I Picked Up an Abandoned Villain in the Polar Region

Episode 61

 

‘The reason we started to fall out was because of the ‘delusion’ that Ason spoke of?’

Kyle listened to Brody and was lost in thought.

Thinking back, it was after he entered the wilderness that he began to remember the past.

The night he saw Zelda in his dream was the start, and from then on, memories of the past continued to haunt and torment him and like leeches.

It wasn’t like that even when he was abandoned in Asgar through the magic gate, and didn’t the memories of the past suddenly become more vivid as soon as he came here?

So much so that it tormented his mind and eventually caused him to take his own life.

Kyle thought back to the voice he had heard at the lake earlier in the day.

‘You are abandoned by everyone.’

‘Nobody loves you.’

It was definitely this voice.

As Ason had said, what the voice had stimulated was the weakest part of him.

Resentment and anger at an unloved life, the fear that perhaps he was never meant to be loved from the start…

Yes, Brody’s guess seemed to be correct. He might have been ‘deluded’ as Ason said.

As Kyle nodded in agreement with the possibility, Brody continued.

“You think that may be true? As soon as I realized that, I came to my senses. It was like I had been possessed by something and just woken up.”

Brody spoke calmly about the emotions she was going through at that moment.

“And when I realized that, I immediately thought of you. You’ve been acting strangely since the day we came here. So I wondered if maybe you, too, were affected by that delusion—or maybe you still are. If that’s the case, it would mean you’re in danger. That’s why I pulled myself together and went to you.”

Kyle felt awkward at Brody’s words and fiddled with his hands for no reason.

He remembered the moment when Brody saved him from the lake earlier.

The moment she reached out and grabbed his hand in the water

In fact, from that moment on, his mind became strangely calm. It was really strange even when he thought about it again.

Because he could no longer hear the voices of the past that had driven him crazy, the sound of the baby crying, or the voice that had driven him to his death.

These sounds were vivid all along until he heard Brody’s call.

Kyle hesitated, then looked up and glanced at Brody.

When he looked closely at her face, he saw that it had become even paler than when he last saw her.

Because she went into the water to save him. When she came out, she was cold and pale.

As he looked at Brody like that, he started to recall the things he had done to her in the past.

When he was indifferent to her, who was suffering alone, thinking only of his own pain.

He used to blame her for being stressed out because of Ron.

And… the last memory of finally being unable to bear it all and abandoning Brody.

When he thought about all of this, it was hard to understand why Brody came to save him as his mind was so full of memories of things he had done wrong.

Kyle felt bad, even ashamed of his actions.

And even though he had done so many wrong things, he still didn’t know what to do about the woman who saved him.

But the moment when he could no longer look at her and averted his gaze.

Brody, who was sitting across from Kyle and silently looking at him, called out to him quietly.

“Kyle.”

Was it because of the light from the campfire?

Warmth filled Brody’s eyes, which he thought looked exhausted.

She looked at him with such warm eyes, hesitated for a moment, and then opened her mouth.

“When we parted ways, I told you that I should have left you in Asgard, not caring whether you died or not.”

She said she regretted becoming his guide.

“Actually, I didn’t mean it.”

“…”

“I’m sorry for saying that.”

It was a sincere apology. Kyle looked down at Brody, who was apologizing to him.

He was shocked and hurt by what Brody said that day.

Although he didn’t admit it because of his pride, Brody’s words were like a knife in his heart.

But, ironically, those deep wounds were instantly healed with Brody’s apology.

As if by magic.

“No matter how much I hated you, I shouldn’t have said that. I was really out of my mind back then.”

Brody calmly and seriously admitted her mistakes to Kyle.

“I mean, I don’t regret being your guide.”

“…”

“I will take responsibility for you until the end and bring you home safely.”

After saying that, Brody smiled. As if she was promising him.

Kyle still sat there frozen, looking at Brody without answering.

When he thought about the many things he had done wrong to her, he hesitated and didn’t know what to do.

But the moment he received Brody’s apology, he realized what he should have done.

The thing he had to do for Brody was to apologize.

Saying sorry.

That what he said then wasn’t true.

Just as hearing that made his wounds feel better, he also had to heal Brody’s wounds.

He, who had never apologized to anyone before, now came to understand the meaning and weight of these words.

