The back of a neat and upright figure. Milley, who had crossed the palace with Laila when they fled, still appeared impeccably composed, unlike Laila herself.
Engrossed in a seemingly serious conversation with Lirbon, Milley hadn’t yet noticed Laila’s presence. Hesitant to call out his name given their still-formal relationship, Laila paused, but Mev spoke up first.
“Your Grace, have you returned?”
Only then did Milley and Lirbon turn to see Laila. Lirbon, spotting her, quietly nodded and discreetly left the scene.
“I shall retire and rest.”
“Alright.”
The stiff exchange between the two made Laila involuntarily recall her earlier thought.
‘Did they argue because of me?’
Perhaps Lirbon was insisting that Laila should be sent back to the palace immediately.
Her mood, which had lightened during her conversation with Mev, began to weigh down again. However, Milley approached and lightly commended Mev.
“Thank you for taking care.”
“Not at all, Your Grace. Shall I leave as well?”
“Do that.”
Mev, along with the servants who had been standing behind Milley and Lirbon, then ascended upstairs.
Feeling awkward to be left alone with Milley, Laila watched them leave. When Milley spoke, she quickly turned her attention to him.
“Shall we go inside your room? Princess.”
He extended his hand, and Laila nodded, placing her hand in his.
The room was well-lit, with a fireplace burning on one side and candles placed throughout. Milley closed the door behind them and first seated Laila at the table in the center of the room. But it was Laila who spoke first.
“Did you finish your business alright?”
Worried if anything had gone wrong because of her, she asked, but Milley reassured her with a small smile.
“Of course. The tasks I had in this country are halfway complete.”
He then deliberately kept a respectful distance by pulling his chair back further.
Laila interpreted this as a signal for her to feel comfortable, considering they were alone together.
“Was the task you mentioned…?”
“Selling a useless and expensive piece of junk to the seventh prince. Of course, that’s not the entirety of my plan.”
“I see.”
Laila guessed he was talking about the ship, but the additional plan piqued her curiosity. However, she sensed it was not a topic she should inquire about, given Milley’s defensive manner.
And there was a more pressing matter to discuss. Tentatively, Laila broached the subject.
“I think I should return to the palace.”
“Why is that?”
Milley responded immediately, without time to ponder. Laila met his eyes, his demeanor suggesting that her being here wasn’t a significant issue.
Perplexed by his request for a reason, Laila continued.
“There’s an engagement ceremony tomorrow… People at the palace will be looking for me. Don’t worry, I won’t mention that the Duke took me.”
As she spoke, Milley looked intently at her, somewhat uncomfortably so.
“So, you plan to return, claiming you fled in fear and ended up outside the palace by mistake…”
“Are you planning to go back barefoot and with your dress untied again?”
His sudden question made her flinch. She had been contemplating that very idea, hence her reaction.
Seeing Laila lower her gaze silently, Milley quickly grasped her intention.
“I see, that was your plan.”
“Duke Milley, but still…”
Laila was about to speak about how unrealistic it was for her to flee, when she heard the sound of a chair moving. Looking up, she saw Milley approaching her and extending his hand. Confused by his gesture, she blinked and then placed her hand in his.
Milley gently guided Laila to stand up by slowly walking backward.
“Don’t worry, I planned to escort you to the palace for the engagement ceremony tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?”
It meant they would go when the day breaks. Wouldn’t that be too late? While she was pondering this, Milley nodded and slightly pulled her hand, as if asking her to come closer. Laila took a step forward, and Milley smiled warmly at her, a truly splendid smile.
“That’s why I came here to prepare for the engagement ceremony. Otherwise, why would I be standing outside a lady’s room at night?”
“Preparing for the engagement ceremony…”
Laila trailed off, and then Milley stepped beside her, lifting her hand in an escorting gesture.
“How we should pace our steps when we enter together.”
As he took a step forward, Laila, caught off guard, also stepped forward and then asked in surprise.
