Chapter 14

Startled, the man scrambled in confusion before finally breaking into a run. I tackled him from behind.

As I straddled the fallen man’s chest, I could feel the solid, heavy breadth of his torso.

‘Is he a knight?’

His forearms were thick, his entire body solid. This was a highly trained physique.

“Start talking. Who are you?”

“…”

“Oh? You nearly got people killed, and now you’re exercising your right to remain silent?”

“…”

I pinned his wrists with my knees and dug my fingers into the soft spot just below his collarbone.

It was a pressure point and had to be excruciatingly painful, yet the man barely resisted.

It wasn’t because he lacked the strength. He was hesitating, worried I might get hurt if he struggled too much.

“Going easy on me because I’m a woman? If so, thank you. It’ll make torturing you much easier.”

“…”

“Keep this up and I’ll break your collarbone.”

“…”

“You don’t seem to grasp the situation. Do you think I’m resorting to this because I don’t know your weakness?”

“…”

A masked man’s weakness is obviously his face.

I wasn’t holding back because I didn’t know.

He just didn’t seem like a terrible person, so I was trying to avoid going that far.

“Fine, why don’t we have a nice chat face-to-face?”

I scoffed and grabbed the edge of his mask.

Only then did the man, who had been silent until now, cry out in a panic.

“Wait!”

“…”

My hand froze of its own accord. The man’s voice was just that captivating.

He seemed to be modulating it, probably to disguise it, which made it sound a bit unnatural, but it was a crisp, clear baritone.

The kind of voice that commanded attention, effortlessly resonating in your ears.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize the monster would flee in your direction. I’m truly sorry. I know I’m in no position to ask, but please, don’t take off my mask. I’ll take full responsibility for everything else.”

“Hmm…”

The man was exceedingly polite. His handsome voice made me soften in spite of myself.

A side effect of losing my five senses in my past life was developing a ravenous appetite and a weakness for pretty things.

‘And now, it seems, for beautiful voices too.’

Swallowing a sigh, I lifted my hand from his collarbone.

“You could talk, so why didn’t you?”

“There were unavoidable circumstances…”

The man hesitated for a long moment before speaking cautiously.

“I-I’m sorry to ask, but if you’re no longer angry, would you mind getting up? This, um, position is a… a little awkward.”

The man’s neck, visible below the mask, was bright red.

I thought he was flushed from enduring the pain. Was he just embarrassed?

“Hah.”

I let out a heavy sigh.

“People got hurt because of you. What are you going to do about it?”

“I’ll give you a healing potion.”

“How many.”

“R-right now, I only have one.”

“Just one? What good will a single potion do? I want compensation, too.”

“I… don’t have any money.”

“Points?”

“Th-that too…”

“You spent them all already?”

“Well… there were a lot of interesting things in the shop.”

He must have gone on a shopping spree the moment he got his points. Without even knowing if he could use the stuff.

‘This is why rookies are so hopeless. They don’t even appreciate the value of points. Tsk, tsk.’

“So, you’re broke?”

“Yes…”

“Hah, are you messing with me? If you killed a monster, you must have its core!”

“…”

“Hand it over, at least.”

“…Here it is.”

The man fumbled inside his tunic and held out the core.

Snatching the core, I pointed to the carriage with my chin.

“I also need a carriage to get back. The one we rode in is a wreck.”

“I’ll go get one right away. I-if you’d just get up…”

“How can I trust you? You might run away if I let you go.”

“I have absolutely no intention of running away, but I understand you can’t trust me. Yes, I understand. Then… um, would you like to come with me?”

‘If he’s willing to say that, he probably won’t run.’

Only then did I get up from the man’s chest.

The moment I did, the man sprang to his feet and dashed off, returning moments later dragging a rental carriage behind him.

It was more of a cargo wagon than a proper carriage like the one from the Ruthius estate, but it was good enough to get us home.

“What am I supposed to do if you just run off without my permission? I thought you were escaping and almost threw a rock at the back of your head.”

“I was in a hurry… I’m sorry.”

“The potion?”

“Here it is.”

The man politely held out the potion.

I returned to our wrecked carriage and gave the healing potion to Zenia.

“Zenia, drink this.”

Zenia, who had been cowering and trembling in the corner, gulped down the potion like water.

