Unable To Escape (10 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 15
The road to Enonde, the capital of Eregorn, was peaceful.
To be precise, it was boring.
Ever since leaving Lasa Fortress, Alicia had spent her time solely inside the carriage until it finally reached the main road leading to Enoonde.
She had briefly stepped out for a walk around when the carriage stopped momentarily, pulled along by Amy and Mina who worried about her health—but that was truly only for an instant.
The reason Alicia confined herself entirely to the carriage except for moments of genuine necessity was, of course, Killian.
Though she had postponed both her worries and decisions until after arriving at the Imperial Palace, facing Killian was another matter entirely.
At least she was fortunate that Killian, occupied with personal matters, never came to visit her carriage.
“Your Highness! Look, the Imperial Palace is in sight!”
Though it hadn’t been a long journey, Mina—who had been forced alongside Alicia to stay cooped up in the carriage without moving—cheered joyfully.
She had managed to endure until they passed the capital’s outer walls, but once the palace came into view, she could no longer contain herself.
“Mina, you’re being loud.”
“But Mrs. Campbell! Look! It’s the Imperial Palace!”
“Mina!”
“Amy, just leave her be. She’s this excited because she’s so happy to see it.”
“Exactly! Your Highness truly understands my heart!”
Alicia, having just calmed Amy who was about to scold Mina, turned her gaze out the window following Mina’s.
Though they had returned earlier than planned, it felt like coming home after a long journey.
‘We’ve finally arrived.’
Although she had chosen this herself to avoid facing Killian, spending several days confined within such a limited space had been quite taxing.
But now, it was finally over.
“What will you do first when we arrive, Your Highness?”
“I’ll greet Father first… then sleep.”
“You’re truly admirable.”
“I’ll wash up and sleep like the dead. So Amy and Mina, you rest too without worrying about me—I won’t call for you until tomorrow.”
“Your Highness, if I confessed my love to you right now, would you accept me?”
“Save your love confession for your fiancé.”
Hearing Amy answer on Alicia’s behalf, Mina pouted.
Mina’s fiancé was a knight in the Imperial Guard, and their engagement had been arranged when they were both very young.
Both families were counts’ households, neither side overwhelmingly dominant; their political views aligned, and their mothers were close friends—so the alliance between the two houses had proceeded without significant conflict.
If there was a minor issue, it was that having grown up together since childhood, their relationship felt more like siblings than lovers.
“That idiot—ahem! Never mind him, Mrs. Campbell.”
“Did you quarrel again?”
“Quarrel? Your Highness, I’m not that childish!”
She definitely fought.
They absolutely argued.
Watching Mina flare up, Alicia and Amy exchanged glances silently.
They even had a pretty good idea what the argument had been about.
“It really wasn’t a real fight!”
“Right, right.”
Hearing Amy’s half-hearted reply, Alicia let out a small chuckle—and noticed the carriage, which had been moving slowly, had come to a halt.
They must have reached their destination while they were talking.
Realizing this too, Amy and Mina stopped their conversation and straightened their wrinkled clothes, adjusting their posture properly.
After a brief flurry of activity, the carriage door opened.
“Ari, come quickly.”
Expecting one of the Imperial Guard knights to escort her, Alicia lifted her head at the familiar voice.
“Brother? Why are you here?”
Taking Adrian’s offered hand and stepping down from the carriage, Alicia tilted her head in confusion.
At this hour, he should be attending to duties with the Emperor…
“Father wanted to come out himself, but I won again this time too.”
“What?”
“There’s a bit more work for me to handle today because of that incident, but it’s fine—I’ll just sleep a little less.”
“Brother?”
“But Ari… why have you come back looking half-starved? Was the food unappetizing? Or did you not sleep well?”
“…Please calm down, Brother.”
It was fortunate that she’d already sent a letter briefly explaining what had happened before leaving Lasa Fortress, so she didn’t have to endure questions about why she’d returned so soon—but his concern, clearly directed at someone else, felt almost excessive.
“Long time no see, Your Highness.”
“…Duke Diaz.”
The “someone” Adrian had been concerned about—namely, Killian—prompted Adrian’s expression to freeze instantly upon receiving Killian’s greeting.
It was a complete contrast to his demeanor just moments ago with Alicia.
“I wish to pay my respects to His Majesty. How long must I wait?”
Adrian disliked Killian.
It wasn’t just because he’d repeatedly watched Alicia cling to Killian, shedding tears—he simply disliked the man Killian was.
To put it plainly, it was a dislike comparable to how a cat loathes a dog.
Of course, Adrian was less a cat and more a large, fierce lion, and Killian wasn’t a dog but a wolf…
Nevertheless, whenever one snarled, the other growled back—they were locked in a rivalry desperate to tear each other apart.
‘Still, since I told them I’ve given up on Killian, maybe things will improve a bit?’
Alicia allowed herself a faint glimmer of hope—but seeing sparks practically fly between Adrian’s blue eyes and Killian’s deep green ones, she realized their relationship wouldn’t mend anytime soon.
“Your turn comes after Ari.”
“I wasn’t asking about the order.”
“It means wait—can’t you understand that?”
“You surely don’t mean to leave an Imperial Duke standing on this roadside and tell him to wait here.”
“Are you calling the area inside the Imperial Palace walls a ‘roadside’?”
“There should be a designated waiting area within the palace for nobles who come to see His Majesty.”
“That area is only accessible to guests whom the master permits—surely you know that?”
“The master of the Imperial Palace is His Majesty, and I trust you aren’t implying that he doesn’t consider me a guest.”
…Had their relationship really been this bad?
Watching the two face off with icy expressions, Alicia wondered if her memory had been faulty.
