Chapter 1 - Part 1
But soon she realized that it was a dream.
The dream was clear.
Ever since Oscar disappeared, she has always thought of him.
After he disappeared in front of her eyes, she missed him. However, she was confused as to whether that thought was the aftereffect of the potion or not.
That’s what she thought.
[Did I really miss Oscar? Or am I dreaming like this?]
[Did I miss you enough to dream of you?]
Lelia blinked her eyes as she stared blankly at Oscar.
She wondered if it was a mixture of a desire to run away and a desire to see Oscar that created this dream.
“….”
When she thought it was a dream, her heart felt at ease.
Lelia took a closer look at Oscar’s face that she’d been wanting to see the whole time.
However, it was a little different from before.
His hair, which had been rather long before, was now neatly cut. However, his pale skin, red eyes, and lips were still the same.
“You look at me in a misleading way again.”
“….”
“I won’t be fooled again, Leo. Cut it out.”
What?
She gradually realized that something was amiss. The feeling of the carriage rattling, and the Oscar in front of her…
Everything was so clear.
“Dream… Isn’t this a dream?”
“It’s terrifying enough to make you want to think it’s a nightmare, but unfortunately it’s reality.”
Oscar replied calmly with a nonchalant expression.
Only then did Lelia realize she wasn’t dreaming.
[But how?]
How is Oscar here?
Two days ago, Lelia heard news about Oscar.
It was news that the emperor of the Hraesvelg Empire, Oscar’s native country, had passed away.
The emperor of Hraesvelg was Oscar’s father.
[That’s why you went back to your home country…]
Because Oscar must inherit the throne.
She thought that’s why he left, maybe it wasn’t because of her…
Why is Oscar here, who needs to be crowned to inherit the throne?
[Wait, but why are you here? Where are we going?]
At her belated thoughts, Lelia immediately stretched her arms out and pulled the curtains on the window of the carriage.
“Umm…?”
A vast meadow spread out in front of her.
No matter how much she looked around, she couldn’t see anything. In other words, it has been a long time since he escaped with her from the Imperial City of Auraria.
It was like a blow to her head.
“Hey, where are we? Where are we going now?”
“The last trip before going to hell?”
Her expression wrinkled at the unfamiliar phrase.
Lelia stared at Oscar as if frustrated.
Thump, thump
But the moment their eyes met, her heart started beating strangely.
[Is the drug still affecting me?]
It can’t… When she realized that it wasn’t a dream, she felt strangely emotional.
She thought she wouldn’t see him again for a very long time. She thought that she might never see him again in her lifetime.
But she met him again so quickly…
She thanked and apologized to Oscar for coming to her again.
Seeing his shortened hair, she wondered if he had already been crowned.
“.…”
When she was a child, she was so filled with pride that she understood what he had been through.
Oscar’s eyebrows twitched as he watched Lelia’s eyes brimming with tears in her eyes.
He said in a coldly biting tone.
“It’s no use crying.”
With his cold voice and tone, Lelia gradually returned to her senses.
It was then that she asked the most important question.
“Why am I here…?”
“Why, Lelia?”
“…Why me?”
[Did Oscar really kidnap me?]
Clearly, the combined sentence pointed to one word, but she didn’t understand it.
It was something she had never thought of.
As if she had become an idiot, she could not think of anything. Seeing Lelia like that, Oscar kindly explained.
“I told you, now I will do what I want.”
“.…”
“You will now become the Empress of the Hraesvelg Empire.”
“…What?”
“You’ll have to live in the Hraevelg’s Imperial castle for the rest of your life, but I’ll let you see the world for one last time. Don’t you think I’m generous?”
“….”
“In the Hraesvelg Empire, newlyweds sometimes go on short trips together.”
“No, come on… wait for a moment. What are you talking about?”
“The destination was decided as a place where we have memories. I’m thinking of going to the Holy Neutral Zone. What do you think? Do you like it?”
“Oscar, what the hell…”
“You don’t like your travel destination?”
“That’s not the problem. I definitely made it clear. I can’t keep up with you….”
“That’s why I told you. I’m going to do whatever I want now, in my own way.”
“…!!!”
It was a casual response, as if it were normal.
She couldn’t communicate with him, as if she was blocked by a wall.
She realized that common sense would not allow her to talk to Oscar.
Lelia looked at Oscar with an empty expression on her face, and curled her fingertips.
[Then what about the Aurarian Emperor?]
What about her uncle and the rest of her friends? She couldn’t explain anything… It was clear that they would be worried if she disappeared overnight.
Besides, if her grandfather found out about this…
“Listen, let me go to the Superion Territory.”
“….”
