UCT Ch 25

Bryce and Owen, returning to the bar, were met with a strange sight.

Diana was sprawled across the table. Her ears were bright red, indicating she was quite drunk.

Richard was smoking a cigarette, looking down at her.

‘…’

Well, saying he was smoking was only half true. The man had a cigarette between his index and middle finger, but it wasn’t in his mouth. Instead, he just let the smoke rise while watching Diana.

There was something peculiar about his gaze. It was like the face of a mathematician confronting an unsolvable equation or a hunter observing his prey.

Bryce’s smuggler’s intuition suddenly sparked. Isn’t that the face of someone who wants something?

Sometimes, clients who received the goods she barely managed to transport had such an expression.

Before Bryce could reach any conclusion, Richard stubbed out his unfinished cigarette in the ashtray. Her attention was immediately captured by that.

Such a waste. Bryce clicked her tongue subconsciously.

‘He doesn’t even know how precious cigarettes are. That’s why nobles are no good.’

There were already three or four bent, half-smoked cigarette butts in the ashtray, left in a messy state.

Finally, Richard’s gaze turned to Bryce and Owen, his face showing boredom as if to ask if they had anything else to say.

Bryce strode over to his table and plumped down in the empty chair opposite Richard. Admitting her fault made her face hot and her stomach churn.

‘I’d be really wronged if I died because of him.’

Dying because of a noble officer who doesn’t even understand the value of a single cigarette would be quite frustrating.

But there was no other way. To escape the war, one could only go to the Federation, but escaping there was nearly impossible.

So, she had to confront it. She began with a solemn tone.

“Captain.”

“…”

“I’m sorry. I will live as a soldier from now on.”

“…Just drink.”

Richard’s response was utterly bland.

He pushed two untouched dark beers towards them. His indifferent attitude seemed to say,

‘Let’s not talk about your mistake anymore,’ which was somewhat reassuring.

Bryce thought, looking at Diana with her head on the table. Maybe the redheaded rookie was right after all.

🌷🌷🌷

The dark beer in the glasses had already gone flat. It was more like bitter black water than beer.

“It’s gone flat. If you could order new ones-.”

Owen said with a cheeky smile. Bryce elbowed him in the ribs.

“Don’t you think about how scarce supplies are during wartime? Just drink it.”

“That’s unfair. I went out because of you…”

As the two bickered, Diana, slumped next to them, started mumbling incoherently.

“…Such a rude guy…”

“…”

“But you think you’re great, huh… Can’t even say a word… Damn…”

“…”

Silence suddenly fell over the table. Owen and Bryce exchanged looks. It was too clear who the ‘rude guy’ was referring to.

Owen looked at Richard with a blank face.

“…What happened while we were away?”

“Nothing much.”

Richard shrugged one shoulder. There was a strange hint of amusement on his face.

Diana mumbled again with a grunt.

“Wait… I’ll show you with my piloting skills… I’ll make you retract calling me outdated…”

“…”

Bryce giggled, seeing such a foolish side of him. She looked forward to teasing him about it later.

On the other hand, Owen seemed increasingly worried that Diana might cross the line with her drunken antics.

Diana continued to grumble, still slumped over. And then, a sound that made Owen and Bryce doubt their ears was heard.

“Ha…”

It was a very small, brief sound. Not quite a laugh, more like a scoff. But it was enough to startle Owen and Bryce.

‘He laughed?’

Richard Ashwood, the ‘White Ghost,’ laughed?

They realized for the first time that Richard could laugh in a sense other than to mock someone by twisting his lips. Noticing their shock or not, Richard muttered, his eyes still fixed on Diana.

“If we leave her here, we’ll see more unsightly things.”

He stubbed out another unfinished cigarette, stood up. When Owen and Bryce stood to follow, he gestured for them to sit back down.

“Stay and drink some more before returning. I’ll take care of this drunk.”

“We’ll go with you- Ow!”

Bryce kicked Owen’s shin under the table.

“Why?”

Owen asked with an indignant look, and she whispered back.

“Just stay here while you can. Idiot.”

Staying here to drink a bit more was much better than following for no reason. Her smuggler’s instinct shone again.

“Then, see you at the roll call tomorrow.”

Richard tipped his hat at them. He placed some bills on the table and lifted Diana up like a sack of potatoes, truly ‘collecting’ her.

Diana was pulled up by Richard’s arm. Despite being thin and small, she must have been heavy when drunk, but Richard showed no sign of strain.

