How to Run Away from Obsessed Men

Episode 48

Crain received a letter from Prince Flute. He was deeply troubled.

“The tide has turned.”

To cooperate, or not to cooperate.

“I’ll have to pay the price for the loyalty Prince Flute desires.”

The prince would likely want Crain to reveal his most valuable card. The emperor had taken a passive stance in all affairs.

People said Rebecca would become the emperor, but Crain thought otherwise.

“Princess Rebecca lacks the foresight to see the tide.”

A new era had begun.

The recent incident involving Count Luan had, if anything, solidified Crain’s conviction. It became possible to survive without divine power.

It was now possible to live without healing and without priests.

The mere fact that such a possibility existed was enough to satisfy Crain.

And so.

Crain decided to side with the prince. Though Princess Rebecca was superior in many ways, he liked Prince Flute’s ability to see the bigger picture.

‘In fact, that’s what makes him potentially better than Princess Rebecca.’

The emperor didn’t need to be intelligent.

In fact, an emperor Crain could manipulate and control would be much better.

From that perspective, Flute was quite a promising candidate.

‘He’s dull and foolish. But his appearance is convincing, making it easy to gain the trust of the foolish populace.’

He had all the right qualities to be used. There was no need for someone as smart as Princess Rebecca in this empire.

Crain made up his mind.

His eyes gleamed coldly.

⋆★⋆

Just before the hunting competition.

Crain and Flute met.

When Crain first requested a private audience, Flute couldn’t guess what he had in mind.

‘Is he here to question me about what happened to Lindsey Kesion?’

He had also heard rumors that Crain was furious about what had happened at Count Luan’s estate.

Yet Flute couldn’t shake his curiosity.

‘Crain could have stopped me. But he didn’t.’

Crain was smiling kindly, looking at him. Flute had been in a foul mood recently.

“What brings you here?”

At Crain’s concerned voice, Flute’s face hardened. Crain was looking at the many scars on his face with curiosity.

Flute shook his head. It was embarrassing even to talk about what had happened.

Just thinking about it made his face flush with anger.

Instead of answering, he changed the subject.

“What brings you here, Marquis?”

“I’m here to offer you what you want, Your Highness.”

At his words, Flute’s gaze turned to Crain.

“What I want?”

The moment he heard those words, Flute’s eyes darkened.

It wasn’t hard to figure out what Crain meant.

Flute’s eyes glinted with malice as the image of Lindsey flashed through his mind.

He turned to Crain and spoke.

⋆★⋆

Rebecca watched Azhet with interest. He had been exuding a cold aura all day.

“Did you have a fight with Sir Kenyan?”

“Why do you think that?”

Rebecca smiled faintly.

“You’re radiating a chilly aura. Besides, I heard the rumors too. I thought you had reason to be angry.”

“…”

“So, what price did you offer my father?”

Azhet’s face stiffened at Rebecca’s words.

“I offered him the income from the Luxen mine for a year.”

Rebecca shook her head in surprise.

“Impressive. You must’ve been quite troubled.”

At Rebecca’s words, Azhet nodded, as if his head hurt.

She was right. Recently, he had been deeply troubled by Kenyan’s strange behavior.

Not long ago, Kenyan, who had just returned from a mission due to Sylvia’s mistakes, headed straight for the imperial palace.

Then, he threw a punch at Prince Flute’s cheek. Was it just a punch? It’s said that he went wild, throwing his fists until the knights intervened to stop him.

As a result, Prince Flute lay bedridden, hovering between life and death for a while.

Even the emperor was greatly enraged. No matter how pathetic Flute was, he was still a prince favored by the emperor.

Azhet had to go through considerable hardship to calm the emperor’s wrath.

“Why on earth did he do that? Could it be because of that woman, Lindsey Kesion?”

“Don’t touch her.”

“What?”

“Do you think I don’t know what you’re thinking?”

“Kenyan, you…”

“I don’t want to fight with you. You know what kind of person I am.”

His brother knew him too well.

As Kenyan said, he had indeed been planning to get rid of Lindsey soon. Kenyan must have been well aware of that when he said it.

