Chapter 4
He’d called me a high-nosed orphan with nowhere to go just a month ago, the last time I saw him. And Clovis is twenty-five years old this year. A man of his standing, poised to become an absolute monarch, should have at least three children by now. I have no idea what stubborn streak keeps him single and without even a fiancée, but one thing’s for sure, twenty-five is hardly an age of youthful indiscretion. ‘Well, I already knew that pretty face hid a rotten personality,’ I thought. ‘The real problem is…’
“Your Highness, shouldn’t you be in the hall now that the festivities have begun? What brings you to this secluded corner… Oh, are you perhaps lost?”
My room is in the most remote part of the temple. It’s not a place where outside guests would typically venture unless they were deliberately seeking it out, although it’s not entirely impossible to stumble upon it while looking for a quiet path.
“Do you think I’m an idiot? Unable to find my way?”
“Then you came looking for my room on purpose? Why?”
“Look, why would I deliberately seek you…!”
He’d just declared he wasn’t lost, and now he’s claiming he wasn’t looking for me? His contradictory ramblings were beyond absurd. As I stared, Clovis’s ears flushed crimson, as if realizing his own inconsistency.
“D*mn it, why do I always… with you…”
He turned his head, muttering something under his breath that sounded like a groan. ‘What’s he saying?’ I furrowed my brow, straining to hear, when he suddenly turned back.
“Anyway! Where are you going?”
“I… Nowhere… Ah!”
A scream escaped my lips as I tried to answer his sharp questioning. Clovis had roughly grabbed both my arms.
“I won’t give you to them.”
‘Give me to who? Had I ever asked him for anything?’
“Absolutely not.”
Grinding his teeth, Clovis abruptly started dragging me away.
“Your Highness? Where are we… Ah! That hurts, Your Highness. Wait!”
‘Wait! Just wait! I need to escape!’
‘Whether they’ve drunk monster blood or are just exhausted, something’s off about them. If I don’t leave now, I might not get another chance.’
‘In the original story, my life’s countdown hits zero around midnight tonight. Those three are acting differently now, but they’re definitely not in their right minds. Since I was supposed to be the first to die, I need to get out of here!’
“Your Highness, if there’s somewhere you need me to go, please just tell me! I’ll go on my own, so please let go of my hand!”
Even though he was only holding my wrist, the difference in our height and build made it feel like I was being dragged.
The acolytes’ quarters are located in a secluded annex of the temple. With everyone, including the temple staff and visitors, gathered in the grand hall and temple square, the corridors of the annex were deserted. Meaning, there was no one to help me as I was being hauled away like a criminal by the crown prince. Even if someone saw, they wouldn’t dare interfere with him.
“Your Highness! Wait, just a moment! Your Highness!”
My cries echoed emptily through the deserted hallway. Clovis, who usually treated me like a thorn in his side, seemed to have reached a new peak of hostility today. I dug in my heels and resisted, but I was ultimately dragged along, arms flailing. He pulled me through the annex’s corridors, past a secluded garden path, to where a luxurious carriage stood waiting.
The knights guarding the carriage bowed their heads respectfully at the crown prince’s arrival. The familiar knights flinched when they saw me. But they’d seen Clovis’s disdain for me often enough. They bit their lips and took a step back.
“Don’t wander off. Wait here.”
His rough hand shoved me into the carriage. Despite the soft cushions, the impact left me momentarily stunned.
Clovis yelled at the knights to ensure no one else approached, then stormed off, presumably back to the festivities in the main hall.
‘But why did he throw me in here and trap me? I know he’s always disliked me, but I can’t understand the reason behind his actions right now.’
‘Regardless, I have no reason to stay put just because he told me to.’
I quickly got up to open the carriage door… only to find it locked.
Clank. Clank, clank, clank, clank!
I rattled the handle and even kicked the door, but it wouldn’t budge.
“This… is locked from the outside. It won’t open just by shaking it… Hmm.”
One of the knights standing outside the carriage spoke, his voice filled with apology.
“Oh? Uh… Then, if you could open it…”
“…I apologize.”
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