As Jill fretted over what to do, Hadis furrowed his eyebrows, looking suspicious.
“Why aren’t you answering me…? Do you still feel unwell, perhaps?”
“Uh… Erm… Wh-Why am I here…?” she stammered. “M-My memory’s a little fuzzy.”
“You fainted… I’d better not push you too hard yet. Excuse me.”
“Huh?!”
Jill found herself suddenly plucked up and peremptorily carried over to the bed she had just gotten out of.
“You may not be able to sleep, but you should at least lie down.” Hadis’s movements were full of consideration for her. He carefully lowered her onto the bed. “Or perhaps I should prepare you something light that you can stomach? Oh, and if you’re going to stay awake, then wear these. Otherwise, your feet will probably get cold.”
Hadis grabbed a pair of indoor shoes that had been placed right by the bed and kneeled beside her. Jill watched in awe. When he grabbed her bare foot to put the shoe on for her, she almost screamed.
This man was an emperor. Even if she were a child, this was going too far.
“Y-Your Majesty! You don’t have to do that for me, I can do it myself!”
“You don’t have to be so modest. I take the knee before my wife. Stay still… There. All done.”
Hadis smiled at her from below, looking content, and Jill felt a jolt run through her whole body, like she had been struck by lightning. A smile from a man of such unparalleled beauty was a devastating attack, and Jill’s chest had been pierced. She clutched at it, gritting her teeth.
I-It’s true that a man is more than just his looks, but I must admit, I do like his looks… Everything’s perfect! And it’s not just his face, either. He looks slender, but his posture and his muscles are impeccable. Every part of his body resonates power…! Why is a man like this kneeling for me?!
Jill suddenly came back to her senses. She had proposed to this man, and then… What had happened?
“Um…”
But the sounds of the doors being thrown open interrupted Jill’s question. She heard armor clanging around the room, and then armored soldiers lined up on either side of the double doors. The atmosphere was so imposing that Hadis stood up from where he had been kneeling before her.
“It appears he’s been waiting for you to wake up, too,” he said.
“What…?”
“Jill Cervel! Could you please tell me what this is all about?”
It was Gerald—he stepped into the room without so much as a hello, heading straight towards Jill with a wild gait, perhaps not registering Hadis’s presence at all.
“What were you thinking? Running away without even listening to what I—”
“Prince Gerald, it’s impolite to accost a young child with questions without any warning,” Hadis interrupted from the side.
“My apologies,” Gerald replied coldly. “However, this has nothing to do with the Rave Empire. Your guest room should be elsewhere, in any case. Why are you here?”
“When one’s fiancée collapses, isn’t it natural to get worried and to be by her side?”
“You are not engaged to her. Neither the king nor her parents would approve. Besides, she’s engaged to me—this has already been decided in private.”
Jill looked up, astonished. She never remembered hearing such a thing, but then the faces of her parents popped into her mind’s eye.
I totally forgot about Mom and Dad…
Jill’s easygoing parents lacked any political power. Therefore, despite the Cervel family’s great accomplishments, they were not wealthy. But if Jill and Gerald’s engagement had been decided in private, it would be incredibly difficult for Jill to refuse him. The crown prince would be totally disgraced.
“I don’t want you barging into this kingdom’s business like you know anything about it, just because you’re an emperor,” Gerald said, not hiding the venom in his voice. “You’re interfering in our internal affairs.”
“Interfering in your internal affairs? You’re just upset that she turned you down, aren’t you?” Hadis smiled faintly.
Gerald looked furious. Jill started to feel uneasy in the room’s crackling atmosphere. Gerald was already renowned as a fighter by this time, and he had brought soldiers with him. If anything happened, Hadis would be fighting several people at once, all on his own. Hadis was clearly at a disadvantage, but he looked calm.
“Shouldn’t you be focusing on more important things?” Hadis asked Gerald. “You’re going to become the king of this kingdom one day.”
“I graciously accept your advice. Although I can’t use your skills, cursed emperor, as much of a reference,” Gerald spat back, his tone full of annoyance and disdain.
Hadis’s fearless smile didn’t even twitch. “As long as you understand, that’s fine by me. It’s foolish to oppose an adversary you cannot win against. You and I are not on the same level.”
“Watch it. If you’re going to insult me—”
Hadis’s gold eyes widened suddenly, as if he had just woken up. The atmosphere completely changed. “Back down.”
The gravity in the entire room immediately increased.
Clanging sounds echoed around the room as the soldiers dropped their weapons and fell to their knees, one after the other. They couldn’t get to their feet. Some of them had even lost consciousness—maybe they had fainted.
I-It’s not magic power. It’s just his intimidating presence…!
Hadis’s spiritual energy was overwhelming. Even Jill, who wasn’t facing the pressure head-on, felt her hair stand on end. Fighting back the desire to jump aside, she looked at Hadis’s profile. Gerald was staring at him, still standing, though sweating. Hadis reached out to him.
“I’ll leave you to clean up the mess.” As Hadis tapped Gerald on the shoulder, the younger man fell onto his backside.
“You’re a monster, just like the rumors said…” Gerald said through gritted teeth, but Hadis just smiled calmly. Then the pressure that had prevented Jill from even taking a breath of air suddenly vanished. Jill let out a relieved sigh, and Hadis picked her up.
“I’m sorry for startling you,” he said apologetically. “Let’s change locations.”
Jill nodded, subduing the elation which felt a lot like her heart fluttering.
I knew this guy was strong…!
Catching Jill’s searching gaze, Hadis gave her a broad smile. “You seem fine. I knew my judgment was right.”
“If I couldn’t make it through that, I couldn’t survive on the battlefield—” Jill quickly covered her mouth, remembering that she wasn’t the god of war’s daughter yet, but Hadis didn’t seem to mind as he calmly weaved through the heaps of crumpled soldiers out into the hallway.
“However, it seems unlikely that we’ll be able to talk leisurely here,” Hadis said. “I can’t imagine that Prince Gerald would give up after that… Maybe this was inevitable. I read in a book that love and trouble go hand in hand.”
“L-Love… Wait, a book?”
“You’ll be fine. I won’t let him lay a finger on you,” said the handsome man.
Jill nodded without thinking. But then it suddenly hit her.
…I’m ten years old right now, aren’t I?
And Hadis ought to have been around twenty at this point in time.
How can an adult man with no political motives become engaged to a ten-year-old child, unless he likes little girls…?!
The blood drained from Jill’s head at once, and at the same time, the view in front of her changed completely.
“Your magic power doesn’t seem to be stable, so we’ll travel by boat. I’m glad I brought it, just in case.”
“Huh?! What?!”
Jill quickly looked around. The ceiling, which had been high before, was now low. She saw a bed, a small table, and chairs too. The room they were in was not small, but it wasn’t exactly large, either. There were distinctive small, round windows, and the wooden floor creaked—no, they were swaying.
They had been transported somewhere. Hadis smiled, leaving Jill stunned.
“We’ll be fine. If we fly with magic, we’ll enter the territory of the Rave Empire in a few hours.”
“WHAT?!”
As Jill shouted, the boat began to sail, almost as if it were gliding over the surface of the water, and out of the round window, she could see the port of her homeland growing smaller in no time at all.