She choked on it and let out a violent cough.

“Kuh! Cough, cough!”

In that short time, the bruises dotting her body began to fade.

Not only that, but her trembling subsided, and the frantic look in her eyes calmed.

It seemed the man had given her a pretty good potion.

I helped Zenia up and led her out of the carriage.

“Princess, what happened? Why did the carriage suddenly…”

“Just an accident.”

“Pardon?”

“It’s just one of those things. For now, let’s get in that carriage.”

I watched Zenia move to the other carriage, then turned my head.

The man who had been watching us bowed deeply from a much greater distance than before.

My business with him wasn’t over, but I couldn’t be bothered to go after him again. It wasn’t like I’d get anything more out of him anyway.

The Duke of Ruthius’s carriage was wrecked, but I had no desire to hold the man accountable for it.

‘The staff will handle it.’

I shook my head and climbed into the new carriage. Soon, it lurched forward and started to move.

Only then did I realize I had made a fatal mistake.

‘Fuck, I should have extorted more from him.’

The ride was awful.

* * *

Because of the carriage accident, the sun had completely set by the time we arrived at the estate.

“Wh-what? What’s this? Wait! Wait a minute! What are you doing!”

Zenia, who got out of the carriage first, cried out in alarm and ran toward the annex. It seemed something urgent had happened.

I paused as I was getting out of the carriage.

“Sigh… What is with my luck today?”

The annex, which had been perfectly fine this morning, was half-demolished.

Through the gaping hole in the wall, my second-floor bedroom was clearly visible.

I stared blankly at the hideous sight before turning my head at the sound of horse hooves.

The Duke’s aide, Colin, was hesitantly approaching, leading a horse.

“Princess…”

“Was that the Duke’s order?”

“Yes, he said for you to move into the main building…”

My lips twisted into a sneer. He destroyed the annex because I refused to move into the main building?

It was both a warning that he would make me obey him one way or another, and revenge for my refusal.

‘I thought he was a block of ice, but I guess not. He has quite an aggressive side.’

I snatched the horse’s reins from Colin.

Giving them a light tug, I leaped onto its back. The horse snorted in surprise.

“Whoa, whoa. Easy now.”

I patted its mane to calm it, then spurred it on.

“Giddy-up!”

Urging the horse on, I arrived at the main building, handed the reins to a bewildered servant, and stormed inside without a second thought.

“Princess Astell, you’ve arrived. The Duke is currently busy with work… Princess? You can’t just go in! Princess!”

I dodged Frank’s attempts to stop me and threw open the office door.

“Duke!”

Duke Ruthius, who was reviewing documents, pointed to the chair across from him.

He was perfectly composed, as if he’d been expecting me.

“Sit.”

“I’ll stand.”

“What is it? I’m still reviewing the contract.”

“Don’t play dumb. You know exactly why I’m here.”

Only then did Duke Ruthius lift his gaze from the documents.

I straightened my back.

“You demolished the annex. Without so much as a word to me.”

“I don’t see why your opinion is necessary. I am merely removing a part of my own house.”

“Ah, then I suppose I should leave this house now. I can’t very well sleep on the street. Thank you. I was itching to leave anyway.”

“There’s no need for that. We have plenty of spare bedrooms. I will give you one.”

“Why the sudden change? Have you developed an interest in playing father?”

Dropping the pretense, Duke Ruthius set his papers down.

“I hear the Magic Tower is looking for a way to measure a Hunter’s power. Before long, the power you possess will be revealed, and many people will take notice of you. Most of them will be people who despise you.”

I shrugged nonchalantly.

“What’s new? So?”

“From now on, you must maintain your dignity as a princess. Do not show any weakness to anyone. That is to say, do not give them any reason to attack.”

“I don’t see what that has to do with demolishing the annex.”

“For a princess to live in a shabby annex when there is a perfectly fine main residence does not look good to others.”

“You’re the one who shoved me into that shabby annex, Duke.”

“The situation has changed.”

“Let’s be honest. It’s not the situation that changed, it’s my *value*, isn’t it? After all, you judge people by their worth.”

Despite the harsh accusation, Duke Ruthius’s expression remained unchanged.

As if reading from a book, his monotone voice continued.