At first, Laila mistook it for the building’s tremors. However, even after the shaking stopped, she felt Milley’s tremors through the contact, causing her to startle.
She slightly grabbed Milley’s wrist, letting go of his hand, and looked down at it. His fingertips were visibly trembling.
“Are you hurt somewhere?”
Milley withdrew his hand and tucked it into his pants.
“It’s just tension.”
His actions seemed to say he didn’t want Laila to see, but his words suggested otherwise. Naturally, Laila couldn’t help but wonder.
“That’s too much trembling for just tension…”
As she trailed off, Laila looked up, but due to the dim light, she couldn’t discern Milley’s complexion.
Milley appeared not to want to continue this topic.
“Wouldn’t you rather follow me instead?”
“Are you talking about running away again?”
The third offer now.
But maybe due to the recent events, Laila found it harder to outright refuse. She was unable to speak.
Sensing her hesitation, Milley narrowed his eyes, about to speak, but paused as if sensing something odd. He quickly drew back the long curtain that had been covering them.
“…!”
Laila gasped at the exposed scene.
Beyond the chaos caused by the large tremor, the room was a mess, and the candles strewn about the floor had caught fire.
The fire that started near the door had already spread to the corridor and was reaching towards the center of the room.
Milley, however, remained calm and opened the window, letting in the chilly evening air.
“We really do need to run now.”
“…Ah.”
“You won’t refuse this time, right?”
As he spoke, Milley swiftly pulled Laila close to him. Suddenly closing the distance, Laila’s face nearly bumped into his chest as he bent down to wrap his arms around her legs, lifting her.
“Wrap your arms around my neck.”
His voice, soothing yet firm, left no room for refusal. Laila, seeing no other option, complied.
In this situation, refusal seemed futile. In her dress and high-heeled shoes, she wouldn’t be able to escape the room.
The moment she wrapped her arms around his neck, Milley’s eyes softly narrowed.
As they grew closer, the red flames reflected in his blue eyes, momentarily giving them a purplish hue.
In that moment, Laila was reminded of someone she dearly missed.
‘Adrian…’
Though she never spoke of it to anyone, even after over 10 years since they parted, she occasionally thought of him.
A boy who once told her she was very precious.
Seeing others sometimes reminded her of him, but with Milley, especially due to the name, the resemblance was striking.
However,
“To think I’ve come to elope with another man’s fiancée, it seems I’ve reached my limit.”
His distinctly different voice snapped Laila out of her thoughts about Adrian.
Simultaneously, Milley stepped onto the windowsill with confidence.
Laila’s room was on the second floor, but given the palace’s high ceilings, it was as high as the third floor of a regular building.
Seeing the height, Laila looked worried.
“Is it, is it safe?”
Especially since a wrong landing with her in his arms could be disastrous.
Should they risk escaping through the flames instead?
Before she could decide, Milley reassured her casually.
“There’s no problem at all.”
They descended swiftly. Laila wanted to scream in fear but clenched her eyes shut, holding back her scream.
Thud.
Like a lie, the sound of a soft landing on the grass made Laila cautiously open one eye. Contrary to her fears, neither Milley nor she had tumbled to the ground.
Milley gently set Laila down, allowing her to stand on her own. The touch of damp grass blades against her bare feet made Laila look down in disbelief.
But there was no time to marvel. Milley quickly grabbed her hand and urged her forward.
“We have my carriage outside the palace, Princess.”
“Ah…!”
Crunch, crunch.
Under the pouring moonlight, their hurried footsteps crisscrossed the palace garden. Laila, led by his hand, ran mindlessly until she glanced back.
The recent earthquake had caused more than one room to catch fire. Black smoke was billowing out of several windows, reaching up into the sky.
The chaos in the building was evident, with people shouting busily.
As they escaped the palace through a side path, Laila noticed something odd. The palace staff seemed entirely mobilized to the building she had been in. It was unlikely the earthquake only affected that building.
However, it wasn’t the time to delve into details. Laila kept a tight hold on Milley’s hand as they ran.
