I Picked Up an Abandoned Villain in the Polar Region

Episode 88

 

Alexander left those words behind and turned away, expecting Kyle to follow his command without question.

Kyle, however, bristled at his father’s disregard for his feelings and rebelled.

“I have nothing to say. So just say it here.”

The atmosphere grew icy at Kyle’s defiant remark, even causing Brody to glance nervously at him.

But Kyle remained unfazed.

Alexander, in turn, silently glanced back at Kyle, however his gaze quickly shifted to Brody on Kyle’s shoulder.

“This isn’t a conversation to have in front of a guest.”

Alexander said dryly, before ascending the stairs without waiting for a response.

Realizing that ‘guest’ referred to Brody, Kyle turned to look at her. His defiant eyes regained a sliver of rationality.

‘Well, nothing good ever comes out of a conversation with Father anyway,’ Kyle thought.

There was no need to show Brody an ugly scene of him shouting and fighting with his father.

Suppressing his rebellious impulses for Brody’s sake, Kyle gently set her down in the hallway leading to his room.

“Stay in my room. Don’t wander around; just go straight there. Got it?”

Kyle instructed firmly, like an adult disciplining a child.

With no room to argue, Brody pouted and nodded before hopping off toward his room.

Only after watching her reach the door did Kyle feel relieved enough to head toward his father’s study.

Meanwhile, Abel and their mother, Eliza, who had been following Kyle, couldn’t help but keep glancing at Brody.

They were bewildered by the sight of Kyle, who avoided herbivores at all costs, bringing a rabbit home.

Abel, in particular, was intrigued, knowing that the rabbit had turned back time to save Zelda.

A rabbit with a pocket watch that could manipulate time—it reminded him of the time-traveling rabbit from a childhood storybook about a winterland.

Abel wanted to observe Brody further, but before he could, she pushed open the large door with some effort and disappeared inside, leaving him no choice but to abandon his curiosity.

 

***

 

Shortly after, the family gathered in Alexander’s study.

It had been a long time since they were all together, but there was no warmth or affection in the reunion.

In the cold, tense atmosphere, Alexander was the first to speak.

“How did you come back?”

Though he had suffered emotionally after driving his eldest son away, there was no trace of it in his demeanor.

Years of suppressing his feelings had become an ingrained habit. Moreover, he feared Kyle’s resentment and hatred, and as soon as he saw Kyle’s sharp glare, he reflexively raised his defenses, posing the question in a barbed tone.

Unsurprisingly, this only provoked Kyle’s hostility further. He smirked bitterly and retorted.

“Why? So you can figure out a different way to kick me out again?”

Alexander’s face hardened, and Eliza quickly stepped in to mediate.

“Kyle, we were truly worried about you. It may be hard to believe, but—”

Kyle cut her off with a cold, mocking expression.

“Worried? After you sent me away to die? Were you worried I might come back?”

Each word dripped with bitterness and contempt, filling the air with palpable tension.

As Eliza faltered, Alexander yelled at Kyle.

“Kyle! How dare you speak to your mother like that? You know we never intended to kill you!”

“Oh, so you’ve rationalized it like that? That it wasn’t to kill me, just that you had no other choice?”

Kyle’s face twisted with disdain as he stared down his parents.

“If it makes you feel better, sure, think that. But let me tell you the truth—it was to kill me!”

Alexander and Eliza’s faces went pale, their eyes trembling violently.

But Kyle showed no mercy, delivering his words with a venomous edge.

“So don’t justify it as something you ‘had to do.’ It’s disgusting.”

Conversations in this family always ended the same way—with someone getting hurt.

Kyle, having stabbed his parents where it hurt most, turned coldly and walked toward the door. Just before leaving, he threw one last remark over his shoulder.

“I’ll be staying here for a while. So tread carefully—who knows when I might take back what’s mine.”

His icy glare fell on Abel before he slammed the study door behind him.

Once outside, Kyle’s expression changed.

Despite being the one to inflict the wounds, he felt as though the pain was his own.

His chest ached as if he had been pierced by the very words he had wielded.

He hated this weakness in himself. Gritting his teeth, he tried to harden his heart by replaying the scars his family had given him.

As he steeled himself and moved down the hall, the study door suddenly opened behind him.

“Kyle!”

It was Abel who ran out, grabbing Kyle’s arm.

