Chapter 7
Sirinyu slowly opened his eyes.
He saw the road passing quickly outside the window of the carriage.
Then, a sharp pain shot through his covered left eye.
That pain meant only one thing — a monster was nearby.
He grabbed his eyepatch tightly and hit the carriage wall.
Hearing the sound, the coachman immediately pulled the reins.
Before the carriage even stopped, Sirinyu jumped out and scanned the surroundings.
‘On the hill.’
Sensing the monster’s energy, he ran toward it.
The hill wasn’t very tall, so he reached the top quickly.
“Kyaaa!”
A monster screamed.
Sirinyu pulled out the sword from his waist and stabbed it straight into the creature’s chest.
One monster vanished, but several more were staggering toward him.
Still, Sirinyu didn’t even flinch.
He had been abandoned in forests far worse than this when he was younger — surrounded by hundreds of monsters.
With a calm face, he cut through them one after another.
His movements were efficient and precise — no wasted motion.
He stabbed, slashed, and shook off their blood onto the ground.
Then he noticed something strange.
Behind the dissolving monsters, there was a curled-up figure.
‘A person?’
Sirinyu narrowed his eyes to focus.
“Mmm…”
The figure turned — it was a woman.
Monster energy was toxic to ordinary humans.
Anyone this close would normally faint or go mad.
But the woman was… sleeping.
Completely asleep.
Sirinyu was stunned by the unexpected sight.
He froze for just a moment — enough time for another monster to attack.
It scratched his wrist before he could react, the blind spot of his left eye slowing him down.
He frowned slightly, then kicked the creature hard.
It flew through the air — straight toward the sleeping woman.
“Damn it.”
As Sirinyu readied his sword, the woman opened her eyes.
“…Huh?”
“Graaaah!”
The monster roared and lunged at her.
“What—! Help! Somebody help me!”
She screamed, frozen in fear.
The monster swelled its body and reached for her face.
But just as it touched her — sparks flew.
The creature shrieked in pain and stumbled backward.
Sirinyu didn’t waste the chance — he dashed forward and sliced off its head.
The monster vanished into smoke.
Beyond the fading mist, he saw the woman sitting on the ground — with gray eyes staring back at him.
***
And at that moment…
Our eyes met.
I knew instantly.
This must be… love at first sight.
I’d admired handsome celebrities before — sure — but that was just harmless fun during school.
This? This was different.
My heart was literally shaking.
I used to think being attractive wasn’t everything — that personality mattered more.
But now? I regretted my entire life philosophy.
Past me, listen — hot guys are everything.
“My whole fangirl life has been leading up to you…”
I stared blankly at this perfect being standing before me.
His eyes were long, sharp, and single-lidded.
Those eyelashes… I could probably hide from the rain under them.
And those purple eyes — my favorite color.
How could human eyes even be that color?
His black hair, his uniform, that mysterious eyepatch — everything looked straight out of a fantasy photoshoot.
God-tier concept.
When he tilted his head slightly, his dark hair fell across his forehead, and I almost passed out.
Sexy.
His defined brow ridge, straight nose, and slightly lifted lips — even when closed — looked flawless.
And his body…
Broad shoulders like a runway, strong chest, narrow waist.
I mean, did he hide a burger in there? Why was he so perfectly built?
“Hey.”
Oh no. He just talked to me.
His voice… was like honey.
I swear, I’ll never drink anything sweet again — this voice has all the sugar I need.
“Hey, can’t you hear me?”
Even his annoyed tone was perfect.
Yup. I’m officially a fan.
I tried to reply, but my heart was pounding so loudly I could barely breathe.
‘Oh no, my heart’s racing!’
Wait, it’s supposed to race… Am I scared because of the monster?
Then I remembered — I almost died just a few seconds ago.
‘Wait… did I die? Is this man an actual angel sent to take me to heaven?’
While I was trying to figure that out, the “angel” leaned closer.
His lips parted slightly — smooth and beautiful.
Mom… I’m dizzy.
When I held my forehead, he reached his hand toward me.
I froze — his wrist was bleeding.
Blood trickled down his hand.
“Oh?”
I panicked and quickly took off the yellow ribbon tied around my waist, trying to wipe his blood.
It soaked the ribbon fast.
I didn’t even realize I was holding his hand.
He frowned slightly, twisted his wrist, and grabbed my hand firmly.
“You— who are you?”
As he gripped me, his blood touched the bracelet on my wrist.
Suddenly, I felt something strange — like an invisible string wrapping around us.
When I looked down, the bracelet was glowing.
“Huh?”
The blood turned into thin red threads that floated up and tied our wrists together in midair.
When he let go, the threads stretched between us, shimmered, and then scattered into light.
We stared at each other.
Our eyes met again — and my heart started racing uncontrollably.
My breath quickened, heat rushed through my chest.
Even though everything was confusing, I couldn’t look away from his purple eyes.
I wanted to reach out, touch his hair, and trace the line of his cheek.
My lips parted slightly as I tried to breathe — and he, almost enchanted, reached toward me.
When his large hand touched my wrist, the spot burned warmly, almost ticklish.
“Are you… the one from the prophecy…?”
His voice faded — my ears rang, my body trembled.
I suddenly became painfully aware of my situation:
I was lying in the grass, wearing a frilly dress… in front of the most beautiful man in existence.
Oh no. This is so embarrassing!
Snapping out of it, I carefully pulled my hand away and bowed.
“Thank you! Have a nice day!”
Then I ran down the hill as fast as I could.
When I looked back, he was still standing there — a living sculpture glowing in the sunlight.
I practically rolled all the way home.
The servants tried to talk to me, but I ignored them and ran to my room.
‘I left it here somewhere…’
I crouched by my bedside table, pulled open the bottom drawer, and took out my guidebook.
Maybe it would explain what just happened.
I flipped through it, page after page — nothing.
But I did find out who he was.
“Black hair, purple eyes… He’s the main lead — Sirinyu. Wow, even the name is cool.”
I reread every line about him.
It said there wasn’t much to him besides his looks.
What do you mean besides his looks?!
He literally just took down monsters like it was nothing!
And he had that cold, slightly harsh tone — perfection.
You might say bad temper isn’t attractive, but…
It’s not like I’m dating him anyway.
A fan’s job is to admire from afar.
If he’s beautiful and good at what he does — that’s enough!
I fell onto the floor and kicked my feet in the air.
My heart was overflowing — I needed to let it out somehow.
When I finally looked at my wrist again, the blood and the glowing threads were gone.
“What… was that?”
