Chapter – 135 ….
“Can I call you Mia noona?”
“Well, um…”
“Or should I just call you Lady Mia.”
“Just… call me noona.”
“Alright, Mia noona. I’ll call you that from now on.”
The Forest Witch Mia felt like her heart was about to burst.
In the one hundred and thirty long years she had lived, she had never once seen a man as handsome as Carlyle, and now such a man was calling her noona. She had never felt this embarrassed in her life.
Meanwhile, the scouts watching from the side trembled at Carlyle’s accidental-but-deadly “handsome-man technique.”
“He actually pulled it off…”
“Son of a— seriously.”
“This filthy world…”
“There really isn’t a single thing handsome people can’t do, huh? It all just works. Everything works. Tch!”
To them, it was something unimaginable.
Something the average man wouldn’t even dare to dream of was something Carlyle could accomplish effortlessly.
Why else would he be the North’s number one handsome man?
He was simply too good-looking, and everything involving the opposite sex came to him as easily as breathing.
“Anyway, sorry for intruding on your territory without permission.”
“It’s f… fine.”
Mia hung her head low and spoke in a shrinking voice.
She couldn’t bear to lift her eyes, not with Carlyle’s gaze directly on her.
“So you forgive me?”
“Mm-hm.”
“Thanks.”
“But on one condition.”
“Condition?”
“You stay here.”
“…Huh?”
“The others can go. But you can’t. You must stay.”
Her eyes glistened with desire as she said it.
It was the type of possessiveness found in someone who had just encountered a beauty so divine—quite possibly the most beautiful being among God’s creations—that she couldn’t imagine letting him go.
“Uh… that’s a problem.”
“Why.”
Mia’s eyes widened dangerously.
“Can’t I just… have you?”
“I don’t think my old man would allow that.”
“Your… old man?”
“My father.”
“And who’s your father?”
“Guntram von Sigmund.”
“G–Guntram von Sigmund? That bas—”
“You know my father?”
“N-No. I’ve just… heard the name.”
Mia stammered, realizing she had slipped.
‘Impossible. This brat is that damned bastard’s son?’
In truth, Mia had met Grand Duke Guntram before.
Decades ago.
Like Carlyle, Guntram had been sent to this blood-soaked land of Kuberrin the moment he finished his commissioning ceremony. And in the [Forest of Evil Spirits], he had fought Mia, the black sorceress.
Mia shuddered at the memory of running for her life from Guntram, barely escaping with her head intact.
“If you’ve heard of him, then you know he’s the Lord of Decaron.”
“Mm-hm…”
“If I go missing, he’ll tear this entire forest apart looking for me. And then you’ll be in trouble.”
“T-That’s true…”
“So can you just let us go nicely? Please?”
“Hmmm…”
Mia fell into deep thought.
She desperately wanted to keep Carlyle, but the idea of being hunted for the rest of her life by “that damned bastard” was enough to stop her.
“Fine. I’ll let you go. But another condition.”
“What is it?”
“Kiss me.”
“…What did you say?”
“Kiss me. When will I ever again get the chance to kiss someone as handsome as you?”
Mia took a step toward him.
“W-Wait.”
Carlyle instinctively stepped back.
A chill ran down his spine.
Why?
Because Carlyle knew Mia’s true form.
The Forest Witch Mia appeared beautiful, but in truth, she was a tree monster.
She maintained her youthful appearance by absorbing nutrients from the living creatures her man-eating trees devoured. Her real form was grotesque beyond imagination.
* * *
Kiss a hag-monster?
‘I’d rather die.’
Carlyle could never accept that.
If he didn’t know Mia’s true identity, he might’ve reluctantly given her a kiss. But now that he knew, it was impossible.
“Sorry, but no.”
“Why not?”
“I’m saving myself for marriage.”
The scouts’ faces instantly twisted.
‘What utter bullshit!’
‘He’s slept with at least a hundred women!’
‘Even a stray dog wouldn’t laugh at that excuse!’
Carlyle’s reputation as a man who left a trail of scandals thanks to his handsome face was well-known.
And now he was claiming chastity?
“Saving yourself? I didn’t ask you to sleep with me. Just a kiss.”
“Kissing is off-limits too. I’m saving my first for my future wife.”
“So you don’t want to kiss me?”
“That’s not it. It’s just—”
“What do you mean, it’s not?!”
Mia screamed sharply.
“Choose. Kiss me and leave safely… or die here.”
“You know who my father is, and you’re still threatening to kill us?”
“I’ll just erase the evidence.”
“…”
“To be honest, I want to kill those worms behind you and drag you back to my lair. I’m holding myself back, hahahaha! So choose—kiss me, or get taken by force.”
It was her final warning.
“If I refuse even then?”
“Then you’ll be my slave.”
“Who decided that?”
