âAnd so, are you saying that you two just happened to meet on the street?â
Valer, looking at us, asked . Ahin had a stiff expression on his face while I turned away from Valerâs gaze .
âIn this spacious Lorlang! In a vast country! In the bloody vast Northern Continent!â
Fine, okay, man, stop trying to confirm it . Even if I didnât show it, I was feeling quite upset .
As he watched me turn away, Valer smiled and sighed . The others were surprised as to why he was acting like that but knew why . He was holding in his laughter . I had seen him doing that once or twice .
I held myself back, but eventually, Valer did what he did best, irritating me .
âAh, How crazy this is! Itâs amazing! I need to laugh . Wait, Iâll be done! Oh, wow, are there any other humans with such rotten luck?â
Now he was just laughing out loud . Although I kept on glaring at him, he just didnât care . I was annoyed seeing Valer laugh while stomping the floor .
Ah, what a bastard, why would he laugh like this!? What the hell was so funny!
As I screamed, whether he was laughing or crying, Valer wiped away the tears from his eyes .
âYou really have no luck . On such a broad market, no, right at the beginning of your visit in a large country of S⊠pfft!â
âYou must have a death wish, huh?â
âNot at all; I still want to live . â
The knight of the Winter Moon, a knight of the nation, laughed like a maniac before a princess .
It was stupid for me to expect Valer to act dignified, ah . After all, he always did what he wanted to; once he was done laughing, he sat down . I really wanted to punch him to a pulp . Uh, if Ahin werenât there, I surely would have done that .
âHyung, it has been so long!â
âRight, long time no see!â
Ahin nodded and greeted Valer back . No, even if they were cousins, I was shocked to see Valer addressing Ahin, a countryâs heir, casually .
Valer was outright embarrassing me and my country!
I looked back at Assisi to do something, but Assisi just bowed his head .
âAssisi, your nephew is doing shameful things . Huh? Assisi, canât you take some responsibility for his actions? Hello?â
âBut, hyung, you are supposed to be in your Palace; why are you here?â
When he was done smiling, Valer shot the question .
I was also curious about it; I was trying to be considerate, but Valer just asked . I could totally see the priests and paladins behind Ahin turn red, but I ignored them .
I wanted to tell them that I didnât know Valer .
âAfter completing a pilgrimage tour once a year, he is returning to the Imperial Palace . â
An elderly priest, standing behind Ahin answered .
Based on how he responded, I guessed that the priest must have been an archbishop .
Why did I leave Sanse and bring Valer with me? I got him to tag along with me because I knew his tongue would slip in front of my dad; maybe I should have left him . Man, Valer was such a bastard .
Valer, who heard the explanation, laughed again .
âAhh, in a word, my brother, who had nothing to see in the Imperial Palace, left for a pilgrimage and looked around Lorlang before meeting us?â
This bastard⊠heâs reallyâŠ!
I allowed him to do whatever he wanted before, but not this time .
I immediately stepped on Valer .
I wasnât wearing high heels, which was unfortunate, but since I pressed my heel on him, it must have hurt . While Valer was grabbing his foot and whining, I smiled at Ahin .
âIt has been very long . I apologize for not being able to greet you properly before, hehe . â
âIt is fine . I didnât greet you either . It has been a while, princess . â
A familiar gentle smile, the first time I met Ahin, I must have been around ten years old . Ahin hadnât changed since then . Oh, right, there were a few things new with him; he grew taller, more masculine . What was it? He still seemed as warm as ever .
If it werenât for his eye color, I wouldnât recognize him . The one thing constant about him was his eye color and the warm feeling he gave me .
His wavy grey hair, which covered his ears, was bright and even looked like silver . His blue eyes, which held mine, were crazy . Still, he was fascinatingly beautiful to look at; it really felt nice to see him there .
His hands were slimmer, but he felt a little different from Havel .
If Havel is a warrior, Ahin is⊠noble-like .
Right, it felt like that . Ahin grew up well . When I took a closer look at him, it felt very much like the atmosphere we had when we were kids .
Back then, I used to be shocked, seeing Ahin all calm, but it felt different now . Well, it felt nice . Something familiar, but I wasnât sure what it was .
As I stared at him, Ahin smiled .
