The Nature of Possession

371 – EP.13 What will you do?

***

One pig was distributed equally to each cavalryman.

The two men worked together to peel off the skin and remove the bones.

As I started to boil the large chunks of meat in a large pot, an appetizing smell filled the room.

“Hey, you’re killing me.”

As one of the men said, a smile appeared on the lips of the cavalrymen who were tired from the battle.

“Oh, it would have been better if it was grilled.”

John grumbled as if he was sorry, and began serving by scooping up some meat stew from the pot.

“Why, do you want to drink too?”

When Anna, who was helping to distribute food next to him, snapped at him, Johan stuck out his mouth.

“Give me some more.”

“Okay, here.”

As one of the men carrying the bowl spoke, Yohan smiled and raised his middle finger.

“What the hell. That’s why he doesn’t have a lover.”

“Oh, but still, don’t give me any more.”

As the men left, spitting on the ground, John laughed heartily like a general who had won a battle.

“Huh? Childishly.”

Anna scolded him, but he shrugged his shoulders as if he didn’t really care.

“Have you taken care of the border guards?”

John asked, looking at the line of soldiers standing in a row.

“Oh, I prepared it in advance. I added more toppings too.”

“What about the captain?”

“…I set it aside.”

Anna trailed off and glanced behind the pot.

Something was cleverly hidden, wrapped in large leaves.

“Huh… So the thing you set aside isn’t stew, but meat?”

John’s eyes narrowed.

“Wow, life is so unfair. Why doesn’t a handsome, eloquent, and cheerful me have a girlfriend, while a blunt captain has so many girlfriends lining up?”

When Anna, who was at a loss for words, shut her mouth tightly and resumed serving food, John lamented.

And Anna responded to that lament.

“Kids?”

When I asked, as if to say, “Is there anyone else besides me?”, Yohan opened his eyes wide and said, “Didn’t you know?”

John stretched out his palm as if to show us a good look, and folded his fingers one by one.

“Lily, Kelly, Anna… who else was it? Was it Leila? And you.”

“…….”

Anna’s face hardened as if she had heard a hidden secret about her birth.

“Hey, don’t gather the kids together and yell at them for no reason. That’s an abuse of power.”

John warned her to prevent any unforeseen circumstances.

“Stop talking and serve me some food…”

Judas’ voice interrupted the conversation between the two people.

“Oh, sorry.”

“Judas, have you seen the captain?”

While John was scooping up the stew with a ladle, Anna asked Judah,

“I went to the tent to check on the wound, but it seemed like you were sleeping, so I just came out… Oh, and give me some more food.”

“Yeah, get out.”

Judas tried to protest by throwing snowballs at John, but John did not budge.

“Are you sleeping?”

“Yeah, you must be tired. It wasn’t a normal injury.”

Leaving behind his regret about the additional distribution, Judah looked away and looked at Anna.

“Would it be right to just let him sleep the whole time?”

“No. You should eat. You should eat something to get energy.”

Anna nodded at the words of Judah, the person in charge of the duty.

Anna looked at the food line. The long line was finally starting to come to an end.

She took off her apron and grabbed the meat she had hidden behind the pot.

“Hey, I’m going. Finish up well.”

Anna left, patting John on the shoulder, and John sighed in disbelief.

“I do the hunting. I do the distribution… I’m just a servant.”

***

Lights were scarce at the campsite as night fell.

All that was available was a bonfire burning in the center of the campsite and candles lighting up the inside of the tent.

“Captain. Are you awake?”

Even when Anna entered the tent with a special stew seasoned with the best cuts of meat and various spices, the captain was still sleeping.

Anna placed the stew on the makeshift table and draped her butt over the empty space on the bed.

“…….”

I almost inadvertently touched the face of the sleeping captain, who was breathing evenly.

“Hmm, hmm… Captain, get up. You should eat.”

Anna cleared her throat, then carefully grabbed the captain’s shoulder and shook him gently.

Perhaps it was too weak to wake him up, but the captain’s eyes showed no sign of opening.

Anna adjusted her posture and shook the captain with more force.

The sound of Agnes’ lute could be heard from afar.

“Captain. It’s meal time.”

Anna whispered, bringing her face to his ear.

When I raised my face to see if the captain had woken up, I met his eyes, which were obscured by the eerie atmosphere.

“omg!”

With a single scream, Anna gasped like a goldfish.

“…I need to explain the situation.”

Anna shook her head and came to her senses at the voice that had just awakened her from sleep.

“Oh, I have to eat dinner….”

“…the sun has set.”

The captain looked into the darkness outside the tent and then stood up.

Anna quickly got out of bed, picked up the stew on the table, and handed it to him.

“It smells good.”

Anna touched the corners of her lips that were twitching at the captain’s praise.

The captain slowly scooped up some stew with a spoon and put it in his mouth. As he chewed the chunk of meat, the juices burst out in his mouth.

“It tastes good too.”

“Because you had such a poor lunch. I was careful.”

“thanks.”

Although it was blunt language, Anna’s heart fluttered.

The captain’s meal continued quietly and slowly.

Agnes continued to play the lute, and the chatter of the crew members who had calmed the ship could be heard from afar.

If it was peaceful, it was a peaceful atmosphere.

If only there hadn’t been a huge ordeal ahead of them.

“Captain. May I ask what you plan to do next?”

When the bottom of the bowl containing the captain was visible, Anna asked cautiously.

“I haven’t decided yet. No, I haven’t decided yet.”

“…Is it because of the traitor?”

The captain didn’t bother to answer Anna’s question.

“Anyone who can move freely outside the campsite is likely to be a traitor.”

She told me what had happened in the forest that day and explained the conclusion she had reached.

“I see.”

The captain didn’t react much to her words.

“Captain. Catching a traitor is catching him… Now, we must decide what to do.”

The mad emperor spoke for three days.

And already a day has passed.

“Anna. What would you do? If you were the captain of this cavalry, what would you do?”

The captain asks the same question. Anna bites her lower lip.

“Captain, that is the wrong question. It is up to you alone to decide what to do.”

“but….”

“Don’t tell me that the cavalry is in danger because of your judgment. We’ve always done that.”

Although her heart ached, Anna spoke firmly.

“Just decide as your heart desires, Captain.”

Anna, who received the empty bowl, nodded briefly.

“I’m sorry for off-topic, but I had to say it.”

Anna left the tent as it was. The captain just watched her back.

***

Anna’s footsteps were heavy as she left the tent.

‘I wonder if I spoke too harshly?’

Shouldn’t it have been a source of strength for the weakened captain?

She asked herself, but shook her head.

“Hey, why does your face look so pale? Did you get a cold?”

As John gobbled up his stew, revealing his teeth, Anna threw her empty bowl in his face.

Very hard.