Just as Carlyle reached for his sword—
“You crazy bastard!”
“Just do it!”
“Are you out of your goddamn mind?!”
The scouts swarmed him, raging.
To them, a kiss with Mia was a bargain if it meant living.
“I said no.”
“Then let the captain do it!”
“What? She won’t like me, idiot!”
“Oh… that’s true.”
“What, are you bragging about your face now?!”
“I’m not bragging.”
“Then just do it!”
“I said no!”
“One little kiss saves all our lives and you still won’t do it?!”
“I’d rather die.”
“You little—! It’s just a kiss! Your lips won’t evaporate! Or will they?!”
“They will.”
No matter how much he resisted, the scouts wouldn’t let him off this time.
“Just do it! Close your eyes and wiggle your tongue a bit!”
“We beg you, Private Carlyle!”
“You’re good at it! Don’t act innocent now, you slut!”
Eventually, Carlyle was dragged and shoved in front of Mia.
“Haa…”
He sighed deeply.
Realistically, kissing Mia was the best way to survive.
It would be disgusting and traumatic, but—
“Master, are you really going to do it? With that hag-monster? That’s horrifying.”
The baby dragon whispered in his ear.
Judging by its words, it could see Mia’s true form as well.
“My mind’s already in hell, don’t talk to me.”
Carlyle closed his eyes tightly and approached Mia.
“Sorry, but can you close your eyes?”
“Why?”
“What kind of woman kisses with her eyes open? That’s just weird.”
“That’s… true.”
Mia nodded.
“So you’ll kiss me?”
“Yeah. Just close your eyes.”
“Alright.”
She gently shut her eyes.
Carlyle approached.
“You better keep your promise.”
“Just hurry.”
Mia licked her lips in anticipation—
FWOOOSH!
A sonic boom ripped the air.
Mia’s head flew clean off.
Soul-Requiem Sword: Sonic Dawn.
A supersonic draw strike.
Thud, roll…
Her severed head rolled across the ground.
“…..!”
The scouts were stunned.
The direct heir of House Sigmund had promised a kiss… only to strike first like a coward?
Her body collapsed.
Black, dead blood gushed from the severed neck, filling the air with a revolting stench.
It was proof she was no normal human.
And worse—
Her once-beautiful face rapidly aged and shriveled, turning into something like a rotten old tree.
“Ugh!”
“Gah!”
The scouts struggled not to vomit.
That was Mia’s true form.
“Captain.”
“Mm?”
“You’ve got oil, right?”
“Why?”
“We should finish her properly. Don’t forget what happened with Byonsen.”
“Oh, that’s what you meant. Don’t worry. I remember.”
Glug!
Bergman poured oil over Mia’s corpse and lit it.
FWOOM!
The body burned, filling the forest with the stench of rot.
* * *
Meanwhile, Helen had been extremely on edge for days.
The reason was simple.
‘Private Carlyle’s leave ends soon… ugh.’
She feared Carlyle’s return.
Yes, he had stopped acting out like before. But that didn’t mean he wasn’t still a high-risk soldier.
After all, Carlyle had unofficially deserted once.
To Helen, he was nothing less than a full-category “Soldier of Concern.”
‘Even he wouldn’t cause trouble the moment he returns… right?’
Clinging to faint hope, she waited anxiously.
But when Carlyle returned with the scouts, Helen nearly fainted.
“S-So what you’re saying is…”
Helen’s voice trembled.
“You captured… the son of the Awanga…? Of the Stormfury Tribe…?”
“Yes.”
“…”
“Can you keep it down? We’re talking with Dame Helen.”
Carlyle scolded his seniors.
“Fine.”
“We’ll quiet him.”
The scouts kicked the struggling Malaga.
Thud! Thud-thud!
“MMMPH! MMMMPH!”
Even bound tightly and gagged, Malaga struggled so violently that physical force was needed to restrain him.
“I… I’ll handle it. This level of magic is nothing…”
ZAP!
Lieutenant Melvin electrocuted Malaga.
“MMMMMMMMMM!!!”
He convulsed violently, rolling on the ground.
“Private Carlyle.”
“Yes?”
“Do you understand what you’ve just done?”
“What do you mean, ma’am?”
“Do you not realize how large the Stormfury Tribe is…? The Stormfury Tribe…”
“They’re one of the top five barbarian tribes, right?”
“You knew that, and you still kidnapped the Awanga’s son…?”
“Is that… bad?”
“If word gets out… the Stormfury Tribe will march their entire army here. They’ll overrun not only our fortress but this entire region.”
“Oh…?”
“Do you understand what that means, Private Carlyle?”
“A large-scale war?”
“Correct.”
Helen’s face hardened.
“We might all die. Before reinforcements can arrive, the Stormfury Tribe will turn this fortress into rubble.”
She clenched her eyes shut, unable to even imagine the disaster.
