Chapter 99
Chapter 99
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 99
Chapter Title: Adding Insult to Injury
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“Is this Lin’s house?”
Lena asked as she gazed at the house built at the base of the cliff. It wasn’t a cabin or a brick house, but a modest dwelling with walls coated in clay. Lin had exchanged greetings with the Easterners and led Lena to the outskirts of the village. There, quite a distance from the village, stood a serene little home.
“Not exactly my house... but it’s where I stay. The people built it for me.”
Three years ago, after evacuating the Easterners to this place, Lin had secretly protected them while avoiding contact as much as possible. He didn’t want to bring unnecessary danger. But about a year later, a certain housewife had called out to him.
—You just gonna stand there gawking again? Sit down and stay a while.
She had a ten-year-old son, and she dragged the man in the Crow mask right over and sat him down. Then she spoke to the tense Lin.
—What am I supposed to do with you skulking around like some stray pup? We all know we owe you our lives, so from now on, come through the front door if you’re gonna visit. Don’t just lurk in the distance.
With that, the housewife set a meal before Lin. But he couldn’t eat it. Back then, his Crow mask covered his entire face.
“You changed the mask’s shape back then?”
Lena asked half in disbelief, and Lin nodded, his seductive form now showing only his lips. The Crow’s beak bobbed up and down, and Lena found herself clapping a hand over her mouth without thinking.
*Cute.*
He’d changed the mask just so he could eat. She always thought it, but this man had such an endearing, pitiful side. Imagining him agonizing over the meal before finally altering the mask made her feel a bittersweet happiness. The housewife had thought the same. She’d clicked her tongue at the Crow wasting the meal she’d prepared, but the next time, when she saw the mask’s new shape, she burst into laughter. At the same time, she noticed the subtly revealed jaw of the Crow was as youthful as her own son’s, stirring an indescribable feeling. That was probably when it started—some of the people who had suspected and feared the Crow began to open their hearts, even accepting his occasional visits as one of their own.
“They’re kind people. Just like you, Lin.”
Lin nodded happily at Lena’s words, as if boasting about it.
“But what did you say back there?”
Lena asked as she followed him. Lin paused for a moment while opening the door to the house.
“The people seemed really shocked...”
“I just introduced you.”
“Me? What did you say?”
“That you’re my fiancée...”
Now accustomed to the title, Lena nodded at first, then whipped her head around to stare at him in surprise a beat later.
“Why...?”
“It just... happened.”
He’d introduced her as his fiancée to his own people from his hometown, in a place where there was no need to. The two fell silent for a moment, grateful for the Crow masks. Without them, they would have caught each other’s flushed faces.
“So that’s why?”
“Why what?”
“Those girls back there. They looked like the sky was falling. I wondered what was wrong.”
Lena changed the subject awkwardly, then recalled her staring contest with the girls and chuckled. No wonder they’d gone pale with shock.
“Go figure. Who’d fall for a guy in a Crow mask?”
Lena shot Lin a glare as she said it. Those girls wouldn’t have liked him for no reason—he must have been nice to them. She suspected Lin might be an oblivious playboy. Glaring at him for it, the quick-witted Lin offered an excuse on his own.
“That’s why I said you’re my fiancée.”
“And?”
“So you’d feel secure.”
With that, Lin darted inside the house like he was fleeing, and Lena stood there stunned, mulling over his words before bursting into laughter. He was so cute and thoughtful she didn’t know what to do with him. Beaming happily, Lena followed him. Or tried to.
“Have you eaten?!”
The sudden voice startled Lena, and she whipped around. She’d understood the words—they were in the imperial tongue. Through the forest path, amid the gathering dusk, she saw a light. And atop the reddish glow, the silhouette of someone laden with burdens appeared. Soon, the housewife and the boy from before stepped into view before Lena and Lin.
“Brought food and blankets! This is my mom, Hwi!”
The boy introduced the housewife beside him in his unique speech. Hwi muttered something to the boy, who nodded and switched back to imperial.
“Mom wants to know if you’re really from the Empire!”
The abrupt question flustered Lena. Standing there silently, the boy shouted again.
“It’s not anything weird—the food might be spicy!”
As the boy explained, Hwi set down the tray she’d been carrying on the wide veranda outside the house. Pulling back the cloth cover revealed large bowls of food. It was a very thin noodle dish.
*Pasta...?*
Lena alternated between the slightly unfamiliar food and the woman named Hwi. Hwi seemed to mean well, but it also felt like she was testing if Lena was truly imperial. As Lena stayed quiet, Lin answered for her in the Eastern tongue.
“She’s trustworthy.”
“Who’d bring someone untrustworthy? This one’s spicy, this one’s milder—eat what suits you. If you can’t handle it, rinse it in water. And just in case, I brought blankets. Stay the night?”
