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Chapter 10 —
Escape Place
There was a cave nearby.
Ranseil, who had run there while carrying Ji-woo in his arms, immediately lit a fire and tried to dry their wet bodies first.
“Ranseil.”
“Hmm?”
At the sound of his name, Ranseil turned around at once.
“Come closer.”
When Ranseil approached without suspicion, Ji-woo quickly touched his ear. At her fingertips was a bit of blood she had prepared in advance.
“Ugh…!”
The moment she touched him, Ranseil flinched and let out a low groan. It seemed their ears were extremely sensitive.
As Akarna’s blood spread, the failed healing from before finally took effect. The half-severed ear regenerated in an instant.
“…Ah.”
Ranseil touched both of his now-normal ears, and quickly realized what had happened. His face flushed with embarrassment.
“So… so that’s what it was. I completely misunderstood.”
With his face burning red, he couldn’t look anywhere, and eventually stood up to escape the awkward atmosphere.
“I’ll go out and get something to eat.”
“Ranseil.”
Ji-woo grabbed him.
It was a small, weak pull on his clothes—an easily overlooked gesture. But Ranseil stopped as if it were some powerful grip.
Since it was the first time Ji-woo had ever reached for him first, he immediately turned back with concern, as if he had never been embarrassed at all.
“What is it? Are you still hurt somewhere…?”
Because his hearing was so sharp, he must have caught even that slight movement. It was nothing—but that “nothing” made Ji-woo’s heart sink.
The crown prince could give his body and heart to others freely.
So why did she only have to look at him? Why did she have to accept whatever scraps he gave her like charity, while shaking with betrayal?
Was that really her only option?
Ji-woo bit her lip.
“…What if it wasn’t a misunderstanding?”
“What?”
“If… what I want is actually true…?”
Her expression held none of the shyness of a confession of love. Nor the confidence of seduction. It wasn’t even the friendliness of speaking to someone she liked.
She looked like she was holding back tears, yet also strangely desperate. At a glance, she almost seemed afraid. With a face like a dead person on the verge of collapse, Akarna was speaking something untrue.
It resembled the same desperate expression she had when she saved Ranseil from being swallowed by dark energy.
Ranseil took her outstretched hand.
“I told you—my life belongs to you from now on.”
It didn’t matter what it was. Because it was that emotion which had saved him.
Outside the cave, the rain was still pouring.
Ji-woo closed her eyes and focused on the sound of it.
Even though she was the one who had brought it up, she couldn’t hide her anxiety. She was essentially trying to use Ranseil to forget the crown prince. She felt guilty that he seemed to notice, but instead of complaining, he actually looked pleased.
Instead, he simply spent a long time gently soothing her tearful state.
The rain gradually softened. The insects, which had held their breath under the downpour, began to cry out faintly again as they woke. As night deepened and the fire crackled more clearly, Ranseil focused entirely on calming Ji-woo.
“Mm… ah.”
Ranseil’s kisses became slightly more intense than before—also more daring.
Out in the open forest, he had only touched her ear and been startled. But inside the secluded cave, his behavior seemed to lose all restraint.
Forehead, cheeks, lips, even her neck—there was nowhere his lips did not touch. It looked as if he intended to kiss her entire body.
Finally, he pressed his lips deeply against hers, then pulled away and tugged her arm. Her upper body tilted toward him. A strong scent of unknown wild herbs came from him, growing stronger the more excited he became—as if it were meant to seduce her.
“Is this okay?”
After the carriage accident, Akarna’s recovery had slowed. A bright red wound still remained on her arm.
Ranseil pressed his lips against the scar. Her body flinched sensitively, but it didn’t feel unpleasant.
As he carefully kissed her arm for a long time, Ranseil stroked the back of her hand with his large, firm palm.
She swallowed.
Just moments ago, his mouth had been inside hers, and now even her saliva felt sweet like sugar.
“It’ll heal quickly anyway.”
“Really? That’s a relief.”
Even after saying it would heal quickly, Ranseil continued licking the scar like an animal.
“Ugh…”
That was only the beginning.
While touching her arm, he slipped under her collar and kissed her shoulder as it was exposed. Pressing his forehead against hers, he slowly lowered her onto the ground.
The cloak he had laid down had no unpleasant smell at all—only the refreshing scent of wild herbs. It felt like lying in a flower field, and yet a “flower” of a person was now on top of her.
A low, husky voice echoed through the cave.
“You’re like a peach. So pretty.”
“I… you don’t have to say things like that.”
“Why? I’m only stating the truth.”
As he spoke, Ranseil stroked her slender waist.
His palms were surprisingly firm, making Ji-woo shrink her shoulders.
“Mm.”
“You’re soft. May I touch more?”
“Y-yes…”
At her permission, Ranseil grew bolder. Her body, cooled by the cold air, melted under his warm touch.
But because her clothes were damp from rain, sharing warmth was difficult. So Ranseil removed his own clothes.
His movements were a little abrupt, but soon a smooth, bare body was revealed.
“Wow…”
Ji-woo murmured in admiration without thinking.
As Ranseil took off his clothes completely, strong, reddish muscles were revealed. His shoulders were broad enough to hold her entirely, while his waist was lean. Every contour was sharply defined with tight muscle. Even his abdomen had deep, carved lines of shadow.
She had thought he was slim because of how he looked when dressed—but she had been mistaken. His appearance, which leaned toward beauty rather than masculinity, had been misleading. Now, seeing his build, he looked undeniably wild—like a creature of the forest.
And everywhere she looked, there were scars of various sizes. Strangely, they didn’t ruin his appearance. Instead, like marks on an ancient tree, they made his body even more striking.
As Ji-woo stared blankly, her gaze drifted lower—and she froze.
“W-wait… that… just a second…”
Even with such a beautiful body, it didn’t feel grotesque. It was like looking at a perfect sculpture.
The only problem was the size.
“I don’t think… that’ll work.”
Yet she couldn’t look away.
In truth, even the crown prince had been difficult for her to handle.
She knew Ranseil wasn’t human—but she hadn’t expected even that part of him to exceed human limits.
Ji-woo instinctively pressed against his chest to push him away, but Ranseil didn’t move at all. Instead, he closed the distance again, trapping her closer. Their warm, ticklish breaths mixed between them.
But Ranseil didn’t realize what she was reacting to.
“Why… is it because you find me disgusting?”
“Not that…”
He drooped his long ears sideways, looking dejected.
Ji-woo answered honestly.
“Not that… it’s just… it seems too big.”
“I’ll be careful not to overdo it.”
“That’s not the problem—it feels like it won’t fit…”
Ranseil whispered while staring at her in his arms.
“Then I’ll keep trying until it feels like it might work. As long as I’m not too disgusting to you.”
With a light pull, their bodies pressed fully together. Heat radiated through thin fabric.
He rubbed his forehead and nose against her neck affectionately. Just moments ago, he had looked discouraged—but now…
Having dealt with a crown prince who had always been confident in his looks and status, Ji-woo couldn’t understand how someone with such a body could still seem uncertain of himself.
