Chapter 15

It felt as though a bucket of ice water had been dumped over him.

Gennadi’s stomach went cold.

“…”

Because he had felt Aethlyn’s gaze on him.

Those icy blue eyes.

Her face was deathly pale, as if she were about to throw up.

Her clenched fist trembled.

Far from sharing the joy Gennadi felt, she was looking at him with disgust.

He had been looked down on countless times before.

He had thought it no longer bothered him.

But in that instant, panic overtook him.

Of course it did.

Aethlyn wasn’t just any human.

She was the mate he had chosen for himself.

A mate bound to him by an incomplete, stolen imprint.

A fragile bond.

A half-formed mating bond where the two of them could never truly understand each other or share each other’s emotions.

The moment he realized it, crushing regret washed over him.

He wanted to dump every can from the sack onto the ground and desperately explain that he didn’t even like this sort of thing in the first place.

But he didn’t.

Instead, he only gripped the sack tighter.

‘Damn it…’

A memory suddenly surfaced.

Something someone had once told him back at the mercenary academy.

“The most important thing is to never forget that they’re different from us. Just because they forget the line for a moment doesn’t mean the line ever disappears.”

Gennadi stared silently at Aethlyn’s back, his face stiff.

‘I messed up.’

Three days had passed since the trench raid.

After leading the operation to a successful conclusion, Aethlyn’s standing within the unit had risen dramatically.

Her superiors, fellow officers, and subordinates all treated her differently now.

The people who had once ignored everything she said now nodded along and voiced their agreement whenever she spoke.

To put it in werewolf terms…

Aethlyn’s rank within the pack had gone up.

Gennadi, however, couldn’t have cared less about that.

Something else occupied his mind.

Something that left him increasingly restless.

He hadn’t been able to have a proper conversation with Aethlyn even once.

“Second Lieutenant.”

“Oh, just a moment. I have some paperwork I need to finish.”

“…”

“Second Lieutenant.”

“Hm? Doist? We’re short on barbed wire?”

“…”

“Second Lieutenant.”

“Hey. Are you gambling over there? Planning to blow your entire military paycheck?”

It wasn’t paranoia.

Nor was it his imagination.

Aethlyn was avoiding him.

The way she came up with an excuse the moment he tried to speak to her looked unnatural to anyone watching.

‘So it really was because of how I acted back then…’

Gennadi wet his dry lips with his tongue.

Had seeing that side of him made her lose all affection for him?

Or had she simply decided that, now that the operation was over, she no longer had any reason to deal with a werewolf?

There were countless other possibilities he could think of.

But right now, he didn’t want to dwell on the exact reason.

More importantly…

He was running out of time.

There were only a few days left that they could spend together.

At this rate…

They would part ways without ever truly speaking, leaving behind nothing but her contempt.

His chest tightened painfully.

At the same time, his usually clear thoughts became hopelessly tangled.

‘What do I do? What am I supposed to do?’

A destructive urge surged through him.

He wanted to grab the woman’s chin and force her to look him in the eye.

Or perhaps…

He wanted to kneel before her and humbly beg her to tell him what he had done wrong.

But even if Gennadi himself was like that…

Sergeant Vilev was a well-trained dog.

He was the member of the Fenrir Detachment who communicated with humans better than anyone else.

So he chose something more human.

Conversation.

Even if she rejected him…

If he could exchange even a few more words with her…

‘Just once.’

The sergeant quietly followed after her.

“Second Lieutenant.”

“Ah! You startled me.”

Aethlyn, who had been inspecting the barbed wire along the trench barricade, jumped when Sergeant Vilev suddenly appeared behind her.

“At least make some noise when you’re inside the trench. You scared me.”

“My apologies. I’m used to walking like this.”

“…Right.”

Doing her best to sound casual, Aethlyn asked, “What is it?”

“Did I do something wrong?”

Her mouth fell open for a moment before she managed to speak.

“What? Where did that come from?”

The sergeant answered with remarkable composure.

“It feels like you’re avoiding me.”

“What are you talking about? Why would I be afraid of you? You’re imagining things.”

The man’s left eyebrow lifted just slightly.

“I’m not.”

“You are.”

“That’s a lie.”

“It’s not.”

The man simply stared at her in silence.

His expressionless face looked as though the word “LIAR” had been written across it in giant letters.

“Haa…”

‘What on earth is the problem?’

Heat rushed to her face, but Aethlyn was used to situations like this by now.

There was nothing to gain from arguing with him head-on.

“Fine. What is it that you want to say so badly?”

