CH 11

【Chapter 11】

“Tell the truth. Wasn’t it enough to target me?”

Esadien, who recovered the sword, was staring at a masked person with a face she had never seen before. Even to me, who is not familiar with it, the meaning of ‘next time, you’ was clear.

“A little bit more!”

The knights outside seemed almost on the verge of tearing off the door. The wall was shaking.

“Hah, annoying.”

The mask sighed as if it had been made up and moved to the remaining colleagues.

“Esadien, you are also an annoying bastard.”

“What…..?”

“….The client asked me to deliver it.”

Esadien frowned at the last nuance and drew his sword again.

However, it was first to rip the scroll that the masked man took out of his arms.

“Ah!”

Only one scroll with a hole in the center remained in the place where the attacking light disappeared.

I roughly wiped my lips with a handkerchief until no blemishes left, and staggered closer to Esadien.

“Esadien, what can I do if I get hurt again….. I don’t know if the knights have a potion.”

“To you is that the problem now?”

“……”

His hard voice made my heart ache.

‘Even if you ask me like that, I don’t know why the flame disappeared….’

The atmosphere became awkward in an instant. To the point where I am grateful for the knights who came in breaking the door.

“Are you all right, Princess?”

“It’s okay because the Prince protected me. Thank you for coming…..”

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

The knight in the front asked. I opened my lips to a familiar face.

Regardless of him, the knight’s eyes were a rope hanging from the ceiling, and it passed through a pool of blood on the floor and reached my face, which was obviously a mess.

A triplet rang out in my head.

I’m screwed.

I’m screwed.

I’m screwed!

‘Mom…. why are you putting your Deputy on me…..’

This makes it impossible to cover up the reports of the knights. But it can still be scaled back.

‘It was Esadien hanging upside down and the blood is just, I should just take it off.’

So, she nodded her head.

“Yeah! It’s okay, I’m fine…..”

“The Princess was bleeding. If you have a potion, will you give it to me?”

…..I nodded, but Esadien broke it!

‘Ah ah ah ah ah.’

I ended up burying my face in my hands. As soon as I returned home, it was confirmed.

“This is a potion made by Priest Ramande.”

As soon as Esadien received the potion, he opened the lid and held it out to me with determined hand movements.

“Drink everything.”

“But, but Esadien’s wounds….. What’s left of the treatment is enough for me.”

“I don’t mind if I go back and treat myself.”

‘No, why are you so neglecting that pretty body?’

I burst into anger and fired at him.

“The Prince may not care, but I am. What if the whip was poisoned?”

“If it was poison, I wouldn’t be standing like this.”

“You might even hurt later!”

It was my mother’s deputy who cut off my rising voice.

“I have one more bottle, my Lady.”

“….ah.”

I forgot that the knights were looking at us. Suddenly embarrassed, I asked Esadien, pushing the potion bottle with a dry cough.

“Thank you, Sir…. But can you take off your coat?”

Now that her tension is slowly relaxed, Esadien’s body came into my eyes. It was good, but sending him to the Imperial Palace like this was difficult.

“Yes? Ah…”

The deputy, who was surprised for a moment when he was told to give out his clothes, was also willing to take off his clothes as if he thought he could not leave Esadien as he is.

“I’m sorry it’s not clean.”

“That’s all right. I’ll repay you sooner or later.”

It was fortunate that Esadien was also a knight, so he didn’t mind such things.

Watching him heal, I swallowed the potion little by little.

As the fresh, cool water flowed over, I felt a tingling sensation in my throat and stomach, which I didn’t even know was sore. It was like drinking incredibly strong carbonated water.

“Ugh.”

“Are you okay, Minuelle?”

“Ah yes.”

“Then…. Would you like to chat with me for a moment?”

I nodded with pleasure. It was obvious that if we broke up today, we wouldn’t be able to see each other for days. Rather, I wanted to be with you even a little longer.

“All right.”

“But, my Lady, it’s better for you to go home and get treated by the Priest….”

The Deputy blocked it, but he couldn’t beat Esadien.

“It won’t take long. I just want you to make time while the Princess drinks up the potion.”

“….All right.”

“And don’t say anything about today. I won’t tell His Majesty either.”

Esadien, who ordered in the name of the prince, turned his back.

‘Will our knights really listen to that order…..?’

I was worried, but first of all, all I could do was walk as Esadien led me. But, perhaps because of my narrow stride, Esadien suddenly hugged me tightly.

“Uh?!”

I was surprised and grabbed the potion bottle and the late explanation fell on me.

“I’ll go up on the roof.”

But then the stairs and corridors continued for quite a while.

‘I guess it was because I was really slow.’

Even so, I felt good because it was the first time Esadien hugged me first. And this unshakable comfort!

