After Putting the Slayer of the Night to Sleep, I Ran Away - Chapter 62

The consciousness that had been drifting in the deep darkness gradually surfaced.

Faintly at first, then more and more clearly.

A faint light seeped through the eyelids, and the birdsong from beyond the window wrapped around the ears like a melody.

Leo inhaled thinly, opened his eyes, and muttered inwardly as if troubled.

‘I ended up falling asleep after all.’

He didn’t know how long it had been since he’d slept so soundly.

He felt his heavy body was much lighter, and quietly gazed at Isla, who was still asleep.

Her soft, even breathing lifted the corners of his mouth.

‘She tossed and turned for a while.’

She seemed to have trouble falling asleep, but she was sleeping in.

He must have fallen asleep at some point too.

He carefully raised himself so as not to wake Isla, but saw that the front of her gown was open.

The fair skin visible beneath the thin nightgown strongly captivated his gaze.

‘I’m getting dizzy.’

Thinking that he was about to get a headache in a different sense, he pulled the blanket over her.

Was it okay for her to sleep so defenselessly?

Especially in the same bed as him.

He clicked his tongue in a strange sense of dissatisfaction, then belatedly realized that he had just woken up himself, and ran a hand over his forehead.

‘Seriously this is annoying.’

The fact that he had lost the night for the first time in a while hit him hard.

He couldn’t use his familiars while asleep.

That’s why he didn’t want to fall asleep in a foreign land.

Of course, even if he fell asleep, it wasn’t like he would be slow to notice an attack, but he wasn’t alone.

Feeling bitter, he got out of bed and headed straight for the bathroom.

He intended to wash up and grab a quick bite to eat before Isla woke up.

The reinforcements, who were supposed to follow soon, didn’t appear until around noon the next day.

“Did I cause you trouble? I mistook the schedule. I’m sorry, Princess.”

“You, look at me for a second.”

“Uh, hey! Let go of me so I can talk. Hey!”

Dex, who had been scratching the back of his head and apologizing, was grabbed by the scruff of his neck by Leo and dragged away.

Isla watched the scene with concern, then went up to her lodgings to change into the clothes that the maid Sarah had brought with the reinforcements.

“Dex deserves to be scolded. Making the Princess sleep in a place like this.”

Isla chuckled at Sarah’s grumbling as she helped her dress.

“It was still fun. It was my first time seeing the sea, you know.”

“Oh, really, Princess?”

“Yeah. Have you ever seen it, Sarah?”

“Well, I’m from Eisenfelt. After His Highness wiped out the pirates, the sea wasn’t a dangerous area anymore.”

“I see.”

“Shall I put your hair up?”

“Would you? The sea breeze is stronger than I thought.”

When Isla, having finished dressing, left the room, the knights and Dex, who had arrived with the reinforcements, had finished their preparations and were lined up.

“Squad Leader Ian is here too.”

“Greetings, Princess.”

After acknowledging the welcome face, Isla checked the carriage that would carry the delegation one more time.

Leo appeared, wearing a jacket made of the same fabric as her dress, having changed somewhere, and gave instructions.

“Prepare yourselves. The ship will be arriving soon.”

The waves of the harbor gently lapped.

Isla was inwardly surprised by the majesty of the large ship slowly approaching the pier, and her eyes widened.

The delegation, including the princess, appeared on the deck of the ship, the flag of the Drain Kingdom fluttering in the wind.

The princess, draped in a deep wine-colored cloak, looked to be Isla’s age.

As she disembarked from the ship with her entourage, Leo gasped and muttered something.

“Alex?”

Isla tilted her head and looked up at Leo, his gaze fixed on one of the attendants descending with the princess.

‘Does he know someone? Who is he surprised to see?’

Puzzled, Isla followed his gaze and blinked rapidly.

The middle-aged man walking leisurely out of the group, with his gleaming blond hair, had a vaguely familiar face.

‘Wait. He definitely looks like someone?’

Finally, the princess, standing face to face, greeted Leo.

