The guards opened fire.
Dozens of spells—fla whips, arcane chains, stunning bolts—crashed against the oncoming carriage.
None of them worked.
A shimring mana barrier deflected them all with insulting ease.
The carriage kept coming.
No driver.
No crest.
No sign of slowing down.
"Milady, MOVE!" her secretary shouted, finally snapping out of his daze.
He grabbed Lysaria’s arm and dragged her a few steps before shouting at no one in particular,
"Who the hell is this bastard?! Does he not know who your father is?!"
The carriage didn’t care.
Neither did fate.
It ca to a hard, screeching stop—dust and mana smoke kicking up around it.
Then the door creaked open.
And out stepped a man—cloaked in black from head to toe, his face completely hidden beneath layers of cloth and hood.
Just shadow and swagger.
The guards lunged at him.
Bad decision.
One went down with a knee to the throat.
Another was flipped over a fruit cart.
The third? Thrown into a mana lantern, which exploded in a rain of sparks.
Lysaria barely had ti to blink before he appeared right in front of her.
She froze, heart slamming in her chest.
Her secretary tried to shield her, trembling like a leaf.
"Stay back, whoever you are! I’ll have your head—!"
He didn’t get to finish.
The masked man casually delivered a ruthless kick between his legs.
The poor man collapsed instantly with a noise no grown adult should ever make.
"That was unnecessary!" Lysaria shouted.
The masked stranger turned his head slightly.
"So is your voice."
Before she could respond, he stepped forward, grabbed her like a sack of flour, and threw her over his shoulder.
"WHAT ARE YOU—LET GO!" she scread, kicking wildly. "Don’t you know who I am?!"
"Nope," he said flatly, "and we’re out of ti for introductions."
"HELP! HELP—SOONE HELP !" she wailed—right next to his ear.
He winced.
"Goddess, scream in the other direction, will you? I’m not deaf. Yet."
Then—smack.
His hand landed on her ass.
She shrieked like a banshee, face going beet red.
"You—you degenerate psycho! I’ll have your head! I’ll—!"
He groaned, adjusted her slightly, and said calmly,
"Could you not scream in my ear? Scream the other way if you want soone to help you."
She paused.
Grimaced.
...That’s... not unreasonable.
Still furious, she turned her face away and resud screaming in the opposite direction.
Progress.
anwhile, the guards were still unconscious, the market had fully descended into chaos, and the black carriage door swung open again.
With her still kicking and swearing on his shoulder, the man stepped inside.
The door slamd.
The carriage launched forward like a shot.
Gone.
Vanished into the night.
Back in the plaza, Lysaria’s secretary was still on the ground, clutching himself and gasping like a dying fish.
But when he saw the carriage speeding away, he fumbled for his ergency artifact with shaking fingers.
"R-Red alert!" he croaked.
"Ergency! Lady Lysaria has been kidnapped! I repeat—Lady Lysaria has been—"
Mana flared from the artifact, glowing crimson and loud.
Within seconds, alarm bells erupted across the city.
Sirens scread.
Guards mobilized.
The entire capital began spiraling into a full-blown panic.
All because one masked bastard decided to make the night a little more interesting.
And sowhere inside that black carriage...
"Who the hell are you?! What do you want?! Let go, right now!"
Lysaria was still slung over Kael’s shoulder, fists pounding against his back in a useless frenzy.
He barely reacted.
"Calm down," he muttered, annoyed.
"And gods, you’re heavy."
She froze.
"I’m WHAT?!" she shrieked, voice rising two octaves.
"I am not heavy, you cloaked piece of—PUT DOWN!"
Behind them, Yue floated silently, watching the chaos unfold with a soul-deep sigh.
"He really went through with it..."
Kael finally lowered Lysaria to the floor of the carriage.
She staggered slightly, trembling—eyes wild, heart racing, mind spiraling into a dozen dark places.
Her voice cracked.
"What are you going to do to ...? Ransom? Revenge? So twisted—just stop, please—"
Kael raised an eyebrow under his hood.
Then, with a low chuckle, he leaned back casually against the seat.
"Didn’t you say you wanted to escape your boring, suffocating life? I’m just helping."
Tears stung her eyes.
"At least I was safe there," she snapped, fists clenched.
"This—this isn’t what I wanted! I didn’t ask for this! I don’t even know if I’ll survive the next hour!"
Her voice broke.
Kael went quiet.
Then—slowly—he reached up and pulled back his hood.
Lysaria’s breath caught.
She stared.
And stared.
Her eyes widened, pupils dilating like she was seeing a ghost.
"...K-Kaelion?!"
He gave her a small, polite smile.
"Nice to et you again."
Then he extended a hand for a handshake.
She stared at it.
Then bit him.
"OW—what the hell?!"
"You bastard!" she scread, red-faced. "I almost DIED from panic!"
He yanked his hand back, shaking it wildly. "You bite people now? What are you, feral?!"
"You KIDNAPPED in a DEMON CARRIAGE!"
"Okay, fair."
She stepped back, arms crossed, eyes still wet but no longer panicking—just furious.
And flustered.
"And what was that about being heavy?!"
Kael raised his hands in mock surrender.
"Fine.
You’re... surprisingly light for soone so violent."
Yue snorted.
Lysaria glared at him, then suddenly looked away—cheeks still burning.
"This is insane," she muttered.
"But," Kael said, grinning, "wasn’t it a little exciting?"
Silence.
Then, reluctantly—so quietly he almost missed it—she mumbled,
"...Yeah. Maybe."
Sirens howled in the distance.
Inside the carriage, there was only silence... and the faint creak of leather as Kael slowly turned to face her.
Lysaria looked up.
And froze.
His face—
He looked troubled.
As if a heavy question gnawed at his soul.
A storm behind those eyes.
A man caught between duty and desire.
Pain and purpose.
Her heart went wild.
Oh gods...
Was this it?
The mont every court drama promised?
He took a breath.
"Lysaria..."
She sat straighter.
Her cheeks flushed.
Here it cos.
He hesitated.
Eyes sincere.
Brow furrowed like a tragic prince.
"You’re a magic prodigy, right?"
Her breath hitched.
YES. YES. SAY THE LINE. ’Let’s run away together.’ ’Let’s defy the world.’
With a subtle smirk and a perfectly practiced tilt of her chin, she answered.
"Yes," she said sweetly,
"I’ve been learning spells since childhood.
I’m almost Rank 3.
My selection for the Royal Academy is practically guaranteed."
Co on, Kaelion.
Say it.
Marry in the moonlight.
Build a cottage.
Na our kids weird noble nas like Theodric and Malverra.
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