I’m In Trouble Because My Husband Is So Cute - Chapter 10

“Next year and next year. Even after that, continuously…”

Zachary stuttered a little. His white cheeks were dyed red. He tried to avoid her gaze and whispered quietly. “If I can, I want to always spend this festival with you.”

“Of course.”

Iellie smiled again. Gazing at that smile, he wished this day to last forever.

The Asha Festival was approaching the end of the day.

The scenery of people dancing hand in hand was quite a sight to see. The brightly decorated women’s skirts swell like petals.

The men who held the woman’s hand also had delighted faces all the time.

The five-colored lanterns illuminating the darkness were as beautiful as a star floating on the ground, and the pink asha petals pouring out gracefully embroidered the air.

“The next time we come to the festival, let’s dance together.”

Iellie, who glanced at the dancing people with regret, said. Because they weren’t of age yet, both she and Zachary couldn’t dance at the festival.

He nodded his head with a flushed face. But then,

“…Ahhh.”

She spat out a short groan. Zachary, startled, turned to Iellie and asked urgently.

“What is it?”

“No, that’s…”

She laughed with an embarrassed face. Oh my, she was trying not to show it off. Zachary narrowed his eyes. ‘Come to think of it, Iellie kept limping her steps…’ He narrowed his eyebrows and picked her up gently.

“Oh!”

Startled, she reflexively hugged his neck. The boy’s eyes touched her feet.

“You, your feet…?”

“It’s okay.”

She replied hastily. Actually, her feet had been hurting since earlier. Iellie blamed her new shoes. However, she was so happy with Zachary that she didn’t want to break the brightened mood.

“Your feet are all covered with scars…”

Zachary said with a fearfully hardened face. It was frankly an exaggeration since it was just a little wound around her heel. She just needs to apply ointment or something.

Iellie looked around. ‘Oh my gosh.’

People’s eyes were focused on this side because of Zachary.

‘Wow, this is embarrassing.’ She buried her head in the arms of the boy. He hugged her and was going to get her straight to the doctor.

“Hey, can you get me down?”

“No, you have to go see the doctor first.”

“What kind of wound is this to get the doctor? And, people are all staring at you.”

Iellie shoots at Zachary in a low voice. Apart from being embarrassed, he was the successor to the Duchy.

With a brief sigh, he seated her on her bench.

“If so, I’ll buy some medicine. If you could wait a little bit here…”

The boy’s pupils who said so were disgruntledly narrowed all of a sudden.

Somehow he didn’t like the thought of her being alone. If he knew it would be like this, he’d bring her escort. But Iellie shook her head eagerly.

“Thank you for worrying, but I can be alone.”

“…”

Zachary’s eyes narrowed. As he was about to go to the pharmacy holding her, she was shocked. “Hey, Zachary. You don’t mean to take me to the pharmacy with you, right?”

“…I want to do that if I can.”

“No. Then, it will be too conspicuous to people.”

Iellie replied firmly. Regardless, Zachary is the Heir Apparent, and it would be too uncomfortable to stand out like this.

He may have been aware of that fact, though he still gazed at her with an unsure face. Seeing this, she reassured him again.

“So, go ahead. Okay?”

Looking back as if he was worried, he took a step away. As their eyes met, Iellie grinned and waved her hand.

However, when Zachary returned, she disappeared without a trace.

***

It was a little late to go back, so he went to the pharmacy to buy some drugs.

Hemostatic, disinfectant, and bandages were randomly picked up. The pharmacist was flustered and said, “If a wound needs medicine this much, it would be better to go to the hospital.”

Instead of answering, the boy silently paid the price and came out.

‘Iellie…’

In fact, even Zachary knew he was being sensitive.

Objectively, her wound is not a big wound, and that he didn’t have to buy all kinds of drugs at the pharmacy right away. Still…

‘I hated that you were hurt.’

He hated even a small wound on her body. When she frowns her eyebrows earlier, it feels like his heart is sinking down. As he recalled that moment, Zachary’s pace accelerated. He wanted to heal her heels in a hurry.

Now, the boy was running urgently as his breath fell short.

‘Just a little more.’

“Iellie!”

He shouted out loud. Strange. He couldn’t hear the voice answering his calls, saying something like, ‘Are you here already?’

“…Iellie?”

Something was ominous. The boy bit his lips and approached the bench where Iellie was sitting earlier. Reaching the spot, his deep blue eyes were wide open.

Empty.

The girl who sat in her seat and waved her hand gently before disappeared without a trace. He froze. His spirit flashed as if an ice water struck his head.

“Iel…lie?”

He stuttered and opened his lips again. Still, there was no answer.

The light green eyes that smiled at him and the pink hair are only mirages now. His breath was choked. Zachary raised his voice.

“Iellie!”

It sounded like a scream. Like a child who lost his mother, the boy began to shake his whole body.

“No, no…”

The boy began to wander around like crazy. At the end of the festival, only petals mixed with confetti fluttering lonely were stuck on his feet. The boy was running again.

***

‘I should have followed Zachary.’ Iellie regretted her own judgment that she sent him alone.

It was only a short distance to go to the pharmacy, so she thought it would be all right for him to go alone.

“…Who are you guys?”

