APTB | Ch 10

“I was just kidding about hiring you. Forget everything I said. Where did you leave your clothes?”
The man roughly grabbed her wrist, and above him, the sky turned a deep red.
As darkness began to settle in, Tia felt uneasy and stumbled in her steps.
“I’m not going back. We still need to discuss our marriage, and we’ll have a lot to work on together.”
“Sorry, but that conversation ends here. I have a woman I need to marry…”
That’s when the loud crash of the fence door being smashed open rang out.
“AAAH! AAHHHH!”
Orianna came running toward them, screaming.
“A thief! A naked thief! Our princess!”
She rushed over and shoved Vincente out of the way.
It was more like she knocked into him, causing him to let go of Tia’s hand and fall back.
“It’s okay, Princess! Don’t worry, I’m here!”
Orianna wrapped Tia in her cloak and screamed for help.
“You filthy pervert! How dare you! Do you know who this is? How dare you sneak in here and act like this?”
“It’s not like that, Orianna.”
Tia tried to explain, but her voice got drowned out by more noise.
“Soldiers! Get over here quickly!”
Outside the fence, Diaz’s voice urgently called out.
The sound of heavy armored footsteps grew louder and closer.
“What…”
Vincente stared at Orianna with wide eyes, then rolled his eyes to look at Tia.
“Princess…?”
Boom! Boom! A group of knights burst through the narrow gate and stormed into the hot spring area.
“Where is he, this pervert?!”
“Stay still! Who the hell is this crazy person trying to break into Karayan Castle?”
But when the brave knights saw the naked man, they froze.
“Huh?”
“Eh?”
“Lord…”
The knights and Diaz looked back and forth between Vincente and Tia with shocked faces.
“Oh my! Why is the lord here?”
“When did you return?”
Everyone was confused, but Orianna was the most flustered.
“Lord?!”
She stumbled backward, holding Tia in her arms, clearly not believing it.
“T-There must be some misunderstanding…”
Diaz frantically searched for something to cover Vincente, while the knights just stood there, not knowing what to do.
The lord had unexpectedly shown up naked in front of the princess.
“This first meeting is a little awkward,” Tia said as she straightened up and looked at Vincente.
She was wrapped in a thick winter cloak, looking a lot more put together than him, who stood there completely naked.
“Nice to meet you, LoheVincente.”
He was going to be her husband.
The match her beloved mother had arranged for her.
She hoped they’d get along well.
Tia stood straight, trying to look dignified, and looked at Vincente softly, who still seemed confused.
“…Lord Vincente Cali of Karayan greets Her Royal Highness Princess Hortensia.”
After a long pause, Vincente finally regained his senses and gave a proper greeting, covering himself only with a towel that Diaz had quickly grabbed.
Despite being covered by only a towel, his well-built physique made him look far from shabby, almost like a warrior.
He looked like he could be wearing nothing but leather, like in the rumors.
“But when did you arrive without a word?”
Vincente asked in a low voice, his eyes still shaking but locked on Tia’s, not avoiding her gaze.
“I arrived yesterday. The royal messenger was sent to announce my visit, but due to transportation issues, I only arrived three days ago. Considering these circumstances, let’s understand that our first meeting wasn’t the most formal.”
Tia wanted to be generous to the man who would be her partner.
If she knew how to smile brightly like him, she would have.
“…Please forgive the lack of formalities, Your Highness.”
But Vincente didn’t relax his stiff expression.
“It was my mistake. I should have acted knowing the messenger could arrive at any time. I’m sorry f, or making you see something so inappropriate.”
“Don’t worry about it. How could I blame a lord who was working hard for his land?”
“No, I will accept any punishment.”
He lowered his head deeply, but his cold attitude felt like he was rejecting her forgiveness.
“And… I need to ask one more thing.”
He looked up at her, his eyes full of what seemed like anger, or maybe fear, which left her feeling uneasy.
“Sorry, but could you move aside? As you can see, I’m suffering from a foul poison, and I look terrible. It would be uncomfortable for me to stay here with the noble princess, so I’d like to detoxify and then come back to formally greet you.”
Poison? What was he talking about?
His request to leave was almost like an order to leave the bath, and it made everyone go silent.
“Are you saying the princess should leave the bath because of this?”
Orianna sharply questioned him.
“You look perfectly fine to me. If you’re uncomfortable bathing with the princess, shouldn’t you leave and use another bath?”
“Excuse me, but our lord is…”
Diaz tried to speak up cautiously, but everyone’s cold reaction made him quickly stop.
Orianna, being of a higher rank than Diaz as a noblewoman and a maid to the princess, shot a cold look at him, and Vincente raised his hand as if to tell Diaz not to speak.
“If the poison has spread, shouldn’t you be treated?”
Tia took the chance to speak, claiming her position.
“I don’t need treatment. I’m somewhat resistant to monster poisons, so after resting in the healing hot spring for an hour or two, I should be fine.”
Vincente avoided going into details about the poison and brushed off the question.
Tia, remembering when Osvaldo had been treated like a monster after showing similar symptoms, was concerned, but since Vincente insisted it wasn’t serious, she had to believe him for now.
“It’s a relief to know it’s not serious. We’ll talk more after you recover.”
Tia nodded, and Vincente bowed his head with a blank expression.
A thick darkness descended over his silver hair, and it suddenly felt like nightfall. A single bright star twinkled in the pitch-black sky.
The cold night air pressed against Tia’s neck, and she quickly pulled her hood over her cloak.
“We should go. I’ll take a bath in my room.”
“I’ll prepare the bath water right away!”
Diaz’s wife, looking like a servant, bowed her head and hurried off.
Orianna, still looking uncomfortable, grabbed the lord’s clothes and followed after her.
“Are you okay, Princess?”
Orianna asked softly, and Tia nodded calmly.
She had been a little startled when Vincente suddenly grabbed her wrist and tried to drag her away, but she didn’t think it was anything too harsh.
Maybe he had a lot of women chasing after him.
But now, with his marriage decided, he probably didn’t want to get too close to any other women, which was a sign of good character.
She liked that he seemed like an upright man inside, as well as outside.
But still…