There was no time to dodge.
With a thud, a heavy pain spread across the crown of her head.
“Ow!”
Leni screamed and rubbed her head.
A large apple, clearly bearing teeth marks, rolled to her feet.
“What the—?”
Still wheezing in pain, Leni looked up again.
Through the thick leaves, the face of a young man peeked down at her.
His blue eyes glinted as they looked down at her, and Leni’s anger flared.
What the hell?
Was he spying?
On my first kiss?!
She was fuming, but Peter seemed to be terrified.
***
He panicked, flailing his arms, then bolted and ran off.
“Peter!”
Leni shouted at Peter’s rapidly retreating back, but his skinny frame disappeared from view in an instant.
Coward.
No sense of loyalty!
I’ll curse you never to land a knight role for the rest of your life!
Clenching her fists, she stomped the ground.
The apple that had hit her foot rolled off into the soft dirt.
Just then, the branches above rustled.
A dark blue tunic fluttered in the wind as the man in the tree landed with a light thud, straightened his bent knees, and stood up.
Leni’s eyes widened.
She had to tilt her head back as far as she could to look up at his face—it was that tall.
His features were wild, tanned by the sun, and his messy golden hair glinted under the light.
With a large hand, he swept his long, unkempt hair back, revealing deep blue eyes that caught the sunlight.
The color was so vivid, it hardly looked human.
Leni swallowed dryly.
They say all kinds of spirits joined the war… The Shadowfolk are said to use magic to appear human… Could he be one of them?
A demon, maybe?
She spotted faint scratches across one of the man’s cheeks.
His jaw was covered in thick stubble, and the front of his worn tunic hung open.
Her eyes unintentionally landed on his bare chest—and her voice jumped up a pitch.
“Who are you?”
“Me? I’m the warden of this forest.”
His low voice had a strange resonance.
Calm and composed, yet somehow laced with sarcasm.
If he’s a warden, then at least he’s human…
But Leni’s relief was short-lived.
She realized he was staring at her chin.
Specifically, at the crescent-shaped scar beneath her lower lip.
The man’s mouth twisted into a half-smile.
His eyes narrowed slightly, and a sharp glint flickered in his gaze.
What?
What’s that look?
Amused by someone else’s scar?
He’s not exactly easy on the eyes himself, either!
Leni tensed her jaw and straightened her back.
“Why aren’t you saying anything?”
“What am I supposed to say?”
The man crossed his arms over his chest with a genuinely puzzled look.
“You hit me with an apple. Even if you’re the forest warden, why are you throwing things at people?”
“Shall I blow on the sore spot to make it better?”
“That’s not the point! I’m not upset because it hurts—I’m upset because it was rude!”
“I ruined the life-defining moment of your first kiss. My deepest apologies. How should I make it up to you?”
“Turn back time.”
Leni made an unreasonable demand.
She didn’t want to accept an apology so easily from someone so smug.
“That’s not one of my talents.”
The man furrowed one side of his brow and pulled a gold coin from his waistband, holding it out in front of her.
“Will this do?”
One Shalis!
Leni’s eyes widened at the gleaming coin.
It was the kind of money she could only earn after working three months in the troupe.
How many strawberry pies could she buy with that?
Sweet treats danced before her eyes, and she swallowed her drool.
“Not enough?”
The man’s sarcastic tone shattered her dreamy thoughts.
Hmph!
I won’t sell my pride for some coin!
“What I want is an apology. Not money.”
The man lowered the coin and leaned in.
“Ha! Turning down money? You must really be a clueless little brat.”
Little brat?
Sure, she was small, but she was well past the age of being called that.
“Why are you insulting me? You’re clearly lacking in manners.”
“What was that?”
“If not ill-mannered, then you’re simply foolish—refusing to apologize and making it worse.”
Her scowl didn’t faze the man one bit. He calmly pulled back and asked:
“You a performer?”
“Yes. I’m a member of the Skalson Troupe—celebrated as the greatest troupe on the continent.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. We came to perform in celebration of the victory. I’ll be playing a major role very soon.”
“From what I overheard earlier, you’ve been playing with rocks and trees for years. When’s that supposed to happen?”
This guy… Who does he think he is?
Just because he’s the forest warden, he thinks he can grind people’s nerves like this?
“It’s rude to eavesdrop.”
“Wasn’t eavesdropping. Just heard it.”
“Even if you heard it, the polite thing is to pretend you didn’t.”
“Is that so? I’m used to people pretending to know things they didn’t hear. You’ll have to excuse me, Miss Manners.”
Though his words asked for forgiveness, a mocking smile lingered on his lips.
Leni clenched her fists.
Maybe I should just take the coin.
Refusing it will only make him feel superior.
Right.
Take the money.
It’s not selling my pride—it’s rightful compensation for ruining my first kiss.
“I changed my min—”
Just as she began to speak, a buuuuu! cut her off—a distant horn call echoed through the forest.
The sly look on the man’s face vanished instantly.
Buuuuu!
The long, solemn sound rang out again.
Branches rustled, and a young man in armor appeared.
He wasn’t wearing a helmet, revealing dark brown hair.
He was about the same height as the forest warden, with broad shoulders, but a much gentler expression.
His green eyes were kind, and his voice refined.
“What are you doing here—what’s going on?”
“What does a forest warden do, if not tend the forest?”
The owner of the apple, who had been mocking her a moment ago, now answered with a straight face and glanced at Leni.
