Chapter 35

Chapter 35

“Can we go over there?”

Cahill turned his gaze to where Holly’s fingertips were pointing.

There was a building between where they were now and the wall to the east. However, she did not know that they might be caught by the soldiers guarding the southern gates along the way if they made a mistake because the road leading there was an open corridor.

“I can kill them if we come across them.”

Holly flinched at the hoarse voice. He spoke so casually that she had to wonder if he was weird.

“Uh… Then, let’s keep it quiet.”

As she struggled to answer in a trembling voice, he turned to face her and her eyes widened.

“I’ll just freeze them. They also have magic crystals, so they should be able to melt them.”

“So, they can do magic.”

Holly nodded her head, envying soldiers who could use magic.

Then Cahill exclaimed as if he had just remembered it.

“Oh, right. I need to return your necklace…”

Saying so, he suddenly tried to rummage through her pockets. What was he doing to this dire situation? Holly thought and grabbed his hand.

“That’s fine. Let’s get out of here for now.”

There were enemies everywhere, so they couldn’t waste time trying to find a necklace. With Holly’s insistence, Cahill nodded and held her again.

“But, wouldn’t it be more dangerous if the soldiers could also use magic?”

Her face flushed with concern. Seeing that, Cahill shook his head and spoke.

“They’re not going to waste something as precious as a magic crystal just to catch two people.”

Ahmed, who was holding the magic crystal and greedily flashing his eyes, came to mind. There was no way he would spare the things that would be responsible for the future of a kingdom.

“Even if they use magic, I will win.”

She couldn’t help but burst into laughter seeing his bubbly appearance. Perhaps fortunately, Sharif’s soldiers could not chase Cahill. Luckily, even those in front of him were frozen alive by his power.

“Is that really okay?”

Holly muttered as she looked at the frozen soldiers over Cahill’s shoulder as they climbed the wall.

“Maybe.”

Cahill, who left an awkward answer, jumped down. Her eyes widened as she turned her eyes to follow him.

“Wait, Cahill! Wait a minute. You must not step on it.”

Holly sighed in relief as she looked at Cahill’s feet, which had stopped before stepping on some petals. Then, she cautiously got out of his arms and glanced around with bewildered eyes.

“Why the hell is this here?”

The plants, which Ahmed was so proud of, stretched from under the walls to the forest. What lay in front of them were very delicate, very dangerous plants.

“If you step on it, you will get in trouble, so be careful.”

Holly grabbed his clothes, worried that the free-spirited Cahill might move and touch the monster plant. He touched the massive flower until it was so flat that it almost stuck to the ground with his finger.

“When you step on that round part of the petals, pollen that paralyzes you comes out.”

Cahill lowered his eyes and looked at her hand that grabbed his collar. Holly felt the gaze and flinched, trying to take the strength out of her hand. He covered the back of her hand with him, so she couldn’t pull it out and put her other hand anywhere.

“That?”

“…There are sharp teeth on the inside of the bud. It is said that the solution inside can melt even stones.”

Holly replied to him, trying to take her eyes off her hand he was rubbing.

“How do you know so well?”

Cahill asked again, bowing his head and looking into Holly’s face. She was startled as he suddenly approached. His strong arms wrapped around her waist prevented her from stepping back.

“Be careful. You said if you step on it, you’re in big trouble.”

He said, urging her, who had moved hastily.

Holly, startled by the serious look, nodded with a slightly tired face. Come to think of it, he tended to believe what she said without questioning. Maybe, it was not because it was her, but because he believed everything he heard.

‘Isn’t that a bit dangerous?’

“How come you don’t know it?”

“There are many things I don’t know. You didn’t even know about that magic crystal earlier.”

At that, she peered anxiously at the silver-gray eyes that were shining with infinite trust in her and then opened her mouth.

“I know these plants because Prince Ahmed took me to the garden to show them.”

He then straightened his bent back with a blatant dislike.

“Thanks to you, I am less likely to be attacked defenseless.”