‘I want to sleep like this.’

Actually, I almost fell asleep, but fortunately, the outside air awakened my mind before doing so.

“Wow…”

I opened my mouth unconsciously when I saw the scenery that filled the open view.

Before I knew it, the sun was leaning beyond, and orange, blue, and purple were subtly tangled in the sky. And underneath it, the city lights blazed like stars.

‘Huh?’

It was in the middle of the city, in the square, that we fell into the trap. But did you intentionally bring it this far?

‘Why would you do that?’

Esadien found a flat spot on the sloping roof and put me down.

“This will be suitable for you to sit down.”

“He- here?”

Of course, it’s not a dangerous place, but I couldn’t help but hold Esadien’s hand tightly and didn’t let go.

“Don’t worry, there’s a slightly raised window in front of you.”

At the same time, Esadien sat next to me without shaking my hand.

Esadien’s face looking at the night view didn’t look like a person in an unfamiliar place. Come to think of it, he never hesitated or wandered until he came here from where we were trapped.

It was when I realized that Esadien had opened his mouth again.

“This mansion is where I lived with my mother as a child.”

“I… see…”

It wasn’t just this mansion.

I looked back on the day’s time. From the fact that the Royal Family knew a cafe that was unlikely to go to, to the fact that the geography of the square seemed familiar.

I thought he was a well-prepared person, but I didn’t know he lived in Kaduren.

“My mother….. No, no. I wanted to say thank you for letting me protect this place.”

Esadien, who was about to say something, only thanked me and closed his mouth again.

I tried to smile as usual, but I stopped moving the corners of my lips hard at the thought of brushing my head.

If the gunpowder had exploded, this mansion would not have been intact.

‘Did the assassins bring Esadien all the way here mean they’d bury him together?’

I felt personal hatred.

“Hey, Esadien.”

He turned around. The wind shook the mysterious blonde like pouring out.

“Do you happen to know who the client is?”

Esadien was silent for a long time. I waited patiently, but what returned was an obvious evasion.

“…..What did you do a little while ago?”

“What?”

“Absorbing fire.”

“That, I thought it just disappeared. It wasn’t hot, so…..”

Esadien stared at me quietly. The calm but piercing gaze made me feel small even though I had done nothing wrong.

“Actually, I didn’t see it. Just because it flies to you…. But I actually, um.”

The voice became smaller accordingly, and at the end it was almost a whisper.

“Fire is the scariest thing in the world.”

“Then why did you jump in? You are too reckless.”

It was a nagging saying that it was reckless to do it even after hearing the sound.

Do you think his mouth would pop out or not?

“You’ve covered me many times too.”

“Before I became a Prince, I was a knight. It is natural to protect you.”

“It’s only natural that I can’t stand still! You can’t just watch the person you love get hurt.”

“Minuelle.”

The name that came out with a small sigh was as if it meant to stop now. The tip of his nose wrinkled, so I lowered my gaze.

“I know that. I remember what you said last time…..”

“I don’t mean to say that.”

“What?”

“I can wield a sword, even if it is not enough. I can use my body. But, Minuelle, not you.”

I raised my head. Esadien was still looking straight at me.

“Whether this happened by chance, a fluke, or for any other reason….. It’s better to keep it a secret until the cause is fully revealed.”

I flinched a little. Because I had something in mind.

‘My tantrums are suspicious.’

I couldn’t say it openly because I thought it was ‘suspicious’, and there was no evidence that it was precisely because of tantrums. I’ve never been in a situation like this before.

Besides, I’m a person who wants to live peacefully and comfortably. The proposal to hide was not unwelcome.

Nevertheless, it was Esadien that made me hesitate.

“We need to find the client. If we let it go, they will keep trying, but what if you get hurt?”

“It’ll be all right.”

“I can’t guarantee that, Esadien. Even if it’s over 99, it’s over if you lose your life at the 100th try. Are you going to leave me alone?”

A gasp was heard. I could also notice that Esadien’s eyes got bigger because of the faint light.

“As expected.”

After a while, the words that came out were heavy, but I snapped without caring.

“Don’t tell me to break the engagement because of that.”

Esadien’s hand, which seemed to have hit the nail on the head, flinched. I spoke in a sulky voice.

“I’m disappointed. You said it was natural to protect me earlier.”

“No, of course.”

“Why are you talking about breaking up the engagement?”

“But Minuelle….”

“Never mind. I’m leaving.”

I swept away Esadien’s hand and got up.

The sun was setting so fast that I could hardly see my feet. Still, I pretended to be as imposing as possible and moved forward.

‘You’re going to hold me. You’re going to grab me. Hold on!’

However, contrary to expectations, Esadien did not move until she took one or two steps.

And the third step. Finally, my foot slipped.

“Ack…..!”

***