Chapter 5
But the man ignored her threats and calmly bent down. Then, with effortless ease, he lifted her body.
“P-Put me down…!”
She clawed at the man’s arms and thrashed, but the thick arms that held her in one embrace were as solid as iron—no matter how much she hit, pushed, or scratched, she couldn’t break free. The more she struggled, the more those arms tightened around her with overwhelming strength until, exhausted, Diana finally gave up her resistance and went limp.
The man carried her outside, this girl who was panting and squirming like a young beast. The outdoor air rushing against her skin raised goosebumps all over.
Amid the flames rising everywhere and the acrid smell of blood, Diana’s eyes fluttered shut.
* * *
The place the man arrived at after riding with her on horseback was an estate in the capital, not far from the palace. As he dismounted, the butler and other servants of the mansion approached.
“Your Grace, this woman is…”
At the butler’s question, the man glanced at Diana, who had become quiet at some point. After causing such a ruckus, she must have tired herself out—she was now nodding off drowsily.
“She’s the daughter of Axion and Anais.”
“……!”
Shock swept across the butler’s face at the woman’s unexpected identity.
“Th-Then this person is the P-Princess…!”
“We should get her bathed first.”
Without further explanation, the man handed her over to the servants and went upstairs to his room. He was exhausted. Many things had happened in one day. The stench of blood and burning filled the air. But he had no time to change clothes. Though he’d stopped briefly at the estate to smuggle the princess out of the palace, he needed to return to the palace again.
After quickly washing his hands and splashing cold water on his face, he asked the butler as he prepared to return to the palace.
“The princess?”
“Well, you see…”
The butler reported with a troubled expression.
“She’s refusing to bathe. She smashed the glass bottles in the bathroom and is threatening people with the sharp pieces—several servants have even been cut…”
“……?”
The man frowned slightly, unable to comprehend this for a moment. So right now, the servants of the ducal estate were in a tizzy because they couldn’t handle one small, scrawny woman?
“Sh-She’s stronger than expected.”
At the hastily added remark, the man recalled how the woman hadn’t been docile in the slightest even when he’d pulled her from the burning tower. Despite her delicate frame, like a fragile young beast, the strength with which she’d resisted him had indeed been remarkable.
“I’ll go.”
Suppressing his irritation, he headed to the bathroom downstairs. A sharp voice rang out all the way to the outside. Following that came the sound of something breaking, people screaming, and someone sobbing. What on earth was happening in there?
“Tell everyone to stand back.”
After standing before the door for a moment, the man gave a curt order as he rolled up his shirtsleeves. When the butler went inside and relayed the man’s words, the servants inside fled with relieved faces. Soon, a brief silence descended.
The moment he stepped into the bathroom, his nose wrinkled at the overwhelming fragrance that hit him. His gaze dropped to see shattered glass bottles scattered across the floor. The smell of perfumed oil spilling from the bottles was sharp enough to make his nose sting.
Still wearing those tattered rags, the princess was huddled in the bathtub filled with water up to her ankles, trembling violently. The thin fabric, soaked through, clung to her body, revealing every curve. Apparently she’d refused to remove those clothes. The man was looking down at her with narrowed eyes when—
Suddenly sensing the man’s presence, Diana whipped her head up with feral eyes and swung the sharp glass shard in her hand at the approaching man.
Splash— Sploosh!
But her attack was immediately blocked along with the sound of water and the heavy weight crushing down on her body. The glass shard, snatched away in an instant, went flying far away by the man’s hand. Having lost her only weapon to protect herself, she thrashed her captured limbs with all her might in the shallowly rippling water and screamed.
“L-Let go…!”
Water splashed everywhere with her resistance. The man, who had been restraining her by pinning down her arms and legs, frowned as he looked at his now-soaked clothes. He hadn’t had time to change, but it seemed he’d have to change after all.
“…This is quite troublesome.”
At the muttering of the man who’d been silent all along, Diana froze and looked up at him.
“If you keep causing trouble like this,”
The man leaned toward Diana and threatened coldly.
“I’ll lock you back in the tower.”
In the suddenly shortened distance, she caught the acrid smell of blood and burning from the man. Hic—startled, Diana unconsciously went rigid. It was the same smell she’d breathed in the tower just hours ago.
‘He’ll lock me back in that place?’
Her green eyes trembled finely.
Discussion
0 CommentsNo comments yet.