The Great Wish - Chapter 12.3

Chapter 12.3

This time, they went even deeper into the forest. Their surroundings changed. They were now clearly in the center of the forest.

“Did you clash with the anti-imperialists?”

Was that something one would consider a ‘clash’? Sienna nodded.

“How strange. I didn’t think there was a group with that much power in the southern territories…”

‘Was I the only one who didn’t know about the anti-imperialists?’

Although he wasn’t a citizen of the Empire, he knew more about it than she did.

“What happened?”

“We were attacked while we were traveling by carriage.”

“They attacked the carriage?”

He looked even more confused. However, the more he listened to Sienna’s account of what had happened, the more he pressed his temple with his fingertips in frustration.

“So you only took five guards with you? Huu, Sienna. You sure have guts. Are you hurt anywhere? Are you still suffering from the after-effects? Have the imperial doctors treated you yet?”

“I’m fine. It all happened a while ago.”

She didn’t mind hearing his worried nagging. When Patricia had nagged at her, Sienna believed she was only trying to stop her from going out for the inspection, so she found them quite unpleasant.

“The same goes for today’s hunting tournament. While deer are docile creatures, they are quite large and can be dangerous. There is no such thing as a safe beast. The Iron King said that you could bring some knights to accompany you, so why did you reject his offer?”

“Because everyone else will do it alone. I don’t need special treatment.”

“That’s not special treatment. Please, Sienna. You really don’t have any fear.”

“But you’re taking advantage of that side of me.”

“…”

“If I had knights accompanying me, you wouldn’t have revealed yourself to me.”

“…You really have a knack for shutting someone up.”

Kuhn tilted his head.

“Then are you saying that this is why you didn’t bring the knights with you? Did you do that on purpose?”

Kuhn felt that he’d witnessed something astounding. She slowly turned her eyes away.

‘Ah,’ Sienna pointed.

“It’s a deer.”

Having found her first deer, Sienna’s eyes sparkled. She grabbed her bow and was about to chase after it.

“Let go.”

His tight grip on her arm didn’t loosen.

“I need to catch that deer.”

“I’ll catch it for you later.”

“I’m going to catch it.”

“Yes, yes, I can just guide you to a deer later.”

“A big one?”

“Yes.”

“The biggest deer.”

“All right.”

If anyone else had said this, she would have thought they were just bragging. However, this man would definitely know where the biggest deer in the forest was.

“Fine. It seems that I have won this hunting tournament.”

He found her gloating words to be so lovable. His expression relaxed. Is this what it meant to be happy?

For the past three months, he swallowed mouthfuls of sand as he traveled all over the desert. It was a bloody and deadly war. It was full of betrayals and conspiracies.

Today, the tribes had reached an agreement, but there was still a lot of work to be done in the coming days. The tribes of the desert had a ferocious instinct to survive. Because of this, they were cruel and unwilling to compromise.

The desert environment was even harsher. In the daytime, there was a sweltering heat, but at night, a biting cold. Without warning, a sandstorm would wipe away everything in its path, and the desert mantises hidden within the sand would hunt anything that was alive.

The days were long as he fought people, nature, and monsters. However, he would have endured it for three years if he had to. As long as he could hold this beautiful treasure in his hands.

“Sienna, do you remember the warning I gave you a while ago?”

Sienna discovered a scar on his forehead that she hadn’t seen before. It was about an inch long. It stretched along his left temple and almost reached his brow.

‘He would have harmed his eye if he wasn’t careful.’

To think that this man had gotten a scar… And more importantly, it was on his face. He must have been in a more dangerous situation than she’d thought. Absorbed in his scar, Sienna replied absentmindedly.

“Yeah…”

“I told you to run away.”

“Huh?”

“I told you to run away because I didn’t know what I’d do to obtain you.”

Sienna looked into his deep eyes.

‘I’m going to marry this man?’

It wouldn’t be too bad to let the future she had seen in her dreams come to pass. His physique was ideal, and his personality wasn’t that bad either. She didn’t think their married life would be boring.

However, their marriage would end in a tragedy.

She didn’t know why their marriage dissolved. Her dreams weren’t kind. There was a high chance that her dreams wouldn’t reveal the reason no matter how many she had.

Knowing that such a bad ending awaits me, should I still go in that direction? Do I need to change the future and not marry him? Was it all inevitable?

Misinterpreting the gloomy look on Sienna’s face, Kuhn spoke in a low voice.

“It’s too late.”

Do you really think I’ll let you run away? Kuhn thought to himself. He tightly embraced her against his chest. Her soft body and her sweet fragrance jumbled his mind.

‘Whenever I embrace you like this, I always forget.’

He wasn’t sure if he liked it because she didn’t push him away or whether it was driving him crazy. But he’d rather have her give him false hope and drive him insane than have her coldly dump him right away. After growing out of his childhood and leaving the security of his clan, Kuhn found that the people outside and their relationships were treated so lightly. Especially the nobility. Their relationships were very twisted. To them, taking an actress as a mistress was something they took for granted.

The Princess was also accustomed to that culture. Therefore, he didn’t interpret the interest she had shown him as affection. To her, he merely stuck out among all the monotonous relationships she had. That’s why she was so interested in him.

In his family, the men were head over heels once they fell in love with a woman. The same went for his grandfather and his father. Once they met the loves of their lives, they kept that love until the very end. He wished their good fortune applied to him as well.