CH 42

03. Why is the Female Protagonist Here?

There was no great difficulty in getting to the Veloki Kingdom. Many Velokians who had been helped by Rodrigo helped. They helped Rodrigo, knowing that the Empire and Veloki were at war.

“I’ll have to pay them back later.”

He smiled brightly at my words.

“It was just their turn to pay back big time.”

I guess he lived a really good life here. I shook my head as I looked back at Rodrigo’s past. Now was not the time to think.

“But where are we going?”

“Trust and follow me.”

Rodrigo smiled brightly after a long time. After a while, we arrived at a rustic house. I washed there and borrowed clothes that people usually wore here. Rodrigo, who was so tall, showed off his ankles and wrists, but it didn’t change that he was handsome no matter what he wore. It was the same with me.

“When I said that I was going to introduce you to a pretty girl, there was a reason for refusing it.”

The middle-aged man who gave us the house, food and clothes chuckled. Rodrigo pulled me lightly by the waist.

“Of course, there is no one prettier than my lover anywhere in the world.”

He hung out with the people of the Veloki Peninsula casually. They seemed to have known each other for a very long time. In fact, he had a very comfortable smile. I watched it as if I was appreciating a painting.

Even in early summer, the Veloki Peninsula, located in the northwest, was chilly at night. As the sun went down and time passed, they lit a fire in the fireplace and hung a large pot above the fireplace. Then they poured cheap alcohol and started to boil it. Soon, a fragrant smell spread throughout the house along with the warmth.

Me and Rodrigo sat side by side on the cracked sofa, watching the owner and his wife move. There was a mix of the sound of crackling wood, the sound of boiling alcohol, and the clamoring of the owner and wife to bring something to each other. They poured honey into the boiled liquor, gave it to Rodrigo and me, and then disappeared. The two of us stared silently at the burning fire.

“I want to do only good things for you, but it’s not going well.”

Rodrigo said. I was startled as if I had suddenly woken up.

“What?”

Because I couldn’t agree with any of his words.

“I’m saying that I want to only do good things for you.”

“Why…?”

For me?

We are going to get married by arrangement. Well, I knew that he was a person who faithfully executes even small contracts, but he didn’t even need to make an effort. And most of all, I really enjoyed this moment. Has there ever been a more peaceful life in Cartina over the past 17 years?

In Cartina, they rushed to hide me. I wasn’t really Estiya, so the love of my family was burdensome, and I had to deal with the accidents that Cartina had committed… Have I ever had a comfortable day like this since I was born?

Come to think of it, the god of possessing must be a curse.

“It’s a little sad.”

Rodrigo said, turning the glass back and forth.

“What?”

“I think I’m the only one being serious.”

“I’m serious too.”

His face wrinkled a little at my light reply. Really, I’m serious, I want to live, I want to save Cartina, and I want to end this war quickly right now. And I hope that as soon as possible, I will find the heroine I brutally killed and have her take over, and hopefully this novel will end quietly.

You’re serious?

In an instant, somewhere in my heart, someone, not me, spoke to me.

What are you talking about?

Seriously, are you going to hand over Rodrigo to the female lead and then finish it off?

Of course… I would. But the words got stuck in my throat. My chest was pounding.

I looked down at my feet. The slippers the hostess gave me were a lot bigger than my feet. Rodrigo’s slippers, on the other hand, were smaller than his feet. As I alternately glanced at my loose slippers and his protruding feet, I well captured the desire to jump out in my chest.

“I wish I could sleep.”

I quickly drank the glass. The drink mixed with bitter alcohol and sweet honey tasted great.

“Okay, let’s go up.”

Rodrigo stood up first and held out his hand.

And after a while I…

“This is not it!”

I shouted, but I was stopped by Rodrigo, who blocked the door and stood up.

“We are lovers, and it is only natural for lovers to share the same room in Veloki. The owners showed the utmost sincerity they could, but it is rude to ask if there is another room. Are you going to sleep in the living room?”

Rodrigo’s words were so rational and logical that I despaired.

“We only have one bed, right?”

Rodrigo nodded his head.

“Not even a sofa?”

So, you sleep on the bed and I sleep on the sofa won’t work.