Kyle roughly shook him off, glaring. But Abel stood firm, blocking Kyle’s path and speaking hastily.

“Kyle, Father may talk like that, but he’s been struggling a lot. Mother, too. So please, don’t misunderstand their feelings.”

Kyle felt nothing but disgust for his younger brother, who not only sided with their parents but also acted so casually around him—the one who had suffered because of it all.

“Shut up and get lost.”

Kyle spat, shoving Abel aside as he tried to walk away.

But Abel, as if this were his only chance, blocked his path again and spoke.

“Hyung, thank you so much. Thank you for coming back and saving us like this. If you hadn’t come with Uncle, we would’ve been in real danger.”¹For those who don’t watch K-drama, hyung means big brother between males.

Abel’s eyes, expression, and voice were filled with sincerity. It was obvious he wasn’t faking it, and paradoxically, that made Kyle despise him even more.

If it had been a lie, it would have been so much easier to hate him. Kyle clenched his fists.

“Don’t get the wrong idea. I didn’t come back for you, for our parents, or for Roden.”

Kyle said coldly.

Abel’s eyes wavered at those words, undoubtedly thinking of Zelda. His face stiffened, but Kyle didn’t stick around to see more.

In the past, he might have enjoyed watching Abel’s shaken reaction whenever Zelda was mentioned, but now it only bored him.

Walking down the corridor, Kyle scoffed at himself for earlier proclaiming that he’d returned for Zelda.

The absurdity of the situation struck him—he’d claimed to come back for her, yet he wasn’t even considering her at the moment.

He quickened his pace, his thoughts now preoccupied with Brody, whom he had left alone.

The idea of her being by herself tugged at his mind. If he’d known he’d waste time like this, he wouldn’t have gone at all.

Clicking his tongue in annoyance, he hurried back to his room.

 

***

 

That evening, Brody, freshly washed and changed, found herself forcibly confined to Kyle’s bed.

Despite the fatigue from their long journey, she didn’t feel weak, but Kyle insisted on keeping her in bed, not allowing her to move.

He had even nearly called a doctor earlier before she stopped him.

Kyle checked on her constantly, leaning close to examine her face.

“How are you feeling?”

“You asked that a minute ago.”

“Do you feel weak?”

“You asked that two minutes ago.”

“Are you sleepy?”

“No, I’m fine.”

“Is it hard to breathe? Should I open a window?”

Kyle couldn’t stop fussing, completely on edge.

To prove she was fine, Brody looked up at him with wide, alert eyes and shouted.

“I told you, I’m fine! I’m perfectly okay right now!”

“Ah… really?”

Kyle, flustered by her outburst, awkwardly sat back down, abandoning his attempt to open the window.

Brody looked at him and let out a small, exasperated laugh.

She knew Kyle was going out of his way because he felt guilty.

‘He probably thinks I realized Zelda is the girl he likes and feels even more sorry because of that.’

She thought, her emotions complicated. Still, she smiled brightly at him. She didn’t want him to feel burdened.

 

***

 

Despite her constant reassurances, Kyle stayed by her side all night, unwilling to leave.

It was only at dawn that he finally fell asleep for a short while.

The sunlight streaming through the window eventually woke him, and he opened his eyes to see Brody lying on the bed.

But unlike the night before, when she had been softly breathing, Brody now lay motionless, her face pale as if frozen in place.

She looked like a corpse.

Kyle shot up and ran to her, immediately lowering his head to check her breathing.

When he felt the faintest hint of breath, his legs gave out beneath him, and he collapsed to the floor.

His heart pounded violently, and his mind reeled from the shock.

He stared at her, lying there as if lifeless.

“…Brody?”

She didn’t respond. Her once expressive face was now cold and still, and her body, which used to cling to him like a magnet, was limp and drained of energy.

Kyle called her name over and over, but there was no answer.

A torrent of emotions surged within him, forcing him to bite down on his trembling lips.

The silence in the room, devoid of her usual chatter, left him uneasy and shaken. It felt as if he were the only one left in the world.

Though he knew she would wake up in three days, seeing her like this, unresponsive and quiet, made his heart sink.

Kyle let out a shuddering breath.

He reached for her hand, which was now cold and stiff, and pressed his lips to it as he gazed at her.

‘I’m so sorry,’ he thought.

He felt overwhelming guilt for what she was enduring because of him.

It hurt so much that his heart ached and his spirit crumbled.