“Ride with me.”

Alicia, who had been waiting for the argument between Cassa and Marisa to end, turned her head in surprise at the sound of Killian’s voice coming from behind her.

He had finished preparing for departure and looked just as Alicia had gazed at him in a daze yesterday.

As Alicia hesitated to answer, not understanding his words for a moment, Killian moved first.

“Ah!”

After grasping Alicia’s waist and lightly placing her on the horse’s back, he quickly mounted the horse himself and took his position, ignoring her gaze as she stared at him blankly and announced their departure.

Alicia saw the members of the party, startled by the sudden departure, scrambling to gather their luggage and mount their horses.

Sitting sideways and trying to distance herself from Killian by any means possible, Alicia looked up at the question coming from above her head as she tried to find a way to get away from him on the narrow horse’s back.

“…Pardon? What did you say just now?”

“I asked if your head still hurts.”

Did he hear from Tilly that she had been struggling with a headache right after waking up this morning?

It was a sudden but somehow pleasant question.

“The medicine Tilly gave me is working well.”

“If it starts to hurt again, please let me know.”

“Yes.”

“And…”

What is he hesitating to say like that?

Alicia, who had been staring at his lips without realizing it, finding it unfamiliar to see Killian choosing his words in every situation, realized that she was looking at him with quite a bold gaze.

‘I must be crazy.’

Come to think of it, even though they had a wedding ceremony, they had never spent the first night together or even kissed.

It was partly because Alicia herself was embarrassed to be proactive, but ultimately it was because Killian did not want to touch her.

When not much time had passed since the wedding, she thought it was because he had not yet sorted out his feelings for Cheryl.

So she believed that things would change if she did a little better and more time passed.

However, one day, when some more time had passed, she realized that the problem was not simply that he could not sort out his feelings for someone, when she asked if he needed an heir and he sarcastically replied, “Are you hoping for my head to fall off?”

‘Thinking about it, it’s no different than luring Killian with power as bait.’

If it weren’t for the royal blood flowing in her body, she wouldn’t have been able to marry Killian.

Alicia curled up, trying hard to ignore Killian’s body temperature touching her left shoulder.

She thought that even doing this would allow her to distance herself from him a little.

“Are you uncomfortable somewhere else?”

However, it seemed that Alicia’s actions had caused Killian to misunderstand.

Raising one hand that had been holding the reins to check Alicia’s temperature on her forehead, he let her head rest on his chest and wrapped his arm around her waist to help her maintain a stable posture.

Alicia’s face, which had instantly come to rest her left cheek on his chest, turned red.

“Please bear with it even if you’re uncomfortable.”

“…Yes.”

“And if you get used to it, you can fall asleep just like that.”

That will never happen.

Alicia, who thought so, had the impression that the sound of Killian’s heartbeat ringing in her ears seemed to have quickened a little.

Of course, it must be her own misconception.

She must have misheard the sound of her own heart beating fast.

Alicia, who let out a small laugh at the absurd misconception, decided to ask Killian one thing she had been curious about in order to ignore the sound.

“Duke Diaz.”

“Yes.”

“I have something to ask.”

“Go ahead.”

“Why does your way of speaking change every time?”

“What do you mean?”

Is he really unaware? Or is he pretending not to know?

This was also curious, but since she couldn’t expect an honest answer, Alicia, who arbitrarily concluded that he was really asking because he didn’t know, opened her mouth.

“Sometimes you use the highest honorifics, sometimes you casually call me by name, and on some days, you speak politely and then switch to informal speech.”

“…Did I do that?”

“Yes, you did. Look, even now. You said, ‘Please bear with it even if you’re uncomfortable,’ and then you said informally, ‘You can fall asleep and it’s okay.'”

At first, she thought she had misheard.

Killian’s attitude was also very confident, and she thought that way because she doubted a prince would casually call a princess by name.

However, as the time she encountered him gradually increased, she realized that she had not misheard.

“Are you uncomfortable with it?”

“Unexpectedly, I’m not uncomfortable.”

It’s not that she’s not uncomfortable, but it’s quite okay.

When he occasionally calls her by name, she even gets the illusion that they have become close.

Alicia, who believed that all these changes occurred after she declared that she had given up on her feelings for him, speculated that the declaration might have made him feel more at ease as well.

‘It must have been burdensome to have a royal family member, not anyone else, clinging to him and asking him to marry her.’

So he must have drawn a firmer line.

‘Even though there are still strange rumors circulating now, he believes that I have definitely given up on my feelings, so he’s showing a more relaxed side.’

It’s okay if everyone in the world misunderstands as long as Killian knows it’s not true.

