Chapter 04

‘…There’s no way this is okay!’

A heartbeat later, Lucy finally realized the position she was in and screamed inwardly.

She was currently being carried in a princess carry by a man radiating an overwhelming, dangerous aura.

The hard, burning surface she’d touched earlier…

Turned out to be his chest.

‘Well… technically, his breastplate.’

His chest was so broad that the armor covering it felt enormous.

‘Would you be okay with this, Lucy?’

A woman literally falls out of the sky and starts feeling up your chest!

Perhaps because of that, the crimson gaze fixed on her sent chills down her spine.

Slowly withdrawing her hand, Lucy cautiously studied the man.

At least there was one fortunate thing.

He didn’t seem intent on harming her.

Still…

That massive physique.

That oppressive aura.

And…

‘With armor like this…’

Could he be one of the temple’s Holy Knights?

‘This is bad.’

Cold sweat trickled down her back as her eyelashes trembled.

‘Calm down.’

She couldn’t let him see that she was afraid.

If she acted suspiciously…

She would be dragged back.

‘No.’

She refused to return to that cold prison and wait there for death.

‘Never again.’

…

It wasn’t much different from her previous life.

“Lucy, stay hidden here, alright?”

“Big Sis! Little Sis! Don’t go!”

“It’s okay. We’ll be back soon.”

By a cruel coincidence, the world she’d lived in before reincarnating had also been overrun by creatures similar to the monsters in this world.

Just after surviving the nightmare of college entrance exams and finally becoming a free university student…

Dungeons and monsters had suddenly appeared.

Like in the novels she’d read, she had hoped Hunters or Awakened warriors would appear to fight them.

But…

No such miracle ever came to her world.

The survivors formed civilian militias instead.

Lucy’s older sisters, both former athletics students, joined one of those groups and left to fight.

Lucy, who had no strength to speak of, remained behind in the shelter.

“Hey, parasite! Be grateful we even let you stay here!”

“We occupied this shelter first! Keep your head down and don’t make yourself noticeable!”

Life in the shelter was harsh.

Her sisters never came back.

To avoid being thrown out…

She had to bow her head, make herself as small as possible, and suppress every selfish desire.

The shelter eventually became a prison in everything but name.

Her only comfort was the collection of web novels she’d saved offline on her smartphone.

‘I reread The Last Dragon’s Bride countless times back then.’

Then one day…

Monsters finally reached the shelter.

The collapsing ceiling fell toward her.

…

That had been the final memory of her previous life.

‘And now…’

She was supposed to return to another prison just like that one?

No.

She was sick of cold walls.

Sick of damp air.

‘I finally got another chance.’

And there was more.

“Lucy, they say there’s a place called the sea outside.”

“And fields filled with purple flowers.”

“We’ll get to see them someday… right?”

In this life…

As the memories of her current body resurfaced, she remembered the children who had died one by one in the underground prison.

Their voices echoed in her ears.

Perhaps they sounded so painfully familiar because…

“I hate monsters…”

“Big Sis… do you think we’ll ever get out?”

…they overlapped perfectly with the voices of the children she’d known in the shelter during her previous life.

‘In both lives…’

‘We made the same promise.’

That one of them would survive.

That one of them would see the outside world.

A fierce determination ignited deep inside her.

‘This time will be different.’

For the sake of everyone who had gone before her…

In both lives…

She would survive.

She would give them proper graves.

‘And then I’ll beat the hell out of everyone responsible.’

Beat them all.

Become the boss—

No.

Become the master of her own life.

Of course…

To gather enough momentum, sometimes you first had to lie flat.

‘That part’s easy.’

Appeasing powerful people was something she’d practically done every day in her previous life.

People as powerless as her only survived by staying on the good side of those in charge.

So this time, too…

“Haha… Nice weather we’re having.”

The night sky was completely overcast.

“And the temperature is just perfect…”

It was the middle of a scorching summer.

“Let’s see… Sir Knight… you’re incredibly handsome…”

His face was completely hidden beneath a helmet.

The more she talked, the more pathetic she felt.

Still, she had to distract him somehow.

Lucy lightly patted his armored chest and forced a cheerful smile.

“And to catch such a delicate young lady—light as a feather—after she fell out of a tree… You must be an incredibly kind person.”

