#48.
—KWAANG!
A deafening roar shook the surroundings. Strangely enough, there wasn’t any pain at all.
That was when Roni opened her eyes in confusion—only to find a familiar head of silver hair blocking her sight.
It was Allen.
‘What… how are you here?’
Roni was struck dumb by Allen’s sudden appearance. His silver hair whipped in the wind as he radiated murderous intent. The monster that had been about to rip her apart had already been kicked far away.
The beast was clearly no longer able to fight, but Allen did not stop his attack. He drove his sword straight into its head.
At once, the monster froze solid and shattered into pieces. The fragments scattered like falling snow, so eerily beautiful that even the surrounding knights let out faint exclamations of awe.
“A… Allen.”
Roni, barely managing to come to her senses, called out to him. Allen, still breathing heavily, turned his gaze to her and hurried over—his face full of alarm.
‘Ah.’
Only then did Roni realize that her body was swaying. The tension had left her, and with it all her strength. At just the right moment, Allen caught her and pulled her into his arms.
She had truly thought she was going to die. Even though her body was still trembling, the sound of Allen’s heartbeat against her ear calmed her. More than the relief of being alive, it filled her with joy that he had come running to her, his heart pounding as if it might burst.
“Roni, are you alright?”
Allen’s eyes searched her up and down, brimming with worry. The sweat on his brow showed just how frantically he had rushed here.
And yet he had once claimed he didn’t care if she came to this place or not. Clearly, he had been keeping track of her all along. Otherwise, how could he have arrived even before a rescue call was sent?
Seeing Allen fretting over her, Roni trembled, her lips quivering as she smiled. She had nearly died, and yet this moment made her feel so happy.
Happy. She laughed at herself—she must be utterly crazy.
She was so grateful he had come. So overwhelmed by the sound of him gently calling her name after so long that tears welled up and spilled down her cheeks. Allen’s expression froze instantly at the sight.
Even as fat tears dripped down, Roni giggled foolishly. Laughter kept escaping her lips without reason.
Was she laughing or crying?
Allen, baffled, said, “You’re… laughing?”
“It’s just… I’m so happy you called my name. You’re speaking to me informally, too.”
Even as she shivered, she smiled like an idiot. Allen brought his hand to her face, pity in his eyes, and as if wiping away her tears, caressed her cheek gently.
The warmth of his touch felt so good that she stayed still—then suddenly realized she shouldn’t be doing this. She ought to push his hand away. But her own hands trembled too much to move.
His touch made her feel safe. Foolishly, she thought she wanted to stay by his side like this forever.
“In a moment like this, all you can think about is that I dropped formal speech? You really are…”
Allen’s expression turned conflicted, almost regretful of the distance he had kept from her all this time. Roni, finding even that troubled look endearing, smiled brightly. She was definitely losing her mind.
“Young Lady, are you alright?!”
Just then, Jack, who had gone to call for help, came running back. If anything, it was him she should be asking that—his arm was bleeding, clearly injured by the monster.
By comparison, Roni had only a few singed patches on her clothes. When she reached out in concern to touch Jack’s arm, Allen stepped between them, his voice cold.
“This is the royal family’s idea of protection?”
“…I have no excuse. We never expected the barrier spell to break.”
“Who cast that spell?”
Allen’s voice was sharp, demanding names. It was the voice of someone ready to kill the moment he found out.
“Our mage did. It shouldn’t have broken so easily—we were caught off guard and reacted too slowly… Truly, even with ten mouths I wouldn’t know what to say. I’m sorry, my Lady.”
Jack clutched his injured arm as he explained, but Allen only scowled darker, clearly not satisfied.
“Caught off guard, you say? The Lady nearly died. Do you understand?”
His eyes blazed with murderous rage as he glared at Jack.
Ah, those eyes. Roni remembered them. It was the same look he’d had in the comic when he discovered Harry had hurt Vienna, right before he nearly beat him to death.
‘No, no, your target’s wrong this time!’
