“Prisoner. Were you a princess? The Princess of Iorenti?”

At Aaron’s question, Delia’s blue eyes flickered thinly.

The enemy’s commander had discovered my true identity.

My mind went blank and my breathing quickened.

My legs gave way, and I barely managed to stay upright by leaning on the table.

“How could you know…”

There was no way he could have known.

The fact that I had emerged was a secret known only to my parents and close relatives.

Moreover, Aaron had been aware of the movements and exact numbers of the Iorenti royal guard.

How on earth did he know?

Blinking, Delia stared back at the sharp, ashgrey eyes fixed on her.

Whenever she closed her eyes, strange symbols that she had just seen surfaced in her mind.

When she opened her eyes, she saw Aaron watching her.

Delia, trembling with confusion, wrapped her arms around her body.

“There’s no way. How could the enemy know…”

Unconsciously muttering to herself, Delia’s eyes widened in realization.

She remembered his voice along with the campfire that had lit up the black night.

Her body stiffened in the shock that ran through her.

There was a spy.

There was a spy of the Stillets Empire in the Iorenti royal castle.

And deep within the castle, able to obtain royal and guard information.

While her face was pale, Delia quickly took in the code laid out on the table.

“A princess. The princess of Iorenti.”

Aaron muttered, looking at Delia as she avoided his gaze.

The word “princess” answered Aaron’s questions.

The level of the guerilla force that was shocking the army, the excessive obsession with Iorenti, the attitude and commands that were so confident they seemed arrogant, the vocabulary used, and the level of weapon handling.

Having found out that she was a princess and looking at Delia, it felt so obvious that he wondered why he hadn’t realized before.

There was no word that could better describe her than “royalty.”

The moist air inside the tent cooled to the point that it felt like white frost was settling.

“So?”

Delia slowly closed and opened her eyes.

Her blue eyes flashed with a sharp light, as if her earlier bewilderment had been feigned.

Her sharp voice, chilling to the bone, echoed inside the tent.

“So, you’re using me as an excuse to dethrone the king of Iorenti? To kill my parents, and to kill me?”

At Delia’s sharp question, Aaron tightly closed his mouth.

He had to.

Despite her identity being revealed, he had to do as the sharp prisoner said.

Using the negotiation of prisoners as an excuse, he had to quickly end the war, bring out the king, and kill the royalty.

As the commander of the empire, he held the best card…

But it was already too late.

He had tasted the forbidden fruit that he should never have tasted.

Because he knew how sweet and fragrant its juice was.

Because he knew it was the only salvation for his thirst that drove him mad.

He couldn’t kill her.

Aaron’s gaze, fixed on Delia, darkened like a hazy ash sky.

“No. As I said earlier, there will be no negotiation. I will arrange an escort to take responsibility for you.”

Delia bit her lower lip that had touched him earlier.

Her white hand, clenched around the table, began to tremble.

“What are you saying now?”

“You, prisoner, no, Princess, step out of this war. Go to the Bergen territory of the Stillets Empire right now.”

At Aaron’s unexpected words, Delia’s face twisted in anger.

“Are you crazy? Why should I go to the Empire?”

“Forget everything as the Princess of Iorenti and start a new life there. I will arrange everything.”

“Why are you deciding my life? I have no reason to follow your orders.”

Despite Delia’s fierce words, Aaron continued calmly.

“You’ll have to follow.”

“Ha. For what?”

“To survive.”

The end of the defeated country’s royalty was never good.

Those who couldn’t let go of the past would cling on and try to gain power.

She would be dragged around and used because she was a royal successor.

Because she could give birth to a royal successor, countless guys would be rushing to devour her.

And…

The Empire was not kind enough to watch that nicely.

They would try to cut off the bud of the defeated country’s lottery movement and establish a foothold.

Blinded by honor and academic credentials, they would rush to kill the last royal.

He couldn’t leave his prisoner in the midst of that chaos.

It was unthinkable to kill her with his own hands.

He couldn’t wait until she gave permission.

Coldfaced Aaron had everything spinning urgently in his head.

There wasn’t even time to wear a smiling mask.

“The moment you step out of my territory, you die. So live by my side.”

“I have no intention of clinging to the enemy commander and begging for my life.”

“Don’t think. Now is not the time to think. It’s time to move. Go to Bergen first. I’ll clean up here and follow.”

Delia shot back fiercely at Aaron’s warmthless words.

“You’re out of your mind. Eorenti has not fallen yet. This is a kidnapping.”