Beguiling the Enemy’s Patriarch - Chapter 7

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 7
“-!”
But Sergei didn’t suddenly appear out of nowhere to rescue me. That wasn’t how this would unfold.
Thud. A large hand pressed against the pillar above my hiding spot. Crouched in terror, I looked up at the figure before me, squinting against the brilliant shimmer of silver hair. Clear crimson eyes gazed down at me with unwavering intensity.
I froze, unable to breathe, my body rigid with fear. The man supporting himself with one hand against the pillar held a gleaming helmet in the other, his lips curling into a smile—lazy as a languid leopard. He murmured something.
“Pink hair….”
“….”
“And sky-blue eyes.”
My jaw trembled violently, my teeth chattering uncontrollably. The man gazing down at me as though I were prey was a stranger to me. Yet those colors—I knew them unmistakably. Hair transparent as silver with a crimson undertone, and eyes to match.
The color palette of Decarve Belgot, the villain from “Brizni Wants to Be Happy.” And the original work had described how Decarve bore an uncanny resemblance to his father, the previous Belgot Emperor.
Then this man before me was….
The smile deepening at the corners of his mouth—the Belgot Emperor who, in the original story, would be brutally murdered by his own son. The man destined to become the father of a villain extended his hand toward me.
“Caught you. Princess of Lebovni.”
“Ugh.”
And internally, I screamed. Sergei, you bastard!
* * *
The 52nd Emperor of Belgot, the great power of the eastern Laigar Continent—Auredhian Lu Soledor Belgot had discovered the Princess of Lebovni purely by chance.
In truth, he had done nothing deliberate. He hadn’t specifically set out to kidnap Lebovni’s “princess.” The primary objective of this raid was to teach the arrogant Lebovni a lesson in humility. The secondary objective, if circumstances allowed, was to abduct a member of the royal family to hold as a hostage.
He was no more pleased about this raid than anyone else. Belgot was, in every sense, the guardian nation of the Peace Alliance on the Laigar Continent. For such an empire to breach the very alliance it protected—the aftermath would be devastatingly complex. Yet Lebovni’s audacity was too great to ignore. What did they think Belgot was? Claiming only ten percent of the total magical stone trade with Azekien? He hadn’t expected such shameless greed from a royal house.
Auredhian smiled crookedly. Yes, capturing one member of the royal family seemed necessary to bring this arrogant kingdom to its senses. And in that very moment, when a flutter of pink caught his eye in the distance, it felt almost like fate.
“…?”
Pale pink hair fluttered between the pillars.
Hop.
“…?”
A woman. A delicate thing with hair like spun candy, the kind children snacked on. Auredhian watched in bewilderment as she hopped from pillar to pillar, always checking beyond each one before jumping—her attempt at concealment was almost endearing. But such conspicuous movement was unprecedented. She resembled a rabbit, or perhaps a careless cat.
Hop.
She jumped once more. The hem of her conspicuously yellow dress peeked out from behind the pillar—hardly suited for remaining unnoticed. Yet she surveyed her surroundings with such deliberate caution that it was almost amusing. And then our eyes met.
“…!”
Her delicate features all doubled in size. Eyes, nose, mouth—all wide. Her ears, he couldn’t say. What instantly captivated his gaze was the extraordinary color she possessed.
Pink hair and sky-blue eyes. Pages flipped through his mind as he recalled the profile of Lebovni’s royal family. Yes, there it was—that rare combination of colors.
The youngest princess of Lebovni.
Capturing this woman would suffice. Auredhian’s lips curved into a lazy smile. The entire decision took mere seconds.
* * *
Jingle-jangle.
What sound is that, you ask? The sound of me being hauled over the Belgot Emperor’s shoulder like cargo. The world had turned upside down. Why was the ground above my head and the sky beneath me….
I could only count the stones scattered on the floor below. Blood rushed to my head, making my vision swim. My stomach, crushed against the hard armor of his shoulder, had already gone numb. In other words, I was being kidnapped by the Belgot Emperor.
I heard the desperate cries of Lebovni’s knights who had recognized me.
“Princess Yerenika!”
“You monster, release the princess!”
The brave Lebovni knights who charged forward were sent flying with a single kick from this monstrous emperor. And with each sweep of his leg, my organs seemed to protest in agony. Surely something inside me would rupture….
