There was no time to avoid it.
With a thud, a heavy pain spread across her forehead.
“Ouch!”
Leni screamed and rubbed her head.
A large apple, with clear bite marks, rolled at her feet.
“What is this?”
Frowning, Leni looked up again.
Through the dense tree leaves, the face of a young man appeared.
As his blue eyes gleamed down at her, Leni’s anger flared.
What’s this?
He saw it, didn’t he?
My first kiss!
She was furious, but it seemed Peter was more frightened.
He panicked and ran away without saying a word.
“Peter!”
Leni shouted at Peter’s back as he ran, but his slender figure quickly disappeared from her sight.
You coward!
No loyalty at all!
I’ll curse you so you can never become a knight in your life!
Leni clenched her fist and stamped her foot.
As the apple she had kicked rolled through the dry dirt, the branches above shook.
The deep blue tunic of the man split the wind as he landed from the tree, bending his knees before straightening up.
Leni widened her eyes.
His face was at a height where she had to tilt her head back to look up at him.
His wild, sun-kissed face was framed with disheveled golden hair.
It seemed like he hadn’t gotten a haircut in a long time, and his long hair was swept back by his large hand.
His blue eyes shone, catching the sunlight.
They were so deep and vivid, they didn’t seem human.
Leni swallowed dryly.
They said all sorts of spirits had joined the war.
The shadow people use magic to transform into humans, they say.
Could he possibly be a demon?
Small scratches marked one of the man’s cheeks.
His beard was rough on his chin, and his worn tunic was loosely open at the front.
As her gaze fell on his bare chest, his voice grew a tone higher.
“Who are you?”
“Me? I’m the forest keeper here.”
His low voice had a peculiar resonance.
It was dignified and serious, but somehow, it also carried an undertone of cynicism.
If he’s the forest keeper, then he must be human, Lenny thought.
But before she could feel relieved, she noticed that his gaze had shifted to her chin.
As he looked at the crescent-shaped scar below her lower lip, the man twisted his mouth into a smirk.
His eyes narrowed, and then a sharp light flickered in his pupils.
What’s that expression?
Is he amused by someone else’s scar?
His face doesn’t exactly look harmless either.
Leni tightened her jaw and straightened her back.
“Why aren’t you saying anything?”
“What should I say?”
The man, crossing his arms over his chest, looked as if he genuinely didn’t know what to say.
“You just hit me with an apple. If you’re the forest keeper, then why are you hitting people?”
“Should I blow on the spot where you were hit?”
“It’s not because it hurts. It’s because I’m upset.”
“I’m sorry for ruining the once-in-a-lifetime moment of your first kiss. How should I make it up to you?”
“Turn back time.”
Leni protested stubbornly.
The mocking attitude of the man made her not want to accept his apology willingly.
“I don’t have that kind of skill.”
The man, with a slight frown, took a gold coin from his pants pocket and held it out in front of her.
“Would this be enough?”
Shallis! Leni’s eyes widened as she looked at the shiny coin.
It was the kind of money she would earn after working for about three months at the theater.
How many strawberry pies could she buy with this?
Sweet treats danced in her mind as her saliva involuntarily swallowed.
“Is it not enough?”
The man’s mocking tone shattered her daydreams.
Hmph!
She wouldn’t sell her pride for something like a gold coin.
“What I want is an apology, not money.”
The man lowered the coin and leaned in closer to her.
“Ha! You don’t want money? You really don’t understand how the world works, do you?”
Who’s calling me clueless? I may be small, but I’m certainly no kid anymore.
“Why are you insulting me? You have no manners.”
“What?”
“Or are you simply too foolish to apologize and just making things worse?”
Her frown didn’t seem to affect the man at all.
He casually turned his face away and asked.
“Are you a theater troupe member?”
“Yes. I’m a member of the renowned Skalson Theater Troupe, the best in the continent.”
“Really?”
“Yes. We’re here to perform a victory celebration. Soon, I’ll be taking on a prominent role on stage.”
“From what I heard earlier, you’ve been playing with trees and rocks for years. When is that going to happen?”
So what if he’s a forest keeper? Why does he have to be so irritating?
“I wasn’t eavesdropping.”
“I didn’t eavesdrop, I heard it.”
“Even if you heard it, it’s only polite to pretend you didn’t.”
“Is it? I’m used to people pretending to know things they didn’t hear. It’s your job to be polite.”
Though he said “be polite,” there was a smirk at the corner of his mouth.
Leni clenched her fist.
Would it be better to just take the gold coin?
Refusing it would just be a win for him.
Yeah, let’s take the money.
It’s not giving up my pride.
It’s just compensation for ruining my first kiss.
“I’ve changed my mind…”
Just as she opened her mouth, Buu!
A horn echoed from far off, drowning out her words.
The sly expression on the man’s face vanished.
Buu!
A long, resonant sound returned, and the sound of a branch crunching underfoot was followed by the appearance of a young man in armor.
He wasn’t wearing a helmet, so his dark brown hair was visible.
With a longsword at his waist, the man was similar in height to the forest keeper, with broad shoulders, but his demeanor was far gentler.
His green eyes were calm, and his voice, when it came, was cultured.
“What are you doing here…”
“What do you think a forest keeper does? I was patrolling the forest.”
The man, who had been mocking moments ago, answered calmly and glanced at Leni.
“I was walking around and having a snack when an annoying bug appeared.”
“Annoying bug? What do you think you’re calling me?” Leni snapped, irritated.
