ESL Chapter 61

“………”

Luciel flinched as the carriage came to a stop and quickly lowered his hand. Fortunately, she seemed to be focused only on the sudden halt of the carriage and didn’t appear to notice his movement.

“What’s going on?”

Lea opened the small window connecting to the coachman’s seat and asked quietly. Guster’s voice came through in response.

“It’s a checkpoint, Miss.”

“Is there some kind of problem?”

Noticing the tension in Guster’s voice, Lea asked, and he answered immediately.

“It’s the 6th Unit of the Mihael Knights. They’re the ones who were keeping watch over the young lord, so they’ll know his face well.”

Of all units, the 6th. Luciel’s expression hardened. The Mihael Ducal House had its own knight order to protect the family. Comprised of five units in total, the Mihael Knights were regarded as superior even to the Royal Knights — an elite, well-trained force that had, for generations, pledged loyalty exclusively to the legitimate heir. Furthermore, the current commander of this generation’s knight order was the son of the previous commander, who had inherited the position, making their devotion to the ducal house exceptionally high. They refused to follow private orders from Cheor on the grounds that he was not the legitimate heir. And so, what Cheor had created to move things according to his own will was the 6th Unit. The 6th Unit’s official role was to serve as Luciel’s escort, but in reality, they were there to keep him under surveillance. As a result, every member of the unit knew his face well — which meant that even in women’s clothing, there was a chance someone might recognize him.

“They’re heading this way.”

At Guster’s words, Luciel began thinking through what would be the best course of action if his identity were exposed. Lea had jokingly suggested that if they were found out, they could just force their way through — but doing so for real carried far too great a risk. He wasn’t sure about himself, but he had no intention of letting Lea end up in danger. In that case, it seemed the best option would be for him to draw their attention and give her a chance to escape. It was then that he heard the sound of buttons being undone, and Luciel’s gaze naturally drifted in that direction.

Lea was unfastening the buttons of her shirt, working her way downward from the collar. At the same moment, every thought in his mind came to a halt. Or rather — he had no choice but to let them stop. With each button her pretty fingers undid, the snow-white skin being revealed — and the lingering, provocative marks he had left on her — seized his gaze and refused to let it go. After undoing the buttons nearly down to her collarbone and loosening the shirt to bare her pale white shoulder, she let her beautiful crimson eyes gleam as she extended her hand toward him.

“Come here, Luciel.”

And he moved toward her, as if under a spell.

****

Tein, a member of the 6th Unit of the Mihael Knights, let out a sigh as he eyed the carriage bearing the royal seal. Of all things to stop, a royal carriage… Even though he was of common birth, he knew well enough how disrespectful it was to lay hands on a royal carriage. But neither could he disobey the orders of his liege, His Grace the Duke — and so he looked at the coachman standing beside him and spoke. He desperately hoped there was no one riding inside.

“Who is traveling in this carriage?”

“…Guests of His Highness Crown Prince Lanster are aboard.”

At the mention of Crown Prince Lanster, Tein’s expression grew even more rigid. Of all the royals, the Crown Prince of all people… Yet he quickly steeled himself. Had not two men been killed on the spot just a few days ago for losing track of the young lord? One wrong move and his own neck might be next. After all, in this kingdom, the influence of the Mihael Ducal House surpassed even that of the royal family. Sighing once more, he turned to the coachman and said:

“Open the door.”

“But these passengers are guests of His Highness—”

“These are the orders of His Grace Duke Mihael. Are you saying you intend to defy them?”

The killing intent radiating from Tein’s body made Guster take a step back as he reached for the carriage door handle. However, his other hand had quietly moved to the dagger concealed at his waist. If this knight were to recognize Luciel in his disguise, Guster planned to deal with him on the spot and buy enough time for Luciel and Lea to escape.

Click. The carriage door swung open, revealing the interior — and Tein froze in place, as if turned to stone.

A breathtakingly beautiful young man with dirty-blond hair sat leaning against the seat with his eyes closed, his shirt hanging open at the front to bare a pale, rounded shoulder. And pressed against that shoulder, with her face buried there, was a woman with long, wavy bronze-colored hair.

Tein’s gaze lingered on the vivid marks scattered across the young man’s neck and collarbone, and he couldn’t help but swallow involuntarily. The marks on that snow-white, seemingly soft skin were unmistakably sensual. Perhaps the sound of his swallowing had reached the young man — the closed eyes slowly opened, and a cold, bewitching pair of crimson irises locked directly onto him. Those angry eyes seemed to flicker like flames, and before he knew it, Tein had flinched and taken an involuntary step backward.

“…What is it? I despise being interrupted.”

As the young man’s lips parted and a flat, low voice slipped out, Guster quickly read the situation and bowed as he replied:

“I-I beg your pardon, young master. This gentleman belongs to the Mihael Knights, and it seems he is searching for someone.”

“The Mihael Knights…? Ah, you mean that ducal house… Ngh—!”

The young man’s lips had twisted with evident displeasure as he spoke, when his beautiful brow furrowed slightly and a soft sound escaped him. He glanced down at the woman whose face was buried in his shoulder.

