Chapter 297

Translator: yun

I instantly disassociated Dane’s face from his. I couldn’t express how grateful I was to him for being so aggressive.

“Really?”

As the grip on my neck tightened, I smiled.

“What should I do then?”

Just then, I spotted a stalk hovering in the air. Vines rushed out from the ceiling and the ground before wrapping themselves around his arms.

“W-what’s this?”

I smiled.

‘Amor. So, you were watching.’

The vines revealed their sharp thorns. It only took an instant. The ground shook once more before he found himself unable to move from his spot.

“Deros.”

I smiled at the trapped man.

“That’s too bad. Because I do have a templar who is only willing to protect me.”

The vines blocked the hands reaching out to me. Continuing to stare at him, I slowly started speaking.

“Who do you think will actually be the one left with regrets?”

This time, I tilted my head.

“Dane left on his own.”

At my request. Though I didn’t mention the last part.

“I think it’s a relief that there will no longer be family or relatives who would only force duties upon him.”

“Keu– you!”

“That’s rude. To address a princess so directly. You should learn to be more polite.”

I gave my neck a light pat. I couldn’t feel any pain even after he grabbed my neck so tightly.

“If you continue treating me like this, you’d only get punished.”

For the people I loved.

“Listen closely, Deros.”

I slowly distanced myself from him before smiling.

There were too many crooks in this world. One example would be the man in front of me, who had kidnapped innocent women for the family I belonged to.

“You’ll only regret it if you touch me. Though I’ll still make sure you regret it even if you didn’t.”

Deros gritted his teeth.

“A meaningless threat.”

He glared at me frighteningly.

“Princess, you have ruined our long-cherished wish. We will not forget this grudge.”

I let out a loud laugh.

“Well, getting threatened by someone tied up like that isn’t as scary as you think, Deros.”

I then slowly turned my head.

“Let’s see where the bomb falls if you touch me.”

Those who carry out lowly deeds would definitely pay a fair price.

I was going to make sure of it.

I curled my eyes.

I squeezed the bracelet once. Once I touched it, the plants that had tied themselves around Deros unravelled.

Once he was released, Deros only glared at me before retreating. Just then, I heard the rustling of leaves before a dark shadow appeared out of nowhere and followed after him.

‘They appeared before me on purpose.’

They were warning me that they could kill me silently at any time. I slowly narrowed my eyes.

“I see that he’s still doing dangerous things.”

Amor’s voice could be heard from the bracelet.

“Brother.”

“You should only be getting hurt once or twice. How long are you going to keep me worried like this?”

I raised my arm.

“But I’m not hurt.”

“… Should I just fall for the obvious lie?”

I laughed at how I could tell what his expression was from his voice alone.

“For a while now, the ‘Emperor’s Shadows’ have been given special privileges so he now has more authority than ever.”

“Yes, I heard. I even heard he would be given special pardon for a while and the right to take immediate action in order to capture the remnants of the coup, right?”

“Correct. It’s because he knows that well, he showed himself in front of you.”

“Thanks to someone who showed up in time, I didn’t get hurt, right?”

“It sounds like you want me to only watch you for the whole day.”

“Oh dear. You caught me.”

For a moment, Amor remained silent.

“I can do that if you want.”

He murmured quietly.

“Really?”

“… Yes.”

I caressed the bracelet lovingly for a moment though he would not be able to see it.

“I got a little angry just now but it’s gone almost instantly now.”

I grabbed the bracelet before whispering.

“Thanks to you, Amor.”

The dreadful discomfort I had after meeting Deros was disappearing little by little.

“Come to think of it, I’ve awakened. You’re the only one who hasn’t seen it yet”

I wonder what expression was on his face now. The emperor’s surveillance on us was indeed tight. To be exact, Deros, who held a grudge against me, was the one watching us and he was thorough. Moreover, I would occasionally spot Hernan’s bird in my gardens.

He had to hide the fact that he had gotten healthy and I had to hide my awakening. Ultimately, we decided to keep our distance for a while. He might have respected my decision, but, well, how did he feel about it?

