CH 215

‘What lunacy is this?’ Cecile thought, as she eyed the man spouting nonsense. As another fireball flashed above the skies, it illuminated his face and revealed the features that had been shadowed in the darkness. Cecile’s eyes widened in surprise. ‘A man of the Hyun continent? What is someone from over there doing here?’ Thinking back, his accent while spouting that ridiculous drivel second before had been slightly off.

The continent Estian ruled wasn’t in a particularly hostile relationship with the Hyun continent across the sea, but nor were they friendly either. ‘They didn’t even send any envoys for my wedding celebration.’

For starters, the two continents were too far apart. Separated by a month-long voyage, it was difficult to encounter people from the Hyun continent, except in port cities that faced the ocean. With different climates, customs, manners and people, there was little need to interact with them. That about summed up the relationship between the two continents—not hostile, but not friendly enough to send a delegation either. They were simply faraway neighbors. And yet, someone hailing from that continent was here, in the midst of this chaos no less!

While Cecile was busy pondering about the identity of this man, the sky lit up again. Cecile’s eyes turned to where Estian was fending off fireballs incoming from the building on the other side. ‘This isn’t the time for this!’ Feeling desperate to help in whatever way possible, Cecile tried to break free by smacking his hand, but his grip only tightened.

“It’s troubling to have you eyeing other men already, my wife,” he reproached mournfully.

In that instant, Cecile learned a person could be rendered speechless when confronted with the preposterous… and at the same time, she realized the solution to dealing with a madman—by kicking his knee with all the strength one could muster.

“Agh!” the man cried, doubling over with a groan.

‘A beating’s the right medicine for dealing with a lunatic!’ She had just kicked a random person with her sharp-heeled shoe with enough strength that her own foot hurt, but though it seemed to have inflicted pain, the man didn’t release his grip despite staggering. Cecile decided to go all in, and was about to bite him, but he reacted faster.

Grabbing the back of her neck with his other hand, he snickered and purred, “Every rose has its thorn, as they say… but it does hurt quite a bit.”

Wondering how he managed to utter such a cheesy line despite looking like he was in a world of pain, Cecile turned to glance at where Estian was still battling the beams of light. He hadn’t seemed to notice her predicament because he was preoccupied with the explosions and the screams of the people nearby. She tried to cry out, “Es—”

Before she could call out his name, Cecile felt the Hyun man tap her neck with a finger. Next thing she knew, her tongue froze and her body went slack. She collapsed on the spot, but the man reached out to grab her by the waist before she could crumple to the ground. Cecile felt like she’d become a marionette with broken strings. Her senses were still working, but she couldn’t control her limbs. The man hoisted her into his arms, and all she could manage was to fix him with a withering glare.

Ruin broke into a cold sweat from the murderous look in Cecile’s eyes. ‘She’s no joke, is she?’ He was experiencing physical pain for the first time in a very, very long while. If his opponent had been Emperor Estian, the prince would’ve had his guard up, but he’d been careless and assumed Cecile was an ordinary woman. Now he was paying the price for it. Tears had sprung up when she kicked him earlier, and his knee was still throbbing, with a tingling ache lingering even now. Cecile had managed to attack a vital point.