In fact, Alicia’s one-sided love for Killian was still ongoing, but for Eregron, her family, and his future that she loved, she planned to hide it deep in her heart until the moment she died.

‘I should definitely marry far away.’

If she stayed close, it would somehow be revealed.

Then it would be something she couldn’t do to her future husband either.

Alicia, who had the experience of living with a husband who had another person as a lover, planned to make sure her future husband never found out.

“It seems you’re having strange thoughts again.”

Killian, who had been considerate of Alicia by riding the horse as slowly as possible so that she would not feel uncomfortable, said.

It seemed that now he could read her thoughts even without looking at her face.

‘Can I keep hiding my feelings in front of a man like this?’

She should definitely look for a marriage partner far away before this year ends.

Alicia, who made that resolution, shook her head.

“It’s not strange thoughts. I’m just thinking about why the Tower of the Wise summoned me.”

“Do you have no guesses?”

“Well…”

There is.

It must be related to the mutants.

Now that mutants have been discovered in the Prisca Mountains as well, the name “Alicia” that they utter must have reached the ears of the sages as well.

Could it be that the sages of the tower also want to confirm something?

Thinking that way, Alicia looked down at Killian’s hand wrapped around her waist.

The arm firmly wrapped around her waist to ensure she didn’t fall off by mistake was both embarrassing and heartbreaking at the same time.

‘What should I do with you, a person I can only touch after deciding to distance myself with all my might?’

Thinking like that and closing her eyes, Alicia listened to Killian’s low voice as he pulled her waist to make her lean against his chest.

“Sleep. We have a long way to go today.”

“It’s dangerous to fall asleep on a horse.”

“I won’t let it become dangerous.”

“But…”

“If I had any intention of making it dangerous, I wouldn’t have tried to see you again.”

What does that mean?

If she hadn’t fallen asleep, she would have definitely asked that.

Killian held Alicia’s waist even more tightly as she instantly fell asleep leaning against his chest, and began to ride the horse even more carefully.

It was around noon when Alicia, who had fallen into a restless sleep, opened her eyes.

Still half-asleep, Alicia, who got off the horse while being held in Killian’s arms, was finally able to escape from sleep after drinking the cold water prepared by Marisa, who led her to the shade of a tree.

“We’ll have to camp out until today.”

Alicia let out a long sigh as she recalled the fact that she would only be able to find a new horse and a soft, clean bed tomorrow evening.

Riding a horse with Killian was not very uncomfortable.

His horse was large and sturdy enough to comfortably carry the weight of two people, and thanks to Killian, who unexpectedly rode the horse smoothly, Alicia had fallen into a deep sleep until almost lunchtime without feeling any discomfort.

“Wouldn’t it be better to get a carriage instead of a horse?”

Marisa carefully asked, seeing Alicia’s tired appearance.

She mistakenly thought that her fatigue came from riding a horse.

However, Alicia had no desire to ride in a carriage for the time being.

‘Those yellow eyes come to mind.’

Even though she didn’t know for sure if the owner of those eyes was human or a demon, just thinking about them made her shiver all over, and cold sweat ran down her spine.

Just imagining getting on a carriage made her tremble as she recalled the moment she had made eye contact with it.

‘I won’t be unable to ride a carriage forever, right?’

There would be no major problem if she only stayed in the imperial palace, but anyway, the weakness of a royal family member could itself lead to a life-threatening situation, so Alicia couldn’t help but hesitate to speak honestly.

“But just in case, I’ll check if there are any good carriages when we stop by a market.”

Alicia, who couldn’t reveal her newly acquired weakness to Marisa, who was worried about her, nodded her head with an awkward smile and turned her eyes towards those who were busy preparing lunch.

Alicia, who had never cooked before, couldn’t join their group.

She had no confidence in making food, and no confidence in enjoying the food she made.

‘I’ll just eat as deliciously as possible when they make it.’

Considering the sincerity of those who were trying their best to feed something delicious to the picky-mouthed princess, the most important thing Alicia had to do today was to devour her share of the food very deliciously.

“I’ll go take a look around for a bit.”

“You can’t go alone. Wait until Sir White comes.”

“I think Sir White is in charge of lunch today?”

“Then I’ll bring another knight. Don’t ever move alone.”

Marisa had started overprotecting her, almost like Amy, since the night Alicia had screamed.

Not wanting to cause another commotion, Alicia, who had nodded her head several times at Marisa’s words, decided to wait in this spot until Marisa brought a knight.

So she was going to wait until Marisa brought a knight…

“Shall we take a walk?”

Reilly isn’t a knight, but anyway, she’s not going for a walk alone, so wouldn’t it be okay?

Thinking that, Alicia grasped the hand Reilly held out.