Chapter 70
“Princess, do not come any closer.”
It was at that moment.
Someone stepped between Deon and me. A man, extending his arm not with a sword but politely, revealed a forearm where veins stood out, slightly taut with tension.
“This is not something the Princess desires, nor is it appropriate behavior in a public space. If you approach any further, I will use force.”
It was Kaise.
His sword-like eyes, which had been waiting in the shadows for some time, now shone sharply under the sunlight. Carefully pushing me back, Kaise stood before Deon, keeping his composure even in front of a man taller than himself, his gaze dry and unwavering.
“Ah, Princess.”
Deon, glaring at him with a menacing stare, seemed to realize something and roughly ran his hand through his hair.
“Right. Here, you’re not a prison guard—you’re a princess.”
“Kaise, it’s fine. Step back.”
“But, my lady—”
“That man is also the head of his race. He knows his limits.”
I whispered cautiously, yet Kaise still wore a reluctant expression. But he was my guarding knight. He had to follow my orders unconditionally. Standing still as if to warn, Kaise eventually took a step back and returned to a defensive stance.
Then Deon, who had been listening with folded arms, smirked.
“You carry a bastard with you wherever you go.”
“Look at yourself first.”
Even in this tense situation, he was taunting me—a man I could never understand. I suppressed the boiling emotions inside me and grasped his thick wrist. Surprisingly, the man obediently calmed under my hold.
I walked with him toward a more secluded area.
Earlier, his attitude had been nothing short of overbearing. Normally, wouldn’t he apologize in this situation? Why was he acting shamelessly again?
“Weren’t you supposed to be sorry to me?”
“I am. I mistook you for that girl.”
Despite his words, his crimson eyes looked down at me with a leisurely gaze.
“So….”
I hesitated, momentarily lost for words. What could I say to a man who apologized so shamelessly?
“Then shouldn’t you at least show some sign of being sorry?”
“You want that?”
“It’s not about wanting it, at least show some courtesy—”
“If what you want is an apology, I can kneel right now. Kneel, I will; lick your feet, I will.”
Kneel or lick—he would do it. Excessive for an apology, yet his face remained cold and composed.
“But I haven’t seen you for a month since I realized you were Kim Eunji. When I heard you were going back to your world, my mind went dizzy. And now, I finally see you again.”
The tall man approached me step by step.
“I created the Khan Alliance, which benefits nothing for our race, all because of you. Even entering Drace Prison willingly, that was for you. I heard you were working as a Level 1 guard…”
“That was your choice,” I interrupted.
His lips twisted into a straight line.
“Do you think I’d have time to reconsider if these feelings were one-sided?”
For the first time, a trace of restless anxiety appeared in his usually cold expression.
“I waited ten years, Kim Eunji. And only now do I know your real name.”
A low tone, unable to hide his emotions, split into two. As the wind blew through the quiet outdoor garden, his half-lidded eyes watched me. His gaze was still overbearing, yet now it carried a more serious weight.
“Do you like me?”
“…Are you serious right now?”
He let out a low laugh, clearly incredulous.
“In that case, you’ve got the wrong person.”
But at my next words, his smirk faded. I was neither a fool nor naïve.
“The person you like isn’t the current Kim Eunji—it’s the younger Kim Eunji. You like me? Is that how you treat someone you like? If you truly liked me now, you wouldn’t compare me to the past Kim Eunji and call me a shell.”
My voice unintentionally rose as my pent-up emotions burst forth. Deon, caught off guard by the word “shell,” frowned.
“That’s…”
I didn’t let him finish.
“I’m not kind like before, Deon. I’m not gentle like before, nor do I consider you a friend anymore.”
I was no longer innocent as I once felt when I briefly thought him kind, nor did I hate people easily.
“Deon. The girl you liked doesn’t exist anymore.”
After that, an uneasy silence fell again. Only the gentle wind filled the space.
“Deon, you should go to the meeting room immediately.”
A calm voice came from behind him. Dean, who had been searching for Deon since Drace Prison, appeared and gave a light bow, reporting between the two of us.
“The Duke of the Ermenst family has suddenly breached the dwarf territory.”
“That bastard! How does a half-blood vampire destroy a dwarven mine with 4,000 years of history? HOW?!”
By the time we reached the meeting room, the situation was already chaotic. Half-conscious dwarves were trying to smash the video monitors they received, and an orc, trying to restrain one with one hand, stared blankly at the reflected images on the wall.
The video showed a dwarven mine, painstakingly built by their sweat and craftsmanship, crumbling like sandcastles. Dwarves fled frantically from the entrance, getting devoured by monstrous creatures, their screams echoing. The terror I first felt in Building C returned, gripping me entirely.
As the disturbance escalated and the Emperor and the Southern Empire knights entered, Deon snatched the video monitor from the dwarf and quickly turned it off.
“What’s the situation?”
“Our glory… our… history…”
Deon, avoiding the fainted dwarf, sat and asked. Dean’s calm report followed.
“They are currently moving from the Ermenst family. Their final destination seems to be the Southern Empire, and in the meantime, they invaded the dwarf mines in the intermediate zone.”
The Ermenst family? Then does that mean Ian, who disappeared, is over there? What is he doing?
Though uncertain, thinking back, Ian’s last smile seemed strangely ominous. The previously noisy atmosphere calmed to a terrifying stillness upon confirmation of the Ermenst invasion.
“What’s their current location?”
Deon asked similarly.
“They are moving south through the Dwarf Mountains. It’s estimated it will take about two weeks to reach their next target, the Centaurus Plains.”
“We must depart immediately tomorrow,” muttered Centaurus quietly.
The Emperor, observing the conversation dominated by non-human races, suddenly stood, perhaps worried humans would have no say.
“First, we’ll send an emergency warning to the Western Empire. If negotiation is possible, we’ll start immediately—”
“Negotiation? Are you talking about negotiation in front of us, all of whom have gone mad?!”
Hearing “negotiation,” a dwarf suddenly grabbed the Emperor by the collar, and chaos erupted again. As Southern Empire knights drew their swords to protect the Emperor, two men suddenly blocked my path.
Kaise and Deon.
They pushed me into a corner as if my safety came before the Emperor’s. The Southern Empire knights aimed their swords at the dwarf, stabilizing the situation.
“This is the Southern Empire. No matter the emergency, if you touch His Majesty, the Emperor, you could be sent to prison according to our laws.”
“Prison? Drace Prison? Are you seriously talking about prison over a human-made prison when the intermediate zone is in chaos? Honestly, is that right?”
His voice, full of indignation, trembled with emotion. The dwarf, perhaps thinking of his dying kin, struck his chest in frustration.
“The Khan Alliance was created for humans in the first place. Dwarves had no interest in human territory, but we were forced to create the alliance because of a few ignorant monsters. And yet humans, unaware of our consideration, planned to imprison monsters. That’s Drace Prison! And still, a human-blooded family plans to consume our intermediate zone?!”
The knights’ swords, previously pointed at him, wavered. The grief-stricken dwarf’s expression humbled even the Southern Empire knights who had dismissed them as beasts.
“Deon, tell me—what benefit does the Khan Alliance give us?”
The rough-faced dwarf lifted his face toward Deon. His bloodshot eyes, filled with despair, naturally met mine behind Deon.
The dwarf alternated glances between me and the towering figure in front of him, then fell silent. His expression twisted darkly as if deep in thought.
“…Could the rumor have been true?”
Suddenly, the atmosphere shifted. The weeping dwarf quietly stood and began glaring at me.
