Chapter 6

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Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter: 6

Chapter Title: The Princess Who Wants to Die and the Cursed Grand Duke (6)

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In the narrow confines of the box, Roxiana gazed up at Floyd endlessly. Eyes green like spring grass, framed in gold like sunlight filtering through dense trees. It had been many years since she'd last seen those eyes, but there was no mistake.

A body thinned from meager meals, skin dulled and dry, hair disheveled, lips cracked and torn.

The vibrant energy of the little girl who had dashed to her brothers in Ider Palace with an umbrella was gone from her. Yet Floyd was certain—this was the princess he'd seen back then.

In that moment, an indescribable wave of emotions crashed over Floyd.

Anger, shock, irritation, sorrow, longing, sadness, and something nameless.

Emotions he wouldn't normally feel pulled him under, and for a moment, Floyd forgot to breathe. As he stared down at Roxiana with bated breath, his eyes caught the brand stamped on her collarbone.

The sunflower mark symbolizing a slave.

The sight ignited the power coiled within him.

Too late, he snapped back to his senses and tried to rein in the surging emotions, but the power broke free of his reason and will, rampaging wildly.

A scorching heat swept through the ship's hold once, and the knights sensed the anomaly, erecting barriers. In the next instant, massive flames erupted centered on Floyd.

"Ugh... Uwaaaah!"

"Kyaaaah!"

The sudden inferno shattered the box, setting it ablaze as people screamed. The knights expanded their barriers to shield everyone, but they couldn't fully block the heat. The hems of clothes on those inside singed and curled.

Floyd shouted at the out-of-control mad flames.

"Stop it! Enough now!"

But as always, the deranged fire ignored his pleas. It would rage until it had wrought all the chaos it desired before dying down.

Floyd lacked the courage to look down at Roxiana. The others would be protected by the knights' barriers, but Roxiana, so close to him, must have borne the full brunt of the flames.

Losing her kingdom, branded a slave, and now burned to death.

In the end, he had played a part in the princess's tragic fate. No matter how horrific the outcome he'd caused, he had to witness it clearly with his own eyes.

Then, something clutched at his pant leg. He looked down to see who it was.

The box and her clothes had burned to nothing in the flames, yet Roxiana alone emerged unscathed, as if nothing had happened. Her skin wasn't charred, her hair un singed. Even enveloped in fire, she sat there untouched.

'How...?'

Floyd was bewildered, but Roxiana was not. To her, the flames that engulfed her felt like a blessing.

Amid the searing heat, she heard countless voices. Familiar tones she used to hear often long ago, but hadn't for so very long.

They weren't as gentle as before—they sounded furious, as if locked in battle with someone.

But none of that mattered now.

The moment she recalled who ruled Torkan, Roxiana desired only one thing: to entrust the end of her wretched fate to him.

And so, clutching his pant leg, she looked up at him and pleaded desperately, pouring her last thread of hope into her words.

"Please... don't grant me the Adelia Flower."

That way, her soul would wander restlessly, and if fortune favored her, she might cross paths with her family once more.

But her desperate wish never reached Floyd's ears. Amid the screams, only fragments like "please," "flower," and "grant" pierced through to him.

As the strength drained from Roxiana's hand gripping his pant leg and her upper body slumped to the floor with a thud, the flames flickering around him as if eternal vanished in an instant. Though windowless, a timely wind swept away the lingering heat.

The screams ceased. Silence descended on what had been a hellscape moments before.

Floyd still gazed down at Roxiana. The miraculous woman unscathed despite being swept up in the blaze right before him.

He couldn't fathom what had happened. The heat from his mad flames usually lingered after they faded, yet now it was cool, as if no fire had ever burned.

Where had this wind come from to chase away the heat?

Suddenly coming to his senses, Floyd shrugged off his jacket and draped it over Roxiana's body. Anxiously, he held a finger under her nose to check her breathing.

It was faint, but there.

She's alive.

