Chapter 41

Chapter 41

Even while building the house, Tarhan assisted in every hunting schedule set by Kahanti and was called out to work in the fields during the harvest season. And when there was a flood, he was also the first to be mobilized to clear a huge tree that had fallen in the middle of a rock site.

The finished house was almost the best in the tribe.

“My house never leaks when it rains or gets chilly when the wind blows. It was sturdy. If you lie down inside, it is very cozy. You can easily fall asleep. The chimney is also well connected to the outside, so there is no smoke even once. Even if there is a storm or hail, it will not be affected.”

Tarhan never neglected to maintain the house regularly. Every year, he mixed freshly boiled grass porridge with mud and painted the exterior of the house he had shaved down, and checked the chimney for any clogs.

In addition, he also removed and cleaned the dead ashes and stones in the kiln, pushed away the moss by the well, and repaired the collapsed pile of stones.

“It’s a bit far from town, but that’s…”

Enya couldn’t continue.

It was because it naturally came to mind when Tarhan started looking for a site for the house.

At the time, he believed that Enya’s body was weak, she collapsed at any time, and once she lay down sick, she did not get better because of the poor environment. Because of that, he wanted to stop going to and from the abandoned dugout huts where there was no heating or cooling at all.

Nonetheless, there were not many houses that a boy with nothing could have, having barely undergone a coming-of-age ceremony against the elders.

Every time he was pushed by the owner, they were driven to the place where no one lived.

‘There was no helping hand, so he had to build a house on bare ground…’

Enya wove the carpets for the finished house with yarn she made herself. She also embroidered the wall hangings, and the vase placed next to the bed was also made by hand. Tarhan personally baked it in the kiln, glazed it, and handed it to her without saying a word.

Since she put shamrocks and dahlias in the vase, whenever Tarhan passed it, he would glance at the vase and try to keep the corners of his mouth from rising.

She thought of the house and bit her lip.

“Do you have a fever…? Why are your eyes so red again?”

As Leroi jabbed her cheek with his index finger starting a quarrel, Enya nervously swatted his hand away.

Then, Leroi murmured teasingly as he withdrew from her.

“They say that if you shed tears like that, a skull spider will catch you in Nervana Forest.”

Enya rolled her eyes at Leroi.

“Ah, anyway, Tarhan took care of the house. It is a very nice house.”

She then added a few words of advice to Leroi.

“If you don’t have that much sincerity, women wouldn’t want to even see you, let alone enter your hut?”

“Haa, as expected, women are scary. After Nihitan was caught by Yaru, he was swayed here and there. Even though she is completely controlling it according to her taste, he alone doesn’t know it.”

Leroi said that and pretended to shake his shoulders.

Enya looked at him as if he was a little brother, then slapped him on the shoulder. As expected, only her hand hurt.

The banquet with the people of Nervana Forest, which was like a fantasy, was already showing an end. The young people, who tirelessly enjoyed their time over the fire, fell asleep one by one, holding glasses in their hands, digging into each other’s bodies.

She could see the elders, including Kiyan, looking at the young people with pitiful eyes and pushing them away with their legs so that they could sleep right away.

Enya suddenly came to her senses when it was midnight and she checked the surroundings, which had become dark before she looked around for Rigata.

Eventually, she saw Rigata was just a little disorganized, as expected, but he was still drinking a glass of wine that was still not empty near the Gerpan they had been riding with clear eyes. She was startled to find a red mark on the nape of his neck that she had apparently never seen before.

‘…I don’t have to feel sorry for enjoying the banquet alone.’

Thinking that in her subconscious mind, Enya, who climbed the gerpan with Rigata’s help, soon saw Kiyan and Fiarca approaching her.

“Thank you for coming today. It was a pleasure to be with both of you.”

Fiarca followed, saying she would see Enya off with a courteous smile.

As she was about to decline, with Rigata’s dissuade, Enya eventually agreed to let Fiarca take her to the entrance of Aquilea Village.

“I will arrange a time to meet again soon.”

Kiyan held Enya’s hand for a long time with a firm gaze that did not waver. Despite her burdensome gaze, Enya couldn’t bear to shake off that hand, and after a while, she was able to depart.

After arriving at the entrance of the village and after parting ways with Fiarca, the two of them drove the Gerpan for quite some time. It was because Tarhan and her hut, where they lived, were far apart from the houses of the others.

It was in the middle of the day when she was passing around the village, when all of a sudden, there was a loud noise all around.

“The horses have run away! Hurry up and ask for help!!”

The whole village was turned upside down by the commotion.

