Tamed or Captured - Chapter 6

“Huh… … I… … So… … I didn’t see anything!”

He closed the door and left. 

Jackal, who was looking at the door with a puzzled face, suddenly realized that his pose was quite indecent. 

He was on top of her with his chest exposed.

Asha was conscious of it only then, and she blushed with embarrassment.

His body was full of solid muscles from shoulders to chest and abs like a wild horse. 

She didn’t know where to look,  all she could see was his chest. 

Asha turned her gaze away, and Jackal quickly got up from the bed and pretended to be calm. Then he looked away.

“….. I’m sorry, but we’re already on the run, so we can’t afford to risk our lives to take a dangerous fugitive with us. I’ll take care of you until your wound heals, then you’ll have to leave here.”

Asha, who came to her senses, said in surprise.

“But I……!”

“You already failed the test. You don’t deserve to be a Lycaon.”

Asha was speechless. 

It was a bit harsh, but it was true that she didn’t pass. 

As she lowered her gaze helplessly, Jackal said.

“You’ve experienced it, so you know now how weak you are. Never do anything so reckless and foolish again. Unless you want to shorten your life.”

After he finished speaking, he nonchalantly left the hut. 

Asha couldn’t even tell him that she had returned to the past. 

Although she did not know if the emperor would catch her again. 

She felt like she was about to cry.

* * * * *

Jackal arrived at the fortress where the drinking party was in full swing. 

However, as soon as he appeared, his comrades sneered, secretly whispering to each other and laughing out loud. 

Jackal said coldly with a stiff face.

“I came here because there’s a party, and it seems like everyone was setting up their own ancestral table.”

The murderous comment instantly silenced the chattering, and a cold wind blew. 

However, they couldn’t completely erase the smile that had spread across their lips. 

It was because what had happened in his cabin had already spread.

They thought that the two of them were spending time alone.

Then someone slyly muttered.

“As expected of our captain. He’s a true man who cannot leave a woman alone.”

Jackal thought he meant that he picked up Asha himself, but Nagy slipped out of the crowd and asked innocently.

“Boss! Is it true that she is your wife?”

“What are you talking about?”

“The brothers told me that the captain is now in the middle of a very important mission to become a real man. They said you couldn’t come out because you were busy, and I shouldn’t bother you.”

The naive childish words caused everyone to burst out laughing.

As Nagy glanced at him, then Jackal followed his gaze and looked at himself to finally say ‘ah’.

He looked just like a person who had just left the bedroom. 

He was so absorbed in the conversation with Asha that he forgot to change his clothes.

Jackal swept his hair violently.

“Damn it…..”

He couldn’t go back to pick up his clothes after saying such cold words to her.

“….I don’t know what everyone is thinking, but nothing happened, so keep your mouth shut.”

Jackal gave up going back and walked over to the center table and flopped down on the wooden barrel. 

Sosa walked over with a bottle of wine and sat down next to him. 

He said with a smile.

“Everyone is delighted that the captain brought a woman for the first time.”

“You’re not even my girl, what are you happy about?”

Then Jackal grabbed the bottle and gulped it down. 

Sosa stopped joking because Jackal didn’t seem very happy. 

However, after a while, the others who were drinking tactlessly asked him very excitedly.

“Captain, by the way, is your partner not coming?”

Jackal stopped, holding the bottle in the air.

“Let me tell y’all one more time, that woman isn’t…..”

Suddenly the door burst open and someone walked in, stopping the conversation everyone was having and looking at the door at the same time.

Jackal turned his head and raised one eyebrow slightly. 

Asha was standing there. 

The gloomy fortress lit up as soon as she came in.

Her shiny blonde hair shone like a halo. She had pure white skin, and her seductive eyes seemed to have drawn him in. 

Everyone has their mouths open.

Asha walked gracefully towards Jackal.

“You…..”

Asha asked, staring at him, a little perplexed.

“Can I sit next to you?”

Even then, his comrades, who were frozen and staring blankly at Asha, said, “Oh!” 

He put the bottle down on the table. 

Jackal tried to say no because he was afraid of further gossip but realized that he had no reason to say no. 

The rule here is that you are responsible for the woman you have brought.

He obviously told her that she could stay until her injuries healed. But if he politely refused, she would feel ashamed.  

He gestured for her to come closer without answering, and Asha sat down beside him. 

