Chapter 4
I’m Bored—Shall We Make a Midnight Escape?
Mikrok, having been shown to the guest room by a servant, found the turn of events highly amusing.
The brazen ease with which she stuck to an obviously transparent lie! It brought an involuntary, faint smile to his lips.
“Her name was Lea, wasn’t it…?”
“Pardon? What did you say?”
“Nothing.”
William, not catching Mikrok’s muttered words, asked again, but Mikrok quickly returned to his expressionless face.
Still, in his mind, Lea’s voice echoed.
“You’re exactly as handsome as I’d heard. I could live my whole life just feeding off that face!!”
“With a husband this handsome, I’d even follow him to hell, you know?”
She had clearly been dressed for a midnight getaway, cheeks flushed, feet tapping as she clung to his arm.
The moment their eyes met—those bright, shining eyes—he also remembered the tingling pain in his palm.
And what was that strange sensation?
He hadn’t been expecting it, but here was a bride-to-be that piqued his curiosity. Mikrok didn’t dislike the situation at all.
“Cutting the return trip short by four days is a stroke of luck.”
The original plan had been to leave when the royal carriage from Pritan arrived in five days, to take Lea with him.
But to cover up a clumsy lie, she had insisted on leaving immediately. As someone itching to go slay monsters, he had no reason to refuse.
“I’m concerned whether a noble lady of the Empire can handle this journey. She’ll have to ride alongside Your Highness for two or three days.”
William was already worried for Lea’s safety. Mikrok, however, spoke with infuriating calm.
“If she truly can’t bear it, she’ll faint or something.”
Which was to say, he would keep moving whether she passed out or not. William suddenly felt pity for Lea, but what could he do? Meeting such a cold husband was her fate.
“By the way, it seems a rat has gotten into the marquis’ estate.”
“Oh?”
“On my way from the stables, I saw a rat scampering up to a second-floor window at the far west end. But well, it’s not our duty to inform the marquis even if a thief’s broken in, is it?”
“True, no need to—”
Mikrok nodded, then suddenly paused.
“The far west end, second floor?”
“Yes, but… no way.”
In an instant, Mikrok grabbed his sword and sprang away like a coiled spring, with William dashing after him.
There was no proof the “rat” had gone into Lea’s room, but the unease spreading from his chest drove his feet faster.
Mikrok flung open the door to the west-end room without hesitation. Millie had no time to stop him.
Inside, Lea was embracing some man, patting him comfortingly. Sparks flew from Mikrok’s eyes on the spot.
“How exactly am I supposed to interpret this scene?”
His heart pounded furiously, but his voice was cold as ice.
Startled, Lea turned toward him. For a moment, Mikrok even found her reaction cute, which annoyed him enough to wrench his gaze toward the man instead.
Thin, frail, utterly scholarly in appearance.
From Robbie’s perspective, it was unfair—he had diligently trained in swordsmanship and riding—but Mikrok had no time to look for “masculinity” in him.
So this is her type?
A surge of hostility rose within him.
“Step away from him!”
He was just about ready to draw his sword and skewer the man’s neck when Lea scurried toward him.
“It’s a misunderstanding. I—I can explain.”
Mikrok stared at her for a long moment before speaking slowly.
“Then go ahead.”
The moment I saw the king’s eyes shift from deep navy to blood-red as he stared at Robbie, chills ran down my spine.
Ah, so this is why people keep calling him a “blood demon.” And wow, that red looks ridiculously good on him—no, no! This is no time to admire him! Robbie’s life might be in danger!
I forced a smile.
“This is Robbie Stone, eldest son of Count Stone of the Harun Empire, and my childhood friend. Since I’m leaving so suddenly… um… ah! He came to say goodbye.”
“At this hour?”
He snorted in disbelief, but I kept pushing forward.
“Thanks to someone, my departure was decided so abruptly. I asked him to come because otherwise I wouldn’t get to say goodbye.”
“And instead of using the door, he climbed up the window?”
“I didn’t want to wake anyone up—it’s the middle of the night. Robbie was just about to leave, right Robbie?”
Mikrok narrowed his eyes at me, but I ignored him and turned to Robbie.
“Thanks for coming. I’ve seen your face, so that’s enough. Go on now.”
I shoved Robbie toward the window, my heart pounding like it would burst. Robbie looked utterly bewildered.
“I’m going to live happily with my handsome husband, so you go live well too. Bye!!”
“Lea!!”
And with that, I pushed Robbie right out the window.
“Aaah! Leaaaaaa!!!”
His scream came from below, but I quickly shut the window. He’d been climbing in and out of this window for over ten years—he’d be fine.
When I turned back to Mikrok, smiling like nothing had happened, he was still watching me with narrowed eyes.
“Truly just saying goodbye to a childhood friend?”
“Of course. Why else would I meet him at this hour?”
“I see.”
