Chapter 127

“Your Highness, please wake up. You must prepare to greet His Majesty.”

The urgent calls for Igrid continued from outside.

Without thinking, I grabbed Dante’s arm and headed for the terrace. He let me pull him a few steps before resisting.

“Where—”

“Shh!”

I hastily covered Dante’s mouth with my hand.

Is it because he’s royalty? Why is he so dense?

When I glared at him with wide eyes, Dante quieted down. Keeping his mouth covered, I racked my brain.

‘How far apart were the Emperor’s palace and Igrid’s palace again?’

Alex did say they weren’t that close… So I should have some time.

‘I have to find a way out before then.’

The Emperor was on his way, and inside the room, Igrid lay unconscious with a severed arm.

It was only a matter of time before the culprit was revealed. How on earth was I supposed to get out of this crisis?

‘Should I just slip out on my own?’

No one but Alex knew I was here. If I left quietly now, I’ll be safe.

‘Dante would be in danger, but… he should take responsibility for his own actions.’

Suddenly, I felt a touch, light as a feather, on my forehead.

Dante was looking down at me, slowly brushing aside the stray hairs clinging to my brow. The way his hand touched my hair was incredibly gentle.

‘Does this man have no sense of danger?’

As if sensing my gaze, his jet-black eyes slowly shifted.

The next moment, our eyes met again.

“…Why are you looking at me like that?”

“I don’t know. Even though I’m looking at you, I want to see you more.”

Dante seemed different somehow. His seductive smile and playful demeanor were gone, replaced by a dry, cool… and weary look.

I couldn’t look away. It felt as if I had just glimpsed his true self.

Dante’s cold hand gently cupped my cheek. Then, as if to kiss me, he slowly lowered his head.

I stood perfectly still. I don’t know why I thought this, but I just felt that he wouldn’t be rude to me.

Dante’s face stopped right in front of mine. He paused, the tips of our noses almost touching, and looked into my eyes.

An intense, persistent gaze. It felt as if my true self was about to be unraveled. I could feel his breath near my lips.

“…Princess, you’re not moving away?”

“Because I have no reason to.”

“If you stay still, I’m going to kiss you.”

“You’re lying.”

“…”

“You wouldn’t do something I dislike.”

Dante suddenly covered my eyes with his hand. For a moment, his expression looked pained.

“Don’t do this.”

“What am I doing? Please move your hand.”

“You’ve never been this kind, never looked at me so directly, so I can’t help but get my hopes up. I keep thinking maybe this time will be different. Even though I know it’ll be the same.”

What was he talking about? I didn’t have time to think about it for long.

“Your Highness! Your Highness! His Majesty has almost arrived!”

Knock, knock, knock!

The attendant had returned and was knocking on the bedroom door.

The atmosphere didn’t suggest he would give up and leave. It felt like the door could burst open at any moment.

I pushed him away and whispered quickly.

“We have to get out of here.”

“Where to?”

“We can’t go to the estate. It could cause trouble for the Duke and Alex. Let’s leave the capital first, then decide where to go.”

Dante lifted his head slightly. The close distance between us grew a little wider.

“I did this on my own. You don’t need to take responsibility for it.”

“I doubt that. Won’t the Emperor try to connect me to you somehow? Claiming I was pulling the strings from behind.”

“It’ll all go your way anyway…”

Dante mumbled something, but his voice was too low for me to hear clearly.

“We don’t have time to argue. Let’s just get out of here.”

I grabbed his wrist without another word and opened the terrace door.

Dante didn’t resist. I thought we would argue for a while.

“Go.”

“You first, Princess.”

“Fine.”

I didn’t hesitate and stepped onto the terrace.

Click.

“Huh?”

I heard the sound of the window closing behind me.

“Your Highness!”

I hurriedly shook the window, but it was no use; Dante had locked it too quickly.

‘No wonder he agreed so easily! It was a trick to make me let my guard down!’

I glared at Dante through the glass pane.

“What are you doing? Open this window.”

“You know. If you’re with me, you’ll be in danger.”

“And you caused all this trouble knowing that? I said, open it!”

“I’ll stay here.”

“What are you going to do? Get locked in a secret room again?”

“That won’t happen. I’m the only heir left.”

“…”

With Igrid having lost an arm, Dante was indeed the only heir.

Therefore, the Emperor’s attitude was bound to change.

At the very least, he wouldn’t be able to imprison and beat Dante as he did before. It would be a disaster if something happened to his only heir.

‘But why do I feel so anxious?’

My heart felt uneasy, like I was watching a small child near the water.

Was it because I had seen what the Emperor did to Dante with my own eyes?

I was the one who pulled him out of that secret room.