“I just… want to know why you’re avoiding me, Second Lieutenant.”

“…”

Really? Then you tell me.

This time, it was Aethlyn’s turn to stay silent.

Growing impatient, the sergeant continued.

“Did I… do something wrong? If I did, I’ll fix it.”

“I’ve already told you several times. You didn’t do anything.”

Even after her firm answer, Sergeant Gennadi Vilev still didn’t look convinced.

The mountain of a man stood directly in front of her without the slightest intention of moving.

Aethlyn let out a long sigh inwardly.

In the end, she was the one who surrendered.

“You didn’t do anything wrong.”

Tilting his head slightly to match hers, the man asked again,

“Then… are you just upset with me?”

“No!”

Aethlyn waved the arm that wasn’t holding the document folder.

“It’s just that… I don’t have the nerve to face you!”

The completely unexpected answer left Sergeant Vilev wearing the most bewildered expression she had ever seen.

Seeing that look only made the tips of her ears grow hotter.

“…The nerve to face me?”

“I mean… I feel guilty.”

“What are you guilty about?”

He sounded genuinely confused.

In the end, Aethlyn had no choice but to admit it.

“If it hadn’t been for you, Sergeant… that operation would’ve failed.”

“…”

Sergeant Vilev remained silent.

He neither agreed nor denied it.

He simply waited for her to finish.

Aethlyn continued slowly.

“I wanted to make sure your contribution was recognized somehow… but in the end, I couldn’t get your name onto the commendation list. I should’ve argued harder.”

Silence.

Her lips parted slightly before she spoke in a low voice.

“I can’t face you.”

One of Sergeant Vilev’s brows lifted ever so slightly.

“You’ve said ‘can’t face me’ several times now. What exactly does that mean?”

“It basically means… I feel sorry. Looking after my subordinates is part of my duty as their superior, but… Captain Gordon and Major Brandon didn’t seem to see it that way.”

The more she explained, the more it sounded like an excuse.

‘Because it is one.’

Aethlyn bit down on her lower lip.

She had sensed something was off from the beginning.

Still…

She had never imagined Sergeant Vilev would be excluded from the rewards so completely.

Neither the medal nor the leave.

His name had been left off both lists.

As Aethlyn stood there looking awkward, Sergeant Vilev let out a quiet sigh.

He muttered so softly she could barely hear him.

“…So that’s all it was.”

“Hm?”

“It’s nothing.”

His unconcerned reaction visibly eased the tension in her face.

After taking a slow breath, she lowered her voice.

“Actually… I mailed a report to Headquarters about your accomplishments earlier today.”

“…?”

“I don’t know how the battalion commander will react… but I couldn’t just let things end like this.”

“…You did?”

“I thought it was only right that you receive the same medal and leave as the rest of Fourth Platoon. I can’t promise anything about the medal… but I think I can at least get the leave approved.”

Of course, nothing was certain, so don’t get your hopes up too—

Before she could finish…

Sergeant Vilev’s eyes suddenly sharpened.

The shadows beneath them seemed to deepen.

“Why would you do that?”

“Huh?”

“Please withdraw that letter immediately.”

“I already sent it.”

“I’m fine. No… I don’t want it.”

“…Why? You don’t want the medal or the leave?”

Confusion spread across Aethlyn’s face.

She could understand not caring about a medal.

But not wanting leave?

That made no sense to her.

“I already have plenty of medals. Even if I sold them, they wouldn’t be worth much.”

Gennadi ran his fingers through the front of his hair.

His neatly pomaded bangs fell messily over his thick eyebrows.

Speaking with obvious fatigue, he continued,

“And even if I went on leave… there’s nothing for me to do.”

“…”

“Anyway, please withdraw it. I absolutely don’t want it. That’s not why I volunteered.”

It was the last reaction she had expected.

The corners of Aethlyn’s lips trembled faintly.

“…I didn’t think you’d hate the idea this much. I spent all that time worrying for nothing. How foolish of me.”

She tried to sound unaffected, but the bitterness still crept into her voice and expression.

Just as the sergeant was about to say something…

Aethlyn abruptly turned her head away and muttered,

“You’re right. You never wanted any of this, and I overstepped on my own. I’ll go to Headquarters right now and send another letter withdrawing the recommendation.”

‘It seems medals and leave don’t mean much to a werewolf.’

Maybe a cash reward would’ve been better?

‘In the end, I got involved all by myself over something he never even wanted.’

Unable to bear the awkwardness any longer, Aethlyn hurriedly turned to leave.

And that was when—