Chapter 80
The moment the assassin made eye contact with Harold, chills ran all over his body.
It reminded him of the fear he felt as a child when he nearly got caught in a typhoon.
“I have to run—no matter what.”
That duke wasn’t just pretending. He really had gotten stronger.
As soon as that thought crossed his mind, the assassin turned and ran in the opposite direction.
He used the tree branches to push himself further, trying to put as much distance between himself and Harold as possible.
In an instant, the hunter and prey had switched roles.
The assassin kept running and running—until something hard struck his ankle.
“Gah…!”
He stumbled but managed to keep his balance. As he tried to run again, another rough stone hit his ankle.
This time, it hurt badly. He may have broken a bone.
“Damn it!”
He heard heavy footsteps slowly approaching from behind.
His instincts screamed that he was going to die. Forgetting the pain, the assassin forced himself to get up.
“…!”
Just as he tried to move again, the blade of a sword gently touched his neck.
One wrong move, and he’d be dead. Even though he had killed over thirty people in past missions, he was now trembling in fear, begging for his life.
“P-please spare me! I won’t say a word about anything I saw today!”
“Who gave you the order?”
“That’s…”
“So you don’t know.”
Harold cut him down.
After confirming the assassin was dead, he sheathed his sword.
Even if the man had known who ordered the hit, Harold wouldn’t have let him live. He would’ve hunted him to the ends of the earth if he ran.
He had seen something he shouldn’t have.
Harold returned to Diana and began walking down the mountain with her.
Walking took time, and before they knew it, the sun was high in the sky.
Then Diana, who was being carried in his arms, pressed on his arm repeatedly.
“Please, let me down now…”
“You’ve already said that more than ten times.”
“That’s because you won’t listen no matter how many times I say it.”
“I can get us down faster if I carry you. Plus, your shoes are making it hard.”
When Harold mentioned how she had nearly slipped earlier, Diana glared at her high heels.
“The slope here is gentle. I’ll be fine.”
“Hmm. Not so sure about that.”
“…Harold!”
He ignored her protests and kept walking down the mountain. Eventually, she sighed and gave up.
“How are you feeling?”
“Perfect. I’m holding you, aren’t I?”
Diana had her arms wrapped around his neck, intentionally keeping her sleeve rolled up.
Her blue eyes watched his face closely, and for a second, her lips brushed his. She was checking the color of his lips to see if he was okay—but Harold licked the roof of his mouth, feeling an odd thirst.
‘Should I fake being sick… just to get a kiss?’
He really wanted one.
They hadn’t kissed earlier because of the assassins. Now he wanted to make up for that.
Just then, the sound of hooves approached. Harold set Diana down and placed his hand on his sword.
Since her magical bracelet no longer protected her, Diana tightly gripped the dagger she got from the coachman.
Soon, they saw who was coming.
Diana relaxed her grip, and Harold lowered his hand.
“It’s Evan.”
Just as Harold said, it was Evan and people from the ducal house.
“Duke! My lady!”
Evan jumped off his horse, crying loudly when he saw them.
“Are you both okay? Duke, what is all this blood?”
“It’s not mine.”
“Who would dare…!”
Tears and snot poured down Evan’s face as he stomped the ground in anger.
Mud splattered everywhere. When Harold gave him a firm look, Evan calmed down.
Harold gave him a few quick orders, and Evan headed into the forest with half the team.
They were going to retrieve the coachman and the tied-up assassin Harold had left behind.
“Diana, let’s go home.”
Harold got on a horse and pulled Diana up in front of him.
They rode until they reached the edge of a village.
Then, from the distance, they heard more hooves—Kaiden was approaching on horseback.
Harold stopped. Kaiden did too.
“…”
“…”
Red eyes moved back and forth between Diana and Harold. Kaiden gripped his horse’s reins tightly.
Harold slowly looked over Kaiden’s face and the trembling reins.
So Kaiden helped search for Diana… and the reason was clear now.
“…Ha.”
Diana looked up at him in confusion when he suddenly let out a short laugh.
Harold pulled the hood of her cloak over her head.
“Harold?”
“Just stay like this for a moment.”
“…? Okay.”
Diana figured there must be a reason, so she stayed still.
Harold moved his horse closer to Kaiden. Their eyes clashed fiercely in the air.
“Kaiden, too bad you were too late.”
Harold twisted his lips into a mocking smile toward his younger brother.
“…Brother.”
Kaiden’s voice came out like a beast growling. Diana, sensing something was off, moved her hand as if to take off her hood.
Harold covered her eyes with his big hand and pulled her tightly into his arms.
Kaiden’s expression twisted like a beast who had just lost its mate.
“You don’t know your place.”
Harold snapped and then lowered his hand from Diana’s eyes, guiding the horse away.
Diana slipped off her cloak and turned her body to face Harold.
“Why did you tell me to wear the hood?”
“I can’t exactly carry you around in my pocket, can I?”
“…?”
She gave him a look that said What kind of weird thing is that to say?
Harold kissed the back of her neck.
“I wish I could carry you in my pocket.”
He clicked his tongue softly, genuinely regretful.
When I arrived at the duke’s estate, Anna cried and welcomed me.
I assured her I was fine and sent letters of thanks to the families who helped find me.
After washing up and resting a bit, night had already fallen. I lay in bed, deep in thought.
‘I used to think Harold wouldn’t get sick if I was around.’
Today, I healed him right away. But… still, a lot of thoughts came to mind.
‘What if Harold ends up in a situation again where he has to face multiple assassins?’
Harold was strong. Today, too, he had overwhelmed the assassins with ease.
He really had a gift when it came to fighting. But that same gift also put him in danger.
I remembered the cold sweat on his pale face and his colorless lips, and I clenched my fingers.
Then the moment the assassin tried to attack Harold replayed in my mind, slowly.
‘If the same thing happens again, will I be able to heal him right away, like today?’
There are always exceptions. I couldn’t be sure.
‘…What if I’m kidnapped and can’t meet Harold at all?’
He had only found me because he noticed something was wrong and chased after it.
This time, we were lucky. Everything turned out okay.
But we can’t always count on luck, can we?
Even if I take precautions, that doesn’t guarantee that nothing bad will happen again.
I won’t die, thanks to my divine power. Something worse than death might await, but no one can take my life.
‘But Harold… If I disappear before his illness is cured…’
The thought of Harold dying sent chills down my spine.
It felt like the ground was disappearing beneath me, and everything went dark.
A sharp ache spread from my chest through my whole body.
‘I was wrong.’
While I was covering my eyes and trying to sort through my thoughts, I felt a hand gently touch my cheek. I lowered my hand.
“You’re not asleep? I thought you were, since you didn’t notice I came in.”
“…Ah. I was just thinking.”
“Is something bothering you?”
Harold sat next to me, his eyes scanning me carefully.
“No, it’s not really a worry.”
It wasn’t a worry anymore—I’d already reached a clear decision.
I sat up and called out to him in a serious tone.
“Harold, there’s something I want to say.”
“What is it?”
“……”
I never thought I’d be the one saying this.
Even though I’d made up my mind, that didn’t stop me from trembling. I licked my dry lips and took a deep breath.
“Harold, should we sleep together?”
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• ❁ • ❁ • ❁ •By Freya• ❁ • ❁ • ❁ •
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YRS.
I meant YES.