TGNM 02

Chapter 02

I flinched reflexively, my body trembling.

‘What is this…?’

This was a man I’d seen for the first time today. Shouldn’t it feel unpleasant to be kissing him?

So why didn’t I feel any aversion?

It was strange. My mind told me this was absurd, but my body reacted completely differently.

To be honest… it felt a little good.

‘Maybe I was poisoned by the devils’ venom.’

Yes, I must have fallen into a trap.

‘Otherwise, this doesn’t make sense.’

We were just pressing and rubbing our lips together, yet I didn’t want to stop.

When his tongue lightly brushed against mine, I even opened my mouth as if welcoming it.

He let out a low, throaty laugh.

As if he were deeply pleased.

The tip of his tongue slid in smoothly, tracing and coiling around mine.

Our warmed breaths intertwined quickly as one.

‘…!’

My mind went blank—so much so that I couldn’t even think to clear up the misunderstanding.

‘No, this isn’t right. I have to stop.’

If this continued, I’d truly cross the line.

Taking advantage of the moment he pulled his lips away to catch his breath, I pressed my lips tightly together.

Anyone could tell that meant I wanted to stop.

Because I instinctively sensed that continuing would be dangerous.

“…….”

A suffocating silence settled between us.

By the time my saliva-moistened lips had cooled, he let out a long, sighing breath.

“I suppose I was clumsy after all.”

I didn’t know much either since it was my first time, but he didn’t seem clumsy at all—quite skilled, actually…

“Don’t worry. I have no intention of forcing you.”

He whispered, gently stroking my cheek.

“But… it’s impossible to pretend that kiss never happened.”

His voice was low and dark.

As if he wouldn’t give me a chance to escape, misunderstanding or not.

“You promised. You said you’d become mine.”

His eyes pursued me relentlessly as he repeated,

“Didn’t you?”

‘No, seriously, who even are you!’

This must be what they meant by “going crazy.”

‘…I must keep this an absolute secret from Mikhail and the expedition members.’

If they found out I’d had my first kiss because of such an absurd misunderstanding, I’d be made fun of for at least a year.

That’s why—

“Over here!”

When the sound of loud footsteps came from outside, I was startled.

‘I can’t be found like this…!’

This would be… at least three years of ridicule!

“What’s wrong?”

The man asked curiously, seeing my eyes darting around urgently.

“Does the commotion outside have something to do with you?”

I wasn’t sure, but I thought it likely.

The more complex the magic, the worse the aftereffects usually are.

The fact that I could barely move my fingertips even now meant the return spell was probably high-level magic.

‘The palace defense system would have noticed it for sure.’

If the chief mage, Caleb, was in the palace, he would have reported exactly that I had returned.

‘Either way, no!’

I couldn’t let Mikhail, Caleb, or any of the knights see me like this.

Even if it was a soldier who didn’t know my face.

‘It’s just too embarrassing…’

I had to avoid being seen directly at all costs.

I put strength into my abdomen again and forced out a voice.

And finally, my desperation paid off.

“He… help me.”

“……!”

His eyes went wide at the words I barely managed to utter.

Following his gaze as he quickly scanned the surroundings, I took in the room as well.

‘What is this place?’

The barren space had no proper furniture besides a bed, and the windows were completely barred with iron grates.

And now that I looked, the man’s ankles were bound in restraints.

‘Wait, is this a prison?’

Just then, a voice from the hallway gave me a clue about his identity.

“Here! A magical explosion occurred in the hostage’s room!”

‘…A hostage? What on earth happened that made that necessary?’

“Open the door quickly!”

Before I could even think, the footsteps stopped right outside.

“I have the key here!”

The loud clanking sound of a lock being opened rang out.

“Oh no….”

Because of the room’s layout, there was nowhere to hide. He wrapped me tightly in the blanket like a cocoon.

“Bear with it for a moment.”

He whispered, then slid me—blanket and all—under the bed and pulled the bedsheet down to block me from view.

Immediately after, the door burst open with a crash, and several people rushed in.

“Subdue him!”

The man who had been standing idly by the bed was grabbed by the soldiers’ rough hands.

They shoved him to the floor, twisting his arms behind his back and binding them.

‘W-what is this?’

I was shocked by the completely unexpected situation.

‘Treating a hostage like that? As if he’s a criminal?’

Here in Bardia, ruled by Mikhail?

Throughout all of this, the man didn’t resist—didn’t even let out a groan.

“Deposed prince, what were you doing here?”

Once they confirmed he was fully subdued, a knight approached him and asked.

His arrogant tone showed no respect for the other man.

“Who knows? Nothing at all?”

The man answered coldly, with a hint of mockery.

His tone was completely different from when he spoke to me.

And as if waiting for that moment, retaliation came swiftly.

The knight kicked him in the stomach.

“How dare you try something?”

A knight who could wield aura had a body no different from a weapon. The man spat blood.

“…That’s too much. Do you really think I could do anything in here?”

“If you don’t remember, I’ll help you remember.”

Soon, the knight’s merciless violence rained down on the man.

He kicked the defenseless, bound man repeatedly, even striking him with his scabbard.

Yet the man silently endured it.

Until another knight stepped in.

“Sir Hamel, that’s enough. He was once your liege, after all.”

“The past is the past. I am a knight of glorious Cradion, not rotten Bardia!”

Sir Hamel snapped, visibly offended.

Mentioning his origins clearly shamed him.

“Hoo, fine. But if he dies, we’ll be in trouble too.”

“If he could die from this, Bardia would have fallen long ago.”

Watching this from under the bed, I was horrified.

‘What in the world…’

From the fragments of conversation, I could piece it together.

This place was a new nation called ‘Cradion,’ and the hostage—that man—was the deposed prince of my country, Bardia.

He seemed to have been the last line of defense, protecting Bardia until the very end.

But the nation he risked his life to protect had deposed him and handed him over as a hostage to an enemy country.

And in the process, he had even been betrayed by his own followers.

Hamel tore the corner of his mouth into a sneer and said,

“We need to train him properly. Make him crawl like a dog and obey.”

…When I heard that, something in me snapped.

Bardia’s traitor—more than anyone, even more than the enemy knights—actively mocked and brutalized his former master.

If he had surrendered to protect his family or someone precious, he could never act like that.

Those were the words of someone who had already sold countless lives for his own comfort.

‘The one who should crawl like a dog is you.’

I decided to deal with him right here.

As long as I existed in this world, there was only one ending for a traitor.

Inside the blanket, I carefully clenched and unclenched my fist.

‘I can move, but my body is still sluggish.’

It would probably take another five minutes for these aftereffects to fully disappear.

‘To avoid being discovered, I’ll have to use my divine power.’

Even though I hated using the damned devils’ power, I had no choice.

I couldn’t let the man who was enduring his former subordinate’s violence to hide me suffer in vain.

‘Paper, answer my call.’

I snapped my fingers toward the shadow cast on the floor. It began to bubble and seethe.

It seemed pleased by my summons, giggling as if about to laugh.

‘Shh. Shut up and do what you’re told. If you prove useless, I’ll offer you up on my goddess’s altar.’

—…!

The threat seemed to work.

Turning into mist before taking form, it slithered out from under the bed at my signal.

Then, unnoticed, it quietly seeped into the shadows of the enemy knights and soldiers.

And after a moment—

Swish—!

With a chilling sound of cutting flesh, the traitor’s head thudded to the floor.

“Huh?”

The one holding the blood-dripping sword was the enemy knight who had tried to stop Hamel.