Sensing the dangerous chill in the air, Roni realized she had to defuse this before Allen beat Jack—or the mage—to a pulp. With her trembling body, she stepped between them and raised a shaking hand to stop him.
“It was just a rare high-class monster. We just happened to encounter an experienced one, that’s all.”
“You almost died. The barrier shattered—you saw it yourself.”
“But you came in time. That’s enough for me.”
Her words made Allen sigh deeply as he looked up at the sky, clearly trying to calm his temper. He still seemed unsatisfied, but since she insisted she was fine, he restrained himself—for now. Though Roni feared he might act behind her back later.
Sensing that, she quickly said, “Don’t even think about doing anything rash.”
“I won’t.”
Allen’s reply was curt, annoyed, but obedient. Different from the original story, where he never listened. Here, even when displeased, he accepted her words.
“See? My Allen is kind.”
“Only in words?”
As Roni beamed happily, Allen gave her a strange look and tilted his head toward her. When she just blinked at him, he calmly guided her hand to his head. So naturally that she missed her chance to stop him.
‘Wait… does he want me to pat him?’
Dazed, Roni stroked his soft hair. With so many people watching, her face burned.
‘Why is he acting so cute?’
Her heart pounded wildly, even harder than when the monster had appeared.
She had just begun to feel relieved that he probably wouldn’t cause trouble—when someone’s words threatened to make everything spiral further out of control.
“No, this must be properly investigated. We can’t just let it go.”
“Greetings to His Highness the Crown Prince.”
Why are you here now?!
Roni nearly fainted when she saw Freddy appear, looking smug as if he were everyone’s savior, determined to set things right. No doubt he was just trying to score points with Allen.
At the Crown Prince’s arrival, the knights and Jack immediately dropped to one knee in respect. Roni, still trembling, pulled away from Allen and bowed as well, Allen following after her.
Freddy clicked his tongue at the sight of her shaking and waved a hand. Instantly, without a sound, a knight appeared before him.
“Aaron, bring me the mage who cast that barrier, at once.”
“As you command.”
The man called Aaron vanished and reappeared moments later, dragging along a bewildered mage—who looked like he’d been brushing his teeth and had swallowed his toothpaste in shock.
He hadn’t even been allowed to rinse his mouth. Roni could only stare at Freddy, who was driving things forward at breakneck speed.
Freddy caught her gaze and winked slightly, as if to say ‘Leave it all to me.’
‘What’s with that attitude? When did I ever give him reason to think I’d welcome his help?’
The unexpected friendliness made her shiver. At her side, Allen looked equally displeased with Freddy, though for very different reasons.
Now, the scene held the victim (Roni), the destroyed culprit (the monster), and the accused (the mage whose spell had failed). Though strictly speaking, there was no culprit—the monster had already been obliterated by Allen.
The situation was spiraling further out of her control. Cold sweat trickled down her back.
What should she do?
Exhausted, Roni simply leaned against Allen’s shoulder. She was too tired to care anymore.
Roni, needing complete rest, returned to her quarters with Sophie. The maid, relieved she was safe, couldn’t resist prying into the details between her and Allen.
“He’s your fiancé, isn’t he?”
“…Yes.”
“No wonder! The way you two looked at each other, the heat in your eyes—!”
“We did?”
Roni looked utterly blank. Apparently, to others, they’d seemed like a deeply affectionate pair. Sophie, recalling the scene, grew excited.
“He appeared out of nowhere, then just kicked that enormous monster like it was nothing! So fast and precise, I couldn’t even see it properly!”
Her expression turned dreamy at the memory. Then, inspired, she dashed off, declaring she’d just thought of what to paint.
Left alone, Roni went straight to her room, bathed, and collapsed onto her bed. Her whole body was still languid from tension and the warmth of the water. Her eyelids drifted shut.
She didn’t know how long she slept before she opened her eyes again—only to find the knight called Aaron standing there, looking awkward.
Blinking sleepily at him, she heard him speak—
