I Became A Married Man in Another World
Chapter 146
146 Who are you?
It was around the time he had just caught a wild boar that he noticed something was wrong.
*
He had spent a long while chasing his prey through the forest paths.
A noble’s hunt is vastly different from a hunter’s. It is rougher and more violent—likely because the focus is on entertainment rather than survival. A professional hunter would never hunt this way.
“….”
The boisterous sound of hounds echoed from a short distance away.
While the other nobles had fallen far behind, only the beaters were keeping pace with Juhwan and the Margrave. Unlike the nobles, who were laden with ornaments and heavy saddlery, the beaters rode with nothing but their bodies on their horses. Consequently, they were much faster.
The dog handlers let out sharp, whistling breaths. They seemed to be issuing commands to the hounds in the distance. The barking of the dogs grew even more savage and loud.
After riding a bit further, the boar came into view. The hounds had cornered the massive wild boar in a densely wooded thicket.
Several hounds were tearing at the boar’s legs and body. Most of the dogs were barking fiercely, blocking its path from all sides.
The boar thrashed about, engaged in a desperate struggle to shake the dogs off.
Watching the scene, the Margrave circled his horse in place. He seemed excited. Caught up in the atmosphere, his horse snorted violently, its breath heavy and ragged.
When the beaters signaled with sharp whistles, several dogs shifted positions, tightening the pressure on the boar.
The other nobles had not yet arrived. The Margrave glanced around and spoke in an excited voice.
“Good, that one is ours—yours and mine.”
As the Margrave laughed fiercely and pulled out an arrow, the beaters blew another short whistle.
Hearing the signal, the dogs backed away from the boar slightly. However, they continued to bark loudly from all directions to ensure it couldn’t escape.
“Draw your arrow.”
The Margrave spoke to Juhwan and promptly loosed his own. Carried by a strong wind, the Margrave’s arrow pierced the boar’s vitals. He seemed to have used Wind Magic. The hole it left was larger than the arrow itself.
Crimson blood gushed from the wound.
However, the boar remained standing. It wouldn’t fall from a single arrow. In the first place, the Margrave hadn’t imbued the arrow with enough mana to kill it instantly. After all, this was about enjoying the process of killing the beast.
Juhwan followed the Margrave’s lead and loosed an arrow. However, he imbued it with a bit more mana. Though he knew this was noble entertainment, he couldn’t bring himself to enjoy it. He simply wanted to give it a clean, painless death.
The boar’s squeals echoed through the forest, and the dogs’ excitement intensified. Struck by Juhwan’s arrow, the boar wobbled dully before collapsing to the ground.
The Margrave smirked.
“You certainly don’t seem suited to being a noble. You have no sense of style.”
“….”
He was referring to the act of killing the boar in one blow. Juhwan said nothing and bowed his head slightly. He felt a little sorry for ruining the fun.
The other nobles arrived late. The Margrave’s voice boasting of the catch mingled with the disappointed groans of the latecomers. Bursts of loud laughter erupted from the crowd.
Juhwan quietly watched as the light slowly faded from the boar’s eyes.
The scent of blood vibrating through the forest, the nobles acting more boisterously than at the party, the dogs barking in a frenzy with saliva dripping from their maws, and the boar lying there, slowly dying.
He had never seen such a sight before. Yet, he felt as if he had seen it somewhere. Perhaps this was what they called déjà vu. He felt strangely uneasy. It felt as if he had been transported back to the distant past and was standing within its history.
‘….’
No, it was different—slightly different. There were more people. And the one lying there wasn’t a boar, it was…
While he was in a daze, as if dreaming, he suddenly noticed Yeonhwa’s horn glowing with a soft light.
Juhwan snapped out of his reverie.
Though the horn was glowing, Yeonhwa wasn’t the one causing it. He felt no sign of her intentionally using her power. It was as if she were resonating with someone.
“What’s wrong?”
The moment Juhwan asked, Yeonhwa let out a loud cry and reared up. Her legs moved as if she were treading on air.
Amidst everyone’s surprise, Yeonhwa spun around. Without waiting for Juhwan’s command, she began to gallop.
