Chapter 2
I’ll Live Off His Face for the Rest of My Life!
“The carriage from the Kingdom of Pritan is expected to arrive in five days. You’ll take it there.”
“What? Five days??”
At the Marquis of Uzkal’s words, I couldn’t help but gape.
It was already absurd that my groom-to-be had been changed with only two months left until my marriage to the old emperor. But now, to be told I had to leave for the Kingdom of Pritan in just five days?!
I was going to have to completely overhaul my escape plan. A sudden wave of dizziness washed over me.
“But… how did my groom end up changing?”
“Well, that is…”
A troubled look crossed the marquis’s face. The marchioness cut in before he could continue.
“What does the reason matter? What’s important is that you’ll be marrying the King of Pritan. Once you become queen, the only thing you should worry about is what you can do for our family.”
Even when I was told at twenty that I would be marrying an emperor over sixty, the marchioness ignored my shock and insisted I should simply repay the family’s “debt” by complying.
But I thought differently. Ever since my mother passed away when I was eight and I came to live in this mansion, I had never once been happy.
The marquis claimed to be my father, but because of the marchioness’s strict orders, I had never called him “father.” And he, in turn, had never treated me warmly like a daughter.
Which only made me wonder why they even bothered to bring me here in the first place.
When I turned ten and people began to gossip about my looks, the marchioness and my half-sister Hailey began to keep me at arm’s length.
To protect myself from their hostility, I’d maintained the role of the frivolous, airheaded illegitimate daughter all these years—just enough to make sure they never felt threatened.
The marquis spoke in the same coaxing tone one might use on a child, as if offering candy.
“Leah, I know it’s a bit rushed, but I hear the carriage from the Kingdom of Pritan is extremely luxurious. Rumor has it it’s grander than even our imperial carriage.”
The mention of a luxury carriage made Hailey’s eyes sparkle.
“Really? Father, then can I ride it before Leah leaves?”
The marchioness swatted Hailey’s arm with her fan, glaring at her.
“What do you think? You like carriage rides, don’t you, Leah?”
The marquis gave me a look that all but demanded I agree.
Since the answer was already decided, I gave it to him.
“A luxury carriage sounds wonderful. I just hope His Majesty is incredibly handsome, too… What do you think?”
Hailey burst into laughter beside me.
“Yeah, right. A war-crazed blood demon is still a blood demon, no matter how handsome.”
“There you go again with the face talk. Even as a child, you followed Sir Pallet around everywhere.”
The marchioness looked at me with undisguised contempt.
Sir Pallet had been a knight of the Uzkal household, once among the top five knights in the empire.
Having lived in the slums with my mother until I was eight, I knew all too well how important it was to protect myself.
So the moment I saw Sir Pallet, I decided I had to learn swordsmanship from him.
But knowing the marchioness would interfere, I pretended to be nothing more than a shallow face-chaser.
“Kyaa~ Sir Pallet, you’re so handsome! I won’t get in the way, just let me see your face up close.”
The marquis, who hated trouble, agreed as long as I didn’t cause any problems, and from then on I followed Sir Pallet like a shadow.
For the next ten years until his retirement, Sir Pallet became my secret swordsmanship teacher.
But to the marchioness, who didn’t know the truth, I must have looked like nothing more than a precocious little girl chasing after men.
“Does she get that from her mother?” the marchioness sneered.
At the mention of my mother, I nearly lost my composure, but I kept my expression calm.
The one caught off guard was the marquis, who glanced around awkwardly before replying,
“No, Leah doesn’t resemble Yurahel at all.”
Yurahel—my mother’s name. I hadn’t heard it in so long.
Blinking rapidly to keep my tears at bay, I turned my gaze out the window. I didn’t have time for this pointless chatter. I was already busy revising my escape plan in my head.
“Marquis, I have a request.”
“Speak.”
“Pritan is a backwater compared to our empire. I’m sure they’re behind on trends. Could I go to the Crossroads today to check out the latest items?”
The Crossroads was the busiest street in the imperial capital and the leader of aristocratic fashion trends. If I wanted to quickly convert the few pieces of jewelry I had into cash, there was no better place.
“As the future queen, I don’t want to feel inferior to the ladies of some provincial court. I should at least be up to date on the latest fashions.”
Amused by my pretentious tone, the marquis granted me permission and even offered me a carriage to the Crossroads—plus three gold coins.
“If you need something, go ahead and buy it.”
It was an unexpected windfall. I’d just secured more escape funds without lifting a finger! Meanwhile, the marchioness and Hailey’s expressions soured.
Before they could think of any objections, I slipped out of the drawing room.
Back in my room, I called for Millie in haste.
“Millie, we don’t have time. The carriage from Pritan will be here in five days. We have to be gone before then.”
