned dart.

“This has to be the right one, right?” asked one of Baldwin’s underlings.

Leonit grinned with confidence.

“Kyle was supposed to be staying in that cabin in the fir forest with his lover, wasn’t he? There was only one cabin in that forest, and this little rabbit was there. It must be her.”

Staring at Brody, still unconscious and trapped in the net, Leonit’s face twisted with a malicious grin.

This was the reason he could afford to remain composed even after being humiliated by the Roden leader in the council chamber.

He had already captured Kyle’s weak spot—this rabbit.

“What, abolish the treaty entirely?”

Leonit burst out laughing. Now, with this rabbit, the treaty would be renegotiated entirely on their terms.

He tossed the net containing Brody to one of his men and said.

“Take this rabbit to my father right away.”

“Aren’t you coming with us, sir?” asked the underling, confused.

“I’ll wait here.”

Leonit replied with a smirk.

“We need to welcome the dog that’s sure to come chasing after his lover. By now, he must have pieced everything together from the clues we left.”

Despite his bravado, Leonit couldn’t help but feel uneasy.

Would Kyle Roden really come running to save his lover? 

It seemed like an act entirely out of character for someone like him. But a couple of hours later, Leonit realized his concerns were unfounded.

As the sun dipped low, casting shadows across the fields, Leonit spotted a lone wolf dashing across the plains.

A wicked smile crept across his face.

It was Kyle Roden, and from the looks of him, he had lost all sense of reason, coming alone to face them.

The smugness among Leonit and his lions grew as they watched the wolf draw nearer.

Moments later, at the border between their territories, the lone wolf stood facing a group of lions.

Kyle was panting heavily, his breath ragged from running non-stop.

Leonit, never one to miss an opportunity to taunt, greeted him with a mocking smile.

“Kyle! Long time no see. What brings you here?”

The lions laughed as their leader’s taunt echoed in the air.

Kyle, his eyes already blazing with murderous intent, ignored the laughter and growled through clenched teeth.

“Where is she?”

“What are you talking about?”

Leonit feigned ignorance, his grin widening.

Kyle took a menacing step closer, his fury barely contained.

“Don’t test me.”

Pretending to be startled, Leonit’s men stepped back, feigning fear.

One of Leonit’s underlings tossed a small net toward the border.

“Looking for this?”

Inside the net was…a single rabbit leg.

As Kyle’s gaze fell upon it, his eyes widened, his expression shifting from shock to raw fury.

His pupils quivered as the last remnants of his self-control snapped.

The sight of the severed limb obliterated any composure he had left.

For the first time, Kyle Roden, a man who had once prided himself on having no weaknesses, had found one—and it was Brody.

With a feral snarl, Kyle leaped across the border and lunged at the lions.

Phew ~ That’s it for now. See you all soon 💝.