Sitting side by side, the difference in their physiques was big, but it was a pair that matches well like a beauty and a beast.

Jackal pretended not to care and glanced at her. 

She looked so hurt a little while ago, but now she was sitting peacefully as if nothing had happened.

When Yuri gave her some food, she simply thanked her and even smiled at her.

Jackal watched Asha closely as if watching the enemy, and slowly brought the bottle to his lips. 

Asha’s eyes widened when she saw the big wild boar in front of her. 

It was truly a huge boar that was roasted from head to toe. 

She hasn’t seen such a big, wild meal in a long time. 

As if she had forgotten how to eat, she repeatedly raised and lowered her hand hesitantly, then suddenly a large hand appeared. 

Jackal tore off one of the big boar legs and handed it to her indifferently.

“Eat it.”

“Ah, thank you……”

Asha took the meat with both hands, while he drank the bottle again as if nothing had happened. 

When the other members saw what they were doing, they giggled among themselves again, but Jackal only drank alcohol, lazy to make excuses.

Asha took the meat and looked at it seriously for a long time. 

She had gotten so used to the rules of etiquette that it seemed so strange to her.

Regardless of its taste, she was a bit hesitant to eat in front of others. 

Jackal glanced at her and snatched back the boar’s leg. 

Asha’s eyes widened and she stretched out her hands affectionately.

“Ah! My meat…. !”

“If you don’t want to eat, don’t eat it.”

“Who says I don’t want to eat?”

Asha said it with a slightly resentful expression, but it was unintentionally cute. 

Also, she said ‘my meat‘. 

She was oddly cute, so Jackal chuckled, then handed the board’s leg back to her.

“Take care of your food. Because this is your own food.”

Asha nodded, took the meat, and looked at it seriously. 

She swallowed hard and took a big bite, and the moment she opened her eyes, her eyes widened like a rabbit. 

The meat’s juice and soft flesh melted gently in the mouth, and the taste was amazing.

“It’s delicious…….!”

Asha uttered an exclamation without realizing it. 

Jackal stopped drinking and looked at her sadly.

It was the first time he had seen a woman eat this way exclaiming honestly. 

However, the members were already so into her that they were nodding their heads with an “aww” face.

Asha had a hard time suppressing the urge to chew the meat without paying attention to her surroundings. 

The royal food would be more colorful and luxurious, but she couldn’t understand whether it was because she was hungry or if this taste was more to her liking.

The cook was delighted to see Asha eating and served her more food.

“Are you very hungry after walking so much, miss? Please eat a lot, and please take good care of our captain in the future.”

“Take good care of who?”

Jackal swung the bottle back and forth and grunted, telling him to get lost. The cook quickly stepped aside.

Jackal grabbed a boar’s leg and took a big bite.

He chewed with an indifferent face, but he was eating so fast that he looked like a glutton. 

Asha watched him eat unconsciously. 

She was struck by the way he ate so deliciously.

As he chewed on the meat, he felt a gaze and glanced at his side. 

She quickly lowered her head in surprise and she started eating her bean soup.

Now everyone was drinking and chatting among themselves. 

Asha finally relaxed and looked around closely.

The fortress was dimly lit and was filled with the smell of sweat and alcohol, and the sounds of men laughing and shouting. 

It was a world that felt completely raw, but it seemed to have a human scent. 

It had been a while since she had seen a scene like this, and she was captivated.

She had always been seen only by people wearing tight uniforms and fancy dresses, with breathtaking courtly manners. 

She didn’t know where to look when the men showed their bodies so casually, but somehow she felt like she could breathe.

At that moment, feeling distracted, Jackal quietly spoke.

“…..Are you going to keep acting like you’re my partner? As far as I know, we’re done talking.”

“Don’t worry. I want to be recognized as a hunter, not as your partner. I will definitely help Lycaon as well.”

Jackal looked dumbfounded.

“As I said before, if you want to become a hunter with that body, everyone will hardly believe it.”

Then Asha said seriously.

“I have something to show you. I’ll explain everything, so wait a little bit. I’m very hungry now.”

Jackal looked even more dumbfounded, but Asha eagerly ate the food in front of him. 

She was well-nourished in her own way, but in Jackal’s eyes, the amount of food was so small that he wondered if that was all she was eating.

Suddenly, he had a mischievous idea and instructed the cook.

“Wede, give this girl ‘that’.”

The cook stopped cutting and looked back at him suspiciously.