Chapter 69
The prince, clearly displeased at having his secret exposed, stood up and rummaged through his things. He took out some Deli herb, put it on a small dish, and prepared to light it.
“You’d better stay quiet.”
‘He’s going to put me to sleep again!’
If I fell asleep this time I was certain I’d be bound and carried off somewhere. Where would I wake up then? Would there be shackles on my feet? I hadn’t expected Magnum to stab me in the back to protect his own interests.
Despair made my eyes sting with tears. Reflexively I tried to wipe them away, and the rope that had been tightly binding me slipped free.
‘Huh?’
I checked the knot on the other rope and it was different from a normal knot. At first it looked so secure it seemed impossible to undo, but when I slowly moved my arm it came loose on its own.
‘Did Sir Magnum tie it like this on purpose?’
I didn’t know what trick he’d used, but without the prince noticing I freed the ropes that bound my arms and thought quickly.
‘Even if I get out and run, I can’t outrun a man. I’d get caught for sure. Then the only things I can use are these two ropes… right, I’ll tie them!’
I pretended to lie still while watching him light the Deli herb. When smoke began curling up from the dish I sat up decisively.
‘Now!’
I sprang up and rammed my body into the prince’s back with all my strength, knocking him to the floor.
Clatter—
“Ugh!”
He collapsed to the floor with the impact, and I quickly straddled his back and bound his arms behind him. When Magnum tied my arms behind me earlier, I’d been completely helpless.
“What is this! Really!!!”
Even though I was on his back, I couldn’t fully match his strength. He twisted himself and struggled fiercely; I stayed on top of his stomach and used the remaining rope to tie his thighs.
I had wanted to tie his ankles, but my hands didn’t reach and he resisted so strongly this was the best I could do.
“You think I’ll just let you go! Untie me this instant!”
“You said you wouldn’t let me go! As if I’m crazy enough to untie you?”
I knew the bindings I’d applied wouldn’t hold for long. Still, I wanted to buy as much time as possible — until the Deli herb put him to sleep!
The room filled with the rosescented smoke of the Deli herb. I tried not to breathe it in; the prince beneath me seemed to be holding his breath as well. To force him to open his mouth I bit somewhere on his forearm.
“Argh!! Are you insane? Why are you biting me?”
He gasped and struggled violently; the more he did, the harder I bit.
Slowly I felt his movements slacken as the herb took effect. I released my bite and lifted my head to check whether he was truly asleep.
‘Ah, his eyes are drooping…’
But I must have inhaled too much of the herb too, because my head swam and my eyelids grew heavy. That was the best I could do.
My eyes opened slowly. Expecting to still be in that shabby inn, I looked around in a hurry — the first person I saw looking down at me was Hassel.
“Are you coming to?”
“Where am I…?”
“You’re in Miss Shanael’s bedchamber.”
So I was safe — they’d captured the prince? Hassel must have noticed my thoughts, because he briefly explained the situation when he saw me awake.
According to Hassel, when they stormed the place they found me asleep on top of the bound Prince Felix, using him as a pillow.
The crown prince was speechless for a long moment upon seeing that, then realized belatedly that the Deli herb had knocked us both out. He’d carried me back to the palace in his arms, and was now personally interrogating the prince in the dungeon.
“I was just as surprised,” Hassel said. “I was amazed at how you’d tied the prince’s hands and feet.”
“I simply collapsed into him and knocked him over with my body. The way I’d been bound was sloppy, so I probably could’ve gotten out eventually, but the Deli herb sapped our strength at just the right time.”
“Indeed. It could have been a disaster. Oh! And the account of your arrest will be modified from the reality.”
“In what way?”
“The bound person won’t be the prince in the official report, but you, Miss Shanael. You will be brought to trial on charges of abduction, unlawful confinement, and smuggling prohibited items — against Prince Felix. We have Sir Magnum’s testimony that he instructed the abduction. We did not expect you to participate actively in the operation.”
“I—”
When I had asked how to make sure the prince would be punished, Magnum had said this to me.
“But Miss Shanael, I need your help.”
