Sorry, I got distracted by your looks

“Let me ask you one last time. Where are you hiding Bibi?”

Back at the Uzcal estate, in front of the stables, Mikrok’s closest knight, Sir William, had been locked in a standoff with Leah’s maid, Millie—for

They needed to leave immediately, yet here he was, being held hostage by a tiny maid who looked like she couldn’t even put up a fight.

The more William thought about it, the more ridiculous it seemed.

At sunrise, William went to find the Marquis and Marchioness of Uzcal.

“Actually, last night, His Majesty Mikrok and Lady Leah… well, they

—no, I mean, they left earlier than expected.”

“…What?”

The marquis and marchioness stared at him in utter disbelief, and William felt his face heat up.

He wasn’t the one who had run off in the middle of the night, so

was he the one feeling embarrassed?!

Surprisingly, the Uzcal couple didn’t seem particularly angry.

“Their departure was planned for today anyway, so leaving a little earlier doesn’t make much of a difference,” the marchioness said lightly.

Then, she leaned in and whispered to the marquis, “Derek, in that case, why don’t we go see His Majesty today and collect the money he promised…?”

“Hmm… Ahem. Let’s discuss this inside.”

Clearing his throat, the marquis quickly turned back to William. “Sir William, I wish you safe travels. Please send our regards to His Majesty the King of Pritan.”

With that, the marquis and marchioness disappeared—without

asking about their

.

William had suspected they weren’t affectionate parents, but this level of indifference was almost impressive.

Still, the family drama of the Uzcal household was none of his concern. He needed to catch up to Mikrok

.

Except—

His horse, Bibi, was

.

The same horse that had been peacefully tied up in the stable the night before.

And in its place? Leah’s maid, Millie.

“Promise me you’ll take me too. If not, I

tell you where your horse is!”

Millie sat stubbornly on top of a travel bag, arms crossed, her face full of determination.

“Oh, for the love of—!”

William let out a strangled groan, clenching his fists to suppress his temper.

Millie flinched slightly at his outburst, but she refused to back down.

“I’m

asking you to let me ride in a noble’s carriage! I just want to go with you since you’re already heading in that direction. And you’re

refusing? That’s just plain

!”

“…Mean?”

William’s jaw nearly dropped.

“I am the

closest guard. Every second I spend away from him is already a risk, and you’re asking me to waste even

time dragging you along?”

“If you had just agreed to take me from the start, we’d already be on our way!

the one wasting time right now, Sir William!”

“Taking

along will

!”

That was it. William

.

“I am

on some leisurely ride through the countryside! I am going to tear through the land like I’m charging into battle! Do you think a

like you can handle that speed?! Stop being a burden and stay here!”

Surely, this would be enough to make her give up.

Even fully trained knights went pale and fled when he raised his voice.

Millie’s eyes immediately welled up, her face scrunching as if she were about to cry.

“Just tell me where Bibi is. If His Majesty allows it later, I’ll send a carriage for you. That is a knight’s

.”

For a moment, Millie sat frozen.

Then, suddenly, she

.

William sighed in relief, assuming she had finally given up—

But instead of leading him to Bibi, she walked over to the corner of the stable and picked up a

.

“Fine! I’ll tie myself up so I won’t be a nuisance! I’ll hold on no matter what—I won’t fall off!”

Millie clutched the rope tightly in both hands, staring at him with pleading eyes.

And at that moment, William realized—

He had lost.

“Ughhh!!!”

His frustration boiled over, and he stomped the ground furiously.

Millie flinched but refused to look away.

After a long glare, William stormed forward, snatched up her bag, and

the rope from her hands before throwing it aside.

“Fine.

.”

“Really? Oh, thank you, Sir William!!”

Millie let out a sigh of relief, her smile bright even as tears trickled down her cheeks.

William scowled.

For some reason,

felt like the villain here.

Turning away, he grumbled, “If you start crying because it’s too hard, I

leave you behind.”

“I won’t cry! I

! This way, Sir William!”

