Chapter 39: Your Choice (2)

 

“Ner, I’m ba...”

 

I opened the door and stepped inside.

 

There was no sign of anyone being here.

 

Ner, who usually greets me with a bright voice, was nowhere to be found.

 

“...”

 

The profound silence, which I hadn’t experienced in quite some time, felt unsettling.

 

Hoping it was just my imagination playing tricks, I called out louder.

 

“...Ner?”

 

I check the living room and even headed upstairs.

 

“Ner?”

 

She was not in the basement either.

 

One thing was certain: she was not in the house.

 

I glanced outside of the window.

 

It was getting dark.

 

Where on earth could she have gone?

 

Of course, I knew the werewolves people don’t like to inform others about their whereabouts.

 

I knew that their sense of freedom was paramount.

 

I knew that she would return if I wait.... but the anxiety didn’t go away.

 

Considering Ner’s significance to the future of our Red Flames, if she had run away... the dismay would be indescribable.

 

From my perspective, her actions felt wrong.

 

Leaving without notice, especially at this hour, was unacceptable.

 

For the first time, I realized the moment had come, where I might have to impose human culture onto her.

 

“...Haaa.”

 

With a heavy heart, I stepped outside.

 

I made my way toward the village center.

 

.

.

.

.

 

I couldn’t figure out how to find Ner here.

 

If people had gathered around her, spotting her would’ve been simple. But there was no such crowd anywhere in the village.

 

The more time it took to find her, the more my anxiety deepened.

 

It wasn’t just that I was worried that she might have run away.

 

While Ner might not be unaware of it, there were people in our village who bore animosity toward her.

 

Especially the families of the seven members who died during the Blackwood expedition harbored strong resentment towards her.

 

Although there was no reason for them to blame Ner, it was hard to be rational when it came to those who were desperately searching for someone to blame, for the loss of their loved ones.

 

To be honest, my fear that something bad might have happened to her outweighed the possibility of her running away.

 

So, I first tried to locate the families of those seven fallen members who were sacrificed this time.

 

“Vice-captain...?”

 

As I approached each family, ensuring Ner’s absence, I also tried to offer words of solace.

 

At the same time, I wondered where Ner really went.

 

Facing this practical problem, I felt the immense cultural gap between us.

 

I roamed every corner of the village.

 

Some members looked at me with puzzled expressions.

 

“Vice-captain! Do you need something?”

 

“...”

 

I couldn’t bring myself to ask them if they had seen Ner.

 

Such an inquiry might imply that we have a strained relationship.

 

It might hint that the prize for which they’d risked their lives was wanted to escape.

 

I shook my head and continued searching for Ner with my head down, feeling the pressure mounting.

 

“Berg!”

 

At that moment, someone called out to me.

 

I turned around and saw Paul standing there wearing leather gloves.

 

“Paul, why haven’t you gone back to the orphanage yet?”

 

“I was just about to. What about you, Berg?”

 

“...”

 

I avert my eyes, trying to avoid answering.

 

“Just head back to the orphanage now. It’s getting late.”

 

“Can’t I stay out a bit longer? Aren’t you staying out too?”

 

“Paul, listen to m-”

 

“- I saw your wife still outside too.”

 

Every nerve in me tensed up at Paul’s words.

 

A sense of relief washed over me, knowing Paul had seen her. Yet, alongside that relief, a surge of anger emerged.

 

I never realized that cultural differences could be this challenging.

 

I asked Paul.

 

“...Where did you see her?”

 

“Huh? Ner?”

 

I leaned in, catching every nuance of his words.

 

In a hushed tone, Paul whispered, “...She was in the forest behind your house.”

 

*****

 

Before entering the forest, I decided to go back to the house.

 

Ner was still missing.

 

If the werewolf culture permitted one’s spouse to remain out so late without any word, it was a norm I found hard to embrace.

 

I proceeded into the dark forest.

 

Since the forest wasn’t that vast, I found Ner sooner than expected.

 

Her white tail shimmered under the moonlight.

 

She was conversing with someone, gazing at the moon.

 

“...that’s why it’s tough. Berg is kind, but-”

 

“-Ner!”

 

I blurted out without realizing it.

 

Caught off guard, Ner was startled, and seeing her genuinely surprised face made me regain my senses.

 

I tried to calm my emotions.

 

Slowly, Ner turned to look at me.

 

Her yellow eyes, gleamed in the darkness, met mine.

 

“...Berg?”

 

“Why are you here?”

 

“...Huh?”

 

“How can you just leave without saying anything...!”

 

The emotions I tried to subdue flared up once more.

 

There were various reasons mixed together.

 

I was anxious she might have run away and scared she might have been harmed by the victims’ families.

 

Ner blinked her eyes in embarrassment and confusion.

 

“...I... I’m sorry...”

 

As I approached her, she started to apologize but then tightly closed her mouth.

 

After a moment of reflection, she spoke.

 

“Do I even have to say this?”

 

“...?”

 

“Berg, I never once asked you wherever you went. Do I have to report even a simple stroll to you?”

 

“It’s late. I was worried...!”

 

“What’s there to worry about!”

 

Ner also raised her voice slightly.

