Chapter: 589
A small room on the upper floor.
It looks like a place where it would be somewhat difficult for many people to enter.
At least five or six people were crammed into that small room.
A thinly spread bed.
Mrs. Mi was briefly bowing towards it.
“This is Hyoran Mi, the person in charge of the White Flower Merchant Association. I greet the princess of the Ice Palace.”
When Mrs. Mi said that, the person on the bed smiled faintly.
“Oh, you don’t have to treat me like that. You can just relax around me.”
A minx.
No, a foolish girl… no. The Little Princess of the North Sea waves her hand at Mrs. Mi.
Then,
“No, my lady, how can you say such things to someone from the Central Plains?”
The person standing behind speaks up.
“Wherever you go, you deserve to be treated with proper respect. Especially in such an unfamiliar place.”
He was probably an escort.
You could feel the spirit behind his words. He definitely seemed to have passed his peak easily.
Then, is the person next to him also an escort? There’s another person similarly dressed as the man.
The author should probably be an escort too.
The princess shows a somewhat troubled expression at the escort’s words.
“Woobeom… This isn’t even our land. How could I accept anything worse than this? I even caused an incident, you know?”
I have no idea what she confidently means.
Swish.
The little princess carefully changes her position to show respect to the other person.
“Your…!”
The escort seems surprised and tries to stop her, but the princess’s words come first.
“My name is Yuri. I am known as the Fourth Star of the North Sea. Thank you for welcoming me here.”
As she lightly bows, her silver hair sways.
Immediately after, she raises her head and offers a slight smile.
“I didn’t plan on meeting you like this… Hehe.”
I guess so.
She definitely didn’t expect to run away and get caught like this.
“I feel a bit awkward. This is something else.”
Yuri scratches the back of her head and utters those words.
Silence follows.
Because no one else spoke.
Just a few seconds pass.
After a short while, it was Mrs. Mi who broke the silence again.
“I would like to thank you once more for coming to the Central Plains….”
“Hehehe, what?”
“One, I have something I wish to ask.”
“What is it?”
“Before the welcome, I would like to understand your attempt to escape.”
“Oh.”
She seems interested in why she’d slipped past the guards earlier.
“Maybe you didn’t like the escort’s guidance?”
“That’s not it.”
“Then, I’d like to know why you acted that way.”
As Mrs. Mi speaks calmly, Yuri gently smiles and offers her answer.
“I just wanted to look around.”
“Are you saying you just wanted to sightsee?”
“Yes.”
Even Mrs. Mi fails to hide her surprise at such a simple answer.
I was left wondering what on earth that answer meant…
Yuri’s expression was sincere as she spoke.
“I really wanted to come to the Central Plains. Especially to Hanam, where the Murim Alliance is! I thought I’d never get the chance until I die. But then I came, and I couldn’t stand it!”
Her bright smile was filled with excitement.
“So, I wanted to see the Murim Alliance and also visit the famous Shaolin Temple.”
“… So, you’re saying you ran away?”
“I’m truly sorry about that. But once I got here, I felt like I wouldn’t be able to go out. And I probably would not.”
After hearing Yuri’s explanation, a question popped up in my mind.
‘You can’t get out once you arrive at the Association?’
Her confidence made her statement a bit puzzling.
“So… Now that it’s come to this, can’t I just check it out for today?”
“No.”
Mrs. Mi firmly interrupts Yuri.
“The Central Plains is more dangerous than you think, Your Royal Highness.”
“Aw… But just for one day…”
“We are here to provide safe protection during the princess’s stay in the Central Plains. It is not only dangerous to go outside without permission but also…”
Mrs. Mi’s eyes narrow slightly as she watches Yuri.
“If we remember what you’ve requested from us in the Ice Palace for your princess, it makes this behavior even more impossible.”
“… Ugh.”
Yuri groans at the resolute words.
Every time I see her unexpectedly, I truly fail to understand.
‘Why does she look so incredible and act so clueless?’
The resemblance to Mo Yong-hee means she carries a vibe of an ice queen.
Yet, perhaps due to her hair, Yuri appears even colder than Mo Yong-hee.
How can her behavior and speech contrast so starkly with her looks?
‘So. Why was I called here again?’
I was quietly observing the situation, still baffled.
“But…! The person hasn’t arrived yet.”
“Your Highness…? What do you mean by that…?”
“The Red Feathers of the Central Plains!”
… What feathers? Everyone ends up with confused expressions at Yuri’s exclamation.
“Isn’t the conversation supposed to become more dynamic once he arrives?”
Mrs. Mi’s brow furrows at the odd moniker.
Red Feather? What kind of person might that be?
I had never heard of that nickname before.
‘It seems even Mrs. Mi doesn’t recognize it.’
As the realization dawned on her, Mrs. Mi frowned in thought for a moment.
“Ah?”
She glanced at me as if realizing something.
What’s that all about? Why is she looking at me?
After a brief moment of staring, Mrs. Mi quickly shifted her focus back to Yuri.
“Your Highness. That might indeed be related.”
“If we’re waiting for him to arrive to speak anyway… until then, I can look around a little, right?”