“That’s right.”

“Are you going to sleep on the floor?”

I asked.

“I can’t sleep on the floor.”

Lies.

Rodrigo was a man who slept in a tunnel when he was young, when he was traveling around the battlefield.

“Then shall I sleep on the floor?”

“Why?”

He asked innocently.

“Well, we…”

“We are getting married. I will actually do it. I even announced that I would propose to you.”

“Oh my god, I didn’t even hear about the announcement of the marriage proposal.”

“I’m good at things that other people don’t normally do.”

“It doesn’t matter!”

When talking with Rodrigo, I sometimes miss the point and get lost. And now I’m dragged by him.

“What’s wrong? It’s not like we can’t live and fall in love with each other. Did you ever see me as an unscrupulous beast? I’m sorry, but I never touch a woman who doesn’t like the man they’re going to marry.”

Rodrigo seemed offended. Actually, I was more worried about myself than that. Even if I slept far away from him, my sleep habit was so bad that I would stick to him. I had a habit of sleeping with my pillow tight, and if I didn’t have a pillow, I had to sleep with a blanket…

“Do we even have a blanket? There are only two pillows.”

I observed the bed.

“Can’t I use both pillows?”

I resigned and looked at Rodrigo.

Please listen to this.

Rodrigo smirked.

“I should build mountains with pillows in the bedroom back in the duchy. I didn’t know you liked pillows so much.”

He smirked and laid down on the bed and pushed the pillow towards me. Rodrigo’s back was nice, lying on his side with his arms crossed. My heart was pounding, and I barely suppressed the urge to run with a deep breath. To say that the male lead is cool is an eternal truth.

(3rd person pov)

Rodrigo lowered his head as he heard the sound of breathing. He wondered if this person with her hands around his stomach and legs on his thighs was Estiya who shouted that she couldn’t sleep in one bed…

Before going to bed, he smirked as he recalled her hugging the pillow as she prayed to her god, ‘never cross this line!’. Estiya, who fell asleep holding the pillow like a shield or a treasure chest, calmed down. 

Rodrigo froze.

‘Who was she really worried about?’

It was ridiculous and he laughed. He didn’t prepare pajamas separately, so it was a thick outing, so it’s a shame if it wasn’t for that…

‘Let’s not think about it.’

Rodrigo shook his head. A warm, delicate breath touched his chest. Complicated thoughts went away. His five senses were only opened to Estiya.

Her wavy hair tickled his forearm. Her body scent blended into Rodrigo’s breath. The warmth of Estiya was shared with Rodrigo. And her white skin filled in his vision. Why was the sound of even breathing so absurd?

Rodrigo had a promiscuous and cruel thought, wanting to wake her up, bite her and get inside her. Then he sighed in surprise. He knew himself well. Estiya told Rodrigo that he was a good person, but he was by no means a good person. His insides were uglier than anyone else’s.

Every time he saw the adorable Estiya, every time he stood on the battlefield before death, he thought he should hold her to his heart’s content, crush her, and force to pour everything into her. With his ugliness, his greed, and his selfishness, he wanted to tie her to his side. For Rodrigo, the contract already meant nothing.

However, Estiya was different.

His red eyes glistened with lust. Just imagining the tiny body rubbing beneath him made my blood boil, and Rodrigo couldn’t sleep.

(Estiya’s pov)

“Good morning!”

I greeted Rodrigo, who had just woken up, brightly. I ended up waking up with Rodrigo in my arms, but fortunately I was able to open my eyes faster than him. It was fortunate that he didn’t find out how I slept, so it felt very good. I haven’t slept well in a long time. But I didn’t think it would be with Rodrigo.

“Did you not sleep well?”

“Yes.”

The short answer was full of dissatisfaction.

“Hey, did you get sleep paralysis?”

“Ah, I dreamed that stones were falling on my body.”

Maybe when I hugged him in my sleep?

Seeing me with a serious expression on my face, Rodrigo smirked. He grabbed the curtain and approached me. The bright sunlight shone on him.

‘The word dazzling is used at this time.’

Does the main character instinctively know when and where he can use the light?

“Did you sleep well?”

“Yes.”

