Kneeling on one knee, Parnes Escalo gently wrapped his arms around her slender shoulders.
Wandering in a dreamlike haze, Kasallin Robepon slowly blinked her lush, feather-like eyelashes, gazing quietly up at Parnes Escalo.
Her innocent look caused Parnes Escalo’s breath to waver slightly.
He gripped the slipping collar of Kasallin’s garment tightly before slowly letting go.
“…You can handle that much on your own, can’t you?”
“I’m too sleepy, and my body feels heavy. Please do it for me, Your Majesty.”
“Do you even grasp what you’re saying right now?”
“Probably.”
“You don’t grasp it at all.”
Parnes Escalo, like a man tormented before a trial, leaned one hand against the wall and sighed deeply.
Rationally, it was a trivial matter.
A human body is just a body, isn’t it?
He wasn’t the sort to panic like a youth before a woman, nor was he at an age for such things.
Yet why was he grappling so gravely with this matter, trying to calm his racing heart?
What was it about her flushed cheeks?
What was it about her softly drooping eyes that turned a sane man into a fool?
“…Figure it out yourself.”
“Why?”
“Because I just realized something, thanks to you.”
That, confound it, I can no longer see you with pure eyes.
Parnes Escalo barely swallowed the harsh words he meant to snap and walked to the cave entrance to look outside.
“What did you realize?”
There was no reply.
While he turned away, Kasallin struggled to move her leaden arms, shedding her wet clothes and wrapping his cloak around her like a blanket.
The soft fur against her skin felt like being in his arms, lifting her mood slightly.
“Why didn’t you go straight to the lodge?”
After a long pause, he asked.
His tone was like interrogating a culprit.
“I assigned you several escort knights, didn’t I?”
“I slipped and fell by mistake. When I came to, I was in a strange place. I got lost trying to find my way as it grew dark.”
“Are you calling that an excuse? Do you know how many hours you’ve been missing?”
Parnes Escalo continued in a restrained voice, as if suppressing overwhelming emotions.
“Four hours. You wandered the forest in that state for four whole hours.”
“That’s impossible.”
“Yes, impossible. That’s why I can’t believe you.”
“But… isn’t it awfully cold?”
Kasallin shivered with chills.
The campfire and cloak barely kept the cold at bay, but her chilled body showed no signs of recovery.
Parnes Escalo, standing at a distance, merely watched her closely.
“So, what am I supposed to do—”
“Your Majesty, you gave me your cloak, but you’ll catch a cold. Come closer.”
Parnes Escalo, eyes fixed on her, took a deep breath, filling his lungs, then exhaled slowly.
He repeated this ritual-like act several times before finally stepping toward her.
Kasallin, her face buried in the cloak, felt his arms slowly encircle her.
“Foolish thing. Even now, you worry about others first.”
Parnes Escalo pulled her head to his chest, holding her tightly with no gaps.
His surprisingly warm body heat seeped through the cloak, and her trembling body gradually calmed.
Burying her face in his warm neck and smiling faintly, his gaze slid like ice to her sharp lips.
“Why are you smiling?”
“I don’t know. I just… feel good.”
“You’ve kept a nation’s emperor on the cold ground all night and speak so lightly.”
Kasallin chuckled softly.
“Exactly. What a wretched maid I am. Will you punish me back at the palace?”
“It’s not impossible. Your crimes so far are not few.”
“Then I must be facing execution.”
“You say such terrifying things lightly. Exile, perhaps.”
“If it’s exile, where would you send me?”
“Well.”
Parnes Escalo tried not to look too closely at Kasallin leaning against him, shifting his gaze to the cave ceiling.
In a voice barely audible even up close, he continued.
“Perhaps, to my palace.”
Barely a second after speaking, Parnes Escalo snapped awake as if from a dream.
What nonsense had he uttered? Gripped by confusion, he lowered his head.
He meant to dismiss it as a slip, but as he opened his mouth, Kasallin was already fast asleep.
Nestled comfortably in the arms of an emperor whose tyrannical reputation kept others at bay.
With a faint smile, breathing softly, she looked like a small angel left on the roadside.
“What am I to do with you?”
Parnes Escalo murmured quietly, silently cooling an unfamiliar heat.
The night, which seemed endless, was fading earlier than expected as dawn broke faintly outside the cave.
[This is the timeline separator]
The rain, fierce for early summer, finally ceased at dawn.
The forest, meant to be lively for the second day of the hunting competition, was steeped in a grave mood.
The Emperor of the Rnel Empire and Kasallin, chief maid of the Kan Kingdom, had vanished overnight.
The entire imperial guard scoured the mountain all night, but found nothing.
“My Lord, are you sure we don’t need more search parties?”
Vincent, an escort knight returning to the lodge, asked, but Ludwig nodded calmly.
“Don’t you know what kind of man His Majesty is? He’s likely off with Lady Kasallin somewhere. They’ll return soon.”
While everyone panicked, only Ludwig remained composed.