“Together, we are entering?”
Milley looked at her with tender eyes.
“Running away should always be done in front, not behind, to make it more troublesome for the other party.”
“What? That means…”
Milley spoke so calmly it sounded like nothing significant, but it was far from trivial.
Laila was at a loss for words, staring at him as if asking what he was thinking.
“I will ensure you return to Wessex.”
Hearing this, Laila’s mouth fell open, effectively a promise to facilitate her breaking off the engagement.
Through his power.
‘What exactly is this man’s identity?’
A mere duke could not make such an offer lightly.
To disrupt the marriage of a princess and a prince from two different countries. Was he an influential figure from an empire unknown to her?
Even if so, a duke’s status wouldn’t typically involve such international disputes. However, it was Reynald who informed her of Milley’s ducal status, and he had no reason to lie about it.
“Your identity… are you a prince from another country?”
A prince from a major country, like Fitzroy?
But the man before her differed in appearance from the first prince of that place and bore all the typical features of a Hankin Empire citizen.
“Didn’t you hear it from the seventh prince? I am a duke of Hankin.”
“…”
Laila, not expecting a substantive reply, changed her question.
“Then, is your offer just now out of sympathy for me?”
“Sympathy…”
Milley pondered her choice of words, narrowing his eyes as he looked down at her. His gaze suddenly deepened.
Laila, noticing the blur in his blue eyes, felt she understood a bit of his emotion.
Longing.
Whether it was for someone specific, she couldn’t tell, but like she sometimes saw Adrian in him, he seemed to see someone else in her.
If not for that, the situation and expressions would make no sense. But Milley’s lips calmly uttered a falsehood.
“Unfortunately, I’m not idle enough to feel sympathy just by seeing someone cry.”
“Then are you seeing someone else in me?”
“There’s no way. How dare I compare the Princess to anyone. I just…”
While speaking, Milley pulled Laila’s slender waist towards him, closing the distance between them suddenly.
“Maybe I just wanted to practice dancing.”
“Duke…”
In the midst of a serious situation, it was a tasteless joke.
Laila was almost exasperated, but Milley seemed not to be. Moreover, he pretended to be utterly serious.
“If we enter the engagement ceremony together in front of everyone, and then I take the Princess’s hand and flee, people might applaud what they see as a dramatic love affair.”
“I don’t like such low-quality jokes. This place is not where I belong, so I’d appreciate it if you could send me away.”
Before anything worse happens.
In fact, Laila didn’t want him to get hurt because of her.
But instead, Milley came even closer, gently grasping her chin with his strong hand and pulling her face towards him.
“What if it’s not a joke? What if I can truly help you escape?”
“…”
“Would you trust me and follow me?”
As their breathing intertwined, Laila’s eyes shook greatly. His face was too, really excessively… close.
“Duke, what kind of person are you?”
She intended to respond with a question instead of an answer, but her words were cut off.
Her body was suddenly and forcefully pulled towards him.
Male lead reborn without memories — but he still falls for her.
The person he finds displeasing in this life turns out to be his cherished wife-master in previous life…
Xie Zhi and Fang Xianxing who had known each other for less than three days through a blind date sat in the same car in front of the civil affairs bureau. They had a disagreement and failed to get married.
Xie Zhi immediately took out his phone, slid through his contacts, and randomly selected the next marriage candidate.
The woman snatched his phone and hung up. Looking at his phone wallpaper, she awkwardly changed the subject: “An ancient painting, eh? It looks pretty good, it’s just that the person in the painting looks a bit like me.”
When he heard this, he sarcastically mocked her for being so delusional, completely unaware that, the person in front of him was the reincarnation of Wen Ru, the famous prime minister of Yuan Shun whom he most admired…
The female CEO who doesn’t want to get married with a divorce agreement in hand × The male archaeological researcher who will only get married if he’s sure he can get divorced
