“What do you mean by spy in the royal princess’s palace!”
The hand with yellow hair began to tremble like a twig.
“Why are you pretending not to know when you said it yourself a little while ago?”
“What…!”
“The maid who forged her identity and planted in my place betrayed your little master.”
I smiled lightly. “So, who is your little master?”
“D-Don’t frame me! We’ve only mistaken people.”
“Frame?”
That’s so shameless. Who on earth framed whom?
“Does mistaking a person change the fact that I was kidnapped by you now?”
“T-that’s!”
“Well, okay. Let’s say I misheard and framed you.”
“…”
“But will people believe it?”
The princess of the Felicite family was kidnapped in broad daylight. Therefore, that guy was the kidnapper, and I was the victim. This alone would inevitably increase their trust in my words.
“I can even frame you more. Still, people will believe me.”
“…!”
“Do you understand now? Your life depends on my every word.”
The yellow-haired man seemed to have lost strength in his grip and dropped the sleeping scent. If something like this happened, it was clearly someone’s quite bold plan. If so…
“Say it. Who is your little master?”
The little master must be one of the most famous nobles.
“Ah, should I ask which family it is?”
“…It.” Then he murmured in a calm voice.
“As I expected, you moved after receiving orders from someone higher up. So, if you’re deeply involved in this matter, you won’t be spared.”
“What?”
“If I pretend not to know, we can quietly say it was all a mistake.”
His expression was quite solemn.
That makes me even more curious. What great family dares to do this?
“Okay. Then, try to please me until I feel better.”
“Yes? H-how.”
“Get on your knees and raise your hands.”
His pupils shook sharply. I guess he thought I’d slap him on the cheek.
“What are you doing?”
“Ah, yes.”
Eventually, the yellow head, who sat on his knees, raised both hands.
“Who am I?” I slowly circled him and asked.
“Princess Felicite.”
“Whose family do I belong to?”
“You’re a princess from the family of Duke Felicite!”
“Who is your little master?”
“My little master… Gasp, I can never say that.”
Hmph. He’s not falling over it.
A few meaningless arguments went back and forth.
“Raise your arms higher.”
I could see his soul slowly slipping away. In the meantime, I looked at every part of his body. There must be a mark.
These guys usually tattooed their bodies to identify their affiliation. It was like a status card used in the underworld.
“Speak louder.”
When he raised his hand, his rolled sleeves revealed his forearm, but there was no mark.
“Your voice is too small.”
So I kept looking for it, distracting him.
“Raise your hand a little more.”
“Keugh.”
The moment he mustered up his last remaining strength and raised his hand.
Okay, that’s it. Finally, a mark was revealed on his waist…
Scorpion…? What does it mean if it’s a scorpion?
“Princess.”
Then I felt the presence. When I turned my eyes away, someone was walking toward me.
“Redi, no, Rere!”
That mask and robe… At a glance, it was Redian. How did he find this place?
“Are you okay?”
But before I could even ask, Redian spoke first. Those blue eyes examining me seemed too anxious.
“I’m okay. But how did you get here?”
“…”
But Redian couldn’t take his eyes off me. His hand touched my cheek urgently, but it was also careful enough that I could feel it trembling.
“I’m really okay.”
“…”
I slowly stroked Redian’s hair. “Rere?”
“…Ah.”
Redian frowned and let out a shallow breath.
“Are you okay? Were you very surprised?”
Then he closed his eyes tightly and opened them again. The expressions that passed by for a moment were so cold that they were unfamiliar.
I think he’s angry. I thought he was going to scold me for bothering him by being kidnapped. I knew he would be annoyed and asked why he had to do this. However…
“I’m sorry.”
“Huh?”
I never thought he would make a face like that as if he was going to cry at any moment. I felt that the area around his eyes turned red.
“I was supposed to protect you.”
“…”
“I was caught off guard and missed you. I shouldn’t have done that.”
I was speechless as I felt a tingling sensation somewhere.
“Nothing happened. I’m fine.”
“Something could have happened!”
Redian chewed on his lips.
