His legs were numb. He couldn’t go on. And the Princess was so exhausted, she was barely keeping up with him, even severely wounded as he was.

At this rate, the soldiers were going to overtake them. Isha grabbed the Princess’s wrist and dragged her along until they turned a corner and he saw a narrow space where they could hide.

Squeezing into the cramped nook, he hugged the Princess to him as their pursuers passed by. Their shouts echoed down the narrow corridors.

Holding his breath, he bit his lower lip as he shifted, trying to find a way to crouch that didn’t hurt. A faint groan of pain escaped him.

“I think we’d better stay here for a while,” the girl whispered in his ear as their footsteps faded away. Lifting her head, their eyes met, and her silver lashes fluttered.

“……”

Isha hadn’t realized they were so close. Hereleased her.

“I’m sorry.”

She nodded silently. His heart was beating too fast and his cheeks felt hot, and Isha pretended to wipe sweat from them with the back of his hand to hide it. He felt almost feverish, despite the bone-deep cold in his body.

And suddenly, he was aware of just how terrible he looked. He hadn’t even been able to have his coming-of-age ceremony, so his body was still childishly undeveloped.

Why was he even thinking of this? He must have lost his mind while he was chained up in the hole. Isha frowned.

“We couldn’t face the slavers directly,” the princess whispered apologetically. “We had to work around the gaps in their security to slip by them…”

“Has the Estian royal family gone to war against the slavers?” he asked.

“Of course not. I did this by myself.”

Which meant she could not fight the slavers at all. She would have few soldiers to command by herself, and it seemed as if they had been discovered during the rescue.

Isha had heard the tamers and slavers talking about the royal family of Estia. Almost everyone mocked the royal family, but they were filled with praise for its beautiful Princess.

Of course, few of those praises were actual compliments. Most of their comments were s3xual, crude and disgusting. They talked about taking her v!rginity and teaching her how to f*ck. They wanted to see her young, pretty face filled with lust and shame.

If they catch her…

Isha looked down at the girl beside him, meeting her eyes. She wasn’t even being careful, despite his close proximity. And somehow, as he looked into her eyes, he had the strange sensation of growing thirst.

He looked away.

“I want to apologize to you, as Princess,” she said, hesitating. “I should have stopped it.”

What did she have to apologize for? How could she have stopped it? It was the King of Kurkans who sold his people as slaves. The Princess of Estia had nothing to do with it, and no reason for guilt.

He wanted to tell her so, but Isha decided against it.

“Why are you saving Kurkans? Even coming to do it yourself.” He went on before she could answer. “Aren’t you a Princess? You could just live comfortably in a luxurious palace.”

Her bright purple eyes clouded.

“I…”

She smiled bitterly, her voice falling to a murmur.

“I’m not that important.”