“Yes!!”
I nodded with conviction.
“That’s good. Otherwise, the old fox of Harun would’ve been a real nuisance.”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
He suddenly mentioned the Harun Emperor, and I tilted my head.
“If you and that brat had really run off together, I’d have gone to cut off the head of Grand Duke Jake, the Emperor’s younger brother.”
“Why him?”
“Two months ago, he tried to illegally cut down the golden pine, our kingdom’s national treasure. I spared his life by only taking an arm, and then the Emperor had the nerve to send a marriage proposal.”
Ah, so thanks to the Emperor’s brother, my husband went from “old fox” to “blood demon.”
The thought that my life was being swayed by other people irritated me. But then again, because of that good-for-nothing prince, I could still follow my mother’s last wish.
“If the bride chosen by the Emperor had eloped with another man, the Harun royal family would have to pay for it. I wonder what the old fox would do to the Marquis of Uzkal and the Count of Stone? Probably not as generous as just wiping out the family.”
He smiled cruelly, looking satisfied with the thought.
Even with just a cold smile on his otherwise expressionless face, his beauty shone as if the clouds had parted to reveal the moon. Ugh, what am I thinking!
If Robbie and I had eloped, we’d have been hunted to the bitter end by imperial soldiers, ending in a miserable death. And the marquis’ and count’s families…
I didn’t want to imagine the rest.
Though it wasn’t my style, I put on my “cute” act at level one and tossed it at him.
“Oh come on~ Me elope with Robbie? He’s not my type at all.”
“Really?”
“Of course! I might live with a bad-tempered husband, but never an ugly one!!”
“What?”
For the first time, his calm expression cracked.
“Did you just insult me as bad-tempered?”
Damn. Sharp as a whip, isn’t he?
“What do you mean~ I was complimenting you for being insanely handsome.”
Watching Lea wriggle out of it like a slippery eel, Mikrok decided to let it slide again.
A lie like that was well within his ability to tolerate.
But letting her off without consequence wasn’t fun. Lies should be repaid in kind.
“If you’re that taken with my face, I’m very pleased.”
A wicked smile touched his eyes, and Lea’s forced smile began to tremble.
Her emotions were so transparent that Mikrok laughed inwardly.
“No matter how close you are, don’t look at another man with eyes like that again.”
“Eyes like what?”
Lea blinked wide.
“Like you’re pining for him to death.”
“Me? At Robbie? Oh, please!”
“Good. Keep it that way. Because if you do it again, I’ll gouge those eyes out.”
At his deliberately cruel words, Lea gasped and quickly covered her eyes with both hands. The sight oddly thrilled him.
“Of course, since you seem head over heels for my face, that won’t happen, right?”
“Y-yes, yes!”
She pulled her hands away and nodded so hard it was almost audible.
“Then, since I’m bored, why don’t we make a midnight escape?”
“W-what?”
Her enthusiastic nodding stopped dead.
“You’re dressed for going out, your bag’s already packed…”
He picked up her bag from where it lay on the floor.
“You’re so taken with my handsome face you’d follow me to hell, so it wouldn’t be strange if we ran away together…”
“W-well, sure, but—kyaa!!”
Mikrok scooped her up in his arms, making her scream.
“William.”
“Yes, Your Highness?”
“When dawn comes, tell the Marquis of Uzkal that the King of Pritan and his daughter eloped overnight.”
“But the sun will rise in a bit—why now…?”
Mikrok’s antics left William momentarily speechless. What must the marquis think of the Pritan King—and of him?
“You figure out the excuse. Say I couldn’t wait.”
And with that, Mikrok leapt out the second-story window with Lea in his arms.
Once clear of the marquis’ estate, his horse had been running nonstop for five hours without showing a hint of fatigue.
I’d learned swordsmanship and riding from Sir Pallett, so I wasn’t afraid of horses. But this—this speed was terrifying.
What on earth did this beast eat? Did the blood demon get his mount straight from hell?
The scenery was whipping past so fast I felt dizzy.
Strangely, despite the incredible pace, I felt surprisingly stable in Mikrok’s arms.
His solid chest supported my back, making it more comfortable than riding in a carriage.
I wondered what expression he had right now, but didn’t dare turn my head to look.
Keeping my eyes forward, I suddenly recalled the last sight I’d had of Millie.
“My lady! Lea—mmph!”
When Mikrok had jumped out the window with me, Millie had rushed to the window in alarm, only to be restrained by the knight William.
She’s not hurt, right?
I sighed. The stiffness in my back drained away and I slumped forward slightly.
At once, the horse that had been charging straight ahead began to slow. The rush of scenery eased into something I could actually see.
Once we’d come to a complete stop, he caught my chin and sharply turned my face toward him. His eyes were as cold as a winter lake.
“What’s that sigh for? Is it because the one riding with you isn’t that brat?”