“It’s because it’s a bug that I called it a bug. If you can’t understand the truth even after I tell you, then there’s nothing I can do.”
The forest here in Forie was the king’s private forest.
I’ve heard that the king, who sponsors the theater troupe, allowed camping in the area.
If he’s the forest keeper, then he’s a palace official.
But treating commoners like bugs, that’s too much.
Just as Leni was about to retort, the armored man approached.
He leaned close to the forest keeper and whispered in his ear.
Even while listening to him, the forest keeper’s gaze remained fixed on her.
Leni’s eyes shifted between the two men.
She noticed the eagle crest on the hilt of the longsword.
It was the symbol of Ekillium.
From the attire, he seemed to be a knight.
But why was he whispering to the forest keeper?
He looked very polite, as if he were reporting something.
Could the forest keeper be of high rank?
A sense of unease crept in.
She had the feeling that something was wrong, but she couldn’t pinpoint what.
The forest keeper nodded, and the knight stepped back.
The forest keeper turned towards Leni and asked curtly.
“What’s your name, kid?”
Again with the “kid.”
She tightened her gaze, but quickly relaxed her face.
This man’s identity didn’t seem ordinary.
Perhaps he was someone from a wealthy merchant family who used connections to enter the palace.
He might not have much administrative power, but his lineage could be noble.
She had to be cautious.
“Solenia Radelion.”
“Interesting.”
The corners of the forest keeper’s mouth curled up, and his blue eyes gleamed sharply.
“Solenia Radelion, just two days short of being twenty years old. If we meet again, tell me what you wish for. As an apology, I’ll grant you one wish.”
His tone had changed to one of authority, unlike before.
Startled, Leni couldn’t respond.
“Assuming you’re still alive when we meet again, that is.”
With those ominous words, the forest keeper turned and walked away.
As he passed the knight, Leni watched his retreating figure.
Tch, what a stroke of bad luck.
As she looked around, she noticed the apple she had kicked earlier near the base of a tree.
It had ripened well.
Maybe because it had fallen from above?
It hurt quite a bit when it hit her.
Leni kicked the apple with her toe.
The apple rolled to the side, revealing a deep bite mark.
The white flesh was covered with dirt.
Wait, what is this?
Bending down, Leni sighed as she saw a bird’s carcass mixed with the dirt.
It was a wasp.
Its body, with brown striped patterns, and its wings were stuck to the apple, crushed.
So this is the “bug” the forest keeper was talking about.
She hadn’t heard any buzzing.
Where did it come from?
Leni bent down and reached for the apple.
But just as she was about to touch it, a large hand appeared and snatched the apple away.
“If you touch things recklessly out of curiosity, you won’t live long.”
The forest keeper’s voice dropped from above her.
She turned her head and met his gaze.
“After all, you need to stay alive if you want to make a wish when we meet again.”
“I know what the wasp is.”
Leni spoke, not wanting to be treated like a fool.
Having lived a wandering life as a member of a theater troupe, she was familiar with most wild flora and fauna.
“Oh, really?”
The forest keeper’s mouth only lifted into a smirk.
“Then, I suppose you understand now what was the bug and who should have apologized to whom?”
Leni clenched her mouth, unable to speak.
“You look like you’ve just figured it out. Seems like your brain’s working, even if it’s late.”
The forest keeper sneered, then, as if he had forgotten something, paused and turned back.
“Oh, and when it comes to kissing, it’s better to learn from a man, not some immature kid.”
A large hand descended onto Leni’s head.
The sudden contact caused her to hold her breath.
The weight pressing gently on the top of her head felt unfamiliar.
Her widened eyes were flooded with blue light.
The man’s eyes sparkled like a deep lake, shimmering in the sunlight.
“Kid.”
The forest keeper pulled his hand away even faster than when he had approached and turned to walk away.
The sound of crunching branches under his large strides echoed in the air.
Leni watched his dark blue tunic flutter in the wind, then instinctively placed a hand on her head.
The spot where his hand had rested felt warm.
The knight followed the forest keeper.
When the two men disappeared from view, Leni furrowed her brow and gave her head a light slap with her hand.
“Idiot, I didn’t even ask his name. I managed to get a wish, but now I won’t be able to claim it.”
***
As she exited the forest, Blayden reprimanded Lenz.
“Do some acting practice. You almost blew our cover.”
“Well, at least I noticed in time and fixed my tone. What were you doing?” Lenz glanced at Blayden’s shabby attire.
“I was looking around the forest and having a snack.”
“With no weapon?”
“Yeah. I set down my sword for the first time in a while to rest, and almost got eaten by a little squirrel-like kid.”
Blayden raised his hand, showing the apple.
A dead wasp was stuck to the bite-marked edge.
“Is that…?”
“Yeah. It’s a red-eyed wasp.”
“The insect monster that attacks children? I’ve heard it makes their faces turn red when it stings, but this is the first time I’ve seen one. Did you find it in the forest?”
“It doesn’t just target kids. It attacks humans with pure obsession. Like, for example… a girl who was burning with desire for her first kiss.”
Blayden recalled the scene from earlier when he had looked down from the tree.
The girl with her eyes closed and lips pursed, her red hair glowing like the sun, surrounded by the wasps. As the wasp approached her crown, he had dropped the apple.
The timing had been perfect.
She didn’t even realize he was helping, still so stubborn.
Some things never change, that naive little thing.
Anyway, if she’s turning twenty in two days, she must have been fifteen back then.
Thinking back to their first encounter, Blayden’s lips tightened.