Mr. Kadan in the Deep Forest - Chapter 49

Impossible! The startled women turned to look behind them, their mouths dropping open. Kadan, who was leaning casually against the open door, was surveying the women with a sharp gaze.

When had he been there? The confused women hurriedly tried to cover their faces with large cloths.

『Dwabo.』

As Kadan called for his lieutenant, Dwabo peeked out from behind him.

『Yes, Your Highness. Your Dwabo is here.』

『From now on, weed out the women I point to.』

Kadan, without missing a beat, identified every woman who had been slandering Luna just moments ago.

『But Your Highness, that woman is not from earlier?』

『That one is included as well. She may not have spoken, but she nodded along when they talked about how terrible Luna was.』

『You have an impressive memory, Your Highness.』

Following their lord’s command, the Inut soldiers began dragging the women out of the banquet hall. With more than half of them gone, the hall was left eerily empty.

Kadan then moved toward Luna, who was sitting in the corner, hugging her knees. As he knelt to her level, Luna lowered her head in embarrassment. How could she hold her head high after overhearing those insults?

Kadan gently lifted her chin, forcing her to face him.

“Lift your head.”

“…….”

“Why did you stay silent?”

“Because they weren’t wrong.”

Trying to argue in that situation would only have made the atmosphere worse. Luna had waited for the noise to die down before trying to speak with the one leading the rumors. She never imagined that Kadan would appear so suddenly.

“They weren’t wrong? To me, it sounded all wrong.”

Kadan tapped Luna’s shoulder, where the scar from his bite remained.

“Don’t let anyone bite you apart again. Body or heart.”

His words were more of a command than advice. Without waiting for a response, Kadan scooped Luna up as if she was a child.

“K-Kadan?”

“Follow me.”

It was more accurate to say that Luna was carried along rather than following. Kadan carried her to the audience chamber.

The grand room with the throne was empty. Stepping onto the red carpet as if he was a king, Kadan gently placed Luna on the throne. Luna, startled, tried to stand, but Kadan pressed down on her shoulder and forced her to stay seated.

“Sit.”

His soft voice had an authority that commanded submission. Luna, without realizing it, obeyed, settling back onto the throne. She wanted to stand, but his words felt like shackles on her body, preventing her from moving.

Sitting there, Luna carefully chose her words.

“Even if no one is watching, this is the throne. Not just anyone can sit here.”

The words coming from the mouth of the former slave sounded more noble than anyone else’s. While the King of Brillan and even its nobles had cowardly fled to preserve their pitiful lives, this small woman was struggling to maintain the dignity of the throne.

It was truly ironic. Kadan smirked and ran his fingers through his hair.

“If I say sit, then this seat becomes yours.”

Kadan’s words were firm and commanding.

“You’ve… changed a lot, Kadan.”

“I’ve regained my memories.”

Before becoming a forest keeper, he had been royalty. There was an undeniable presence of authority and dominance that hadn’t been there before.

Kadan knelt at Luna’s feet, sitting before the throne where she now rested. Surprised, Luna tried to lift him, but there was no way for her to overpower him. Like a large beast, Kadan rubbed his forehead against her knees.

“This is me. Does it bother you?”

“Of course not.”

Luna’s response came without hesitation.

Then why had she suddenly disappeared with another man? Kadan almost opened his mouth to ask, but then stopped with his lips pressed tight.

Luna had claimed she had never left, but in Kadan’s mind, he could still see the image of the cabin she had abandoned. He remembered the long, lonely nights spent waiting for her, without eating.

Having never relied on anyone before, Kadan now felt what it was like to be abandoned for the first time. The pain was so great that, even with Luna right in front of him now, he still felt anxious.

Why did you leave? What was it that made you leave me, even after I gave you my ring? Or was it that you preferred that bastard Ruth? What was so special about that snake of a man? I’m offering you this throne, Luna. Will you choose me completely?

Countless questions piled up in his mind, but the proud, taciturn man couldn’t bring himself to speak. He could only make low, frustrated sounds.

‘Is Kadan ill?’

Luna gently placed her hand on his forehead. Then, she suddenly remembered that Kadan hated having his head touched and quickly pulled her hand back in alarm.

But then, Kadan caught her hand as she tried to pull away and brought it to rest gently on his head, as if asking for her touch. Her delicate fingers softly stroked his thick hair.

Kadan took a deep breath. The sweet scent of Luna, which he had missed so much, stirred his instincts. He wanted to bite her, to consume her completely, to feel the satisfaction of conquering her. He longed to mark her with a permanent imprint, a symbol of possession on every inch of her body.

Leaning against Luna’s knee, Kadan slowly pushed himself further between her legs. He began to lift the edge of her white skirt and pressed his head between her knees.

“Kadan, I need to talk.”

There were things she needed to explain, to clear up the misunderstandings between them.