~Chapter 125~
The moment our lips touched, I squeezed my eyes shut.
It was out of fear.
I was afraid that if I opened them, no one would be there.
If, like Ailins once said, I truly had no place in this world as an outsider…
My hands gripping Ricardo’s shoulders trembled. My head, already spinning with dizziness, went blank—emptied of all thought.
Only after the trembling in my hands faded could I finally pull away from him.
“Bianca.”
His voice echoed close to my ear. But stubbornly, I only shook my head.
“I… I can’t open my eyes yet.”
I’m scared. Scared that you’ll still look strange to me.
…And then what will I do?
At that moment, Ricardo’s large hands cupped both my cheeks.
His brief kisses moved from my lips, to the bridge of my nose, then to the corner of my eyes.
“I’m not going anywhere.”
“What if I cling like this forever?”
“What’s there to worry about? Then I’ll just live with you happily, forever.”
“…Hah.”
“Let’s try living a nice, cozy life together.”
His joking tone made me laugh helplessly, though it didn’t fit the situation at all.
…Will it be alright if I look at him now?
Well, if something feels off, I can always close my eyes again right away.
Besides, his voice sounded exactly like the mischievous voice I knew.
Cautiously, I opened my eyes. Ricardo’s face came into view, looking at me.
Everything was calm, as if nothing strange had happened at all.
I blinked blankly. Ricardo chuckled.
“Just like a fairy tale.”
“…What fairy tale?”
“You know, the one where the cursed princess was awakened by a kiss.”
“I’m not a princess.”
Embarrassed from everything that had just happened, I nitpicked out of habit.
“I’m not a prince either. But you’ll be the princess anyway.”
“…Princess?”
That word made me think of Hestia—not exactly a pleasant memory.
Ricardo bent down to pick up his fallen sword, smiling faintly. I stared at him before slowly rising to my feet too.
“Then what about you? Who are you?”
“Let’s say… a kidnapper. A damned scoundrel who ran off with a naïve princess.”
“What kind of nonsense is that…”
Before I could brush off his ridiculous joke, Ricardo strode over suddenly and slung me over his shoulder.
“…!”
“Hold on tight.”
I clutched at his robe desperately.
As Ricardo dashed forward, the waters behind us swirled violently, consuming the space we had just occupied.
“…!”
He swung his sword as he ran, parting the flood before us. The moment we passed, the water rushed back to erase our tracks—
as if hiding the path we had taken.
Glancing up, I caught sight of Penny flying overhead, following us. Ricardo noticed her too and widened the road he was carving.
“Sis!”
Penny swooped down at last, clutching my shoulder with her claws. The instant my feet left the ground, I cried out in alarm.
“W-wait! What about you, Ricardo?”
“I’ll follow right after. See you soon.”
He signaled to Penny with his eyes to take me away.
“No—!”
I reached out toward him with all my strength, but Penny’s wings beat faster.
As soon as we soared into the sky, the waters surged back, swallowing Ricardo’s figure whole.
“…Ricardo.”
What… what kind of nonsense is this?
He told me not to take risks, and now this?
I bit my lip hard.
Keep your promise.
You said you wouldn’t lie.
***
“Penny…”
I called her name, but she gave no reply.
At first, I thought it was raining.
I wiped the drops from my face and looked at her.
But no—it wasn’t rain. Tears fell in heavy streams, unstoppable.
“I’m still alive, you know.”
…Anyone watching would think I was dead.
“I-I know that! But I thought I’d never see you again!”
My calm words—isn’t it enough that I survived?—did nothing to comfort her.
She only cried harder, sobbing louder than before.
Seeing her tears, I couldn’t bring myself to speak further.
“If I had known this would happen, I never would have suggested going to Tyrannian…”
Ah, right. Penny was the one who suggested it in the first place.
If I had died there…
My heart wavered. Gently, I reached out and patted her leg.
“Sorry. I was wrong.”
Penny sniffled, wiping her nose.
At last, once we escaped Tyrannian safely, she lowered me to the ground.
From the look of it, we were in an underground passage—likely one connected to where Gideon was.
And there…
“Waaah!”
Idette, crying just as much as Penny, rushed to me.
“I-I’m so sorry, hic! I was so foolish…”
There were so many things I wanted to say to her.
Yes, I felt angry. Yes, I felt frustrated. But I also felt pity.
“Never again…”
Overwhelmed by emotion, Idette couldn’t even finish her sentence.
As I changed out of my wet clothes, Penny began recounting what had happened. Idette, having calmed down a little, added details here and there.
From what they told me, the conclusion was clear:
She tried to control the disaster, but it failed.
“It was explosive magic. According to the magical mechanics formula Peril taught me…”
Her words trailed as Idette glanced at me nervously.
“Based on the calculations, it should settle down in about 30 minutes.”
“…Thirty minutes.”
Of course I was worried about Ricardo.
But remembering how flawlessly he wielded his sword, I felt like maybe I didn’t need to be too anxious.
“…More importantly, what about Erkessian?”
Idette froze at my question.
“Well… we’ll probably find out soon enough.”
I prayed that last encounter would be the final one.
But Erkessian wasn’t the kind of man to die so easily.
Like Ricardo, he was too strong—he’d claw his way to survival somehow.
“Idette, you should go to Gideon first. He’ll take you to Peril.”
The priority was to keep her from falling into the Imperial family’s hands. At my words, she nodded.
Still, given her past of running away from Ricardo, I couldn’t help but add,
“…You won’t run again, right?”
“N-never! I owe you too much, Lady Bianca. I won’t avoid it anymore.”
“….”
“Please believe me.”
Her eyes didn’t look like she was lying.
Her magic is drained anyway… it should be fine.
“Alright. Then hurry and go to Uncle.”
Just then, another wave of pain struck my head. I froze in place.
“Sis?” Penny called me nervously.
Again. The world slowed, as if everything was happening a beat too late.
Even Penny’s voice broke apart in fragments.
Nausea twisted in my gut, dizziness blurring my vision.
I quickly lowered my head, staring only at my feet. Little by little, my vision steadied.
“I-it’s nothing. Let’s go.”
Carefully, I took a step forward.
…Will I have to keep living like this?
〈…My lady!〉
Then, a voice rang out.
〈My lady!〉
It was Arkan.
I stopped walking. Immediately, he began speaking rapidly, seizing the chance.
〈Something came up, so I had to step away for a bit. Truly shameful of me. As your guide, I must apologize sincerely!〉
…Is he really sorry?
