Chapter 41

Chapter 41

Akarna. Akarna. They were clearly referring to her.

Her heart, which had started to grow warm little by little after entering the unfamiliar village, seemed to stop suddenly.

Thunk!

After confirming that the person completely protecting Akarna was a man, another arrow flew.

Tak!

Tevon caught it easily again this time too, and threw it right where it came from. He threw arrows like they were spears. He returned with a force comparable to the speed with which it flew.

“Ugh!”

The soldier, whose neck was pierced by an arrow, collapsed without a chance to even scream.

“W-What— guh!”

What followed them was something they couldn’t even see with their eyes. The man standing next to him had his throat pierced by a dagger.

Tevon, who had just thrown the dagger, pulled out another one of his knives from somewhere and tossed it lightly in the air. His expression looked much calmer than when he treated Jiwoo as an outsider.

It was the same with Lanceil when they first met. They didn’t like outsiders. To the point where if that outsider were to do something offensive, they would kill the stranger straightaway like this.

It was a somewhat unfamiliar appearance to Jiwoo, who had been favored by them all along.

Since the soldier already called out to the others, it was only a matter of seconds for them to rush into this place.

Someone rode in with three or four soldiers on horseback. The first two soldiers who ran in were shocked to see that their colleagues had become corpses.

“What are you doing!”

“You lowly pointed ears!”

Tevon, who killed two people in an instant, tilted his head slightly to the side, expressionless.

“I thought they were wild boars.”

“W-What did you say!”

“Since I’m a hunter with no other skills, I thought I’d give my game as a present for a special guest at today’s banquet.”

Tevon showed his teeth and smiled.

“A human being who is not worthy of being used as meat. What a waste of a dagger.”

The soldier in the front drew a sword from his waist. As soon as the white blade shone, Tevon threw an arrow he had plucked from a tree.

It landed right on the back of the soldier’s hand.

“Kuuh!”

“Who said you could come closer?”

Seeing that the soldier had dropped his longsword, Tevon looked intently at the rider on the horse. As he was about to throw the dagger at any moment, Jiwoo grabbed his clothes.

“Te, Tevon… wait…”

“Hm, what is it?”

Tevon’s eyes, looking towards Jiwoo again, turned surprisingly soft.

But for Jiwoo, there was a person standing in front of her that she couldn’t miss even if he only passed by.

“Akarna…”

He got off his horse. His gaze was always directed in this direction.

Aleph, the Crown Prince of the Kaarbaude Empire.

Neatly arranged black hair. Red eyes shining like the sun underneath the coolly exposed forehead. It was the face Jiwoo loved but never dared to look at.

He proudly raised his chin, always and everywhere. But somehow he was a bit haggard now.

Aleph muttered several times in disbelief. Akarna. Akarna… with a dazed look on his face. He walked slowly this way, ignoring Tevon’s warning.

“Do you know how long I’ve been looking for you?”

“……”

Why was this person here? He was engaged to another woman, and he should be in the middle of his wedding’s preparations.

The back of Jiwoo’s hand holding Tevon’s clothes turned white.

“I thought you were dead.”

As Jiwoo’s complexion turned pale, Tevon raised Jiwoo up. Her legs were so weak she wouldn’t be able to stand up without Tevon supporting her.

“Let’s go back.”

Jiwoo, who was the only one qualified to answer, did not answer.

Ever since Jiwoo met him, she has never failed to answer his words. The Crown Prince called Jiwoo once more, finding it so puzzling.

“Akarna?”

Jiwoo finally opened her mouth. Her voice was barely audible.

“…Your Highness, I do not want to go back.”

“What do you mean?”

“Why… why do you think I want to go back?

You thought I was dead? Why do you come looking for the dead? Because the Akarna’s corpse is useful? Why? Why? She kept wondering.

Her vision was spinning. Her mind went blank. She didn’t know what to say anymore.

She didn’t know how to calculate, how to act, or how to negotiate. The Crown Prince appeared like a negotiator, Jiwoo only remembered what Tevon had said.

“Your place is by my side, Akarna.”

“What good is that for me?”

The Crown Prince smirked.

“I wondered why you wouldn’t come out of hiding when you were alive.”

Why was he smirking? How can he laugh in this situation? Did I just say something very funny?