“You didn’t manage to see me through the plants, right?”

“Right. I didn’t bother to look since you were with your patrols. If I use my powers, I might get in between your friendships.”

That meant Hernan must have seen me by now too. But out of respect for me, he didn’t try to sneak a look.

He and I remained silent for a while.

Fiddling with the bracelet for a moment, I suddenly spoke.

“Should I come find you today?”

Afterwards, I added.

“No. I will come find you.”

“What?”

“I already gave Deros a warning today.”

I was planning to go see Amor today so Castor and Hernan would soon find out.

“Come to think of it, there’s no need for us to distance ourselves.”

“Didn’t you say it’d be better to be more careful?”

“It’s because I miss you.”

I laughed.

“Didn’t you miss me too, brother?”

Amor momentarily did not reply to my laugh. In a little while, instead of the voice I had been waiting for, I heard his breaths.

“Ha… I really can’t win against you.”

“So, your answer?”

It sounded like his breath had hitched.

“You really forge your own path. Do whatever you want.”

Sprouts from the bracelet twined around my fingers before flowers blossomed along their stalks.

“When can I ever win you?”

It was a response so lovely only he could make it

That very night.

I waited for the moon to rise before heading out. At this point, I could even leave the palace with my eyes closed.

‘I wonder if there’s going to be any surveillance.’

I stared into the darkness. Curiously, it looked brighter than it did yesterday. Even though it wasn’t in the middle of the day, it felt as if my back had been illuminated.

The fact that templars had different physical abilities to that of average people seemed to hold true.

Through Amor’s powers, I managed to change my appearance using the divinity I had before my awakening but my physical abilities remain the same to a certain extent.

‘My grip got stronger too.’

I clenched before unclenching my fist. In fact, it wouldn’t matter to me if someone was hiding in the forest.

The Forbidden Forest.

‘Somewhere anyone without a drop of Imperial blood will get lost in.’

In other words, as long as I was in the Forbidden Forest, they couldn’t chase after me.

After a while, I slipped through the fence. Sure enough, I could hear grass rustling behind me.

Growl. I could hear sounds of a beast from a distance. I hastened my pace.

I quickly arrived at Amor’s palace through the stele. I rushed past the back door that he had left open just for me.

“Ah. Come in.”

I found him sitting on his bed and leaning against the headboard with the window wide open. But unlike how he normally was, he was dressed loosely. I didn’t know where to place my eyes as his long hair fluttered in the wind with his chest half-exposed. And yet he was languidly aloof to it all. At the same time, the sentimentality he hid before could be seen at first glance from his occasional glances towards me.

If it hadn’t been for his fluttering sky-blue hair, I would have thought I was staring at a finely crafted sculpture.

Amor smiled widely as if noticing my gaze was on his open shirt.

“I didn’t have clothes that fit me.”

“… Me too.”

“I see.”

Out of habit, I sat at the foot of his bed. But he easily grabbed my hand before lifting me up and sitting me on his bed.

“I’ve always wondered this but why do you always sit on the ground?”

“Ah. It’s just a habit. Since you’re always in the bed, brother. I can see your face best when I sit below the bed.”

He scrunched his face momentarily.

“You can see me well even when you sit on the bed.”

He then lowered his head and headed towards me.

“And this way, you’re closer to me.”

“… Hup, please don’t come close to me.”

It wouldn’t be good for my heart. Soft greyish-green eyes could be seen right in front of me. His eyes curled gently.

“When you tell me not to, it makes me want to come even closer.”

What a stubborn bull. His lips brushed against my eyes. It tickled.

“Didn’t you say you had something to show me?”

As soon as I came, he wanted to talk business. He was impatient too. I pulled back from him with a big smile. I had already come wearing loose clothes under my hood for this very purpose.

“Don’t be too surprised. No, you won’t be surprised.”

“Why?”

“Nothing much had changed.”

He rested his chin on his hand before saying that he would judge for himself with a smile.