 

“Are you afraid I will run away? How can I run away from here! How can I escape from a village surrounded by barriers!”

 

“...”

 

“I too need some freedom...!”

 

With that, she slowly poured out her suppressed feelings.

 

“I stay at home every day. No place to go for a walk. There is no one of my kind around! It’s scary because the culture is different…! At least I can take a walk like this!”

 

“You shouldn’t do it late at night.”

 

I said.

 

“...”

 

“I don’t know about your kind, but for humans, it’s worrisome.”

 

Upon hearing this, Ner lowered her gaze and stayed silent.

 

After a while, she mumbled.

 

“It feels like I’m on a leash...”

 

She fidgeted with the ring on her left hand.

 

Seeing her like this, a wave of sympathy arose in me.

 

I could somewhat empathize with her.

 

After all, I had been with the mercenary group where Adam Hyung and I were the only humans.

 

I had a rough idea of what it felt like to be the odd one out in a group.

 

Staying still at home often brings about a feeling of heaviness.

 

She must have felt that too.

 

Perhaps this was my fault.

 

I approached her.

 

I knelt in front of the tree stump where she sat.

 

Covering her left hand with mine, I spoke.

 

“It might feel like you’re being leashed.”

 

“...”

 

Ner remained still, and I continued.

 

“But you’re my wife. I can’t help but act this way.”

 

“...”

 

“How would I know if something happened to you outside? I’m just worried about you.”

 

Ner’s expression wavered.

 

I looked up at her, and her face seemed downcast as if she was about to cry, yet she didn’t pull away from my touch.

 

If this was the past, she would have pushed me away.

 

Despite these conflicts, I felt ambiguous emotions, sensing that I’d definitely gotten closer to her.

 

Seeing Ner’s expression, pity surged within me once more. She looked even more beautiful somehow.

 

I let out a deep sigh and said,

 

“...Alright, then.”

 

“...”

 

“You can go out for a walk at night, just promise me one thing.”

 

Hope shimmered in her eyes and her expression began to relax.

 

Clearly, she must have felt trapped. I needed to understand that about her.

 

“...What?”

 

“Only come to this spot. Don’t go anywhere else, just here.”

 

“...”

 

“I need to be able to find you...”

 

Ner blinked a few times, then nodded.

 

Although she didn’t seem completely on board, she seemed more at ease.

 

Then, she fidgeted with her hand under mine and extended her hand to lightly grip my wrist.

 

“...I’m sorry.”

 

As I stepped back, she immediately apologized.

 

It felt less like she was apologizing for thinking she did something wrong, and more like she wanted to reconcile.

 

Seeing her act this way, I chuckled.

 

Then I sat next to the tree stump she was sitting on.

 

Our thighs lightly touched.

 

“So, you were looking at the moon?”

 

I tried to steer the conversation away from the awkward topic.

 

Ner, catching onto my intention, immediately joined in.

 

“Yes. Lately... I haven’t been able to see it.”

 

“From home-”

 

“-I can’t see the moon from home.”

 

She affirmed.

 

I learned something I didn’t know through her.

 

“The angle is strange... I can’t see the moon well. Trees block it... I have to come here to see it like this.”

 

I always knew that the moon was special to the werewolf tribe.

 

I was surprised to learn she couldn’t see it.

 

Once again, guilt bubbled up with me.

 

“I’m sorry.”

 

“No, it’s fine.”

 

I scratched my head again.

 

“It seemed like you were talking to someone?”

 

When I asked again, Ner blinked and... bowed her head.

 

She gently grabbed her tail and stroked it slowly.

 

“...”

 

“If you don’t want to talk, you don’t have to.”

 

Upon hearing that, she nodded her head.

 

Perhaps the moon might have been her only friend.

 

Even I, at one point, had casually spoken to the bugs roaming around in our house, so I somewhat understood.

 

‘...Vice-captain! Vice-captain...!’

 

Then, from a distance, I heard someone calling out to me.

 

At first, I thought it might just be my imagination and looked at Ner.

 

However, even Ner’s ears twitched, turning towards the direction of the sound, and her expression changed.

 

Upon hearing that urgent voice, we both immediately rose from our seats and headed toward home.

 

As we emerged from the forest, the voice became clearer.

 

“Vice-captain! Please open the door-”

 

“-I’m here.”

 

Baran, who had been knocking on the door, looked at Ner and me as we emerged from the forest.

 

Seeing his urgent demeanor, I asked with a puzzled expression, “What happened?”

 

He took a moment to catch his breath.

 

Wetting his lips, he finally spoke, “You should quickly go see the captain. We have a visitor.”

 

“A visitor?”

 

I wondered who would come to see us at this hour.

 

How urgent must it have been to come in the middle of the night.

 

Baran quickly resolved my curiosity.

 

“An Elf... from the Celebrien family has come.”

 

“An Elf?”

 

Ner, standing beside me, also repeated the name with surprise.

 

“...Celebrien?”

 

Her tone carried a hint of nostalgia, as if recalling an old friend.

 

Baran urged me on.

 

“…Vice-captain, please follow me.”

 

“...”

 

I nodded in response.

 

– – – End of Chapter – – –