“…Alright. Do you want the position of Crown Princess? Okay. I lost. I’ll give you the position of Crown Princess. So stop playing around and come here.”

Some of the soldiers beside him held their breath at the unprecedented suggestion that came out of the Crown Prince’s mouth. It seemed like his remark was unplanned.

“Crown Princess?”

Jiwoo frowned, wanting to cry. He was the same person who never gave her the first dance even though she cried and begged him so much, yet he was now offering her the position of Crown Princess as if he had given up everything for her.

If she had been her past self, she would have been delighted. If it had only been a month ago, or at least before meeting the children of Elandos in the green and gold village, she would have been thrilled that he could sacrifice that much for her.

She didn’t want any of that. When did he ever think that she wished for something like the Crown Princess’s position? All she wanted was for him to love her. She didn’t want anything else that could trouble him, so she just asked him to prove that he loved her. Why did he come now when she had just let go of all that?

“…Didn’t you say that I can’t because I can’t give you a successor?”

“That can be worked out.”

The Crown Prince said with a deep sigh.

“For taking you as the Crown Princess, I will need to take in a concubine as well.”

Yes. There must be a way. He hadn’t changed at all.

He was the kind of person who, even in his most desperate moments, would come up with hundreds of ways to win someone over without losing them.

“…But the only one I love is you.”

Jiwoo’s breath stopped.

Love.

Love.

Love?

Did he just say love?

It was before Jiwoo could react to it. There was a giggle and a laugh.

Tevon.

“The Crown Prince? The quality of the head of an Empire’s heir is far beyond even the lowest of the low. Do you think you’re still in a position to negotiate?”

Tevon lowered his stance and put his arm under Jiwoo’s knee.

“In the first place, she’s not even a member of the Empire. The position of Crown Princess of a country she’s not tied to? Why on earth would she prefer that?”

“What nonsense! You pointed ears!”

As the Crown Prince stood still, the soldier next to him shouted. His hand that was pierced by Tevon was pointing this way.

“Our Seo Jiwoo even gave you a chance, but you blew it. What the heck, I got nervous for no reason. There’s nothing more to listen to.”

Tevon lifted Jiwoo lightly and kissed Jiwoo on the cheek with a smile.

His eyes remained on the Crown Prince. Instead of just rubbing his cheeks with his lips, Tevon bit Jiwoo’s cheeks with his teeth.

No one had ever provoked the Crown Prince in this way over Seo Jiwoo. The Crown Prince hesitated, feeling flustered like this for the first time in his life.

And the moment he hesitated, Tevon got out of here.

With a slight bend and force from his knees, Tevon leapt up a tall tree. After repeating it only a few times, Tevon quickly moved away from the group.

Red eyes widening in surprise. Disheveled black hair. The tired, dark eyes. Even so, until the end, he caught Jiwoo’s attention.

“Akarna! AKARNA…!”

His voice called out to her anxiously.

She closed her eyes tightly. She wanted to cover her ears.

Until they completely disappeared, Jiwoo couldn’t think of anything. Her expression was blank, and nothing registered in her eyes.

Tevon tried to get as far away as possible, but when Jiwoo’s reaction was unusual, Tevon put Jiwoo down in an appropriate place.

And he shook Jiwoo’s shoulder.

“Breathe. Breathe. Seo Jiwoo.”

“Huk, huuk…”

Then her choked breath came out. Her body didn’t function properly enough to breathe if someone didn’t tell her.

Seo Jiwoo, who Tevon looked at, had unfocused eyes which shook wildly.

“Tevon… What could I, what could I have said to that?”

“……”

“C-Crown Princess? Me, me? Should I accept that?”

“……”

“Love? He loves me? Me? Love? Love…?”

Tevon hugged Jiwoo.

“You don’t have to wrestle with such complicated thoughts.”

“I can’t. I… I can’t do that…”

It was better when she couldn’t remember anything. Once she opened her mouth, the thoughts kept coming.

What would have changed if she accepted the position of Crown Princess there? What would change? He would keep her by his side, expecting an Akarna who was still devoted to him— yet she would have to watch him meet another woman, and…

Her heart was pounding and beating. Her whole body trembled. It seemed like something was rushing inside her, so she covered her mouth.

“Uhk. Hiic…”

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