Not realizing he was literally telling me to become a hostage, I was carried to the prince like a sack and delivered to him. I felt betrayed since there had been no proper explanation, and I was angry, but in the end I didn’t complain because we caught the prince.
Still, inside me trust for Magnum had cracked.
“So that’s what happened. Fortunately, we were able to arrest the prince.”
Hassel tried to calm me, saying I ought to rest a little more, when suddenly the bedroom door flew open.
“Your Highness.”
Hassel, who had been sitting in a chair beside the bed, immediately rose to greet the crown prince.
I straightened my clothes and sat up as the crown prince strode in and collapsed into the chair by the bed with a stormy look, staring at me in silence.
I couldn’t bear to meet his gaze and kept looking down, when a long sigh escaped him.
“Sigh… really, I don’t know what to do with you — you have no sense of fear of men at all.”
The crown prince pressed a hand to his forehead and breathed sharply. Hassel, sensing the seriousness of the moment, quietly slipped out of the room.
‘I wish he would stay with me for a bit,’ I thought.
Jereon swallowed his anger, composed himself, and fixed his eyes on me.
“Shanael.”
“Yes?”
“Do you understand what you did wrong? Did you follow him all the way there? At night?”
“I know it was wrong… but in the end we captured the prince.”
“Why did I want to arrest the prince? Do you think it was just because of illegal herbs? It’s because you were in danger. And you went and volunteered to be a hostage — do you think I can stay calm about that?”
“There was no other option. If we’d let him run, he would have denied everything forever.”
“What if—just suppose—you couldn’t have tied him up properly? What would have happened to you? How can you know what he might have done?”
It was the first time Jereon had scolded me like that. It felt less like a stern parental reprimand and more like an older brother scolding a younger sister, and I shrank a little; my voice faltered.
“Don’t be so angry. I’m safe, isn’t that enough?”
“Was that how you planned to be taken hostage? That wasn’t your idea, was it?”
“……”
“Magnum suggested it, didn’t he?”
“Though he did suggest it, he deliberately tied the ropes loosely so I could get out by myself—”
Jereon stopped listening, rose from his seat, and ordered Hassel, who was waiting outside the room.
“Bring Sir Magnum here at once.”
Having said that, he walked to the window to calm himself. I watched him open it and take a deep breath.
I thought he might scold me again when he glanced my way now and then, but instead he kept looking out the window.
After a while there was a knock on the door, and Magnum entered.
“Your Highness, you called?”
The crown prince turned his attention from the window and approached Magnum with measured steps.
Swish—
In the next instant he drew the sword at his waist and shoved the blade to Magnum’s throat without hesitation. It happened so fast I froze on the bed.
“Kneel.”
At the prince’s command Magnum immediately dropped to one knee and bowed his head. Even though his opponent had submitted, Jereon kept the tip of his sword pressed at Magnum’s neck.
“Your Highness, what is the meaning of this?”
“What meaning? Are you really asking because you don’t know?”
“Are you angry because Miss Shanael was disguised as the bound one?”
The moment Magnum finished speaking, Jereon readjusted his grip and pressed the blade deeper into Magnum’s nape. Magnum, who felt the threat, tilted his chin up and looked at Jereon, visibly tense.
From my angle it looked like he was about to be beheaded; I was so startled I squeezed my eyes shut, because a thin line of blood had already appeared along Magnum’s pale nape.
It was clear Jereon wasn’t merely trying to intimidate him. In the taut silence, Jereon restrained his anger and spoke.
“You knew I cared for Shanael, and you still did it.”
“I have no excuse. But I did it to raise Your Highness’s prestige—”
“No.”
“……”
“You intended to use Shanael as a stepping stone to gain your advantage, as before. You promised Prince Felix that if he cooperated, you would accept him into the Skyward Knights — my own guard unit — so you didn’t hesitate about the means.”
“My only intention was to achieve my goal. If we’d captured Prince Felix even one day earlier, Miss Shanael would have been safe sooner, would she not?”
“What you say is contradictory. If you want to protect the lamb from wolves, the sheepdog must risk his life. But you, who use the lamb as bait and then report to the owner like a snitch—”
“……”
“I don’t want to raise that kind of dog. So don’t even dream of joining the Skyward Knights.”