“I was making my rounds, and just when I sat down for a snack, a pesky bug appeared.”
A pesky bug?
Is that what he’s calling me?!
“That’s a bit harsh, don’t you think?” Leni snapped.
“I call a bug a bug. If you can’t recognize the truth, that’s not my problem.”
The Forest of Forié was royal property.
Leni had heard that the king—who sponsored the troupe—had granted them permission to camp in the area.
So if he was the warden, he must be an official under the royal court.
But even so—calling a commoner a bug?
That was crossing the line.
Just as Leni prepared to fire back, the armored man stepped closer, leaned in next to the warden, and whispered in his ear.
Even while listening, the warden’s eyes stayed fixed on her.
Leni’s gaze shifted between the two men.
She noticed the eagle emblem on the sword hilt—the mark of Echilium.
From his attire, the man seemed to be a knight.
But then… Why was he whispering to the warden?
And so respectfully, too?
Almost like… he was reporting to a superior.
A bad feeling stirred in her gut.
Something was off.
Something had gone very wrong, but she didn’t know what yet.
The warden gave a slight nod, and the knight stepped back.
He turned his body toward her and asked curtly, almost like tossing a bone:
“What’s your name, little brat?”
Again with the “kid” thing. Leni briefly glared but quickly relaxed her face.
This man… he’s not ordinary.
Maybe he got into the palace using connections from a wealthy merchant family.
He might not seem suited for administrative work, but he could still be of noble blood.
Better be careful.
“I’m Solenia Radelyon.”
“Interesting.”
The forest keeper’s lips curved into a smile, and his blue eyes flashed sharply.
“Sollenia Radellion, two days shy of turning twenty. If you ever see me again, tell me what you wish for.
As an apology, I’ll grant you one wish.”
His tone now carried an authority that hadn’t been there before.
Startled, Leni couldn’t even respond.
“If you’re still alive by the time we meet again, that is.”
The forest keeper turned away, leaving behind ominous words.
As she watched him walk past the knight and ahead on the path, Leni brushed off her skirt.
Tch, what bad luck.
She glanced around and spotted the apple she had kicked earlier at the base of a tree.
It had ripened well. Maybe it fell and hit her from above.
It really hurt.
Leni nudged the apple with her toe.
It rolled over, revealing a sunken spot beneath the bite mark.
The white flesh was stained with dirt.
Huh?
What’s this?
She bent down and sighed at the bird-like insect buried in the dirt.
It was a wasp.
Its torso had dark brown stripes, and it’s crumpled wings were stuck to the apple.
So this was the bug he meant.
She hadn’t heard any buzzing. Where did it come from?
Leni bent lower and reached out toward the apple.
The dead wasp’s red eyes flashed ominously.
At that moment, a large hand shot out 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.
When she looked up, their eyes met.
“You’ll need to stay alive if you want that wish.”
“I do know what kind of wasp this is.”
Leni didn’t want to be treated like a fool.
Thanks to her years of traveling with the troupe, she was familiar with most wild flora and fauna.
“Oh, really?”
The forest keeper gave a lopsided grin.
“Then you must know what the ‘bug’ really was—and who should’ve been apologizing to whom.”
Leni’s mouth snapped shut.
Seeing her expression, the forest keeper chuckled.
“Judging by your face like you just chewed on dung, I guess you’ve figured it out—
a little too late, but still.”
He turned to leave but paused as if remembering something.
“Oh, and kisses— you should learn those from a man, not from overgrown weeds.”
A large hand came down on Leni’s head.
The sudden touch made her freeze.
The firm pressure on her crown felt unfamiliar.
Startled, her wide eyes reflected the flood of blue.
The man’s eyes shimmered like a deep lake under sunlight.
“Kid.”
Withdrawing his hand even faster than he had reached out, the forest keeper turned and walked away.
Dry branches crunched under his long strides.
Leni, watching the way his dark blue tunic fluttered in the wind, raised a hand to her head.
The spot where his hand had been was still warm.
The knight followed after him.
Once both men had disappeared from view, Leni scrunched up her face and tapped her head.
You idiot.
You didn’t ask his name.
He said he’d grant a wish, and now you can’t even claim it.
***
As they exited the forest, Blayden scolded Lenz.
“You should practice your acting more. You almost blew our cover.”
“But I realized just in time and corrected my tone, didn’t I?
What were you even doing?”
Lenz glanced at Blayden’s shabby clothing.
“I was scouting the forest and having a snack.”
“Without a weapon?”
“Exactly. I was enjoying a break without my sword for once, and then a squirrel-like kid almost devoured me.”
Blayden raised his hand to show the apple.
A dead wasp was stuck to the bitten corner.
“That’s… don’t tell me—”
“Yeah. A Red-Eyed Wasp.”
“The one that attacks children? That yokai insect?
I heard their sting turns your face red… but this is my first time seeing one.
You found it in the forest?”
“They don’t just target kids. They go after humans with pure obsessions. Like, say… a girl burning with the desire for her first kiss.”
Blayden recalled the scene he had watched from the tree earlier— the girl with closed eyes and puckered lips.
The wasp circled her red hair like sunlight.
As it neared her crown, he dropped the apple.
The fall was perfectly timed and accurately aimed.
She didn’t even realize she’d been saved—just kept pouting.
Still the same foolish kid.
Come to think of it, if she’s two days away from turning twenty now,she must’ve been fifteen that day.
Thinking back to his first meeting with Leni, Blayden’s lips tightened.
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