The Traditional Hero Story (30)

Louise took a deep breath and looked at the man before her. With his arms spread wide, he gazed at her with an indifferent expression. If he’d at least looked embarrassed, she might have felt less awkward, but the man seemed utterly unfazed.

‘Hug him…? That’s… indecent!’

This wasn’t her first time embracing a man. Whenever the members of the Marta Guard overcame a difficult task, she’d shared their joy by throwing her arms around her subordinates. But this was the first time ‘Louise’ the woman, rather than ‘Louise’ the guard, had been held in a man’s arms.

‘Do I really have to do this…?!’

Once she became conscious of him, all sorts of thoughts came flooding in. His handsome looks, so rare among the guards; his surprisingly broad chest and lean muscles; his earnest, considerate nature—all the attractive qualities of the man that had been hidden from her by Siwoo finally came into view.

‘Ugh, at this rate, he’s just as hard to approach as Siwoo!’

It was supposed to be about getting used to men, but the difficulty was far too high from the very beginning. She might as well have trained with Hans, one of the lower-ranking guards. Seeing his pig-like face would surely have made this much easier.

“Come on!”

“U-uuugh…!”

When she continued to hesitate in place, the man frowned and shouted. It was the first time she’d seen him make such a stern expression. He’d always treated her kindly with a friendly smile...