Episode 4
Licht raised his hand slightly, and right away a luxurious white carriage with gold trim appeared.
It was clearly something only royalty would use — the kind of carriage that would never be seen on an ordinary street.
He opened the door confidently and nodded for Ayla to get in.
“Ah… I feel like I’m being dragged into something,” she thought.
Ayla felt uneasy but couldn’t explain exactly why. She knew she was being pulled along by the male lead’s “main character power.”
Since she couldn’t back out now, she quietly climbed into the carriage.
As soon as she sat down across from him, Licht got straight to the point.
“Have you thought about it?”
“Thought about what?”
“The compensation for that night.”
“…Compensation?”
Ayla instantly understood what “that night” meant.
It had only been one day ago — there was no way to forget.
But hearing him call it “compensation” made no sense.
If anything, she should be the one asking for compensation!
“Even if I don’t remember what happened that night… he’s definitely the one who touched me first!”
Still, she decided to pretend she didn’t know anything.
She didn’t want to get tangled up with him any more than she already was.
“I’m sorry, Your Highness, but I have no idea what you mean.”
“I thought so,” Licht replied with a sly smile.
“You didn’t think about it, so I thought about it for you.”
Ayla forgot one important fact:
Even if she knew the story’s plot, Licht was always one step ahead of her.
Then he said calmly —
“You’ll have to take responsibility for me.”
“What? Me?!”
Licht nodded confidently.
Ayla laughed in disbelief. Either he’d lost his mind or the heat had cooked his brain.
“Why should I be responsible for you? Nothing happened! We’re not even close!”
She fired back like a rapid-fire gun, but Licht didn’t even flinch.
Instead, he said softly,
“I’m sure I’m not the only one who felt we had great chemistry.”
The words made her face burn bright red — which was exactly what Licht wanted.
He knew she didn’t remember the night, so he was teasing her on purpose.
“If I want to get away from him, I need to remember what actually happened that night,” she thought.
But since she couldn’t, she decided to end this conversation quickly and escape.
“I’m really, really sorry, but I don’t remember anything from that night,” she said.
“You don’t remember?”
“Right, so let’s just pretend nothing happened. I’m sure plenty of women suit you better than me. Don’t take it too seriously.”
She looked him straight in the eyes and begged,
“Please stop following me around.”
It sounded arrogant, but she didn’t care — it was true.
Licht had clearly been chasing her, and he wasn’t denying it either.
He just stared at her silently, his red eyes unblinking.
The silence stretched so long that Ayla started to feel nervous and looked away.
“…Is this my chance to escape?”
She stood up quickly.
“Well then, I’ll be go—”
“What if I say no?”
His low voice froze her in place.
“What…?”
“What if I say I don’t want to let you go?”
That wasn’t the answer she wanted.
Her stomach twisted with anxiety.
He leaned closer, resting one hand on the wall beside her head.
Their faces were only inches apart.
“You look just like a frightened white rabbit,” he whispered.
“…Too close, Your Highness.”
“For two people who shared a bed, I think this is still too far.”
Ayla was speechless.
Every word out of his mouth sounded crazy.
Had he lost his mind when he was injured?
She even started to wonder if her actions had somehow changed the male lead’s original personality.
Meanwhile, Licht looked down at her — cheeks flushed, eyes darting — and felt his body heat up.
There was something about Ayla that felt completely different from any woman he’d met before.
He was certain their connection was more than coincidence.
“It’s not an accident that she calmed my curse last night,” he thought.
“She might be the key to breaking it.”
He couldn’t let her go.
Even if it was just a desperate hope — he needed it.
But watching her clearly want to run away made him feel twisted inside.
He decided to tease her a bit more.
“Maybe I should do you a favor.”
“No, thank you.”
“Oh? Really?”
He chuckled.
“I just thought I’d help you since you still don’t remember last night.”
“…”
“You’re sure you don’t want to know? If I don’t tell you, you might never remember.”
He hit her weak spot perfectly.
She bit her lip, trying not to show how uneasy she felt.
“…Are you threatening me?”
“No. I just think it’s sad that only I remember such a fun night.”
So something really had happened.
The more he talked, the more frustrated she became.
“Why can’t I remember anything…?”
It was as if someone had locked her memories away.
She had to find out what happened at the prince’s birthday banquet —
but the only person who knew the truth was Licht himself.
And that made her furious.
“If only I could remember it myself instead of asking this snake…”
Still, the thought that she had to hear it from him started to take over her mind —
as if fate itself was forcing their paths to intertwine.
“Being the heroine isn’t as easy as I thought,” she sighed.
While she was lost in thought, Licht had leaned in again — close enough for his breath to brush her ear.
“Well… your five minutes are up. Maybe I should let you go now.”
His low voice tickled her ear, making her shiver.
She covered her ears instinctively, and Licht let out a quiet laugh.
When she finally looked up at him again, his red eyes curved into a teasing crescent.
“So,” he asked with a smile,
“what do you think?”