With her excitement bubbling, Yuri’s gaze shifted from Mrs. Mi to me in the back.
“Huh?”
Then, she suddenly pointed her finger at me.
“You…! The one who hit me!”
As Yuri exclaimed that, the guards standing behind her reacted.
An unnecessary tension filled the already cramped room.
“Hit…?”
I could sense the guards’ glares growing more and more threatening.
Oh boy, this is bad.
“No, that’s not the case. The situation is a bit…”
Just as I was about to hurriedly clarify the misunderstanding.
“What do you do in moments like this? Oh, right.”
Yuri suddenly altered her position.
She knelt down and placed her hands together obediently while looking at me.
What in the world is she doing?
While I was taken aback by her strange behavior.
“Excuse me.”
She looks at me and says.
“I am…”
Her voice too seemed to have changed somehow, as if she was awkwardly mimicking a man’s tone.
No, that was exactly what was happening.
Why is this woman suddenly speaking like that?
At that moment, a question crossed my mind.
Yuri looked at me and said.
“Would it be okay if I married you?”
“…?”
The atmosphere plunged into icy silence.
Not even the sound of breathing could be heard.
My thoughts came to a standstill.
I think it lasted about a second.
Was that the issue here?
“What the hell is this crazy girl talking about?”
Without realizing it, I blurted out what I thought.
It had been a while since I had voiced thoughts so roughly.
“Ugh…”
Beside me, I could hear Mo Yong-hee swallowing her breath.
Right, I would have wanted to cover my mouth too.
I felt a cold sweat break out as I inadvertently spoke.
At that moment.
“Wow.”
Yuri reacted to my outburst.
“I was cursed at! Wow!”
A reaction that was completely different from what I anticipated erupted.
“Oh my, you’re insane. This is fascinating! This isn’t the response I was hoping for, but it’s refreshing too, isn’t it?”
“…”
“Hey, could you do it one more time? It’s the first curse I’ve ever heard.”
I unwittingly distanced myself a bit.
She truly seems to be a madwoman.
It’s just too much.
‘No matter how crazy she is, I don’t want to deal with someone truly insane.’
Not only that, but she shares a resemblance with Mo Yong-hee, making this all more awkward.
Yeah, that’s exactly it.
A person to avoid entanglement with.
That girl from the North Sea was the type of person I was least compatible with.
As I contemplated escape, not wanting to deal with the awkwardness.
“Hey.”
The guard behind Yuri stopped me.
Thud.
Suddenly, my lower abdomen responded.
Feeling it, I looked to the other person.
“Barbarian. What did you just say to the princess?”
“Barbarian?”
That’s a unique title too. One I’d never heard before.
I’ve heard of ruffians, scoundrels, and even madmen, but a barbarian? How fresh.
“To spew such nonsense…! So the guys from the Central Plains really are just as vile as I heard.”
What an awful choice of words, I thought.
There was an undertone of bloodlust in his voice.
“How dare you speak such words when you’re aware of who this person is?”
“I thought they were introducing themselves, actually?”
“Shut up!”
You asked me.
Why are you irritated when you’re the one who asked me?
“A lowly race like you. How dare you hurl insults at the star of the North Sea? Not only can you not even show gratitude for their visit!”
“Oh, Woobeom. Isn’t that a bit too much…?”
“Stay quiet. I shall ensure the princess’s dignity remains intact against them.”
“You don’t have to do that…!”
Yuri anxiously attempts to intervene, but
Woobeom steps further forward, seemingly intent on ignoring her.
Simultaneously, his hand moves toward the sword tied at his waist.
“I will show you what the Sword of the North Sea means.”
Clang!
Just as he was about to draw his sword.
Thud!
He had to freeze, unable to pull it out.
Just before drawing, the tip of a sharp dagger was already at his throat.
“Don’t move.”
Drip.
A bit of blood trickles from his neck.
“This girl…?”
To everyone’s surprise, the one who overpowered Woobeom was none other than Dang Soyeol.
At some point, Dang Soyeol had moved to threaten Woobeom with a dagger.
Are you flustered by this unexpected turn of events?
That guy starts to squirm his eyes around.
I grabbed the opportunity to speak.
“Three times.”
Then all eyes shifted towards me.
Including those of the Little Princess.
Mrs. Mi too.
Mo Yong-hee as well.
Even that fool Woobeom turned to gaze at me.
“First off, I let Mrs. Mi slide after she spouted nonsense.”
I did my utmost to maintain a calm voice.
“Next, you got a pass for talking trash to me.”
I could see his expression twisting as if he didn’t understand.
“Lastly, I even tolerated you trying to draw your sword.”
It matters not if they comprehend or not.
“Today, I’m not in a good mood.”
Speaking those words, I fixed my gaze on Woobeom.
“But you’ve already pushed me three times?”
With a light smile, I said.
“If you utter anything else here, you. Will actually die.”
There’s no next time.
I kept that thought as I stared him down.
So,
“What on earth are you saying right now….”
Unable to restrain his pride, he blurted something out.
I was worried something might happen if I stayed silent, thankfully, I did not have to.
With that thought coursing through me,
My hand had already found its way to the bastard’s neck.
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