Cahill, unable to hide his dissatisfaction with Holly’s words, suddenly puffed his cheeks.

“What else is that? Are you trying to be funny?”

He covered his mouth and shook his body. At the tips of Cahill’s fingers were two long, drooping plants that ran like arms.

“With this one, the stem oppresses the opponent…”

Holly’s eyes widened while explaining the plant’s specialties that Ahmed had heard. The stem, which had been fluttering as if dancing, stopped.

“It’s a plant… When they stop dancing, the stem… Kyak!”

The stem with a claw at the end suddenly flew towards her. Cahill watched the plant suddenly begin to dance in unison as he reflexively reached out his hand at her scream. Still, there was nothing in his hands.

“Holly?”

“Let go!”

Holly was fighting alone in the air with one arm and one leg held by the stem. She grabbed the stem with her ungrabbed arm and began to chew with her teeth when she couldn’t pull it off and look down.

“Ack!”

However, the stem that flew in from the other direction grabbed her opposite arm as well. Holly was floating high with her arms and legs held.

“Holly!”

Holly, who struggled, turned her eyes to where her name was heard. Inside the walls, Ahmed was looking at her with a surprised look. The guards lined up around her prince, pointing their bows at her.

“Stop! Don’t shoot!”

With Ahmed’s instructions, the guards lowered their bows at once. Holly, who was about to die from arrows piercing her body, swept her chest of relief inside her heart.

“Cahill, get me down… What’re you doing?”

Holly, who had escaped from the crisis, was desperately searching for Cahill and paused. He was putting his hand at the end of the trunk that had grabbed her, where the tentacle-like stem and the trunk that became the torso joined.

“If I tickle it, it might drop you off.”

Perhaps he was serious, he was moving her finger slightly in the gap.

“Do you think this feels ticklish?”

Holly raised his voice and twisted her body in exhilaration. Feeling it as a movement to run away from him, Ahmed quickly stretched out his arm.

“Holly. Please, listen to me.”

At those words, she turned her head to the forgotten Ahmed. She could not see Cahill below, who was hidden by a wall, but he also raised his head and looked in the same direction.

“I am Ahmed of the Desert.”

Ahmed’s voice was gloomy. Holly stopped struggling with his sudden words and focused on him as he continued.

“In the desert, the families of the traitors are tossed as food for the desert scorpion.”

Holly’s eyes widened upon hearing those terrifying words. Ahmed’s eyes were out of focus as if peeking into a place in the past.

“My father fled this far with his family and colleagues who fought for him to survive. Establishing a new base in this unfamiliar land would not have been easy.”

Ahmed clutched his chest with his hands like a theater actor. He was a good actor, enough to make viewers feel sympathy. But, at that moment, Holly’s body began to shake up and down. The shaking grew more and more intense.

All of her hair turned over and obscured her view.

“…I endured for the day when I would return to the desert to follow my father’s will.”

“Wait, wait…!”

Her body trembled recklessly, her vision was obscured, and Ahmed was still adamant. Holly shouted for him to stop and swung her hair back to secure her field of vision.

“Will you leave the stem alone?”

It seemed that Cahill was playing tug-of-war by grabbing the stem that had captured her. In an annoying tone, he stopped his movement and glanced up at Holly with an unhappy expression.

“You asked me to drop you off.”

“Yes, thank you, but can’t you be a little more gentle? I am going to vomit everything I ate at this point!”

“It’s tricky.”

As he shook his head in disapproval, Holly stared at him as if she still had much to say, then curled her lips and shut. Being in a position needing help, she couldn’t be more angry here.

“Wait, Holly! Weren’t you listening to me?”

Hearing Ahmed’s earnest voice from behind the wall, Cahill’s hand moved faster. He set his nails up and started scratching the stems.

Holly, who was about to turn to Ahmed again, shouted.

“Cahill! Stop…!”

“Why? Do you still have anything to talk about with that man?”

Cahill glanced into her eyes and secretly scraped the trunk like a child who didn’t listen to her.

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