Mr. Kadan in the Deep Forest - Chapter 25

“My hair, do whatever you want.”

“Really?”

Luna carefully ran her hand over his crown. The coarse strands of hair scraped against her delicate skin as they slid through her fingers.

“Yeah. But first, let’s wash your face.”

Kadan used his large hands to wipe Luna’s face. Each time he cleaned her cheeks and nose, Luna could feel something slippery and pungent, but she didn’t pay much attention to it.

As Kadan gently wiped her face, Luna, still processing the events from last night, asked a question that had been on her mind.

“By the way, Kadan, did you come from foreign country?”

“Foreign?”

“Yes, I mean another country. Last night, you spoke in a different language. What was it? Kratzsva…?”

Luna clumsily imitated the foreign language, and then burst into laughter. Kadan, who had been listening intently, tilted his head, as if he had never heard the words before.

“I don’t know, that word.”

“That’s strange. Your accent and pronunciation seemed so familiar.”

“Not at all. I don’t remember.”

Not only did Kadan have no recollection of last night, but his memories from childhood were also gone.

He didn’t know how old he was or who his parents were. When he regained consciousness, he was already abandoned in the northern forest. Struggling to escape the forest, Kadan had found an abandoned cabin by chance and started living there.

Despite all this, Kadan didn’t feel particularly lonely or troubled. He simply killed beasts to survive and sold their corpses to the nearby village to make a living. Thanks to his natural physical abilities and a skill with swords that he couldn’t remember learning, he had survived until now.

I don’t know. Kadan shook his head once more as he finished bathing Luna.

‘I didn’t accidentally stir up his wounds, did I?’

Luna looked at him sympathetically, then shifted her gaze toward the bed. What had been perfectly fine yesterday was now split in half. Before Luna could ask, Kadan answered first.

“I will fix it. Hands up.”

After carefully drying Luna’s body, Kadan offered her a set of pajamas. As Luna raised her arms, Kadan slipped the pajamas on her effortlessly, as if he had done it many times before.

“Can you fix the bed too?”

“I can fix anything.”

Kadan pointed to the wooden bath, shelves, and cutting board. Wow! Luna’s eyes widened in awe as she followed his hand with admiration. He could cook, clean, do laundry, and even chop firewood. To think a man like him had all these skills.

“Kadan, you’re such a wonderful husband material!”

“Husband?”

“Yeah. A man to marry. Anyone who sees you would think the same.”

“You too?”

“Of course.”

Luna answered without hesitation, but her face quickly turned bright red. Kadan, without even blinking, stared intently at her face, which had transformed from a white peach into a red apple.

“W-What I mean is, Mr. Kadan, you’re… such a good man…”

After being reduced to a slave, she dared to be greedy. Luna quickly trailed off, feeling guilty and avoiding Kadan’s gaze.

“You too.”

“Hmm?”

“You’re a good woman too.”

A woman I’d want to marry. Kadan muttered the last part softly, then went to the shelf and brought over a pair of scissors, handing them to Luna.

Luna blinked rapidly and looked down at the scissors. For a moment, her mind went blank, and she couldn’t think of anything. Kadan shook the scissors in his hand.

“Take them. You said you want to cut my hair.”

“Huh?”

“My hair. Do whatever you want.”

Kadan pulled a chair from the table, turned his back to Luna, and plopped down. Confused, Luna alternated between the scissors in her hand and Kadan. He murmured to himself that they have to sleep together,

“We need a bigger… stronger new bed.”

With his back to her, Luna couldn’t see his expression, but the tips of his ears, peeking out from his messy hair, were tinted a red so deep, they looked like snowberries.

＊＊＊

Luna skillfully trimmed Kadan’s hair. She didn’t forget to shave his beard either. Luna’s work was excellent, but since Kadan was so handsome, all attention went to his face rather than his hair, so her skill didn’t stand out much.

Naturally, he became even more popular.

Every time Kadan visited the village, people welcomed him warmly, and the village women competed to seduce him. He became the village’s most handsome man, surpassing Ruth. Now, he was even called Kadan, not monster anymore.

Kadan didn’t care whether they welcomed him or not. But Luna was different. Now, more and more village women came to the cabin, leaving food and other things behind.

Each time, Luna would hold her breath and hide in a corner of the cabin. If the villagers found out she was the one who had been offered as a sacrifice, she knew what would happen.

─Is Kadan here? Try this, please.

Today, as usual, the familiar voice of a woman knocked on the door. What was her name again? Daisy? She was the woman who had cried while putting makeup on Luna when she was offered as a sacrifice.

Since Kadan had gone out to gather firewood and hadn’t returned yet, Luna quietly crouched in a corner of the cabin. The more women came looking for him, the more a bitter feeling settled in Luna’s chest.

‘He said I’m a good woman, but there are probably other women better than me in this village.’