TMLNHMB 02

Chapter 2

“When did we ever promise to get married?! We didn’t!”

Seydin glared furiously, her fingers fidgeting, red as her blushing cheeks. The truth lingered on the tip of her tongue—something she couldn’t bring herself to say.

‘He has no idea what he’s saying. If I could stop your doomed fate with my power, I would have done it already! But what can I do? My magic… it’s just not enough to heal you…’

Soon, he would be caught in the chaos of divine power overload and die. The only way to prevent that death was through the destined love of the female lead.

But Seydin had no proof that what she was saying was true.

‘For the past ten years, I’ve studied magic stone refinement, hoping—just hoping—that I could change your fate with my power…’

Seydin held the overwhelming anxiety tightly in her chest. Tears welled beneath her trembling eyelids.

‘But there was no answer… No way to save you…’

To hide her unsettled heart, Seydin forced her voice to sound firm. At the same time, she folded her warm, trembling fingers into her palms.

“Don’t say things like that. We never made such a promise.”

The timeline of the male lead’s divine power rampage was clearly stated in the original novel. One year after the fall of the Kingdom of Herace. That meant Luan would die in a year. And the world, consumed by the explosion of his power, would also be destroyed.

‘The end of the world is one thing, but Luan dying… that can’t happen.’

After being reincarnated as the powerless youngest princess of Herace and living in isolation for ten years, Seydin had devoted herself to researching how to turn her magic into healing power. But it wasn’t enough—not enough to save Luan.

So, Seydin decided to follow the original novel’s fastest and most accurate method: ensuring that Luan and the female lead fell in true love.

Only the female lead could save the male lead.

Suppressing her stinging emotions, Seydin blinked. Ah, maybe it was because Luan had now become a proper emperor, but tears of emotion almost spilled from her eyes.

Normally, she would’ve hidden her feelings well. But now, weak in both body and heart, she couldn’t help it. She covered her face with her dry hand and spoke.

“Your Majesty, those days when you were treated like a dog of the fallen Kingdom of Herace… they’re in the past. When I think of the hardships you endured, I feel so heartbroken…”

“…Is that so.”

“But, Your Majesty, I don’t have romantic feelings for you. I don’t know how you remember our time together, but…”

“Princess.”

“…Yes?”

Seydin rubbed her cheek nervously and deliberately looked away to keep her emotions in check. Luan followed her gaze, then grabbed the robe draped over the chair next to the bed and put it on.

Rustle.

The thin robe brushed against his bare chest, leaving a soft sound in the still room. It echoed in Seydin’s ears, pulling her gaze toward him involuntarily.

And there he sat, leaning against the headboard of the bed.

He was wearing long, thin pants, but his upper body was still exposed beneath the loosely worn robe.

He looked like a painting. Seydin, who had just been struggling to suppress her rising emotions, furrowed her brow. For some reason, she couldn’t take her eyes off him.

The heavy mood suddenly lifted!

Her previously gloomy vision felt fresh again!

‘Huh? What is this? Nothing’s solved, so why do I feel so… warm?’

Seydin tried to look away from his chest, sparkling in the morning sunlight filtering through the window, and clenched her lips tightly.

Then Luan, locking eyes with her at last, said in a low voice:

“Why would I ever be a dog of the kingdom?”

“…”

“I’ve always belonged to you, my princess. I never once degraded myself like that.”

Then he reached out to her. When Luan held her hand, Seydin felt her heart leap unexpectedly.

‘What?’

Then Luan said,

“Forgive me. I just want to be in your grasp.”

He gave a bitter smile and hunched his shoulders.

“May I not?”

As soon as he spoke so pitifully, his chest peeked through the open robe—muscular and strong.

Even in her first life, and again in this second life as a no-name princess, she had always been weak to handsome men.

And now she thought:

Luan Killian Sierbold… is using his looks on purpose, isn’t he?!

Gasp!

Seydin squeezed her eyes shut and scrambled backward. She spread the blanket wide, as if using it as a shield, and said:

“Y-Your Majesty!”

“Yes?”

‘Ugh, why are you stammering?! You idiot!’

Even before reincarnating into this gritty romance fantasy, she’d had a thing for pretty faces. Now she just wanted to smack her own mouth. But with Luan’s fate hanging by a thread, she had to stay composed.

After all, the story had already begun. Luan might not know it, but his divine power was already on the verge of spiraling out of control and consuming him. The fall of Herace marked the start.

Swallowing hard, Seydin rattled off her words like a machine gun.

Thankfully, she didn’t stutter this time.

“Your Majesty, I’m grateful that you remember the friend who supported you in your childhood hardships… but…”

“Friend?”

Luan furrowed his brows. Seeing the frown reach his eyes beneath his slightly grown bangs, Seydin closed her eyes for a moment.

He had once been thin and frail from his days as a prisoner—but now, he had transformed completely. The boyish aura was gone, and he resembled a languid predator. He looked so unfamiliar now that Seydin, who had been babbling, fell silent.

Then she steeled herself again.

‘No. I have to get this right from the start. I didn’t expect Luan to actually like me…’

She lifted her head quickly and said,

“I do remember being kind to Your Majesty during your captivity, but I never imagined it would be misunderstood like this, Your Majesty.”

“Princess.”

“Yes.”

No matter what he said, Seydin was determined not to waver. She sat up straight like a well-disciplined soldier. Seeing that, Luan smiled faintly.

Whether as a child or now, he found all of her efforts not to shrink away simply adorable.

“Do you know why I destroyed the Dragon Mountains after barely escaping death?”

The Dragon Mountains.

For ten years, they had been the pride of Herace and a natural fortress that poked at the empire like a thorn. They had once been home to dragons, shielding the capital, and the mages of Herace had skillfully used them in defense. The kingdom even maintained its own food reserves and allied with other rebel nations.

It was the perfect place to harass the empire from its corner.

But overnight, Luan destroyed the entire mountain range that protected the kingdom.

Even Seydin, who had read the novel, had been speechless. Who could forget the dawn when those enormous mountains simply vanished?

Hearing his puzzling question, Seydin lowered her gaze slightly.

“The kingdom was doomed from the start. It ignored the holy empire and fostered black magic on its own… that was its sin…”

Whatever Luan was thinking, he was still the emperor. She tried to avoid angering him by sticking to neutral comments, but he cut her off firmly.

“That’s not why I destroyed the Dragon Mountains.”

“…?”

“Three years ago, I finally seized the throne and killed my father with my own hands. After dealing with my half-brothers who claimed the throne, I ran out of time. That’s why I’m late.”

Luan furrowed his brow again. Then he whispered, as if in pain—his soft, low voice completely at odds with his imposing presence.

“If my divine power had manifested earlier, I would’ve destroyed those mountains ten years ago.”

“…”

“Because I wanted to see you.”

“…”

“I’m sorry I was late.”

Seydin bit her lip, her emotions swirling. Then Luan approached, parting the blanket she had spread wide.

“I wasn’t strong enough to come sooner.”

“….”

Their eyes met. Luan stopped at a certain distance, as if unwilling to come any closer. He even let go of her hand.

Seydin had expected him to grab her again, but instead, he clenched his own hand so tightly that his veins stood out, as if restraining himself. Her heart swayed, and she looked away.

But something felt strange.

The sunlight peeking through the wrinkled blanket looked just like moonlight. Like the moonlight that once covered Luan’s wounded body during his painful days as a prisoner.

And so, Seydin spoke words to comfort him. Words meant for a man who didn’t know the truth, who only apologized for not coming sooner.