“Oscar, please. Take me to the Superion Territory…”
Oscar interrupted her with a cold voice.
“You can’t seem to understand the situation at all, Lelia.”
“.…”
“You have no freedom.”
“What…?”
“But if you behave and listen to me well…”
“.…”
“I’ll show them to you once or twice in your life. The family you love so much.”
It’s as if she’s in the opposite position from last time.
She wanted it to be a joke.
But Oscar looked like he wasn’t joking around.
It was all from the bottom of his heart.
Sincere…
For real, Oscar is…
[You really kidnapped me.]
***
That night.
As the sun went down, Oscar took Lelia to a large inn in a nearby city. It was a relatively large luxury hotel.
She checked the sign on the way in, and it was a city far away from the Imperial Capital where Lelia had been staying.
Oscar seems to have traveled far, when Lelia fell asleep and he must have made a crack.
Otherwise he wouldn’t be able to travel this great distance in such a short amount of time.
Perhaps he was trying to enjoy a real trip, Oscar notified her that he would use large inns in each city until they reached their destination.
But after hearing that, Lelia didn’t say anything.
After her last conversation in the first place, she didn’t open her mouth until they arrived here.
Oscar thought Lelia was protesting, but that’s not what she meant.
It didn’t make sense at first, so she denied reality.
It was difficult for her to think properly, as her mind went back and forth.
She was sick and tired of everything. She wanted to abandon everything and run away, but she also thought better of it.
She was free, as if he had relieved her of the burden that had been weighing on her shoulders.
But thinking of her family made her feel heavy again.
In addition, when she looked at Oscar’s empty eyes, she didn’t know specifically, but she thought something was wrong.
In the meantime, her heart dropped and thumped weirdly whenever she made eye contact with Oscar…
It was difficult for her to look into his eyes for a long time.
Each time Oscar looked coldly at Lelia, she turned her gaze away, and he was unaware of what was going on with Lelia.
[The effect is still there…]
As soon as Lelia entered her room, she sat down on her sofa, exhausted.
Oscar approached Lelia and handed her water.
“What do you want to do, do you want to wash up first?”
“….?”
“Or, shall we wash together?”
What?!
At the sudden remark, Lelia stared blankly at him.
“Well, what are you saying now?”
“Now that we’re going to be married. How long are you going to avoid me?”
“…I never said that I would marry you.”
“Ah ah! You will.”
Oscar sat down beside her, as if he didn’t care about Lelia’s behaviour, and he stroked her hair.
Contrary to his cold eyes, it was a friendly touch.
‘Let’s wash together.’ It was the most shocking thing she had ever heard in her life.
Lelia rolled her eyes down and muttered her gibberish.
“Oscar, I know why you’re upset, but… Still, calm down and… I hope you understand this is so sudden…”
“Why don’t you make eye contact if you’re going to ask me for a favor?”
“….”
Oscar spoke sarcastically, but Lelia closed her mouth shut, and couldn’t answer.
[What should I do when I can’t even look you in the eyes even if I wanted to?!]
Perhaps because of the medicine’s effect, if she stares into Oscar’s eyes, her heart stutters.
She didn’t feel the urge to kiss or hug him right away like before, but…
When she met his eyes, she was strangely embarrassed. She felt like she was going to be revealed, and she was afraid that her heart would be heard.
She didn’t know if it was in her head or in the corner of her heart, but she was strangely tickled somewhere and it was even more painful.
Sigh…
Lelia was frustrated with the ignorant Oscar, she let out a small sigh and closed her eyes tightly.
“Am I so terrible?”
It was a voice as cold as frost.
At that moment, Lelia was surprised by the sinking atmosphere and opened her eyes and looked at him.
She couldn’t even look at him for long and avoided his eyes…
Oscar’s eyes, that she managed to meet for a while, were very cold.
She felt as if his red eyes were filled with empty ice, and he seemed to be hiding his hot emotions.
“What do you mean terrible? It’s not like that.”
“You can’t even look at me properly, but you’re good at lying.”
“….”
“I think lying is a good fit for you.”
Lelia’s expression wrinkled at the sarcastic tone.
It was a tone that seemed to bring up her past events. He said things like that even though he knew that she was bound by the spell…
She felt sad and upset, and her resentment came flooding in.
But it wasn’t so sad that the tip of her nose wrinkled… But she did feel like she was about to cry.
It was difficult to control her emotions. This was obviously due to the remaining medicine’s effects.
Lelia managed to hold back her tears and asked a question.
“Are you really going to take me to the Hraesvelg Empire?”
“Yes.”
“Why, why are you doing that? I still don’t know why you are doing this…”
“You really don’t know?”
“.…”
“Don’t you want to pretend you don’t know?”