Yuria's face was becoming red and redder because of the anger bubbling up inside her after hearing Damien's blatant blackmail.
When did she ever have to get blackmailed by any person, let alone a random guard?
Her mouth was pinched with a sour expression making Damien almost burst out in laughter, seeing how cute her reactions were.
Damien was now getting more relaxed since he found out that this girl was 'harmless'. He could see that she was just a spoiled princess who got spoiled by none other than her father.
But still, he was impressed by her cultivation and realized that her kingdom did indeed have the potential to match up to the imperial family.
He also could see that just like most spoiled girls, she also yearned for more freedom. Thus she was trying to sneak out of the royal palace, probably because of getting bored after sitting inside the palace all the time.
She puffed her cheeks and said, "Y-You are lying. I was merely just surveying this passage and not trying to sneak outside."
"Oh? But I never said you were trying to sneak outside. Now that you told me the true reason, I wonder what your father will say once he hears that you tried to sneak outside. Because of how much he cares about you, I am sure he will take more strict measures to keep you in," Damien said in an amused tone.
He continued, "If you let me down, I can take you outside without letting anybody see you. And we both get what we want."
Yuria narrowed her eyes and tilted her chin, "Do you think I am a kid who can be easily fooled like that? Maybe a twelve-year-old would have believed you, but a grown-up like me won't fall for your silly tricks."
Damien chuckled, "Grown up? Good, and here I thought you were only 'grown up' at certain places only."
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})Yurio's brows wrinkled, not understanding what Damien meant, but when she saw his sly gaze, she looked down at her bountiful bosom.
Once Damien got a good look at her, he was able to see that she had beautiful and functional curves, with a pair of large round marshmallows hidden by her cloak clinging over them.
Of course, because of her cloak, he wasn't able to fully appreciate her figure, but he still could form a vague idea.
Her face flared up after finally understanding what Damien meant and said while crossing her arms over her chest, "You...you still dare to take liberties with me? I will definitely tell papa and—"
"And I will tell your papa about you being a disobedient daughter as well," Damien interjected.
Yuria's posture became rigid with cords twanging in her neck, "Hmph, hmph, let me see the face of the one who knows no fear."
Yuria wanted to know this guard's identity since she was sure she had never come upon a guard like him before.
Of course, she spent most of the time in her residence, so she didn't interact with the guards stationed outside.
And even if she didn't interact with them, she had passed them by whenever she was with her father.
But those guards would always bow to her in a servile manner, and not only them but every guard and maid she had come upon would treat her as if she was coming from the heavens.
She also knew a part of the reason for that was because her father had given her a very important status in the kingdom, and this was known throughout the kingdom and even by outsiders.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})Because of that, everybody would choose their words carefully when they talk to her, and the ones who offended her would just disappear as if they never existed in the first place, which she already knew was her father's handiwork.
She was bored of seeing the same people who would only behave like a puppet to her, and her father was always too busy to spend time with her. She also had no friends of her own or any siblings since she was the only child of her father, which was still a surprise for most.
Anyone would wonder how a king could not produce a boy to be his heir when his only child was a daughter.
People inherently believed that only males were capable enough to rule and not females.
However, only Yuria knew that her father didn't remarry or take in concubines because he loved her late mother to death to love another woman.
Even though many years had passed after her mother's death, her father still refused to take in another woman just for the sake of producing an heir.
Because of this, there were many worries and concerns from different people in the kingdom. But because the king was able to take the kingdom's power and wealth to new heights, nobody voiced out any protests or concerns since they had no right to.
However, unlike Damien's belief that she was spoiled, the truth was a bit different.
That was why she wanted to at least roam outside her residence on her own and enjoy a life that was different from boring palace life.
Unfortunately, her father cared about her safety too much and wouldn't allow her to go anywhere alone, and thus she had to take the help of someone to discover this secret passage and thus used this passage frequently to get a breather.
But the last thing she expected today was to come upon a guard who dared to even talk back to her without showing any signs of fear, which further piqued her curiosity to know who he was.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})Damien didn't resist as she grabbed the scarf tied around his face and loosened it at a single stroke.
As the scarf came off, Damien's hair also got ruffled due to the force at which she pulled it off, making his hair tousled over his face.
Yuria's gaze froze, and her heart skipped a beat the moment Damien's face was revealed. She was astonished to see a young boy not much older than her.
But that was not the only reason she was astonished. It was also because of Damien's devilishly hot looks that had a smoldering charm, especially because of how his face was kissed by the dim orange lights in the passage.
Yuria's lips parted unconsciously, with a stunned expression, not understanding how a guard could be this handsome and young.
Her expectations were completely contrary to what she was seeing, especially when she was expecting to see a scruffy guard looking in his thirties at least.
But the boy before her looked more like a prince that fell down from the heavens. No, to be precise, he looked more like the prince charming in her dreams.
The reason she even asked her father to hold an alchemy competition was to see if she would be able to come upon the man of her dreams no matter how silly and foolish it seemed.
Her father protested against it since he was against the idea of her marrying someone so soon. However, finally, he gave in after keeping her future in mind though he mentioned that his expectations for his future son-in-law were sky-high.
In her dreams, she wasn't able to clearly see the face of her prince charming except for a cloudy face. But she was sure the same person kept appearing in her dreams, and seeing Damien made her feel as if the person in her dreams was complete.
"Close your mouth lest you want a mosquito to enter your mouth," Damien said with a cool smirk.
Yurio's face became beet red, closing her mouth immediately realizing that she got carried away after seeing his face and embarrassed herself.
Meanwhile, Damien was quietly heating the earthen hands that had trapped his limbs to loosen them and break free at the opportune time.
He was only trying to buy time and keep her distracted to scoot the moment he gets a window of opportunity.
Yuria collected her thoughts and asked Damien as she looked at him suspiciously, "I...wait...are you really a guard or a thief?"
"Actually, I am a newly joined guard and stumbled upon this place when I was about to have a drink," Damien said offhandedly.
Yuria looked at Damien with squinted eyes, "Really? Do you even know that our kingdom does not accept anyone below the age of twenty to enlist as a guard?"
*Thud*
Suddenly a sound echoed in the narrow passage startling the two, but Damien quickly reacted and used this distraction to break free.
*Crkkk*
"So long princess!"
Yuria turned her around in surprise, hearing the earthen hands she had used to bind Damien being broken into bits.
The most shocking thing was that she wasn't able to see the mysterious boy anymore. It was as if he suddenly disappeared.
"How…" The princess looked at the opening of the secret passage in a dazed manner, wondering what just happened and, most importantly, who he truly was and a lingering feeling of curiosity to see him again.