The Black Gryphon, trained to seek others if its master was in trouble, had not appeared.
In contrast, Rose couldn’t find calm, pacing at the forest’s edge, heedless of her muddied hem.
The last image of Kasallin slipping down the hill haunted her mind.
If Kasallin didn’t return, Rose felt it would be her fault, her heart troubled.
She swore it wasn’t intentional.
She truly didn’t know Kasallin was in such pain she couldn’t control herself.
As Rose, pale and repeatedly wiping her face in fear, stood there, Ludwig glanced at her.
“His Majesty the King of Kan has returned!”
At that moment, King Shallen Riche, who had set out at dawn to find Kasallin, returned empty-handed.
His hair was a mess, trouser hems caked with mud, and eyes unfocused.
His disheveled state suggested he hadn’t found Kasallin but had tumbled through mud.
He scanned the crowd, searching for someone, then approached Rose.
“Kasallin, has she returned?”
“No, not yet…”
As Rose shook her head weakly, overly cautious, disappointment spread across Shallen’s face.
“It’s practically my fault. Because of me, she…”
He sank into deep despair and self-blame, looking ready to collapse.
Until Parnes Escalo appeared, far too composed, holding Kasallin tightly.
As if mocking the soldiers who had frantically searched, Emperor Parnes Escalo arrived with Kasallin on the Black Gryphon’s back.
A soldier blew a whistle, and nobles outside the lodge rushed over, some in tears.
“Your Majesty! Where were you all night? We were terribly worried!”
“Thank goodness you’ve returned safely!”
Parnes Escalo responded to their concern with a single heavy nod, then approached Ludwig.
“The hunting competition will end early. Instruct the knights to escort the guests safely to the palace.”
“Understood. Preparations for withdrawal are complete, so don’t worry.”
“And prepare a carriage. We must take her to the palace physician at once. She’s been through an ordeal.”
Parnes Escalo said, looking impassively at Kasallin, seated quietly on the Black Gryphon.
Ludwig studied his master’s expression before slowly shifting his sharp gaze to Kasallin.
Was the different air between them, unlike yesterday, just an old man’s imagination?
“What happened?”
As the situation settled and guests sighed in relief, dispersing one by one.
Shallen, who had been staring at Kasallin as if seeing a ghost, approached with a brief question.
“Where were you all night? Do you know what happened because of you?”
“We’ll talk later, King Shallen.”
“I’m not asking you. I want to hear it from Kasallin herself.”
Shallen’s face, marked by worry, gradually flushed with anger.
He strode toward Kasallin, looking ready to swing a fist, passing Parnes Escalo.
Parnes Escalo’s hand firmly grabbed his shoulder.
With a sharp, unfiltered glare, he warned Shallen.
“Can’t you see she’s in pain?”
“…”
Shallen, breathing heavily, glared at the black cloak around Kasallin’s shoulders as if he could tear it.
After crossing hills and rolling in mud to find her, it was unforgivable that she had spent the night with Emperor Parnes Escalo, whom she adored.
They must have seen it as a chance to be alone.
Hiding from the rain in some secluded place.
Imagining Kasallin deliberately seducing Parnes Escalo under the pretense of illness, Shallen’s face flushed redder.
“Your Majesty, the carriage is ready. Shall we depart?”
“Very well.”
Parnes Escalo silently extended his arm toward Kasallin, seated on the saddle.
Kasallin glanced at Shallen, still unable to hide his anger, then surrendered to Parnes Escalo’s arm without resistance.
Cold Male Lead Became My Clingy Husband (Female-Dominant)
Feng Bai Su transmigrated into a matriarchal novel, becoming the sister of the female protagonist and the Seventh Princess of the Feng Ling Kingdom.
After working herself to death in her previous life, finally reincarnating as a princess, she only wanted to be a lazy fish who could eat, sleep, and play.
Until she met the male protagonist from the book, Wei Jing Mo, and he took a liking to her!
Wei Jing Mo is the top young man in Feng Ling City, talented in both appearance and ability, from a prestigious family, with a cold and otherworldly appearance, a figure like the bright moon in the hearts of noble ladies. It was thought that only the most powerful and talented noble lady in Feng Ling City would be worthy of such a brilliant young man. Who knew that this young gentleman would secretly admire the infamous Seventh Princess?
Short scene 1:
Feng Bai Su looked at the young man crying like a pear blossom in the rain before her, and couldn’t help but doubt her life.
Wasn’t the male lead described as a cold and otherworldly figure in the book?
Then who was this poor little thing crying with swollen red eyes and tear-stained face?
Short scene 2:
Wei Jing Mo stared intently at Feng Bai Su who was about to go out, wanting to say, “Be careful on the road.”
Before he could speak, Feng Bai Su suddenly bent down and bit his cheek.
Her peach blossom eyes were full of disdain: “Tsk! You’re so clingy!”
Wei Jing Mo: “…”
A talented fox spirit female lead with a flirtatious appearance but actually abstinent VS A cold-looking but actually naive and clingy little jealous male lead
