An Unexpected Proposal - Chapter 10

Alicia clenched her fists to hide her trembling hand.

She could not be sure that her mother was alive from just one pendant.

In the first place, Alicia had witnessed her mother’s death before her.

“Above all things, you are capable of making these things in your lifetime. This doesn’t prove that my mother is alive. You’re just trying to take advantage of me.“

Alicia tried hard to calm her beating heart, but she could not stop thinking.

In retrospect, they were not necessarily suspicious.

The queen and her followers often spoke about how wasteful it was to prove Alicia was a royal.

As a result, Alicia could guess how much money and effort it would have cost to make a pendant that could identify her blood.

They would not have made such an expensive item for her mother.

‘Perhaps, mother really is alive.’

Alicia raised her hand and tied a trinket around her hair.

On the surface, it looked just like a piece of jewellery that held her hair in position, but if twisted, a weapon with a sharp blade would pop out.

‘If I try to kill him…….’

Alicia shook her head without thinking any further.

Velita was confident that a slight wound was all that was required for the weapon’s deadly poison to kill the killer.

But in reality, Alicia could not get close enough to even scratch him. Even killing Cabellenus was a problem.

Cabellenus was the brother of the emperor. Additionally, the once invaded Kingdom of Neinstein did not have the power to overcome the empire.

Velita was busy bragging about how many and how great people the Kingdom of Neinsten were, but if they were really that great, there was no way the kingdom would have fallen in the first place.

The death of Cabellenus was sure to only result in the extermination of all the surviving kingdoms.

Alicia closed her eyes with a long sigh.

In the first place, she was not in a position where she could sincerely rejoice about the possibility of her mother being alive.

In the end, Alicia had only one option.

Alicia looked helplessly at her face in the mirror, with her eyes wide open.

The maids always tried to decorate her as beautifully as possible, but they could not help with her face stained with melancholy.

A pale face that was always filled with a deep stiffness. Alicia was aware of her expression, but she did not attempt to conceal it.

However, it was a little sad to think that it would be the last time.

She had suddenly tasted all the good things that she had never had, and now it felt like a pity to leave like this.

Alicia picked up a lipstick on the dressing table.

With an awkward hand, she carefully painted along the lip line.

“It doesn’t suit me at all.”

It was a clumsy attempt of putting on makeup.

Her lip line was not aligned properly and was crooked, and her lips were overcoated and overly red.

Her face was already pale, so it looked like her lips were floating around.

It was a terrible look.

However, Alicia liked it very much.

She thought she would be able to relieve her nervousness by looking at something ridiculous.

* * *

“You came early today.”

“Yes.”

Even that night, too, stiff greetings came and went between each other.

It was not just one or two nights together, even if nothing had happened, but there was always silence between the two.

Alicia swallowed dryly as she looked at the still, expressionless man.

She did not know the reason why Cabellenus had saved her. Whether it was curiosity or compassion, it was all over now.

No matter how relaxed a man might be, he would not look at the assassin that had sought his life.

“What did you do today?”

“I just took a walk because the sun was nice.”

“Does the Princess of Neinstein like to walk?”

“I didn’t think I would be alive up to now, so I just didn’t know what to do.”

Alicia curled her legs up and stared at Cabellenus’s back.

The man’s back was very large and wide, and Alicia envied it.

If she had been so strong, she would not have been so exhausted and be wishing for death.

“Do you still want to die?”

“If so, would you kill me?”

“No.”

Alicia’s lips twitched at the unhesitating, firm answer.

“You’re not going to kill me, so why do you ask if I want to die every night?”

“…….”

She wanted to hear the answer, but the only thing that came back was silence.

Alicia stared at him, pulling her legs closer towards her, and pursed her lips.

“If you have something to say, say it.”

Cabellenus spoke indifferently. Perhaps he had felt Alicia’s gaze.

Even though he had his back turned, the sensitive man easily reacted to the gaze of others.

“Do you really have no intention of killing me?”

“Yes.”

“Then, what will you do?”

Alicia unconsciously gulped down dry saliva. She was supposed to be calm, but her hands were already filled with sweat.

“Do you want anything besides death?”

“Will you listen if I say yes?”

Cabellenus’s hand, which was taking off his coat, stopped for a moment.

Alicia did not notice Cabellenus’s subtle reaction.

It was hard for her to soothe her trembling body and keep her head raised firmly.

Alicia was always afraid of Cabellenus, even though he declared that he would not kill her.

It seemed okay, but when she looked straight at those eyes, her heart seemed to suddenly drop.

When she stood in front of him, her hair stood upright, and her legs trembled. She even thought she wanted to cry like a child.

The golden eyes with the prominent pupils seem to be indifferent, but with a closer look inside them, revealed the hunting instincts of a beast.

“If it’s a request I can grant, I can listen to it to some extent.”

Cabellenus muttered in a low voice. His voice was a little lower than before.

“Hug me.”

“…….”

Alicia took a deep breath as she glanced at Cabellenus, who had not responded to her words.

As soon as her breathing subsided, she moved her lips again.

“If you wouldn’t kill me……. Please hug me.”