I had no strength left to resist. My heart was about to leap from my throat—though for entirely different reasons than before. The moment the Belgot Emperor spotted me, he seized me by the armpit and hoisted me up, slinging me across his shoulder like a sack of grain. It was a brutally careless maneuver, considering the unyielding armor plating that covered his body.
The Emperor kicked at the charging knight again with a resounding thud.
“Tsk. They’re awfully persistent.”
“Ugh.”
He muttered irritably while I gasped in pain. It hurt!
My original plan had shattered to pieces long ago. I’d promised to prevent Tezebia from being kidnapped—when had I ever agreed to be kidnapped in her place?
But what good was complaining now? The deed was done. So I resigned myself to being kidnapped with utmost docility and cooperation, going limp against the Emperor’s back and dangling like a ragdoll.
And the very person I’d been calling out for so desperately moments ago arrived not one step late, but ten—no, twenty steps late.
“Yerenikaaaaaaa!”
Sergei was rushing toward me from a distance, his voice ringing out across the battlefield. Sergei… My eyes grew hot. I barely managed to lift my head and screamed with every ounce of strength I possessed.
“What took you so long! You damned—ugh.”
My final cry never reached its end. The merciless Emperor adjusted his grip on me, and a searing pain—as though my organs were rupturing—suddenly assailed me again. Terrible timing.
In the end, I could only open my mouth in a voice no louder than a mosquito’s whine.
“Um… excuse me…”
The Belgot Emperor didn’t seem to hear me at all. He simply brushed aside the clinging knights like swatting flies and continued forward. Not a single drop of blood was spilled in his path. It was oddly remarkable, perhaps enough to make one reckless. So I spoke louder.
“Excuse me! Father!”
“…?”
I didn’t even realize how strange that form of address was. The Emperor’s footsteps faltered for a moment. Seizing the opportunity, I whimpered out my plea.
“Could you… could you put me down?”
“You want to be released?”
“I’m not asking for that much. Just… just put me down. I can walk on my own… ugh. Or, could you at least hold me properly so I can be carried upright…?”
Without intending to, my voice became thick with desperation. Even speaking had become difficult, my breath coming in gasps. Tears the size of pearls rolled down my cheeks as I pleaded pathetically.
“I’m really… *sob*… it hurts so much. It hurts… *whimper*, the armor is crushing me… *gasp*.”
And in the next instant, I was flying through the air. The cold, crushing weight of the armor that had been pressing down on my abdomen vanished in a heartbeat. In the blink of an eye, I found myself atop a horse.
“…”
A horse. An actual horse. A living, breathing, genuine horse.
Have you ever seen a horse? A creature of such enormous size that you must crane your neck back to look up at it. A beast that snorts and stamps, its massive body radiating heat and rippling with muscle.
Four hooves, each fitted with thick iron shoes, looked capable of crushing me like a potato. All four of its powerful thighs trembled in unison.
“Ahhhhh!”
And I clung to the horse’s back with tears streaming down my face. It was pure instinct. How could an ordinary university student from twenty-first century Korea have any experience riding a horse? Even if eight months had passed since my possession! I’d never even been near one!
“What is this! Put me down! I’m scared!”
“Quiet now. Quiet.”
A soothing voice reached my ears—so calm and composed that it was hard to believe it came from a kidnapper. But before I could properly process his words, a heavy weight settled behind me. The Emperor had mounted the horse as well.
As the horse reared once, my body slid backward. Then a firm hand forcibly pried my body away from the horse’s back. My arms, which had been desperately embracing the horse’s neck, lost their grip all too easily. Fearing I would fall, I squeezed my eyes shut—only to feel something hard and wall-like press against my back.
“Straighten your back. Lean against me.”
“Like… like this…?”
“Yes. Just like that.”
An arm clad in silver armor formed a barrier on either side of me. The Emperor, still holding the reins, called out in a ringing voice.
“All forces of Belgot, withdraw!”
I thought I heard someone faintly calling my name. Was it Sergei? Or perhaps my mother, my father? My sister? But I could not pursue the thought any further.
A white horse the size of a house reared up on its hind legs and let out a piercing neigh. Hiiii-yah! The beast shot forward like a bullet, and as my body lost its balance and began to slide, a pair of strong arms wrapped around me, holding me steady.
“-.”
And so I was kidnapped by the Belgot Emperor. In Tezebia’s place.
This is absolutely damned.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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