The most dangerous and uncertain part of my plan was, âCan I get out of the palace safely?â It was challenging to get into the palaceâs center, where the security was recently tripled, which made it even hard to escape .
It seemed impossible to run away from home! If I got caught in the middle, it would look like I was just rebelling .
Not wishing to look like that, I found it hard to pull out any profitable operation, but fortunately, Havelâs help solved the most tricky part .
âTake in the new air!â
Valer looked at me with sad eyes and clicked his tongue . I just laughed and stomped on his feet .
Well, back to the main point⌠itâs the first time I ever got to breathe in the air outside the palace . Although it was just a bare whip of air because of Pretziaâs procession, it was enough to get me riled up . When would I ever feel such air again?
Oh, right . That wasnât the time to be dilly-dallying .
âLetâs run away quickly!â
With Valer on my left side and Assisi on my right, I safely managed to come out of the Imperial Palace, but I still wasnât feeling at ease .
I had no idea when my dad would catch me!
I had to get out of the capital, Girgento, and quickly reach the pre-established escape route . I had to get out as soon as possible .
This was the first time I felt my heart longing for something, and yet, my heart ached for Assisi, who accompanied me .
Unlike his usual stiff expression, Assisi didnât seem like he had slept the night before . Even Valer seemed to notice the difference in Assisi .
âAssisi, what is it? Something bothering you?â
With a stern expression taking over his face, Assisi looked at me and asked .
âI am curious as to why that person is here . â
âYeah . Iâm curious, too; why?â, I asked .
Why was the Emperor of Pretzia heading over to us?
Instead of the glamourous clothes he wore during the departure, Havel, who was standing in front of me was in a simple travel outfit .
I looked over at Havel, who put up a troubled expression .
âYou managed to get out of the Imperial Palace because of me, so why am I getting such a harsh treatment? So, you ask for help and never consider them again?â
âNo, but why are you here, infamous Emperor of Pretzia . â
I really didnât think he would be here .
I knew the envoys of Pretzia headed to the south past the castle .
He didnât come with them! Oh, no .
I shuddered at the thought .
No, ehh, he wouldnât do that . No, what kind of a crazy emperor would do that? He wouldnât .
While I was trying to deny my rampant imagination, Havel smiled .
âI am following you . â
⌠oh god, now I have someone else blocking my path .
âI am not going on a trip . â
âHuh? You said it was a trip . â
I forgot that I had manipulated Valer into helping me . And it seemed like he was the spy .
I hit Valerâs stomach with my elbow and looked over at Assisi, asking him to handle Valer while looking at Havel .
Maybe he was angry, or perhaps heâs smiling inside? Whatever he was feeling, Havel had a subtle expression on his face . A few of the Emperorâs direct guards stood behind him with strange expressions on their faces .
âI-itâs not like that . â
âThen, weâll head over to my palace and talk, okay? I am taking you there . â
That man was such a sly bastard!
At the visible resentment in my gaze, Havel smiled .
I was in an uncompromising position . Honestly, I didnât like it, and I wanted to flee, but what if Havel returned to my dad and helped Caitel in catching me?
It was obvious what he would do .
In the end, I had to go with the man before meâŚ
As I found it hard to answer, Assisi, who stood beside me, stepped forward .
âPlease stay behind me . â
Since I was used to having Assisi stay quiet behind me, his sudden words and actions surprised me .
Was he really the Assisi I know?
His eyes were stern with no intentions of backing out, which only made Havel frown .
âI think the leader of the group is Ria, right? Why is a mere subject, an escort knight, intervening?â
âAs an escort knight, I am in charge of Miss Riaâs safety, and I judge your presence here as an absolute threat . â
âA threat? How could I be threatening?â
ââEverything . Your very existence here is dangerous for me . â
Their harsh words chilled the atmosphere . Of course, I could see why Havel was a threat, but it looked like both of them were willing to go in for a fight . I could see Havelâs knights readying to strike .
I hated taking Havelâs side, but I didnât want to see Assisi get hurt as well .
Thus, I had to restrain Assisi .
âStop it, both of you! If you are going to extend this fight, I wonât think twice before throwing you both away!â
They retreated immediately .
Still, they listened to me, although I didnât say anything worth retreating from .
âLook around us; everything is refreshing and magnificent, and you chose to defile that with your petty fights?â
âRight . We should leave the capital first . â
Valer intervened, impatient to leave soon . I felt so touched when he said it .
âYes, thatâs right, my Valer . Get a grip on yourselves, you two . â
âThis oppa is very cool, right?â
âIt would have been better if you didnât say that . â
Talking with Valer, I looked over at Assisi who was still staring at Havel .
I had never seen Assisi hate someone or glare at them; that moment shocked me .
Why did Assisi hate Havel this much? Well, at the moment, I didnât know why .
That was when Assisi spoke .
âShould I cut him down?â
That was absurd . Assisi was trying to kill people without a reason .
Rather, seeing his firm expression, I knew he would get the task done once I gave the orders . This said a lot about him, but I doubted that both Assisi and my dad had the same wiring in their brains .
Some reason, it looked like Assisi was going to be more problematic to deal with than Valer . Perhaps it was just my imagination, though .
I left Valerâs side and turned to Havel .
âDid you help me escape?â
âYou just noticed it now? You donât seem to be as smart as I thought . â
Honestly, I thought he would ask for something in return, but I never thought he would want to flee with me .
Ugh, I didnât know anymore . What could I do? Everything had been prepared beforehand .
Havel knew well that I had no place to retreat to .
âI donât care whether you follow me or not, but if you bother me, Iâll throw you away!â
I would really throw him away .
Havel smiled at my words, a bright smile which only made me feel worse . Ha, I wanted to abandon him already .
I knew Assisi hated it, but I was surprised to see Valer disliking it as well . Havel grabbed my hand .
Havel smiled . I really hoped he wouldnât ask for something strange .
âJust call me Havel . â
Wasnât his âEmperorâ title supposed to be placed before his name? He really wanted me to call him by his name?
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