Relief washed over him as he scooped her into his arms. Limp in his embrace, she was so gaunt and haggard she seemed already dead.

Gazing down at her, Floyd recalled how she'd desperately tried to say something earlier.

Please, flower, grant.

Probably begging him to grant her the Adelia Flower. Without it, her soul couldn't find rest.

'Did I seem like such a monster that I wouldn't even allow a single Adelia Flower?'

Fair enough. She'd glimpsed him scowling from inside the box—a grim-faced man. No wonder she feared her body would be discarded anywhere.

Turning, Floyd took in the warehouse, wrecked by fire. The rescued slaves huddled fearfully around the knights, staring at him with wide, terrified eyes.

"I'll head back first. Clean this up as best you can."

With that command to the knights, Floyd carried Roxiana and escaped the infernal hold.

The hold reeked of smoke. The mysterious wind had stopped, leaving the air stagnant and suffocating.

Tense slaves collapsed here and there. Some huddled in corners, trembling.

The knight captains ordered their men to tidy the hold, then ascended to the deck. Sailors and slavers, seized by knights, knelt bound in one corner.

The captain among them protested his ignorance, echoed by his crew. The slavers and their underlings, pale with dread of what was to come, tried to placate the knights.

Adrian, captain of the Red Spider Knight Order, leaned on the railing, staring out at the vast sea. His dull silver hair fell, veiling his deep, refined eyes.

Irritated, Adrian swept his bangs back and muttered.

"What do you make of that woman our liege carried off?"

"Said she was Kanta's princess."

Adrian wrinkled his nose at Kain's reply.

"Who doesn't know that? I'm asking because it seemed like our liege recognized her."

"Our liege knew her? Doesn't seem like it..."

"Think about it, brother. Our liege pays so little attention to women he can't even remember the faces of the maids who come and go daily. Yet he spotted her and instantly knew she was Kanta's princess."

"Isn't it normal to recognize a princess from another country? He's no fool."

"The king of Enilta has sent his daughter here multiple times on 'vacation' just to forge ties with our liege, and he still can't recall who she is every time."

The king of Enilta Kingdom, eager for a strong alliance with Floyd, had dispatched Princess Drashel to Torkan under the guise of holidays several times already.

The lovely, endearing Drashel had tried every which way to win Floyd's favor, but he couldn't even remember her name.

Her persistence in challenging him anew each visit, despite hearing "Oh, who was it again?" was nothing short of remarkable.

"Yet he recognized that woman as Kanta's princess at first glance."

"Kanta's princess? Roxiana Franche, you mean?"

Startled by the sudden voice at his ear, Adrian clutched it and bellowed.

"Argh! You scared me! Hexston! Where are you blowing that foul breath from?"

Hexston guffawed at Adrian's jump. The Golden Lion Knight Order captain reeked of cheap liquor, as if he'd been drinking somewhere.

"So? What'd I miss? What's the deal with Kanta's princess?"

"If you didn't want to miss out, you should've shown up when our liege summoned you instead of dawdling. He's been wondering where you were."

Adrian teased, but Kain spoke up.

"Seems Kanta's princess was locked in one of the boxes holding the slaves. Our liege took her with him. Carried her right up like this."

Kain mimed scooping up a woman, and Hexston's eyes went wide.

"Our liege picked up a woman and carried her like that?"

"Yeah. And get this—the even crazier part? Our liege lost control."

"Ah, that explains the stench of smoke everywhere."

"Exactly, it was insane. But that woman was right in front of him and came out without a scratch. Her clothes burned off, but her hair and everything..."

Recalling something, Kain flushed as he continued.

"Anyway, she looked fine."

"That's surprising. Kanta's princess alive... The Franche royal line was thought wiped out, and Kanta's people are still in mourning."

Hexston, who hadn't witnessed the scene, was more shocked that the supposedly dead princess lived than that she'd survived the flames.

Adrian scoffed.

"Branded a slave? Might as well be dead. What difference does it make if she's alive with that mark?"