~Chapter 7~
Thwack!
I kicked the priest’s groin with all my strength.
“Uuughh!”
The priest groaned, clutching his crotch. I finally broke free from his hold and dashed toward the door.
“Where do you think you’re going?!”
From behind, the priest grabbed a fistful of my hair and yanked it back.
I lost my balance and crashed painfully to the ground.
“Ahk!”
The priest pinned me down and began choking me with both hands. Between his bruised, purple eyelids, a murderous glint flashed in his eyes.
It got harder and harder to breathe. A rasping sound escaped from the back of my throat.
My vision blurred. Was I going to die like this?
I scanned the floor with my fading sight and spotted something glinting.
There, amidst the clutter and junk, lay a small knife—a letter opener used to break seals on documents. It wasn’t very sharp, but it was my only chance.
My trembling fingers groped across the floor until they finally grasped the knife. Just as I drove it toward the priest’s neck—
Crash!
The door burst open, and someone strode inside.
“Seems like I didn’t break enough of your bones.”
Jet-black hair and golden eyes. The prince from Saragot.
The priest’s grip on my neck loosened and fell away. I gasped, sucking in desperate breaths, and slowly lifted my upper body.
“I’m shocked you can still move.”
The prince stretched his hand toward the priest. At the same moment, the priest’s body lifted into the air.
“Ahh! No! Nooo!”
The priest floated helplessly, inching toward the open window. He flailed and struggled, but before long, his body slipped through the frame.
“AAAAAAHHH!”
Snap!
The prince snapped his fingers, and the priest plummeted from the third floor with a sickening crash.
It all happened in the blink of an eye. The supernatural force had come without warning, leaving me speechless.
The prince walked calmly to the window and glanced down at the fallen priest. A cold sneer curled on his lips.
“Lost his footing at the window, it seems. What a pity.”
“Wait… what did you just do?”
“As you saw—used a little magic.”
So it was true—he came from Saragot and could use magic.
I pushed myself up from the floor and peered out the window. The priest lay at the bottom, his limbs twisted grotesquely, groaning in pain.
…He survived.
Relief swept over me. At the same time, my legs gave out. I had to cling to the wall just to keep from collapsing.
My eyes met the prince’s. I wanted to thank him, but my heart was still pounding too hard to speak.
“Well, even if I hadn’t shown up, I’m sure you could’ve taken care of it.”
He glanced down at my hand.
Only then did I realize I was still holding the letter opener. A small droplet of blood clung to its tip.
“Ah!”
Startled, I dropped it. The clatter echoed loudly off the floor.
So I had stabbed the priest. If the blade had gone in deeper, I might have actually killed him.
I almost committed murder…
My heart began pounding even louder, the thudding echoing in my ears.
I clutched my chest, trying to calm my breathing. Too much had happened in too short a time. My consciousness felt numb.
“That priest was dismissed today for embezzling donations.”
The prince’s voice broke the silence. The priest still writhed on the stone pavement below. A few servants passed by the rear of the cathedral but didn’t help him.
What a pathetic end.
I’d never have to see him again. He’d be banished to the Holy Kingdom and punished accordingly…
I clenched my skirt tightly. A hollow emptiness settled in my chest.
Maybe it was because every hope I’d placed in him had crumbled. Or maybe because I’d finally realized how foolish I was to rely on someone like him.
Either way, it hurt all the same. My bruised neck throbbed. What I thought was a lifeline turned out to be the very rope that bound me.
Shame and betrayal surged up from deep within.
“Fix your face. People might think you were the one who got dismissed.”
The prince’s words were tossed like a pebble.
Was that supposed to be encouragement or mockery? I let out a faint, weak laugh.
This nameless prince wasn’t a bad person. If anything, he was closer to good.
He’d made me face reality. My feet, once floating in the clouds, were now planted firmly on the ground.
But this ground…
Was unbearably cold.
I began to shiver as though struck by a chill.
“…Thank you.”
I finally managed to speak.
“I… I’ll repay you. Somehow.”
I added the words quietly.
A breeze blew in from the window. Though it was supposed to be warm and humid summer air, it felt piercingly cold against my skin.
I took a step toward the door, eager to leave the room.
But dizziness overtook me, as if I’d lost too much blood. The floor wavered like a heat haze. My legs trembled, refusing to move properly.
Just as I tried to steady myself against the wall at the threshold, a thick forearm reached into view.
It was the prince. I looked up at him, dazed.
“Take it.”
“…”
“I’ll walk you back.”
I must’ve looked pathetic, unable to even stand on my own.
It’s just the shock. I’ll get over it. I didn’t want to form the habit of depending on others.
“I’m fine. I can go alone.”
“You want me to leave a woman who nearly died alone right now?”
He scowled and gently placed my hand on his arm.
“I’m not that heartless.”
His tone was casual, almost indifferent.
Somehow, it felt natural to accept his escort.
I leaned into his arm and exited through the rear of the cathedral with him.
Slowly, step by step, I walked—perhaps back toward the only place that could still be called home.
When we reached Ruby Palace, the prince didn’t follow me inside.
Instead, he led me to the lakeside behind the palace.
“Get some fresh air.”
He seated me on a bench beneath a willow tree. Then sat beside me, keeping a polite distance.
We sat side by side, gazing out at the lake. Sunlight glittered silver on the rippling water.
It must have been a holiday—there wasn’t a soul in sight. A light breeze occasionally brushed my forehead.
I turned to look at his face. There it was—the cheek I’d slapped not long ago. I should apologize.
“…I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have hit you.”
I bowed my head in a sincere apology. He’d spoken the truth, and I’d slapped him for it.
“Well… you wouldn’t have slapped me if I hadn’t deserved it.”
He rubbed the back of his neck and looked awkwardly at the sky.
I turned back to the lake.
An awkward silence settled between us.
Then I felt his gaze softly land on the side of my face.
“How did you end up in Ruby Palace, anyway?”
His sudden question surprised me.
I played with my now-cold fingertips before answering.
“My father… was terrified of the Empire invading.”
“Your country’s the one that surrendered the moment war was declared, right?”
“Yeah. We gave up our sovereignty and became a vassal state of Tristum right away. He sent me, the eldest of two daughters, as a hostage.”
“That’s odd. You only have two daughters, yet he offered the crown princess?”
He raised an eyebrow in confusion.
“Oh, I… wasn’t the crown princess. That was my younger sister.”
It was the first time I’d ever spoken those words aloud. No one at Ruby Palace ever asked. Everyone was too absorbed in their own misery.
“There’s a hereditary gift in the royal family of Iote. Those born with it can understand and speak all languages as soon as they hear them. Usually by the time they’re five.”