âIf I knew you were here, I would have come over right away . â
âHuh, this is a bit extreme . â
âNo! it is fine! Really fine!â
Ahinâs expression changed after hearing me say that .
A blunt question . Seeing that face, unknowingly, I started to curse myself .
Well, I said it out of good intentions, but I made it sound like I was rejecting him .
I felt horrible after seeing his expression change . I had never refused someoneâs face, at least not like this; I really didnât mean itâŠ
âWeâll meet up later, later . â
Such a sweet smile, seeing that smile, I swallowed my bitter tears . How could this person be so pretty? Such beauty was unneeded .
He smiled . It looked like he would be beautiful even if he cried; suddenly, I heard a sharp voice from my side .
âYou are quite idle for a country waiting for its next successor . Do you still have time left on your hands?â
The voice belonged to Havel . How long had he been standing there? I didnât know why, but I began to think about what would happen . Ahin seemed to be a lot sharper than I thought .
âThe Emperor of Pretzia?â
How did he know? I was shocked . Havel smiled .
âAnd your reason for coming to that conclusion?â
Both were smiling, but I felt weird like some tension was building up between us . How did it come to this?
âI could just feel an energy, a different one, which didnât fit with the Northern Continent . You arenât suitable for this land . â
âWhat is that supposed to mean?â
âTake what I said literally . â
I didnât know how to solve it . Havel seemed grim while Ahin smiled .
No, could everyone just calm down?
What was all this? I was in the middle of them, and I knew this wouldnât go down quickly .
I looked at Assisi to ask for help but it didnât seem like he wanted to interfere .
No, Assisi knew that this would start a war!
âBrother, arenât you supposed to be leaving soon?â
Valer, I didnât know what I would do if he werenât there; he pointed into the dark and spoke . I was thrilled that Valer said it, for he didnât care what anyone would think .
Even this guy could help me in life .
Fortunately, the tension between the two subsided, but on the one hand, it was shocking to see Valerâs insensitivity to others .
Fortunately, the problem was down; at least, that was what I thought .
âAre you here with Your Majesty?â
There it was . Why was I here? Even I wanted to know that .
I was wondering why he hadnât asked me . I tried to turn away my gaze .
I couldnât say that I was rebelling against my dad . I didnât know what to say; I couldnât think of a proper answer .
Ah, I should have thought of something!
I had nothing to say if he asked for my sudden rebellion . Ah, I was feeling bad .
All that time, Ahinâs gaze was still on me . I smiled because I could feel myself losing confidence .
âUh⊠well . I was just wandering around, and you found me, and so . â
For some reason, I couldnât think of anything to say, not about the trip . Maybe it was my expression . Ahin frowned .
I couldnât see if he doubted me or not; maybe he just didnât understand what I was saying .
Well . Even I didnât understand what I said . I looked away from Ahinâs eyes and asked Valer to explain it to me, who said .
I was shocked to hear what Valer said out loud .
Even if they were cousins, he couldnât say my secret out loud!
However, Valer didnât seem to find it troubling; he just casually answered .
âMy dear Ria, no, my princess left Agrient; she ran away . â
They looked at me, and I realized how people could die from shyness .
Ahin looked at me, asking me to confirm what he just heard . I placed my hands on my face and turned away .
I mediately looked at Valer with resentment; he seemed so confident despite what he did . He was done! My status and prestige as a princess were in ruins!
Ahin was shocked and in horror at the news but managed to regain his composure quicker than expected .
He knew how horrible my decision was . I couldnât even get myself to look into his eyes when Ahin looked at me .
âThen, you wonât be able to stay . â
If I moved with Ahin, my dad would catch me . The chance of getting caught might be huge if I proceeded with Ahin . My ears were turning red .
Why was my cheek hurting?
How long did Ahin intend to look at me?
âItâs getting dark; I will head back . â
âI will return tomorrow . â
For some reason, I felt like my mom just scolded me . I couldnât say anything, nor could I think of responding rashly to him .
Ahin smiled as he walked away; I had no idea why he did so .
What? Why was he laughing?
That was when Ahin spoke .
âPrincess hasnât changed much from childhood . â
What was that supposed to mean? Before I could ask, Ahin walked away .
âThen, letâs meet tomorrow . â
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