“Why are you always like that…”
It seemed like he was trying to say something but was holding it back. If you’re going to act like a person with a broken personality, you should at least leash it on me.
Why is he being like that, which makes me feel weak? Seeing him get angry as if he was really worried felt strange. However, there was nothing good if my heart became soft like this.
“How did you get here?” I turned and asked again.
Felicite’s escort knights hadn’t arrived yet, so how could he find me?
“…I saw a suspicious person nearby, so I followed him.”
“Ah, could it be the guy who I stabbed on foot? He wouldn’t have been able to walk properly.”
He must have barely escaped after being treated like that, so how did he get back here?
“Princess.”
Then Redian called me.
“If something happens, how do you plan to deal with those guys and put yourself in da… Sigh.”
However, he couldn’t continue his words as if he felt guilty.
“I should have just killed them earlier.”
“Huh? What?”
Redian mumbled as he chewed his lips, but I couldn’t hear it clearly.
“It’s nothing. That man probably hasn’t escaped yet.”
“If we gather our group, it will put us at a disadvantage. I need to check if that man is outside.”
“I’m sure he’s outside…”
“Wait here, Rere.”
I was in a hurry for a moment. I had to check with my own eyes to be relieved.
Ouch… It hurts. When I turned my body in a hurry, I felt a sharp pain in my shoulder and neck. It looked like there was a bruise on the area where I had been kicked earlier. This is nothing. But Since Redian was watching, I couldn’t show that I was in pain.
* * *
Redian watched Siani going out the door until the end.
“…”
That’s when Siani went out completely.
“Where did you touch her?”
He turned his head slowly. Zek, who met his blue eyes, gulped down his saliva without realizing it.
“Yes, yes?”
Redian’s voice was low enough not to be heard by anyone else. So it was even lower and quieter.
“Shoulder? Or arms?”
He knew exactly what it was. That Siani shrugged her shoulders when she passed by him, when she turned her body, and when she grabbed the doorknob.
“I-I don’t know that either.”
Zek was speechless. This time, it was because he felt a completely different level of fear.
“When she bumped through the wall, she stumbled and fell, Ugh!”
“Say it again.”
At that time, Zek’s head, which was facing the floor, was forced up.
“Did she fall alone?”
“Ugh!”
Zek’s entire body seemed to be stiffening from the sudden cold. He had never felt this kind of intimidation, not even when he looked at the princess or even when he faced Grand Duke Benio.
“P-please spare me. I was simply following my master’s orders!”
Zek trembled and begged. His instincts knew that he should beg because he couldn’t fight this person back. However,
“I don’t care who your master is.”
The red lips exposed under the mask moved quietly.
“I’m going to find them and kill them anyway soon.”
“…!”
“So you just answer what I ask.”
It was so calm that the tone felt even more eerie.
“Did you hit her?”
“We had mistaken her for someone else because she was wearing a robe. It’s not like what you think!”
“Ah… is that so?”
Redian muttered lowly, saying that so you hit her, and asked again. “Where and how?”
“That, s-shoulder…”
The situation could be drawn in a rough way. Redian, who nodded, slowly stood up. In the end, his prediction was correct.
“Keugh!”
It was an instant. After rolling around the floor, Zek was slammed into the wall.
“Uuurgh!”
After falling out at once, he groaned, clutching his shoulder. It was just like the same way Siani was beaten. However, the force was enough to push his sturdy body backward and cause him to fall over.
“What happened?”
Redian shook off his foot and spoke softly. “I was wondering why my soft-hearted master would have stabbed that b*stard in the foot.”
While he missed her before his eyes, his head became cold as he thought of what Siani must have gone through in this dirty place. She’s a woman he couldn’t even touch because he’s afraid she’ll disappear like a dream…
“Rere.”
At that time, Siani’s voice was heard from afar. She seemed to be coming back inside. At the same time, Redian’s steps, which were trying to kick Zek, also stopped abruptly. Siani should never have seen such a bustling scene.
“You’re so lucky.” He grinned and muttered at Zek, who was groaning.
Thank you for this masterpiece, keep up the good work 🥳😍