I Picked Up an Abandoned Villain in the Polar Region

Episode 51

 

It was the first time Zelda appeared in a dream.

Since he was abandoned in Asgar through the magic gate, he had never seen her in his dreams like he did today.

Just when Zelda’s existence began to fade from his mind without him knowing, Kyle met her in a dream.

He saw that day in his dream. It had been vague until now, but now that he had faced it again, he remembered it clearly.

The day the two of them first met each other.

No, it would be more accurate to say that it was the day Kyle first became aware of Zelda Arsha’s existence.

He must have met Zelda before, but at that time, she was just one of many women to him, who had no interest in the opposite sex.

Maybe because of that Kyle recalled memories from another day of the past that he had tried not to think about.

The day when he was banished from his hometown, the Valley of Roden.

Not only did Abel usurp his position as successor on that day, but he declared his engagement to Zelda, who was supposed to be his wife.

Those humiliating moments when he rushed to kill his younger brother and was caught by soldiers and dragged away in front of his family.

He thought that the memories of that day had become blurred due to the arduous journey and that he had become numb to the humiliation.

But when he recalled the memory again, his hidden anger and resentment immediately raised their heads.

The image of his father looking down with indifferent eyes at himself as he tried to kill his younger brother and ended up falling into the mud.

And even the sight of his family banishing him to the farthest corner of the earth through a magic door.

Anger towards his younger brother and resentment towards his father who had supported him till the end welled up.

Kyle clenched his fists so hard that his nails dug into his skin as heated emotions spread like fire through his chest.

He just recalled the memory, but strangely enough, it tormented his mind as vividly as if it had happened yesterday.

He was so caught up in the resurgent evil emotions that he couldn’t even hear the voice calling him from the side. He was just walking forward without looking back.

Kyle came to his senses belatedly when Brody grabbed his arm.

“Kyle, why are you walking so fast!”

He looked back and saw Brody holding Ron.

She was looking up at him with wide eyes, catching her breath as if she had run after him.

Not only that, but he was walking so fast that the goat he was holding by the leash was dragged along, almost to the point of exhaustion.

“Ah…”

Only then did Kyle realize with shock that he had been walking absentmindedly, completely oblivious to his surroundings.

It was strange that he had been this consumed by negative emotions lately.

For a moment, his heart started pounding and his head started to spin.

Brody asked worriedly, tightening her grip on his arm as he squeezed his eyes shut.

“What’s wrong with you? Where does it hurt?”

“…No.”

Kyle took another step forward and answered with a sigh.

His head ached because he had been walking around thinking about past events since the dream he had this morning.

Moreover, as Brody approached him, the image of Zelda from his dream came to mind, and his heart became even more uncomfortable.

Guilt that shouldn’t arise kept creeping in.

Eventually, Kyle, who was getting on edge because of all this, gave Brody a vague answer and walked ahead, rubbing his temples.

But in Brody’s eyes, the sight of him leaving without giving a proper answer only made her more worried.

“Wait a minute! Are you really not feeling well?”

She ran after him again and grabbed his hand.

But the moment Brody grabbed his hand, Kyle, who had been sensitive because of thoughts of Zelda, unconsciously slapped her hand away and got irritated.

“That’s not it!”

Ah.

As soon as Kyle did that, he opened his mouth in surprise.

He reacted more harshly than he expected. He shouldn’t have been this annoyed, but he couldn’t help but react in a ferocious way.

Brody’s eyes shook violently as her hand was slapped away.

But Kyle couldn’t make any excuses when he looked into those eyes.

No, he couldn’t do that.

So he just turned around and hurriedly left.

Brody, who was left behind, looked at Kyle’s back with a bewildered expression.

She was worried because something didn’t feel right since this morning…

As expected, it was clear that something was going on.

He, who always woke up at the crack of dawn while traveling, woke up later than her for the first time.

Moreover, it was as if he had had a nightmare, as when he woke up, his face didn’t look good.

After that, he just walked silently with a hardened expression on his face, seemingly thinking about something else.

She kept calling him to slow down but he couldn’t even hear it…

So, unable to bear it any longer, she grabbed his hand and asked him…

Brody stood there dumbfounded for a moment as Kyle slapped her hand away, then turned around and left without saying anything.

It wasn’t the first time she had experienced such a cold reaction while being with him.

But strangely, now, unlike before, she felt awkward and strange.

‘Is it because his expression is clearly visible?’

Perhaps because he had a human form, even if he stiffened his face a little, his cold and frustrated expression was very obvious.

Maybe seeing that face in person made her heart feel even more bitter.

Before she could get angry at his behavior, she missed the chance to respond because of the shock.

Brody finally came to her senses and smacked her lips.

Then, Ron, who was in her arms, woke up and started whining.