“My, my… it seems our pretty little cat has grown sulky on your account.”

The young man smiled lazily, then raised his hand, took hold of the woman’s nape, and slowly drew her face away from his shoulder. He tilted his head down, pressed his lips to her neck in a deep kiss, and looked up at Tein.

“Are you going to keep watching from there? I don’t particularly mind, but.”

“Ah — no! I deeply apologize for the intrusion!”

As the young man’s intense crimson gaze landed on him with a mischievous gleam, Tein’s face flushed scarlet and he hastily backed away. Guster quickly shut the carriage door the moment Tein retreated. Once the door was closed, Tein stammered:

“I… forgive the intrusion…”

“Not at all. We’ll be on our way, then.”

Guster felt a wave of relief wash over him but kept his composure as he returned to the coachman’s seat. Even after the carriage had set off, Tein remained standing there in a daze. Though it had been only a moment, the crimson eyes that had stared into his seemed to linger like an afterimage, refusing to fade from his mind.

****

“Phew… we made it.”

Lea rested her chin on Luciel’s shoulder and let out a weary sigh. Since they had gotten through safely, her acting must not have seemed too unnatural. After a brief rest, the corners of Lea’s eyes lifted slightly as she drew away from Luciel and glared at him.

“What was that?! We almost got found out!”

“…Ah, sorry. I got a little too into the performance.”

Luciel accepted Lea’s scolding without protest. But his eyes held not a trace of remorse. On the contrary, his gaze had come to rest on her fingers as they worked to refasten the buttons of her loosened shirt. When she had pulled his head toward her bare, slender shoulder with the words “come here” — he had thought his heart had stopped. The sensation of her soft skin and the fresh, clean scent of her had rendered him incapable of thought in that moment, even as he knew perfectly well how precarious their situation was. Though, by the time he had lightly bitten her shoulder, he had already regained his senses.

‘If you’re just going to offer your shoulder so unguardedly like that, you can’t blame me for wanting to bite it.’

To tell the truth, it had been a small act of spite. Even in a dangerous situation like this — to so easily bare her skin and pull a man into her arms like that… Thanks to her, he had gained the thrilling experience of receiving a kiss on his neck, but really, she had no sense of caution whatsoever. This beautiful girl sitting before him. Of course, she’d acted that way because she didn’t think of him as a man — but that was precisely what made it all the more irritating.

‘That’s exactly what gets to me.’

I really ought to properly seduce her… Luciel watched her straighten herself back to her neat, composed appearance as the last button was fastened, and smiled — invisibly, but dangerously. Completely unaware of his thoughts, Lea let out a breath of relief as the carriage passed through the palace gates and said:

“Anyway, we’ve made it this far. Can we finally relax now?”

“Yeah… they’ll have already finished their search. Lanster isn’t dimwitted enough to have missed that.”

“Lanster?”

“Mm. Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Teor. Full name: Lanster Cherman Shpilfeld.”

“Ahhh~”

She didn’t say it aloud, but Lea’s expression seemed to ask, Is it really okay to refer to the Crown Prince so casually? — and Luciel found it endearing as he continued:

“It’s fine. He’s the one courting us, after all.”

“Courting? Don’t tell me — that crown prince has feelings for you?”

Watching her thoughts veer off in an unexpected direction, Luciel let out a small laugh. He reached out and ruffled her hair as he spoke:

“What are you imagining? He wants to gain the power of the Mihael Ducal House. That man is quite the lover of women.”

“Well, that’s a relief. I was starting to wonder if my friend had… certain unusual preferences.”

“If my preferences were unusual, would I have done those things to you?”

“Fair point.”

With the tension finally broken, they exchanged light banter, and before they knew it, the carriage had arrived at its destination. The door swung open, and Lea hopped out lightly, then extended her hand toward Luciel in his dress. He had just taken her hand and stepped down when a great burst of laughter rang out from somewhere nearby.

“Pfft — bwahahaha! Luciel, what on earth are you wearing?!”

Turning toward the source of the sound, they found a tall, well-built, strikingly handsome man with deep navy hair laughing with great delight. He had particularly striking amber eyes. Striding over to them, he looked Luciel up and down in his women’s clothing from head to toe, then started snickering again.

“Oh~ If only you were a little shorter, you’d be a true peerless beauty. What do you say? Why not take this opportunity and enter the palace?”

“You must have quite a lot of work on your hands these days — at least judging by the fact that you still have time to say such nonsense.”

Lanster’s laughter didn’t falter at Luciel’s blunt rebuke, but his gaze came to settle on Lea, who had been watching the two of them. In an instant, those amber eyes flickered with a bright gleam, and without hesitation he reached out, took Lea’s hand, and pressed his lips to the back of it.

“To think I would have the pleasure of meeting such a beautiful lady. A pleasure to meet you, my lady. I am Lanster Cherman Shpilfeld, Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Teor.”

Lea, flustered by Lanster’s sharp eye that had seen straight through her men’s disguise, turned in surprise as she felt Luciel’s hand close around her arm.