According to what she remembered, after their first exchange Adrian would sneer and Killian would ignore him…
‘Brother aside—why is Killian acting like this?’
Killian wasn’t ignoring Adrian’s provocations as usual; instead, he kept picking at Adrian’s words, irritating him—behavior that didn’t match Alicia’s recollection, leaving her puzzled.
“Brother. We should go greet Father.”
“Ahem. Yes, of course.”
“As for Duke Diaz…”
“If permitted, I’ll accompany you.”
“Accompany us?!”
“Yes.”
“Ari!”
“I only need to pay my respects. Brother, you know why Duke Diaz came straight to the palace.”
Her letter to the palace had originally been attached as an addendum to Killian’s official report.
If the Emperor had received her letter, he’d surely read Killian’s report as well.
Knowing how critical the matter of the magical beasts was, Alicia tried to placate Adrian—and with a reluctant grimace, he finally turned away.
Of course, not before firmly gripping his younger sister’s hand and pulling her close to ensure she didn’t get any closer to Killian.
“I’ll make an exception and permit it this once.”
“Should I say thank you, then?”
“Say it.”
“Thank you.”
…Why are they acting like this?
Both Adrian standing beside her and Killian trailing closely behind.
For some reason, both men seemed unusually childish today, leaving Alicia utterly speechless.
“Announcing the arrival of His Highness the Crown Prince and Duke Diaz, who have come to see His Majesty.”
Having endured an odd silence, Alicia arrived at the audience chamber and, upon hearing the servant announce their arrival, adjusted her attire once more.
Though the Emperor always found her lovely regardless of her appearance, recalling Adrian’s earlier fuss over her condition made her suspect the Emperor might react similarly—so she preemptively checked herself.
Adrian, finding her gesture endearing, glanced at her fondly—but his expression instantly crumpled when he saw Killian standing behind her. Alicia, however, didn’t notice.
“Come in quickly.”
As the door opened, Alicia entered the chamber and gave a slight bow.
“I’ve returned.”
“I sent you to take care of yourself, yet you’ve come back looking half-starved.”
Hearing her father say exactly what she’d expected, Alicia let out a soft laugh, stepped closer to the Emperor, knelt, and kissed the back of his hand.
“I’m healthy, Father.”
“It would be better if you were a bit healthier.”
“I will be.”
Closing her eyes briefly under his gentle hand stroking her hair, then opening them again, Alicia smiled brightly.
How could she possibly convey this gratitude—simply being in his presence felt like a blessing?
Praying she could see the Emperor’s smile longer than she had in the past, Alicia took his offered hand and stood up.
“Duke Diaz, please come in as well.”
“I offer my respects to Your Majesty, the great sovereign of Eregorn.”
“Though I have much to discuss with you after such a long time apart, I must first express my gratitude.”
Seeing Killian, still holding Alicia’s hand and bowing his head while waiting for his next words, the Emperor continued.
“Thank you for saving my daughter.”
“If the Duke had properly managed his magical beasts, this incident never would have happened! You owe him no thanks!”
“Adrian.”
Adrian, evidently displeased that the Emperor showed Killian goodwill regarding anything involving Alicia, had raised his voice—but quickly fell silent under his father’s sharp glare.
“Regardless of the circumstances, it is a fact that Duke Diaz saved Alicia.”
“But…”
“If it hadn’t been for Duke Diaz, would Alicia be standing here with us at this very moment today?”
“…”
“You, too, now have something to say to Duke Diaz.”
At the Emperor’s firm words, Adrian bit his lip.
Yet, true to his role as Crown Prince of the Empire, he composed his expression, let his eyes rest on Alicia standing beside the Emperor, and then turned sincerely toward Killian.
“…Thank you, Duke Diaz, for saving Alicia—my sister.”
Male lead is a Divorced Husband
She said to him: “Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change it!”
Liu Changning transmigrated into a female cannon fodder character in a female-dominant novel.
After reading the first half of the novel’s plot, the first thing she did upon transmigration was to divorce the Pan Jinlian-style male protagonist she had just married.
She indulged herself, pretending to be ugly and poor.
But as time passed, the way that man looked at her became more and more unusual…
Liu Changning was dumbfounded: Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change!
――
This lifetime, Pei Yuanshao was rejected by the same woman twice!
The first time, she drove him away. Forced by the situation, he endured the waves of anger in his heart, yielding and humbling himself.
That person lay slanted on a rocking chair, her sallow face emotionless: “If you don’t want a divorce, go cook!”
Pei Yuanshao’s face was dark and gloomy: “You!”
The second time, after the crisis in Jinling City was resolved, the new emperor sent someone to pick him up. He turned around, stammering: “I… I have to go. If you keep me…”
That person lay on the kang bed, her back to him, as if she had long anticipated this day, crisp and clear: “Goodbye!”
Pei Yuanshao was so angry his fingers trembled: “You… you!”
The mission of family and country made him restrain himself, averting his eyes and turning to leave this broken household.
Two years later, they met again. Seeing her ethereal face, his body shook like a sieve.
“She was originally a ‘she’!”
At the Qionglin Banquet, the top scholar of the imperial examination, a talented person with exceptional speech and conduct, all the unmarried young gentlemen from aristocratic families looked at her with shy and timid eyes.
The peerless imperial official Pei Yuanshao felt the anger in his heart erupt. He pointed at the woman surrounded by the crowd at the Qionglin Banquet, his thin lips slightly curled: “Little sister, I wants that person to be the wife-master of my Mingde Prince Manor.”
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The Audacity of that bitch!!! 😡😡 Glad the princess kept her in her place
Alicia is very unlucky. Of all the servants, she found only Killian’s spy.
Marisa wants time to tell Killian about it. The problem is that Alicia never suspected her.