“Ugh…”

Brody hugged Ron after realizing that he woke up. But her eyes, filled with unease, were still turned to Kyle’s back as he walked away without looking back.

The snow that had been frozen hard on the moss-covered ground began to disappear as they went further south.

Now, the winter and the white snow that symbolized it were no longer visible to them.

However, the barren land, where the cold still lingered, still stretched out vastly.

Kyle walked forward, carrying the bags on his back and holding onto the goat’s leash, while Brody carried Ron as they continued their journey to the capital city of Volcan,

“Kyle, aren’t you thirsty?”

No matter how tiresome the snow may have been, it was still water that had been replenishing essential moisture to their bodies.

Now that they couldn’t eat it freely anymore, Brody became anxious and asked Kyle, but he just shook his head without answering.

Fortunately, the weather was cold so they didn’t sweat.

Dehydration occurs when the body loses a large amount of water. So it was fortunate that it could be avoided.

Brody stared at the back of Kyle’s head as he nodded instead of speaking.

He still hadn’t apologized about what happened earlier.

He seemed to be thinking about something; he just kept walking without saying a word, with a fixed expression on his face.

‘Do you think I’ll forgive you if you pretend to be serious?’

It was impossible.

Brody followed him determinedly, vowing never to speak to Kyle until he came to her in person and apologized.

But unfortunately, her new principal couldn’t last.

Ron, who had seemed to be in a good mood until last night, suddenly started groaning as if he was uncomfortable somewhere after waking up from his sleep.

“What else is wrong?”

She checked the diaper, fed him, changed his position while holding him, and did everything else, but he didn’t seem satisfied.

Ron just looked like a baby with a pouty face and refused everything she did.

In a journey that was peaceful until now, one person started to grumble, and now, as if by design, even the baby couldn’t stop making things difficult for Brody.

“Looks like these two men are planning on turning everything upside down.”

Brody gritted her teeth as she muttered loudly for someone to hear.

Regardless of anything, somehow, after the journey with the yaks, each day passed by normally.

Brody sighed and scratched her forearm violently.

Her body kept itching as if she had been bitten by a bug.

Last night her neck was itching like crazy, and today it was her arms.

While she was grumpily scratching her arm, Brody started feeling uneasy, so she quickly rolled up her sleeve.

And the moment she saw her arm, her eyes widened in surprise.

“Oh my!”

Brody gasped after seeing the rash growing on her forearms.

A while later, she thought of something else and immediately lifted her collar to check her neck and collarbone.

There was a red rash there too. Brody chewed her lip with a look of frustration on her face.

Soon, the words Shiloh had said to her before leaving the Forest of Ennea came to mind.

‘As you know, when you enter the wilderness of Rubinus, you will get rashes and hives on your body due to the spell that the red foxes cast on foreigners. Of course, it is not a fatal spell, but it is a painful condition to be in on your travels. This is a medicine to prevent it in advance. It is made from herbs that only grow in the wilderness, so be sure to take it before you go there.’

Then Brody was given medicine by Shiloh, but she didn’t take it.

Soon, Brody looked up at Kyle who was walking away from her.

“…”

The medicine went straight into Kyle’s stomach. She kept it in her pocket, but didn’t eat it, and that night she mixed the medicine in a bowl of water and fed it to Kyle.

Luckily, since Kyle entered the wilderness of Rubinus, I have never seen him scratching his body or anything like that.

It seemed like nothing unusual had happened to him because he had taken the medicine.

Brody’s body, which didn’t have the protection of the medicine, had already begun to react.

Although she was glad that Kyle was okay, she also felt complicated thinking that she would be suffering from this rash for a while.

But this was ultimately her own choice and her own doing, Brody muttered playfully with a resigned look on her face.

“I guess that **** fox didn’t cheat on me with the medicine since he’s fine.”

Of course, the sigh contained in that voice couldn’t be hidden.

 

***

 

As the day grew darker, the sky grew increasingly gloomy. It didn’t look like it was going to rain since there were no dark clouds, but the mood of the three people didn’t seem to improve as the weather became cloudy on top of the already gloomy atmosphere.

Moreover, Ron still had something he didn’t like and would cry out loud at the slightest inconvenience.

“Waaa~!”

“Okay, okay. I’m going to give you food. Ron, why don’t you learn how to wait patiently?”

Brody tried to coax Ron, but he cried louder, seemingly having no patience for that kind of thing.

This fussy baby, who had been crying so loudly for food, was so upset that even when she put the bottle of milk in his mouth, he was busy crying and pushing the bottle away with his short arms.

Moreover, it was difficult to hold him like this, but whenever she tried to put him down for a moment, he would inevitably become even more upset.

Brody was truly devastated when she was faced with such a frustrating situation.

But she didn’t know another fact that was even more disconcerting.

That the current situation was only the prelude to the war that would occur later.