Somehow, I was struck with an unshakable certainty that the owner of that hair was someone I definitely knew.
They were the bad guys, weren’t they? My instincts hadn’t been wrong after all.
“Huh?”
As if they’d heard my voice, the men all turned their heads at once. But by then, I had already hidden behind a tree. My heart pounded in my chest.
The men seemed to dismiss it as just another merchant passing through the forest and resumed walking. Suppressing my fear, I silenced my footsteps and followed after them. They still didn’t seem to realize I was trailing them.
I hid behind a nearby tree and looked down at the warehouse the men entered. Should I call the knights now?
But the thought of pushing through the suffocating festival crowd both ways was daunting. There was a longer route, but that would take too much time.
And I was sure I’d seen it. Black hair. It had to be Siegfried’s.
He was the male lead, so it’s not like anything truly awful would happen, but the image of him unconscious kept replaying in my mind.
“Big bro said he’d be here soon, so our job’s done.”
Just as I was pondering what to do, the men opened the door and stepped outside, chattering excitedly about what they’d just done.
“He’ll take care of what’s left. Let’s go drink ourselves stupid.”
“Yeah, and pick up some chicks.”
Like any woman would willingly go near you. I waited until the men grew distant, thinking just that.
Soon they were nothing but black specks in the distance. I crept quietly toward the warehouse. But the door was locked.
“Really locked up tight.”
I muttered while tapping the lock. Who knew how many they’d used? No wonder they were standing around chatting so long — it must’ve taken forever to lock this place up.
But this “big bro” of theirs — does he have all the keys? Or did they hide them somewhere?
I circled the warehouse, wondering where a key might be stashed.
That’s when I spotted a window in the back — just big enough for one person to crawl through. And foolishly, it was made of glass.
It was practically asking to be broken. With that much of an invitation — “Please, come right in” — how could I ignore it?
I decided it was too late to go back and get the knights. A simple solution to everything was right here.
Good thing I always kept a dagger strapped to my thigh. I smashed the window with the hilt.
Crash.
“…Your Highness?”
I called from outside, but no answer came.
Careful not to let my skirt catch on the glass shards, I slipped into the dark warehouse. It smelled so musty I could barely breathe.
I wandered through countless sacks of flour for a while before finally spotting someone collapsed in a corner.
Sure enough, it was Siegfried.
His arms were bound tightly with rope, and he’d been gagged. His eyes were closed.
“Your Highness?”
I crouched in front of him and called softly. Under the moonlight, his long lashes trembled slightly, but he didn’t move. Was he unconscious? That was bad. He was way too big for me to carry.
“Your Highness, please wake up. If you don’t, I’ll have to slap you. That’s the best way to bring someone around. Forgive my rudeness…”
“…Mmmph.”
Tch. Honestly, I kind of wanted to slap him just once.
Disappointed, I punched one of the flour sacks. A puff of white powder burst out like smoke.
At the same time, Siegfried slowly opened his eyes. As the focus returned to his violet gaze, they widened in shock.
“Mmph, mmph!”
“Oh, right. Your mouth.”
I quickly removed the gag and tossed it aside. Siegfried gasped for breath and looked up at me.
“What… what the hell is this…?”
“That’s what I want to ask. What are you doing here, Your Highness?”
“I remember going out with Miliard… Oh, the sweets. He brought snacks. I ate one, and then suddenly felt dizzy…”
“And when you came to, you were here?”
He nodded obediently. Good grief.
“Seriously, Your Highness. You turned me down when I asked you to come with me.”
“…”
“Don’t tell me… do you like men?”
Now that I thought about it, this novel did have romance in it. Was that why I couldn’t remember the female lead?
“Stop talking nonsense and untie me.”
Siegfried twisted his wrists, bound in dozens of loops of rope. I knelt in front of him and began cutting at the ropes.
“It’s okay. You can be honest.”
“What is?”
He asked like he didn’t understand my meaning. I glanced at him and resumed cutting.
“Everyone has different preferences.”
“…”
“But Miliard? I just don’t get it. If it were me, I’d choose Abision instead. He’s objectively better looking.”
“I don’t like men.”
“Then why did you go out with Miliard…?”
I still sounded doubtful. Siegfried frowned in frustration.
“You.”
But he said only that, then fell silent again. He quickly looked away, avoiding my gaze.
His lashes were impossibly long. I was honestly jealous. Even without grooming, they were thick and neat. Up close, his hair looked silky soft too. I kind of wanted to tug on it.
Wait, but why did I come up?
“Me?”
“Yes, you…”
He trailed off again.
And now you know how frustrating that is. I prompted him.
“So, what about me?”
“I’m not telling.”
“Then I’m not untying you.”
“This isn’t the time for—!”
“Maybe not, but you’re not telling me either.”
Maybe I should just leave him here.
Let’s see how he likes being cut off mid-sentence.
I stopped moving my hands. Siegfried let his head fall back in defeat.
“You only asked me once.”
“What did I ask?”
“If I wanted to go to the festival with you.”
“…Ah.”
The sound that left my mouth was like a lightbulb going off. Now I finally understood the context.
Why didn’t he just say the important part up front? Was he… embarrassed?
It was possible. Right now, Siegfried was deliberately turning his head away from me, and the tips of his ears, peeking through his tousled black hair, were burning red.
“You’re surprisingly shy, Your Highness.”
“…”
“You were waiting for me to ask you a second time, weren’t you? Oh, wait a minute. I knew it! That’s why you were staring at me like that!”
No wonder he was fidgeting so much earlier. I burst out laughing.
“You’re actually kind of cute.”
“Don’t laugh.”
“This was your first festival, right? You were curious, weren’t you? But you couldn’t bring yourself to say you wanted to go because of your pride as a prince, so you turned me down.”
“…Shut up.”
“And now you’re so flustered because I figured you out. Right? What was that? Hurry up and cut the rope and leave? How could you say such a thing to me…?”
“I-I never said that…!”
Siegfried jerked his head up and sat upright. Even though he was young, he was still a head taller than me. Sitting with our knees touching like this, I had to look up slightly to meet his eyes.
“Finally, you’re looking at me.”
As our eyes met, I smiled.
