Chapter 20. Saved the king of this country
***
He was still in disbelief.
He didn’t know how her he had slept. Though it seemed longer than last night.
Kalos opened his eyes and stared into the darkness, lost in thought. He felt very refreshed. It was like the first good night's sleep he'd ever had in his life. He'd forgotten what it felt like to sleep well.
Thanks to her, he could sleep and drink water that wasn’t cold, and he wouldn’t die if the soldiers were delayed outside. As long as he had her.
He laughed helplessly. He laughed at the absurdity of thinking of this woman as if she were his lifeline.
Well... it was not necessarily wrong, but things would be different once they got out of here. Still, what she had done here deserved to be rewarded. Regardless of whose daughter she was. Kalos didn’t intend to be stingy with that.
She saved the king of this country. He must admit it.
If she took this opportunity to make outrageous demands, she'd be shooting herself in the foot, but if she asked reasonably, he would grant them. He was secretly excited to see how it would turn out. How she'd disappoint him and shoot herself in the foot.
Hmm....
He felt sleepy again. It felt like sleep was pouring in, as if he was trying to make up for all the sleep he hadn't gotten. Thanks to this woman.
Kalos yawned, pulling her body tighter against his. Sleep really did come easily.
He didn’t know what magic she was using, but it was very desirable. His expression was more relaxed than ever.
He realized how tired she was, too, and slept longer than she should have. Yes, let's get some sleep together. That would make the boring, stuffy time pass.
Now that he looked at it, the space seemed cramped, but cozy enough to sleep in.
Who would have thought that they would be sleeping so comfortably in a cave. Besides, who would believe him if he told them he'd been sleeping in a woman's arms for days.
He lifted one corner of his lips and let out a blood curdling laugh.
Right now, sleeping soundly like this was a greater pleasure and desire than anything else in his life.
Oh, no. Pleasure, that was too much.
He'd gotten too much sleep, even for his own good.
In any case, sleep was more necessary and more important to him than anything else. She'd done a great job.
If they got out of here, she'd think she'd only saved his life, but she'd be even more flattered if she knew she'd also cured his insomnia, which had all his loyalists hanging on her every word. So he didn’t plan to tell her. But let's enjoy it a little longer.
Gently pulling her soft, pleasantly warm body against him, he smiled and welcomed the sleep that was coming.
Yawning loudly, Kalos wrapped his arms and legs around her more tightly.
And just like that, he drifted back into a pleasant sleep.
***
Queen Catherine of Izef received an unwelcome message.
The maid she had sent with Trisha had sent another messenger. She had something to report.
The first thing she wondered was if she'd gotten into trouble. The second thing she feared was if she'd been caught. She wouldn’t think Trisha would have moved so lightly with Aaron's life on the line.
[An avalanche has buried the princess. Her condition is unconfirmed. We'll get back to you as soon as we know].
What the hell is this?
Trisha was buried in the snow. If she was buried in an avalanche, she'd be dead. Like anyone.
Hmm....
Catherine's mind raced. She didn't care if Trisha was dead or not. Even if she was dead, people would still think she was her daughter, so she would bring her body back and accuse the king of Tasar of killing his precious daughter. She could demand more to make up for it.
But more than that, this was her chance. A chance to officially and casually visit Tasar palace.
There was work to be done there. Something very, very important.
Queen Catherine grew impatient. She was trying to figure out how to get into Tasar's palace, but heaven help her.
"Get ready."
The queen's voice was full of excitement as she commanded her servants.
***
"We are like bears."
Kalos stretched and rose, stepped out of his cloak and stretched for a moment. The air could not have been more refreshing.
As he moved, she followed suit, waking up and mumbling something about looking like a bear in a non-dreamy state.
"I guess I look like a bear to you because I’m big."
Trisha replied, still rubbing her eyes.
"It's not that, it's just that we both sleep a lot, like bears hibernate...."
Her voice still had a hint of sleep in it.
"You're not wrong."
It was true. She slept like a bear hibernating. But because she was less awake, her words were longer and her tone was softer, and she gave him a stiff reply.
Not bad.
He picked up the gauntlets he'd taken off. He could faintly hear sounds outside. They were coming hard, they were coming soon.
So he’d better get ready to go out and meet them.
As he continued to sleep as if in a daze, he lost track of how many days had passed, but it didn't matter, he knew he could get out safely now.
From his behavior, Trisha knew it was almost time to leave.
Now fully awake, she sat up with a sigh of relief, and slowly began to inspect her appearance.
***
There was another chaos.
Kalos and Trisha had managed to escape through the hole the soldiers had worked so hard to dig.
At the sight of Kalos, the soldiers let out a roar and raised their swords and shields high in the air. The sight of their joy filled him with pride, though he was wary that the loud noise might trigger another avalanche.
How glad Kalos was to see them all again, too.
Victor's eyes were watery as he approached. Even Dalton, who was supposed to be so stoic, had tears in his eyes.
Route, who rushed over and hugged Kalos, was crying out loud. His sobs were loud and runny. This was how he should be.
Roman was lying face down in the snow as if in prayer. He was praying to the gods who had brought the king back to life. It was a touching scene to behold.
But Kalos, glancing down at him, was unmoved. He was not fooled. Roman's reputation for doing this would only increase. He was just aiming for it.
"Route. Roman. Thank you."
Kalos didn't show his true feelings.
At Kalos's call, Roman rose from his seat and came to him.
"The heavens helped you."
"No, the god Lamu helped us."
Route and Roman alternately burst out laughing.
No. Wrong. It was the Princess of Izef who helped him.
Surrounded by the crowd, Kalos suddenly turned his head and scanned his surroundings.
Useless ministers, he thought.
Anyway, he was alive and well thanks to the woman.
However, she was nowhere to be seen. His thick eyebrows knitted together in disapproval. He hated himself for his behavior.
Her existence mattered to no one now. All that mattered was that he, the king, was alive.
And yet he cared about her. It would be strange if he shouldn't care after all the help he had gotten from her. It's a natural reaction, even if the dog had helped him.
Kalos was escorted toward the stairs. His eyes scanned everywhere, and then he saw her, descending the stairs, being urged down by a maid. His gaze lingered on her for a moment.
After a moment, he could see her back in the distance, climbing into the waiting carriage.
She was now completely out of sight. He looked away as the carriage began to move.
His flesh was already as cold as ale, but today it felt even colder. He must get back to the palace.
Kalos hurried down the stairs, but halfway down, he glanced back.
There, at the bottom of the cliff with the hole in it. There were two people trapped there. It looked different from here. The situation was more dangerous than he thought. The snowdrifts had washed away everything in front of him. It looked so terrible that he had to look hard to find the place, and yet, in there, in the comfort of......
Kalos stopped thinking, turned his head, and began to walk back down the stairs in silence.
***
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