“I didn’t expect the First Prince to come out to greet me. It’s been a while.”

“Welcome, Princess.”

“Thank you for the welcome. And this is…”

At the princess’s question, Isla bent her knee and greeted her gracefully.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Princess. I am Isla Everett.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Grace Drain. Call me Grace, Princess Everett.”

Grace, recognizing that she was a princess just from the name of her family, smiled and turned her gaze to Leo.

Leo was staring intently at someone behind her.

“There’s someone else you haven’t seen in a while, isn’t there?”

As Grace stepped aside slightly as if telling them to greet each other, Leo frowned slightly.

“Uncle.”

“It’s been a while, Leo.”

“I didn’t expect to see you here.”

“I didn’t expect you to come out either. You seem to have been doing well.”

The corners of Leo’s mouth loosened slightly.

The last time he had seen Alexander was seven years ago, when he had come to Eisenfelt to visit Leo.

He had visited Eisenfelt out of genuine concern for his nephew, spent quite a bit of time together, and then disappeared, leaving a single letter behind.

He hadn’t bothered to look for him, but to think he had been relying on the Drain Kingdom.

“You look well yourself, Uncle.”

Alexander, who had revealed his inner joy, exchanged a few words of small talk with Leo, then cast an interested gaze towards Isla.

Leo, grasping the meaning in that gaze, chuckled and clasped Isla’s hand.

“Shall I introduce her?”

“Introduce? What’s the relationship?”

“She’s the person I’m going to marry soon.”

Alexander seemed momentarily surprised at Leo’s immediate answer, but soon smiled.

Isla bowed politely at his side.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. Please call me Isla.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m his uncle.”

At Alexander’s introduction, Isla hesitated for a moment, then cautiously asked.

“If it’s not rude to ask, what is your relationship with His Majesty the Emperor?”

“We’re brothers. A lacking brother, that is.”

The first place they visited with the delegation, including the princess and Alexander, was a famous restaurant.

They would fill the hunger caused by the four-day voyage here, take a break with tea and desserts, and then head straight to the Imperial Palace by carriage.

The mealtime was relatively amicable, thanks to the fact that the princess, Grace, and Isla had discovered a common interest early in the meal.

“Cats eat grass?”

Grace nodded with a proud look on her face at Isla’s surprised expression.

“It’s one of the specialties of our Drain Kingdom. It’s a grass called cat grass, and it helps cats vomit the fur they swallow while licking their fur.”

“Yes, I’ve seen it too. I was so surprised when Night threw up so hard.”

“It can be like that at first. But I heard that there aren’t many families in the Empire that raise cats. How did you end up raising one?”

“Well, I found him on the street. He was still young, but he was injured and dying.”

“Oh my. And then?”

“I fed him the highest-grade potion I had saved. Fortunately, he survived, and we’ve been living together ever since.”

“Oh my, the highest-grade potion? It couldn’t have been easy to feed that expensive stuff to a kitten. You’re a good person, Princess.”

Isla waved her hand at Grace’s praise.

“No, I just did what anyone would do, Princess.”

“Let’s be friends from now on. We’re fellow cat lovers, aren’t we?”

“I’d like that.”

Isla smiled brightly and asked Grace.

“I heard that cats don’t like the cold, but what are the winters like in the Drain Kingdom, Princess?”

“Oh, don’t even mention it. I’m most envious of the Empire’s climate. It’s not particularly cold even in winter, is it? Our Drain is hot in the summer and cold in the winter, so it’s hard to bear.”

“I see. I’m also worried about the cold of the winter I’ll be facing in the North, but I heard that the wild animal fur, a specialty of Eisenfelt, is so warm.”

“A specialty? Then is it an item that can be traded?”

“I believe so. The atmosphere of Eisenfelt is very different from what it used to be.”

Leo suppressed a laugh at Isla’s ability to lead the conversation in the direction she wanted at a high level.

It seemed that she already knew what Eisenfelt wanted.

He was going to bring up the story when he had the chance anyway, but it seemed that it would be easier thanks to Isla.

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