It was likely because of Oz. Ah, something happened to Riji and Dorothy. He knew instantly.
Juhwan pressed himself flat against Yeonhwa’s back and pulled the reins tight.
She ran at a terrifying speed, unlike when they were hunting. The wind scraped against Juhwan’s skin like a blade.
After building a circular wall of wind to block the biting breeze and riding for a short while, Yeonhwa burst out of the forest in an instant. He felt as if he had only been riding for a moment, but the cone-shaped tents were already visible in the distance.
One of them had collapsed and was sunken in. Around it, chairs and tables were all scattered across the ground. Oz had clearly done this. His heart pounded heavily, and sweat slicked his palms.
‘Riji and Dorothy…’
His gaze shifted to where people were gathered amidst the chaos. There was a circular empty space in the center.
He found Riji quickly. Looking at her from behind as she stood there, there was no sign of distress. Her hair and clothes were intact, and there was no blood on her.
Dorothy was the same. She was shouting something next to Oz, but she appeared unharmed.
Haa, thank goodness. Relief washed over him, and only then did he notice a woman standing about halfway between the carriage and Riji.
Though her clothes were from this world, her black hair and skin tone marked her as East Asian.
‘Is that woman the Hero?’
Oz stood directly in front of Riji, threatening the Hero. It seemed the Hero was the cause of all this.
‘What on earth happened?’
The moment he thought that, Yeonhwa made a massive leap and soared through the air.
It was as if she had wings. Juhwan vaulted over the gathered crowd and Riji, landing directly in front of the Hero.
Oz was still reacting sharply, his horn glowing. It looked as if he might attack the Hero at any second.
The fact that he hadn’t tried to kill her directly yet was likely because he sensed no intent from the woman to harm Riji. But he had clearly judged her to be a threat. Given the mess he had made, it couldn’t have been a trivial matter.
Are Riji and Dorothy okay? He checked again from the front, and they seemed perfectly fine.
However, Riji was acting a bit strange. She looked as if she might burst into tears at any moment. She looked like a lost child. Her complexion was poor; her usually pale face was even more drained of color.
Did the Hero do something…? As that thought crossed his mind, a cold sensation washed over him.
It was at that moment the Hero spoke to him.
[Hello, Juhwan-ssi. Do you remember me?]
It was Korean. As expected. The two Heroes of Tairon were people from Korea.
Juhwan pulled Yeonhwa’s reins and turned her around.
The Hero’s eyes widened at the sight of Yeonhwa, and she muttered.
[A unicorn? Is that a real unicorn? Amazing.]
The Hero tilted her head and looked up at Juhwan. It was likely what they called the “best angle” for taking selfies. A female coworker in his department back at his old company used to take photos like that all the time. It was his first time seeing someone do it in person rather than to a phone, though.
The Hero wore a sparkling smile. Even though tables and tents were smashed and the surroundings were in total shambles, this woman didn’t seem to care. Whether she was incredibly brave or just thick-skinned, it felt bizarre. Juhwan’s sensibilities couldn’t grasp it.
[Juhwan-ssi, you’re really incredible. Two Rudolphs. I heard even one is amazing. I was in such trouble because I came here without anything like that. This is my first time seeing a unicorn. Can I touch it once?]
He couldn’t follow the conversation. He knew immediately she was the Hero, but she was a woman he had never met. Most of all, Juhwan had no intention of revealing to anyone that he was from Korea. Yet she had pried into that fact without permission. Irritation flared within him.
“Who are you?”
Harsh words escaped him before he could stop them.
[Oh.]
The Hero flinched as if slightly taken aback, then hurriedly spoke.
[Don’t you remember? We saw each other on the subway. Right before coming here.]
Ah… now that she mentioned it, could it be? That couple?
When he had boarded the subway after parting with Santa, a happy-looking man and woman had been sitting across from Juhwan. Hearing the woman’s words now, her face did seem somewhat familiar. Their image had lingered in his mind because he had been envious of them.
“….”
He never imagined that couple would have come here together. A thought struck him. Perhaps that couple had been swept away to this place because of Juhwan.