Kyle looked up at Brody, who was standing up from her seat, embarrassed at seeing him unresponsive.

Then he quickly opened his mouth.

“…me too”

He had some difficulties opening his lips.

Still, after some hesitation, Kyle finally apologized to her.

“I’m sorry too.”

It was an awkwardly spoken sentence in somewhat unrefined voice. But the rough sincerity in the voice was completely embedded there.

Brody stood there in surprise and looked at him. But this reaction didn’t last long.

What he was sorry about, there is no explanation whatsoever.

Despite that, Brody met Kyle’s eyes and read his mind.

She smiled with a slightly red face as she looked at Kyle, who was looking down at her with a bashful look on his face.

A layer of warmth enveloped the surroundings, whether it was the heat of the campfire or the warmth of their own heart was unknown.

After their respective wars, they gathered again for the night and found peace within only a few days.

 

***

 

As the dewy air of dawn settled, Kyle was the first of the three to open his eyes.

And as soon as he opened his eyes, he frowned and twisted his body.

His body felt stiff, perhaps because Brody had abandoned the tent and they had spent the night on the ground.

The sun had not yet fully risen and the air was cold. But despite these adverse conditions, Brody and Ron slept through the night without waking up.

In fact, this was the same for Kyle. He had a really good night’s sleep last night for the first time in a long time.

It was the first time since he entered the wilderness that he didn’t have the dreams he always had, nor was he bothered by the sounds in his head.

Just yesterday he felt like he was trapped in a hell he couldn’t escape from, but in one day everything fell into place.

Kyle lay still, looking up at the azure sky that was still dark.

If it were before, he would have gotten up as soon as he opened his eyes, but he was different now.

Kyle lay there blankly staring at the sky as memories of the past few days, which had felt like a long nightmare, flashed before his eyes.

And then he remembered the image of Zelda that he had encountered yesterday.

“…”

Kyle’s eyes sank.

He felt like he had lost his purpose in going home.

Clearly, up until then, he had vowed to himself that he must return to the Valley of Roden and rescue Zelda before the Tiger Tribe invaded.

Because he thought that she was the only one who believed in him.

But the Zelda he recalled was different from what he had expected.

Zelda had abandoned Kyle and chosen Abel. When he remembered that fact, his heart started to roll in the mud again.

At the same time, a desperate desire to foolishly ignore that fact arose.

Was it really true that she abandoned him? Or was this memory also wrong?

Perhaps, due to pressure from those around her, she had no choice but to get engaged and turn away from himself…

Kyle had a hard time letting go of his only hope.

It might be because his heart still couldn’t accept the fact that he had been abandoned by everyone.

So he wanted to have hope and confirm her heart first.

If she hadn’t abandoned him, he couldn’t abandon Zelda either. He had to save her.

Zelda was the only person his brother, who had taken everything from him, could not take from him without permission.

The deeper his hatred, the more stubborn his foolishness.

Of course, if someone asked him if he still loved her…

“…”

Kyle suddenly felt as if his thoughts, which had been flowing smoothly, were suddenly stopped in their tracks.

Certainly, up until then, he could say without hesitation that Zelda was the only woman for him.

But at some point, a feeling of guilt began to take precedence over the belief that he loved her, and his once blind heart began to waver.

Kyle turned his head toward the cause. And his eyes landed on Brody.

‘I still love Zelda?’

“…”

Kyle couldn’t answer. He felt like he didn’t know anymore. That was why he was confused.

Now, all that was left of Zelda to him was a cold image in his memories that he didn’t want to believe in.

And the more he thought about her, the more clearly Brody seemed to reach out to him as he fell into endless despair.

Kyle looked at Brody, swallowing the sigh that was rising from his complicated mind.

He couldn’t forget the moment he was saved by Brody.

The moment he held that hand, everything that had driven him into the pit of despair disappeared.

Perhaps if Brody hadn’t come, he might have died of the desire to give up everything.

This time, he was also saved by Brody.

This little woman saved him every time.

A corner of his heart grew warm as he looked at Brody.

Of course, it was difficult for Kyle to realize the growing affection he had for her right away.

The same was true of the preciousness he felt for the being in front of him.

And because he had never had this kind of affection.

Kyle could only define this feeling that warmed his heart as discomfort.