Once lifted, Diana came to her senses. She blinked her moist eyes at Bryce, her under eyes tinged pink from all the drinking.

Diana nodded her head towards Bryce and Owen, sitting blankly.

“Lieutenant Bryce. You’re back?”

“I told you to speak casually.”

Before Bryce could answer, Richard, holding onto Diana, began walking out of the tavern with wide strides, showing no consideration for the person he was supporting.

Diana tried to match his steps, her legs wobbling in a zigzag pattern, but she was no match for maintaining balance. In the end, she ended up being dragged out of the bar.

Owen and Bryce could only watch blankly as the two left the tavern.

“What did I just see? I don’t quite understand.”

The beer they drank tasted like nothing. Objectively, it was cheap beer, but the shock from the series of events had numbed their taste buds.

Even Owen, who was usually oblivious, seemed dumbfounded.

“Did something really happen while we were gone?”

“Whether something happened or not, it’s none of my business.”

Even as she said this, Bryce kept glancing at the door where the two had disappeared.

🌷🌷🌷

Richard thought the body leaning on his arm was excessively light and soft. It felt like if he pressed with both hands, she might cave in or leave an imprint.

Just the thought made him feel strangely uncomfortable.

The rain that had been drizzling had completely stopped, and in the clearing night sky, a full moon was shining brightly.

Because of the blackout, they had to rely solely on moonlight to navigate. He could hear the woman mumbling from around his chest area.

“…I can go by myself.”

Her voice was soaked with moisture. Richard unwittingly slowed his pace.

The woman’s fingers on his forearm kept fidgeting, showing her discomfort, which made Richard finally speak.

“If you don’t want to fall over in the dark, stay quiet.”

“But-.”

“Are you complaining?”

At this, Diana fell silent. Her fidgeting fingers also calmed down.

[You can’t fight demons with a baggage of complaints behind you.]

‘Is she still thinking about that? I only said it to scare her without much thought.’

Richard swallowed a deep sigh inwardly.

While Diana matched her steps using his arm as support, she moved awkwardly like a wooden puppet, showing a strong aversion even though their skin wasn’t touching.

Richard felt inexplicably annoyed by the woman who was so visibly uncomfortable.

It’s not like he was doing this because he wanted to. Even if she was sobering up, he couldn’t let her walk alone down a dark street without streetlights. If she fell into a ditch and broke a leg, he and the rest of the squad would have to pay the price.

So, if she didn’t want to be supported, she shouldn’t have drunk so much in the first place. He had tried to stop her once, but she kept drinking, making him think she could handle her liquor, but now it seemed it was all bluster.

A scoff escaped Richard’s lips. This situation, and the woman awkwardly clinging to him, were absurd.

[…I was wrong. My thinking was short-sighted.]

[…….]

[I’ll do as the Lieutenant orders.]

Back then, he had only thought it was entertaining. A woman with such fierce eyes. He thought it wasn’t bad.

But he hadn’t had high expectations. Most people die before their first kill, after all. Just because she had a good look in her eyes didn’t mean she’d survive.

Giving her several chances to quit was, perhaps, his way of showing some consideration. This was no place for kids to play. He was telling her to go back to where she had a home and a life.

However, the next day, she exceeded his expectations by far.

Diana Green understood his intentions, moved with him, and tore into the same enemies.

Everything went smoothly, which was why it was scary.

Her seemingly useless mind-melding ability became the knife that cut through enemy throats in his hands. It felt exhilarating, like reclaiming a throne. The intense pleasure burst like fireworks.

…In short, it was far more intense than any orgasm he’d felt during sex.

During the mind-melding, Richard could perfectly understand where Diana was, what she was aiming for.

At the same time, he realized she was a seasoned hunter. She was of his kind. A wolf that knew the thrill of the hunt, the taste of blood.

Peeling away her facade of docility to reveal what was underneath would be quite entertaining.

…Yes, it would be very entertaining.

Richard’s breath subtly quickened. With Diana Green pressed against him, it was an inappropriate time for such thoughts.

Because even the briefest recollection of that mind-melding battle made his stomach tighten and his lower half feel heavy.

So, he had to think about something else now.

Richard slowly blinked his eyes, darker than the night. The more he tried to forget the woman clinging to him, the more her presence seemed to intensify.

He pulled out a cigarette from his pocket and put it in his mouth, muttering.

“…Troublesome.”

He whispered to himself in a low voice.

Only the sound of crickets, the regular breathing of the woman, and the sound of his boots on the dirt path surrounded them.