‘That damn Santa. Is he even sloppy with finishing his work in a place like this?’
Juhwan hadn’t brought them here himself. It was ultimately Santa’s fault, but if one traced back the cause, it was because of him.
A slight sense of guilt pricked at him at the thought that people living happily in that other world might have been dragged here because of him.
Juhwan let out a soft sigh. He didn’t know why Oz was so wary, but it seemed this woman didn’t have malicious intent. She just seemed tactless and a bit strange.
‘As long as there’s no harm to my side, there’s no need to be hostile.’
That didn’t mean he intended to act friendly, though. If Oz and Yeonhwa were on guard, there was definitely a reason. Without knowing exactly what that was, he had no intention of letting his family get close to this woman.
Juhwan vaulted off Yeonhwa. The crowd murmured, looking back and forth between him and the Hero. Their eyes sparkled with curiosity, sensing a new piece of gossip.
The Hero seemed to think Juhwan’s mood had softened. Or perhaps she thought he had recognized her.
[It’s pretty, this unicorn thing.]
The Hero reached out slightly, attempting to touch Yeonhwa.
But Yeonhwa dodged her and snorted menacingly. She raised her front hooves as if she might trample the Hero at any moment.
Her reaction was even more hostile than Oz’s.
The Hero flinched and stumbled back. Even though there were other people nearby, for some reason, she fell toward Juhwan.
The moment he reflexively reached out to catch her waist, the Hero let out a small cry and leaned into his arms.
Ugh, annoying. Should I just push her?
The thought flickered through his mind, but he couldn’t bring himself to do that to a woman.
Juhwan leaned back slightly to avoid pulling her into a full embrace.
In the process, Juhwan’s hand lightly brushed against her skin.
“!”
Goosebumps erupted over his entire body. It felt as if thousands of snakes were entering his bloodstream. Something slimy coiled around his body, tightening against his skin.
He felt as if he knew this feeling, this sensation. It was dark, damp, and foul. Filled with pain, resentment, and agony…
The moment that thought registered, Juhwan shoved the Hero away.
“Kyaa!”
The Hero screamed and tumbled backward. Damn, I panicked. Juhwan hadn’t intended to hurt the woman.
Just before she hit the ground, Juhwan conjured a wind. Using the wind to prop her up so she wouldn’t fall, he nevertheless pushed her further away, wanting her nowhere near him.
The Hero was swept back about three meters in an instant, as if pulled by an invisible hand.
Once the Hero vanished from his immediate presence, Oz let out a series of relieved chirps. As if his job were done, he hopped back up onto Dorothy.
The bizarre sensation he had felt for a split second was no hallucination. Oz’s actions confirmed it. There was something strange about that Hero. While an ordinary person might not feel it, Yeonhwa and Oz could sensitively detect something. Perhaps that was her ability. Goosebumps still covered his body.
“Oh, Oz, are you okay now? But you shouldn’t do that. Mommy will scold you. Food is important. You shouldn’t throw it on the ground. And look, so many tables and chairs are broken. That all costs money. Do you understand? If you’re, uh, neg-lect-ful? Neglectful? If you’re neglectful of things like that, you’ll become a pauper.”
Dorothy chattered away, scolding Oz as she held him in her arms. It was similar to how Riji usually spoke. She seemed to be imitating her mother.
Her small mouth moved busily as she pouted cutely.
He worried that Dorothy, who had been closer to the Hero than Riji, might have been affected, but she seemed fine.
Juhwan turned his gaze toward the Hero. Having been pushed that far away, the Hero’s face was flushed red.
An elderly gentleman nearby was hurriedly escorting the Hero. Judging by the crest on his clothes and his features, he appeared to be the Duke.
The Hero approached again, her wide dress fluttering like waves. Clinging precariously to the Duke’s hand as if acting spoiled, she spoke.
[What are you doing?! We’re finally meeting someone from the same Earth, this is too much!]
“Stand back.”
Juhwan spoke quietly and conjured a wall of wind in front of Riji and Dorothy.
After erecting the barrier to ensure whatever the Hero possessed wouldn’t affect his family, he took a few steps toward her.