“…”

“So… could you perhaps put me down now?”

Hearing that, Edward slowly tilted his head.

‘What an odd woman.’

The filthy little thing looked half-starved.

Yet despite seeing someone everyone else feared and revered…

She didn’t appear frightened.

More than that…

She was casually chatting to him as though they’d known each other for years.

It was utterly absurd.

But the thing that truly caught Edward’s attention was…

‘…It stopped.’

The power inside him, which had been on the verge of erupting, had grown quiet.

More precisely…

The parts of his body touching this woman had become strangely calm.

‘It’s peaceful.’

The violent energy raging inside him subsided.

The constant migraine pressing against his skull faded.

Even the dragon scales spreading across his body slowly receded.

More than anything…

This feeling.

‘It feels like I’ve finally gotten my body back.’

If he were ever to receive true purification…

If everything unpleasant about Sepina’s purification—the sensation of insects crawling beneath his skin—were removed…

It would probably feel exactly like this.

Filled with an unfamiliar sense of relief, Edward looked down at the woman in his arms.

‘Small…’

‘Like a half-starved little animal.’

Pale.

Tiny.

Soft.

Constantly watching his expression.

With dark eyes.

“…You look like a mouse.”

“Huh?”

Lucy narrowed her eyes.

What?

‘Not even a squirrel?’

So his first impression of her was basically…

“You look like a rat.”

Well…

She couldn’t exactly deny that she looked the part.

Still…

‘Who says something like that the first time they meet someone?’

She was honestly impressed by his complete lack of social skills.

‘Though… it’s still better than being called a parasite like I was back at the shelter.’

Judging by the murderous aura surrounding him, she wouldn’t have been surprised if he’d thrown her aside already.

Instead…

‘Wait…’

Is he holding me even tighter than before?

His warm breastplate felt closer.

His crimson eyes seemed oddly relaxed.

Just then—

“Your Grace, Duke Edward!”

The shout from behind instantly stiffened Lucy’s body.

‘A temple guard!’

That alone was enough to make her panic.

But then…

‘Wait a second.’

Duke Edward?

Lucy looked back into those blazing crimson eyes.

The familiar name and overwhelming presence finally clicked together.

‘Then this is…’

The male lead!

‘I had no idea…’

She’d noticed that his armor looked unbelievably expensive.

She’d even thought his ruby-red eyes were surprisingly beautiful.

But…

To think it was because he was the male lead…

‘Of all people!’

Normally, meeting the male lead for the first time should have been accompanied by flowers blooming and sparkles filling the air.

She should have felt as though her savior had arrived.

Instead…

Every nerve in her body tensed.

‘Am I going to die at the male lead’s hands before the temple even catches me?’

The male lead in this novel treated everyone except his destined mate like garbage.

‘Even in the original story, he never seemed comfortable touching Sepina.’

Although, admittedly, it was pretty funny considering he still regularly spent nights with her.

Either way…

There was every possibility he was already annoyed simply because she was touching him.

Perhaps that was why…

Instead of flowers…

The air felt thick with killing intent.

‘What do I do?’

Lucy shrank into herself nervously.

Clank. Clank.

The guard’s footsteps drew closer behind them.

“Your Grace, may I have a moment?”

“…”

“A prisoner from the temple has… escaped.”

Hearing that, Edward slowly tilted his head again.

A prisoner.

The moment those words were spoken…

The woman in his arms visibly stiffened.

So…

She was the escaped prisoner.

Considering her filthy rags…

“…”

Then Edward looked at her more carefully.

She was painfully thin from hunger.

Her clothes were torn and stained with dirt.

Her wrists bore wounds as though blood had repeatedly been drawn from them.

Needle marks covered her arms.

This looked less like a criminal…

And more like…

“Your Grace?”

“…”

“I’m terribly sorry, but if possible, could I see the face of the young lady you’re carrying—”

The soldier reached out.

Smack!

A sharp crack echoed through the garden.

The soldier stumbled backward.

His hand instantly swelled as though he’d slammed it against a scorching iron plate.

“…”

The bewildered soldier stared at Edward.

“Y-Your Grace?”

“I’m not okay with that.”

“…Pardon?”

“I said…”

“I’m not okay with it.”

Lucy and the soldier both looked up at Edward in stunned silence.