Milley, aware of Laila’s bare feet, skillfully avoided hard or obstructed ground as they made their escape.
Initially, her heart fluttered with unease, but as they moved further from the building, she strangely felt a sense of relief. Despite her breathlessness, the night breeze felt gentle and pleasant.
Despite her declarations about her royal duties to Milley, perhaps what she truly desired was something like this.
Panting, after what felt like an eternity, Laila, out of breath, managed to reach the carriage outside the palace. She was almost pushed into Milley’s carriage.
Expecting Milley to follow, she was surprised when he didn’t.
“Go to my mansion first. I’ll be back soon after finishing some work.”
Confused by his unexpected words, Laila’s eyes widened.
“Work? I thought we were going together?”
Milley didn’t give a clear answer.
“My men will escort you safely.”
“Milley…!”
Before Laila could respond, Milley closed the carriage door and shouted to the coachman.
“Take care of the Princess.”
In disbelief, Laila tried to open the door again, but the carriage had already started moving, crossing the palace’s front road and picking up speed. Despite the carriage’s intimidating momentum, Laila held onto the door frame, looking at Milley.
“Milley!”
He stopped, turning back to look at her.
As their eyes met, Laila found herself at a loss for words. Meanwhile, the carriage continued to move.
The coachman finally spoke from the driver’s seat.
“It’s dangerous to lean out like that.”
Quietly, Laila closed the door and sat down.
In the rocking carriage, she pressed her fluttering heart with her hands. Looking down at her dirty, bare feet, she blushed with embarrassment.
Yet, she felt strangely good.
‘Running away…’
Although it wasn’t a complete escape, during her sprint with Milley, Laila had briefly felt a liberating exhilaration.
Even though Laila was heading to the house of Duke Milley, not the palace where she rightfully belonged, a strange sense of anticipation filled her.
“Do you still want to be here?”
Laila gripped the hem of her dress tightly with both hands.
His words were true.
…She didn’t want to be there.
The useless princess of the Wessex Kingdom, seemingly on the brink of collapse, did not want to marry the unremarkable prince of the Filmer Kingdom, whose own future was uncertain.
It wasn’t just because Reynard was rude.
Nor was it simply because she didn’t want a marriage of political convenience.
“There’s no future…”
A life where happiness seemed unattainable.
It was perfectly normal not to want such a life.
Laila was also someone who longed for that normalcy.
Should she readily grab the hand extended by a stranger?
It would be a lie to say there was no fear in doing so, but still, she wanted to trust Milley.
Heeeeeng!
Eventually, the carriage stopped, arriving at what was said to be Milley’s temporary residence. Immediately, someone opened the carriage door.
The person, surprised to see Laila instead of their master inside, had a deeply confused expression.
Recognizing the face as somehow familiar, Laila accepted the escort and stepped down.
Male lead fell into her trap — and shattered when she walked away
This is also on my reread list!
This one is a slow burn, but when it burns, it burns hard.
Definitely worth a read, y’all!
The story follows a thousand-year-old seductive spirit who, on a bet, sets out to charm the male lead—a once-promising but unfortunate cultivator.
But just when she succeeds in making him fall for her, she heartlessly leaves, driving him to madness.
Determined to find her at all costs, he captures her, keeping her by his side no matter what, even if she hates him.
I love this kind of trope—I enjoy watching the male lead suffer in agony.
The ending drags a bit with unnecessary filler, but that’s fine.
As long as I enjoy the beginning, I’m good.
Intro
As an enchantress, Su Heng possesses captivating eyes and charming beauty, easily manipulating the joys and sorrows of living beings at her fingertips.
But to enchant a god, making him taste the bitterness of love’s separation, long-lasting resentment, unattainable desires, and inability to let go…
Do you dare?
Su Heng assists a divine lord in his cultivation, aiming to make him experience all the sufferings of love, so that he can attain the Great Dao.
Only after being chased down from the heavens by the divine lord, confined and completely possessed by him, does she realize how successful she has been.
The once gentle and polite youth has transformed into someone she no longer recognizes.
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