She wiped her tears and led him toward a large ginkgo tree on Laurel Hill.

Sure enough, Bibi stood there, calmly nibbling on grass.

The rope Millie had

tied had already come undone.

Yet Bibi hadn’t wandered off. The intelligent horse had simply waited for its master.

William clenched his teeth.

“You little brat. You actually

a stranger all the way here?! When we get back, I’m putting you through

.”

Bibi snorted in response, flicking its mane defiantly.

William turned back to Millie. “How did you do it?”

“Do what?”

“Bibi doesn’t trust anyone but me and His Majesty. How did you get him to follow you?”

“Oh, that?”

Millie grinned and reached into her pocket, pulling out a small item.

A sugar cube.

“Stablemaster Tom said, ‘There isn’t a horse in the world that can resist sugar cubes.’”

William stared at her in disbelief.

He had always thought Bibi was special.

Yet the horse had been

?!

William felt personally offended.

But there was no time to dwell on it.

With practiced ease, he swung himself onto Bibi’s back, then gave a sharp kick to its side.

Bibi reared up before galloping forward.

“Sir William, wait! You

to take me—kyahh!!”

Before she could finish, William leaned down mid-gallop, grabbed Millie by the waist, and

her onto the horse.

Millie let out a shriek as she found herself unceremoniously seated in front of him.

She barely had time to process what had happened before William

.

Instinctively, she clung to him, wrapping her arms around his waist.

She shut her eyes tightly, her stomach churning from the terrifying speed.

To her surprise, William didn’t push her away.

And strangely…

The more she focused on holding on, the less scary he seemed.

Meanwhile, William was also caught off guard.

The moment Millie grabbed him, he almost yelled,

But then he realized—she was just scared.

And if she was

terrified, then maybe she wouldn’t be so much of a nuisance after all.

Still, he wasn’t about to go soft.

Refocusing, he kicked Bibi’s side again, pushing the horse to its limit.

Bibi whinnied and tore through the landscape, racing toward the border.

****

No matter how much I willed it to stop, my stomach refused to be silenced.

Two days had passed since we left the Uzcal estate.

Last night, we managed to stay at an inn in a small village, but as we neared the border, there were fewer and fewer towns.

So tonight, we were camping in the woods.

The moment my feet touched the ground after riding all day, my entire body relaxed.

And that’s when my stomach

started complaining.

Across from me, Mikrok smirked.

Ugh. So embarrassing.

I quickly ducked my head.

“I was planning to set up the tent first, but it seems your stomach has other priorities.”

“It’s fine! I can wait. Please, go ahead.”

Feigning composure, I waved off my hunger.

His eyes gleamed mischievously.

“Really? It’ll only take about

.”

An hour?!

I was

.

Mikrok set the tent aside and instead focused on starting a fire. Before long, a small pot was simmering over the flames.

As the aroma of the soup filled the air, my hunger intensified.

For a man who spent most of his time fighting wars, he seemed surprisingly skilled at outdoor survival.

Once the soup was ready, he poured it into a bowl and handed it to me, along with some dried meat, bread, and fruit.

I

to devour everything in one bite, but twelve years of noble upbringing held me back.

I focused on eating with grace and composure.

As I carefully sipped my soup, I failed to notice the way Mikrok’s lips curved upward mischievously.

“I wonder if you’ve realized something yet,” he said suddenly.

I glanced up at him, a piece of bread still in my mouth. “Realized what?”

After two days of relentless travel, exhaustion was starting to settle in.

And in my current state of hunger, my noble upbringing was the

thing keeping me from stuffing my face like a starving beast.

Mikrok’s gaze flickered with amusement.

“Our elopement was rather… impulsive. So I forgot to mention something important.”

I blinked.

He leaned forward slightly.

“The tent is meant for

.”

I froze.

The piece of bread in my mouth remained untouched as my body stiffened.

Oh, no.

Oh,

His lips twitched as he watched me process his words.

I desperately tried to think of a solution, listing

the reasons why this was

.