A long sigh followed.

Was I the only one who slept well?

When I turned my head to the left, he did the same.

“It would be nice to have only one pillow in the bedroom.”

“Why?”

“I thought that would be good.”

What the hell are you talking about? I wanted to ask Rodrigo, but I heard a call from below to eat. That was how our morning conversation ended.

“Go this way. I can’t help you anymore.”

“This is enough.”

The favor given by the middle-aged man did not end there. Right up to the opening of the royal palace. Why the hell is there such a hole in the royal palace? Rather, how does this person know about this place?

“Let’s go.”

We jumped off the man’s wagon. The man’s eyes widened. It must have been strange for me to jump from a high place without anyone’s help. I smiled broadly and waved my hand. Rodrigo grabbed my arm.

“Let’s say goodbye after the war is over.”

We went through the hole. After that, I had to keep crawling, crawling, and crawling again. And soon we reached the thick door.

“Isn’t it easier than you think?”

Rodrigo smirked at my words.

“Let’s see if it’s easy.”

Rodrigo opened the heavy door. Someone was in the quiet room.

“Howdy.”

Even when he saw us suddenly appearing from the secret passage, someone greeted us with an awkward smile.

He was the king and prince of Veloki.

“Hm… It doesn’t look good.”

Rodrigo said. Frans, the king of Veloki, was locked up in his own room. They imprisoned the king! This unbelievable situation was happening in Veloki.

“I didn’t even know I was going to be here.”

Rodrigo and him talked like close friends. Frans’s gaze reached me. Rodrigo stood in front as if covering me and asked to explain what had happened.

“It was all over in just four days.”

The former king opened his mouth as if confused.

Four days ago, the ministers suggested that there was a trick to end the Imperial War.

– Wizards.

Frans snorted. There was no magician with that skill in Veloki. At that time, Blanche, a very old minister, the center of the nobility, stepped forward.

– I know.

Blanche wanted to stand alone. Frans didn’t like him, but he trusted his loyalty, so he was happy to join. He informed Frans of the existence of mad wizards. Frans asked for a day to think. He was in fact at a refusal, but Blanche was not to be turned into an enemy.

Frans was the one who obtained the throne by force. He saw a lot of blood and the power was divided. He made a political judgment because the kingdom could be divided if more power was divided here. He had no intention of allowing the mad wizards to go out though.

If only he could ask someone…

Frans was a lonely king. He had only a few close associates who truly believed in him and was by his side. He gathered his aides and continued the long talk for more than a day. The bottom line was what Frans wanted. Read only at pm tl.

Wizards were people who were sure of their calculations. They had no idea what they would demand in return for their help in the war.

– I refuse.

As soon as those words were finished, the mad wizards rushed in. Their appearance alone gave Frans goosebumps. They were not men. They had too much of an overly bizarre appearance to be called a human. It wasn’t even a monster. They spoke human words, had human eyes, and acted like humans.

– Get help.

The wizards made threats rather than offers, and Frans’ aides were furious. Blood was splattered in the king’s office.

– There are flies in your office. I’m sick of talking.

Frans only told them to wait, and on the fourth day, Frans was locked up in his room. Meanwhile, the state affairs seemed to be taken over by Blanche.

“So that’s why we lost contact.”

“Yes. By the way, how did you get here?”

As soon as Frans sat us down on the sofa, he put his ear to the door and looked over. Fortunately, there didn’t seem to be someone nearby, so he came back quickly and sat down.

“I got some help from my lover.”

Rodrigo pointed at me.

He was helped by the guild to be exact.

After we entered through the opening of the palace, we pondered for a moment what to do. At that moment, I remembered a ray of memory. That there is a secret passage in the royal palace. Rodrigo pondered at my words and found the first doorway.

-How did you know?

-There is something similar in the Imperial Palace of the Empire.

I looked at Rodrigo differently and followed him.

It wasn’t difficult after that. Until we hit a dead end.

In the end, I sent a magic note to Poch, and I got a reply right away.

– Always go left. The first king was left-handed.

That one line led us to King Frans.

“A lover?”

Frans looked at me. It was then that Rodrigo, who had been covering me, stepped aside.