“When should we leave?”
“Tonight.”
Millie’s face turned pale.
It was true we were short on time, but the longer we waited, the tighter security would get. The best time to run was when they were least expecting it.
“I’ll write a letter. Take it straight to Robbie at the Stone County estate.”
“Yes, my lady.”
“Make sure you give it to him directly and get his reply on the spot. And bring me my jewelry box.”
“I will.”
While I wrote the letter, Millie fetched the jewelry box hidden deep in my wardrobe.
“These are the necklace and earrings the marquis gave you for your coming-of-age, right?”
She opened a small box to reveal a necklace and earrings with tiny sapphire stones.
“These are commemorative. We shouldn’t sell them, right?”
“That’s the first thing I’ll sell. It’s the most meaningless piece I own.”
“What about Sir Pallet’s gold button?”
“That stays. Hopefully I’ll never have to sell it.”
I ran my fingers over the small gold button, my treasured memento from my dear teacher.
Shaking off the nostalgia, I got back to business.
“Listen carefully, Millie. We’ll leave in the carriage. When we get to the Crossroads, I’ll get off and you’ll take the carriage to the Stone estate. I’ll sell the jewelry in the meantime.”
“Yes, my lady.”
We set off toward the Crossroads, the heart of the capital. I got off in front of the largest jeweler’s, while Millie continued on to the Stone estate.
***
Robbie, out riding, knew something was wrong the moment Millie appeared.
In his room, he read my letter quickly.
Dear Robbie,
I learned today that I’m to marry the King of Pritan instead of His Majesty the Emperor. The carriage from Pritan will arrive in five days, but I plan to leave tonight. Could you, if possible, prepare a carriage to the southern border tonight? If not, tell me honestly—I’ll find another way.
Your friend,
Leah.
After reading it thoroughly, Robbie burned the letter.
“Listen carefully,” he told Millie. “I’ll be waiting with a carriage under the gingko tree on Laurel Hill at midnight tonight. You and Leah come there. Got it?”
“Yes—midnight, gingko tree, Laurel Hill.”
“Right.”
He rummaged through his drawers, stuffing all the gold, silver, and copper coins he had into a small pouch.
“Take this for now. I’ll bring more gold tonight.”
“Thank you, Master Robbie.”
“Go on. See you tonight.”
***
The largest jeweler in the Crossroads was my destination.
The only truly valuable jewelry I had were the ones Robbie, my childhood friend and the sole heir of the Stone family, had given me for my birthdays.
When I was ten, the first hairpin he gave me was so poorly made it was almost comical.
So I’d always assumed his later gifts were worth little more than a few silver coins. But last week, when I had them appraised, I was shocked.
The necklace and bracelet Robbie had given me from his sixteenth birthday onward could be exchanged for gold coins.
After I told him of my escape plan when I was ordered to marry the emperor, Robbie had agreed to let me sell his gifts.
From my jewelry box, I took out the sapphire set from the marquis, along with Robbie’s small tiara and ruby bracelet.
I’d never worn them, afraid the marchioness or Hailey might take them from me. They were practically brand new.
The tiara, in particular, had been so expensive that I’d decided to sell it first—it would be impossible to sell anywhere else but the capital.
The jeweler’s eyes sparkled when he saw it.
“Oh~ You’ve decided to sell the tiara? I’ll give you a generous 13 gold for it.”
“Wait a minute. Last week you said it was worth 25 gold.”
“That was last week. The market for such pieces changes daily.”
He knew I was desperate and was lowballing me.
“I’ll give you the tiara plus the sapphire set for 15 gold. I’m keeping the bracelet.”
“Thirteen gold and thirty silver. Honestly, that sapphire is useless—I’m offering this only because it’s you, miss.”
It was daylight robbery, but I had no choice. After ten days of scouting, I knew this was the only place that would pay in cash immediately.
Millie’s carriage returned, and we hurried home to pack lightly, gathering the money and remaining jewelry.
That night, when everyone was asleep, we made our escape.
***
Or so I thought.
We hadn’t even made it out of the estate.
Now, standing before me were members of the household—and the terrifyingly handsome King of Pritan himself.
“I asked why you’re standing here at this hour, dressed like that!” the marquis thundered.
I swallowed hard.
“Well, you see, Marquis…”
My face flushed, my voice trembled slightly—but a glance at the king’s impossibly perfect features steeled my resolve.
“When I heard His Majesty of Pritan was here, I packed right away. Shall we leave immediately?”
“What?”
The marquis stared at me in disbelief. I stepped closer, clasped my hands, and bounced on my toes.
“You’re soooo handsome. I’ll live off your face for the rest of my life!!”
The previously expressionless King Mikrok raised his left eyebrow slightly.