Some messy men stared down at her. They looked at each other and grinned.

“Little girl, have you lost your way?”

“Shall I take you home?”

‘Oh, damn it. They were bullies who extorted people’s money during the festival.’ Realizing so, she shook her head. “No, it’s okay. I have a party.”

‘Just go away…’

She glanced up at the bullies with a tired face. However, they didn’t step back. One of the men made an unpleasant laugh and grabbed her arm.

“Don’t touch me!”

Iellie shouted sharply. But the men only pull her roughly. They whispered low, “Hey, lady. You better be quiet.”

“Let go of my hand!”

Nonetheless, among the noises of the festival, the sound of her struggle quickly disappeared. As she was being dragged away, Iellie was finally brought to the back of the alley.

Darkness.

‘…Was there such a place?’ Iellie felt suffocated and terrified.

‘No, Zachary would be worried.’

Looking back countless times, she remembered the back of the boy heading to the pharmacy. Because he couldn’t let her go, Zachary was wearing his hesitating face until he left. He obviously would be looking for her by now.

Thinking so, her eyes sharpened.

“Let me go, let me go!” As Iellie struggled desperately, her shoes came off and flew away.

Without even picking up her shoes, a nervous touch squeezed her mouth. The harsh voice growls.

“Quiet!”

“Heup, heup!!”

At the rough touches, she struggled reflexively, but her petite body was overwhelmed in no time.

“Is she a lady?”

“Yes, we may get a high amount of ransom money.”

“Besides, she looks pretty…”

Smack, one of the men smacked his lips. Iellie felt her thoughts getting gloomier as moments passed by.

The Duchy of Hessenweitz is one of the most secure places in the empire. That’s why she thought it wouldn’t be a place to get caught up in a kidnapping like this. She didn’t expect that during the festival, there might be wanderers coming and going.

‘What if I kick between the legs and run away? No… there are too many people.’

At least five men were surrounding her. She wasn’t even familiar with martial arts, so it was unreasonable to get out of here that way.

‘Zachary…’ Calling his name in her head, Iellie bit her lips till it bled.

***

‘Len. Where the hell are you?’

Zachary, running till his mouth felt dry, couldn’t help but be nervous. No matter where he went, Iellie couldn’t be seen.

He held a passerby and asked. “Have you seen a girl with pink hair? Her eyes are light green, and her height is this tall…!”

“No, I didn’t see.”

Everyone just shook their heads. Zachary gradually became more and more nervous. The festival was over, and people were each returning to their own homes.

While wandering for a while, he paused.

“That’s…”

It was shoes. The enamel shoes Iellie wore today.

Even though she had been walking around all day, the shoe nose, without a single dust, is shining as if teasing Zachary. He picked up the shoes with his trembling hands.

“…Len?”

His deep blue eyes trembled rapidly. Overwhelmed, the boy could no longer control his emotions. ‘No.’ He squeezed the shoe. His heart pounded briskly. The intense emotion makes the monster’s power, the frost magic, flood him.

However,

‘I have to find her. I have to meet her, and to do that…’

Don’t do anything like magic. Every time he showed the power of frost on the battlefield, the knights who looked at him with fearful eyes came to mind.

If it weren’t for that power, they would have been defeated several times. Still, the knights retreated back and stumbled, saying ‘monster.’ Even his father and mother also despised him for the frost magic…

“…”

Calming down a little, he lifted his head slowly. In front of where the shoes had fallen, there was an alley filled with darkness.

Zachary took his steps while clenching his teeth. The shoes were held tight in both hands.

***

“Eup, eup, eup…!”

Iellie cried her throat out, but those men didn’t budge. A dirty back alley full of darkness, stinking of sewers. She lost her mind, and it went blank. She clenched her fist firmly.

‘No, I have to meet Zachary. He must be so worried.’

Still, a young girl’s body is useless in this case.

The men’s rough hands grasped and held her tightly like shackles. It was fortunate that they saw her appearance was pretty neat and thought that she was a wealthy family’s lady.

If not, they may have done something terrible by now.

“First of all, let’s confine this lady and figure out what to do.”

“Oh, that’s right. Where does this money bag come from?”

“How much should they pay for her ransom?”

As the men talked freely, Iellie hurriedly peered around.

She would have to run away somehow. However, she is at a disadvantage in this situation. She doesn’t even know the geography of this area, while the five thugs must have stayed here for a long time and are familiar with this place.

‘What should I do, what should I do…’

What could she do even if she was reincarnated like this? Even if she has an adult mindset, now, she is just in a helpless position, unable to do anything.

Anger preceded her fear. When tears filled up, and Iellie slowly swallowed her breath.

Step.

“…What?”

She could hear footsteps. One of the men raised his puzzled face.

Step, step, step. The footsteps gradually got closer.

At that moment, Iellie’s pupils shook greatly.

Silver hair that shines even in the dark and eyes that are deep blue like the sea… As if he were an elegant young beast, the boy took another step and stopped in front of them.

‘Zachary!’ Iellie yelled inside her closed lips.

The blue eyes checked her up and down.

“…Iellie.”

Before long, Zachary called her. She stared at him blankly.

As he quickly recognized that there were tears in her eyes, he spoke in a calm voice.