Chapter 7

Eyla tensely chewed on her nails.

She had been out of her mind ever since observing Estiya enter the balcony alone with the blinded guy.

She scarcely turned wild when Estiya indicated no one to enter while pulling the curtains.

My Estiya, what’s happening inside?

She was perturbed, to the extent she couldn’t concentrate on the operation. She had barely sneaked a look, only to witness quite the sight.

Estiya and him clinging together!

Eyla couldn’t hold back for a moment and instantly fired an arrow.

Perhaps Rodrigo possesses eyes on his back, so he stuck closer to Estiya in order to avoid the arrows?!

Her younger sister, her rabbit-like younger sister, was in fact, caught by a tiger, not a bear.

Eyla wanted to pounce the balcony immediately, however, Estiya was currently in Rodrigo’s grasp.

Eyla very much disliked Rodrigo, nonetheless, she admitted to his skills.

What if Estiya found out Eyla was attempting to hurt him and held a bad impression against her?

No!

She shut her eyes tightly after undergoing the dizzying thought.

No matter how much she thought about this, it would be faster for Rodrigo to crush Estiya’s throat, than for her to appear and then attempt to target him.

We have to hold off until he separates from Estiya.

As Eyla, both the two in the second second floor, Ether and Kaylan, thought the same.

They had aimed poleaxes and eagerly tried to get rid of Rodrigo, yet the opportunity never arrived.

Ether, Kaylen, and Eyla grind their teeth, each imagining cutting through Rodrigo who had pierced through their innocent sibling.

“So, what do you mean you could do for me?”

“I can’t do it for you, I have to do it with you.”

His calm voice made me sense I had passed his boundaries.

I pulled Rodrigo, keeping a close eye on the movements Kaylan and Ether committed over the roof.

I pushed him against the balcony door and stood in front.

I couldn’t hide Rodrigo with my miniscule body, but at least neither Kaylan, Ether, nor Eyla could attack him easily like this.

“I don’t much prefer being the one to ask questions. I’m more of a person who responds, rather than question.”

Rodrigo urged the answer, his voice filled with discontent.

“I will tell you now.”

I cleared my throat to explain the plan I had prepared previously.

It was not a grand one.

To keep him safe, we had to stay near the other. To do so, I decided on the most reliable way.

I took a deep breath.

I’m very nervous about this.

“Let’s get married.”

His face hardened.

The embarrassment clearly showed on his face.

“Is this Cartina’s new attack strategy?”

After a not too short while, Rodrigo burst into laughter as he spoke.

I was completely serious regarding this proposal.

“Pfft, what?”

“You startle the other person, create a gap, then attack them? Or will you attack the back of their neck and cause them to collapse. Or, do you wish for them to have a heart attack due to utter shock?”

It was a proposal, however, his response was just too much. I frowned.

“You said you didn’t favor asking questions, yet you have so many as of now.”

“That is because something completely unforeseen happened.”

“That is how life is supposed to be.”

“I didn’t think I would ever in my life listen to Cartina lecturing me about life lessons.”

I placed my hand back over Rodrigo’s cheek once more.

“You said you wanted to know why I was doing this, right? Will you trust me if you know the reason?”

Rodrigo removed my hand. However, he did not let go.

“Because I want to live.”

Rodrigo was speechless.

Rodrigo turned speechless after he heard of Estiya’s sudden marriage proposal and her desire to live.

It was Cartina who had been bedeviling him so far, however, listening to Estiya say this made him unknowingly feel like the villain.

“When you have the power one day, take good care of both me and my family. I don’t want to die.”

There was no sign of falsehood in her subsequent remarks. The same was true for her serious and deep green eyes.

Estiya’s whole being was expressing the word truth.

Can I believe this?

Rodrigo proceeded to calculate the matter inwardly.

The benefits and losses he would have gained whether he accepted Estiya’s proposal.

No matter how much he thought, it was a transaction in which Rodrigo would be deemed profitable.

Estiya would be able to adequately prevent Cartina’s attacks, and if there was a rumor circulating about their relationship, the women which attempted flirting with him would dispatch, and the Emperor wouldn’t be able to treat himself carelessly.

He swiftly concluded his decision, thinking himself of being quite the intelligent man.

Rodrigo let go of Estiya’s hand.

He leaned comfortably against the wall.

Before presenting an answer, he silently observed Estiya.

She was a beautiful woman as the rumor had it. She did not resemble Cartina.

False love, false marriage, it would never hold a good impact on her life.

“Just hold it, my hand.”

Estiya reached out her hand. Such a portable hand was very much reliable.

In all due honesty, Rodrigo was completely fatigued.

There were only enemies surrounding him. Opponents not easy to deal with.

Won’t he only have to hold that little hand to protect himself and breathe comfortably for a while?

“All right, let’s do it.”

Rodrigo once again persuaded himself that he had nothing to lose.

“Alright, when do you want the ceremony to be held?”

“No, not marriage.”

Estilla tilted her head.

Rodrigo placed his hand on her cheek. Did she get this messy when they were dancing, or when she hung to him?

Her disheveled hair tickled Rodrigo’s hand.

Rodrigo slowly lowered his head. His lips settled near Estiya’s.

She unconsciously held her breath, realizing their distance was too close.

Estiya’s tension was the kind reaction any woman would commit.

His face was quite picturesque.

The smile placed over it was impossible to imitate, even with pictures.

He was a beautiful man, Estiya realized the seduction techniques she had learned thus far were useless in front of his natural face. Beauty seemed to be a word made especially for Rodrigo.

“Shouldn’t we stand off seeing each other first?”

Maybe this was because he is the protagonist that he’s moving according to the appropriate standard.

“Yes, let’s start with a relationship.”

Estiya retreated a step from him, then stood side by side and linked their arms.

The relationship of the past, which was that between enemies, was now destroyed and turned into one of love.

The game of deception had begun.

It hurts to have to swindle my family, however, this was for everyone.

So it’s alright.

Everything will be fine.

Estiya smiled widely and flipped over the curtains.

Nonetheless, it wasn’t long after Estiya’s mood flipped.

Her optimism, which accumulated at the thought everything would go well as Rodrigo had already crossed the big mountain, soon turned into a mere bubble thought when they left the banquet hall.

That day, the end of the banquet was a mess.

Kaylan, Ether and Eyla were overly shocked as they witnessed Rodrigo and I leaving the balcony with our arms linked.

Kaylan failed to remember others were watching his every move, and threw away the dagger hidden underneath his attire, while Eyla hurriedly pulled the poison and thrust it towards Rodrigo’s face. Right in front of his own face.

Ether came to her senses rather belatedly and pulled her knife out.

The two danced to the music with their swords amidst the banquet.

Chaeng, Chaeng, Chaeng. The sound of knives clashing each other, and the clang of the table, which turned.

Son of a dog, son of a horse… The second generation of all kinds of animals popped from Eyla’s mouth.

Screams echoed from area to area.

Until then, the musicians were drunk to their own performances. In addition, there was no such thing as entertainment coming from the screams of the women, which intervened between the performances of the musicians.

“If you get caught, you’ll die!”

“Would you then be caught for committing murder?”

Rodrigo’s answer eventually exploded Eyla’s sanity.

Eyla threw a smoke bomb.

The green color alone was enough to scare others.

People screamed and bumped into each other as they ran away. The Duke of Gloria’s face turned white.