Lin glanced at the sky at Hwi’s question. The twilight had already deepened, readying for night. He nodded, and Hwi said she understood, taking the blanket from her son and striding into the house. Her son hurried after her. Once they were inside, Lena asked Lin what Hwi had said. When he translated verbatim, Lena was surprised once more. Having lived as a mercenary and seen the Empire’s depravity firsthand, she knew well how stingy people became when cornered. Yet these forest dwellers showed such generosity—watching them, she could see where Lin’s gentle kindness came from.
“Hungry?”
While Hwi was inside, Lin sat Lena down on the veranda. He handed her a bowl from the tray and some unfamiliar utensils. Lena took them absently and stared at the pair of thin sticks.
“What are these...?”
“Oh, first time seeing them?”
Lin gripped the two sticks in one hand.
“Watch.”
He began moving them like tongs.
“How do you do that?”
“They’re Eastern utensils. Like forks in purpose, but...”
Lin placed the strange tools in Lena’s hand himself. He guided her fingers, offering tips. But the results were dismal. The sticks kept slipping from her grasp, and even when she seemed to get it, they’d go awry the moment she really tried. Frustrated by the failures, Lena grumbled.
“Do only people who can master these complicated things get to eat in the East?”
“You’ll get used to it—it’s not that hard...”
Lena eyed the useless tools and the bowl of thin noodles in dismay. She tried twirling them like pasta, but barely anything came up. Lin, who’d been watching, took her utensils and scooped some food, holding it to her lips like he would a baby. Lena stared at the food inches from her nose, a bit incredulous. It had been years since anyone fed her. Embarrassing as it was, the Crow mask let her be a little bold. So Lena obediently opened her mouth and accepted what Lin offered.
“Mmm...?”
Chewing the soft noodles, her eyes lit up. The sauce was her first taste—slightly salty and spicy. Still unfamiliar, but right up her alley.
“Too spicy?”
“No, it’s delicious.”
“Good.”
Relieved, Lin scooped more and fed her. Lena accepted without refusal, and soon sauce dotted her lips. Lin wiped it away with his fingertip like a dutiful feeder, then licked the sauce off his own finger.
“Lin, you’re really...”
“Hm?”
Lena groaned watching him, and Lin tilted his head, clueless. It must have been entirely thoughtless. *I can’t let this one out in public,* Lena thought, yet she opened her mouth for the next bite.
“Oh my, so shameless.”
Hwi emerged from the house then, and Lena and Lin jolted apart in alarm. Tense like kids caught misbehaving, they faced the middle-aged woman who nodded knowingly, as if she’d been there herself.
“Laid it out for you. Fire’s lit, so it’ll warm up soon. Jin’s fetching water—heat some later for washing up, then rest.”
Hwi ambled off, and Lena and Lin exchanged glances before resuming their meal in the usual way. It was unavoidable. They were starving, the food was tasty, and Lena was clumsy with the foreign utensils. So the pair of Crows—one feeding, one being fed—looked rather heartwarming despite their eerie forms. But the good times lasted only until then. Soon after, Hwi’s son announced he’d finished fetching water and it was okay to go inside. Having just finished eating—and with the Crow masks growing stuffy—Lin and Lena headed in. But Lin, entering first, regretted his earlier words. A single blanket lay in the room, and to make matters worse, the two pillows nestled cozily together. It was the consequence of the big Crow calling the little Crow his fiancée.
. . .
“What do we do?”
Maskless now, Lin asked Lena’s opinion first. *He’s gotten bold,* she thought. Normally, he’d have insisted on sleeping outside. Amused by his change, Lena eyed the blanket on the floor. It was odd to her too—no bed, just thick bedding on the ground. The layers were especially plush, making her hesitate to ask for more. Supplies couldn’t be abundant deep in these woods; this must have been given with effort. So Lena just nodded.
“I’m fine.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah. I’m used to bunking with guys.”
“...Why are you used to that?”
Lin’s shocked expression made Lena chuckle.
“From my mercenary days.”
“Ah.”
He’d heard vaguely—Lena had fought as a mercenary in the South’s Silent War. While Lin processed it, Lena removed her Crow mask too. After wearing it all day, her hair was a mess. The thick feathered cloak had made her sweat, so recalling the boy’s imperial words, she said,
“Mind if I wash up first?”
Lin stared at her like she’d said something wildly improper. Lena met his gaze calmly, and he soon closed his gaping mouth and nodded—far too resolutely.
. . .
The little Crow house surprisingly had everything one might need. Lin was often away, but the people must have checked in and maintained it. After bathing, Lena donned the large robe-like garment Hwi had left. Returning, she found Lin seated in a similar robe. Wondering if he’d changed without washing, she saw his damp hair—he’d clearly bathed elsewhere.
“Another place to wash?”
“Uh...”
Lin answered curtly. Truth was, waiting idly while Lena bathed had made him antsy, so he’d rinsed off outside with cold water, but he didn’t explain. Lena stared, then brushed back her still-damp hair and sat beside him.