‘He must have also known about the attack on Prince Flute.’

And he must have known what Prince Flute truly desired and who was behind Count Luan’s actions.

Azhet wasn’t particularly interested in who would become the next emperor.

He didn’t care what kind of ideology the candidates held either. He just believed that no one, regardless of who became emperor, could touch the Radian family.

‘But still, that was an utterly reckless act. Attacking a prince?’

Azhet let out a sigh.

“How amusing. But it seems your father has been rather generous. The income from the Luxen mine isn’t small, but for him to be satisfied with that…”

Princess Rebecca’s eyes were filled with amusement as she spoke.

“Laying a hand on a member of the royal family… that Sir Kenyan, of all people, and for no apparent reason.”

“Indeed, there must have been a reason.”

“Even though Marquis Kesion overlooked the incident involving Count Luan?”

Azhet’s face turned cold.

“Hmm, Kenyan does have a fiery temper, but what exactly happened?”

“I’m not sure. He’s an unpredictable fellow.”

Azhet couldn’t understand why he had to endure such humiliation.

He simply thought that time would make things right.

Now that he and Lindsey Kesion were no longer engaged, he believed Kenyan would soon come to his senses.

‘But instead, it seems like he’s fallen even deeper.’

Was it because it was an impossible relationship? The more unattainable something is, the more one desires it. Was that why?

He couldn’t figure it out.

‘I never thought Kenyan would be so deeply affected…’

Azhet pressed his forehead, his face filled with confusion.

⋆★⋆

The day of the hunting competition dawned.

Lindsey was receiving all the attention from the crowd. She looked around with a slightly annoyed expression.

Mikhail, who was supposed to be her partner, was nowhere to be seen.

‘He’s always so unpredictable…’

Instead of Mikhail, Raysis was standing by her side.

For some reason, Lindsey felt a sense of disappointment.

‘It’s not like I’m upset.’

She wasn’t childish enough to sulk over something like that.

“Miss Lindsey Kesion instead of Miss Rosalyn?”

“They say you can’t speak lightly of impure blood anymore.”

“I heard the marquis cares for Miss Lindsey quite a lot.”

Rumors about Rosalyn being under house arrest had spread widely. Not only that, but rumors of the strained relationship between Raysis and Rosalyn had reached other noble families, not just the Kesion household.

Crain’s favor had shifted.

One of the signs of that was Raysis standing by Lindsey’s side. The strong successor of the Kesion family showed no intention of leaving her side.

“My, Sir Raysis seems to care for Miss Lindsey quite a bit, doesn’t he?”

“It’s like honey is dripping from his eyes.”

Lindsey heard the whispers around her but let them pass from one ear to the other.

‘This place never changes—they love to gossip.’

Just then, Lindsey spotted Prince Flute.

‘What’s wrong with him?’

Prince Flute’s face was a mess. He looked as if someone had beaten him up, and Lindsey couldn’t help but find it absurd.

‘A prince getting beaten up?’

Well, it was fitting. She had been wishing for something bad to happen to him, and it seemed he had stumbled and fallen somewhere.

Flute, noticing her gaze, scowled.

Though she didn’t know the reason, it seemed Flute was angry at her.

But soon, Lindsey smiled at the sound of a familiar voice.

“Miss Lindsey.”

“Lady Bianca.”

Bianca, dressed lightly for the hunting competition, had joined them.

As a transcendent, she had come out to hunt.

Bianca smiled with a gleam in her eyes.

“I’ll bring you the biggest prey, Miss Lindsey.”

“I’m looking forward to it. Though I’m worried it might rain. I’d hate to see you struggle in the rain, Lady Bianca.”

Raysis stood by Lindsey’s side, silently observing. When Lindsey was with him, she would emit a cold aura, but she smiled so kindly when talking to Bianca.

Raysis gave a bitter smile.

Though it was the reaction he had expected, the distance he had to cover still felt long.

Would Lindsey ever forgive him?

‘But I have time.’

Since childhood, he had always believed that time would solve everything.

If he stayed by Lindsey’s side and continued to ask for her forgiveness, he believed that one day, she would finally look his way.

Or at least, he wanted to believe that.