I was the one who held him as he gasped in pain and performed CPR when he briefly stopped breathing.

Perhaps that’s why I had subconsciously started to see Dante as someone I needed to protect.

Like the children at the orphanage I had been responsible for in my past life.

‘This man is a royal and a swordmaster. Not an orphan abandoned by his parents.’

With that thought, my anxiety began to subside.

That damn restraining device, the imperial family’s heirloom, was broken, so he wouldn’t be miserably imprisoned like last time.

‘His punishment will likely be nothing more than house arrest.’

I had no choice but to nod. There was no time to persuade Dante.

“Hoo, fine. I’ll wrap up this Crown Prince issue as quickly as possible. Just hang in there until then.”

“Alright.”

“Do you have any scrolls left?”

“Scrolls?”

“I’m talking about the magic you used to control the First Prince. It was a dark magic scroll, right?”

Dante’s expression turned awkward for a moment.

“…I guess?”

“You just exchanged for it at the shop without even knowing what it was?”

“Um…”

Hah, this is why newbies are a problem. They don’t know the value of points.

“Anyway, do you have any scrolls or not?”

“I don’t.”

“What about points?”

“…None.”

“You haven’t even collected any points all this time? Tsk… Then what should we do? I can’t even transfer points to you if you’re not in the rankings.”

“You’re going to transfer points to me? Why?”

“What do you mean, why? So you can use them to buy an item from the shop in a crisis.”

Dante stared at me, then suddenly asked.

“Are you worried about me right now?”

“Of course.”

“…Really?”

“Why do you keep asking? Am I not allowed to worry?”

Somehow, Dante’s expression softened.

“This is the first time…”

“The first time for what?”

“You’ve ever genuinely worried about me.”

“…How rude. Anyone who heard that would think I’m a cold-blooded monster with no heart.”

Dante laughed silently.

The sight was so breathtakingly beautiful that I found myself staring, mesmerized, when I sensed a commotion at the front of the palace.

I flattened myself on the terrace floor and peered down below.

‘He’s here.’

The carriage carrying the Emperor had stopped, a long line of knights and attendants trailing behind it.

A middle-aged man with graying hair ran up to the Emperor and bowed deeply. Judging by his age, he seemed to be Igrid’s head chamberlain.

“Your Majesty, you have arrived.”

“What is the First Prince doing, not coming out?”

“W-Well, that is…”

“Is he still holed up in his bedroom?”

“Yes… He appeared to be unwell.”

“Worthless fool! What right does he have to feign illness after running away from a monster!”

“I-I apologize, Your Majesty.”

The Emperor, who had been shouting, glared at Igrid’s chamberlain.

“Did you know?”

“Pardon? W-What are you referring to…”

“This!”

The Emperor threw a large box onto the ground.

The ribbon came undone, and its contents spilled out. It was a women’s dress of a flamboyant design.

‘So that’s the dress the Duke was talking about.’

It seemed Duke Ruthius had truly provoked the Emperor’s wrath. The Emperor was absolutely livid.

They say he acts more like a knight than a knight in public. I guess that’s not the case within the palace.

“Do you know who I received this from? Duke Ruthius!”

“…Wh-Why, why would the Duke send a dress…”

“Why, you ask? How can you even ask that! Why didn’t you report that Igrid has a cross-dressing hobby! Why!”

“A-A cross-dressing hobby…? Your Majesty! I am the one who has served the First Prince since he was a child! That’s impossible!”

“There’s a limit to your denials! How can you say that when so many people heard it themselves!”

“I-I truly have never heard of such a thing! Your Majesty!”

“Silence!”

As expected, the truth didn’t matter to the Emperor. All that mattered was the public perception.

The Emperor strode into Igrid’s palace, trampling the dress underfoot. His attendants and knights followed.

I shot to my feet.

Just as I turned my head to meet Dante’s eyes, the bedroom doorknob began to rattle violently, and an urgent voice called out.

“Your Highness, His Majesty is on his way up! Please open the door! Your Highness!”

Thump.

My heart pounded. I hadn’t even done anything wrong, but I was nervous.

Dante still looked calm. He smiled as his lips moved.

“Go.”

“…”

“I’ll be fine.”

I reluctantly nodded, and Dante drew the curtains.

Igrid’s bedroom was now completely hidden from view.

After pacing on the terrace for a moment, I pulled up my hood and stealthily slipped over the imperial palace wall.

It’s late. I have to go.

My feet felt heavy. I stopped several times to look back at the palace.

“Go.”

“…”

“I’ll be fine.”

Dante’s face kept flashing before my eyes. I pressed my palm firmly against my chest.

‘It’s strange… I feel like I’ve missed something very important.’

I didn’t know why I felt this way.