Enya looked up at Rigata anxiously. He, too, frowned to look around the village where the commotion was taking place with a bad face. At that time, a person who seemed to know Rigata ran quickly and approached him.

“Rigata! You are here!”

“What is going on?”

Rigata asked him, frowning. It looked like he was a little more sober now.

“It looks like the cages of the horses that were in charge of transporting supplies on the northern road have broken down. Dozens of horses run amok and run away at once…”

At those words, Rigata’s expression darkened at once.

“Where is the deputy chieftain?”

“Just finished the meeting and headed to the grain storage with the elders.”

If it was the grain storage, it was only a few minutes away from here. Rigata uttered a curse and glanced at Enya.

Enya quickly responded.

“Don’t mind me, and go quickly. I know the way home from here.”

Hearing her words, Rigata hardened his expression and affirmed.

“You can’t. The deputy chieftain directly ordered that Enya be brought to him.”

The next moment, the horses’ commotion grew louder. Even with two or three men clinging to it, it would be difficult to subdue a wild stallion though dozens of such horses escaped, so it was quite a challenge.

The grain storage where Tarhan was said to be was not far from here. It was located in the village area just a few dozen steps away.

Enya quickly spoke to Rigata.

“It’s a little far from here to the house, but if it’s the grain storage, it’s a few steps from here. If Tarhan is there, I’ll go there myself. Rigata, go help those people.”

With those words, Rigata’s expression seemed to be troubled. He finally asked Enya with a low voice and muttered, ‘D*mn it.’

“Are you really okay?”

She quickly nodded her head.

Rigata turned to the man, who was watching them nervously and quickly gave instructions.

“First, take out all the trapping ropes in the warehouse. Borrow horses from the village next door. Hurry!”

Soon, he quickly disappeared along with the man.

Meanwhile, Enya saw them running amok and overpowering a horse that charged them and then hurried to the grain storage.

A large hut designated as grain storage was seen among the densely packed warehouses. It seemed that she had reached the right place, judging from the mortar and pestle, broken scythe, and baskets coated with bitumen all around them.

At that moment, a figure jumped out of the warehouse entrance. Enya instinctively freaked out and leaned against the wall to hide. After confirming who it was, Enya’s expression darkened.

…It was Avisak.

As soon as she saw the red hair blowing in the wind, her heart started beating in pain.

‘Tarhan was with the elders…’

Avisak, of course, was not alone. Her maid, who seemed to have been waiting for her, who always followed Avisak like a shadow, was quickly dressing her in a robe before she eventually disappeared into the darkness with the maid.

Feeling her heart pounding, Enya cautiously made her way to the entrance of the barracks from which Abishak had come out. Light streamed in from the slightly open door. She heard that Tarhan was definitely with the elders, but he didn’t feel much of a human presence inside.

‘I wonder if Tarhan was alone here.’

While thinking about that, Enya was startled and cowered. It was never right to suspect him. But strangely, she felt a tingling sensation in her chest and throat.

‘Above all, since Avisak is an outsider to her, she must be strictly forbidden from entering Aquilea’s grain storage…’

Enya swallowed dryly and opened the door to the grain storage shed where Tarhan was supposed to be.

The well-oiled door opened without a sound.

“Tarhan…”

In the suddenly brightened warehouse, Enya quietly called Tarhan’s name as she closed her eyes in the blinding light. Nevertheless, in the grain storage, the man she expected was not there.

Gernan, with wide open eyes, was giving a gaze towards her.

Enya didn’t even have time to think about it anymore, so she jumped out of place like a frog from a snake. However, she couldn’t take a few steps and was immediately grabbed by the back of her head and dragged into the warehouse.

“Huu, huuhk…!”

Her eyes went dark.

At the same time, a fiery pain rose through her scalp. Gernan didn’t think about her pain, and he blindly grabbed her hair before dragging her into the middle of the shed. Then, he got up and climbed on her body as she tried to run away again, kicking him wildly.

“What, I thought I was looking at something… You really are Enya.”

Gernan, who pressed down on Enya’s body, opened his mouth, narrowing his eyes wide in surprise. She was disgusted at the smell of leaf tobacco that spewed out of his mouth.

In an instant, her body, engulfed in fear, stiffened, and she couldn’t think of anything.

His eyes darkened as he looked at her. Despite trying hard to push him away, the man who had grabbed her and held her down did not move.

“I still feel like shit, but I didn’t expect you to come like this.”

“Hu, heup! Let me go…!

Gernan’s eyes flashed meanly at the woman struggling beneath him.

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