For the One Who Hates Me - Chapter 7

Aura shook her head, flustered. “You have to take care of the people of Zenia.”

“No, the person I’m going to take care of is you.”

“Ruan.”

“Please. Don’t make me regret it twice.”

She knew she had to refuse. Not just for the people of Zenia. What if something went wrong and the imperial guard caught them? Karl wouldn’t spare Ruan.

But perhaps it was because of her long-suffering loneliness. Aura didn’t want to be separated from Ruan either.

“…What about the vigilantes? What will they do?”

“There are plenty of people to take my place.” His green eyes shone with determination. His gaze was gentle and trustworthy. Aura hesitated for a moment, then took his hand.

“Alright. Let’s go together, Ruan.”

Ruan convinced the vigilante leaders. They also wanted Aura and Ruan to escape. To them, Aura was their only hope, the one who had to survive. Aura said her goodbyes to the vigilantes in front of the headquarters, promising to return once the situation was stable.

From the other side, Ruan came out with two horses. He held out his hand, and as Aura reached for it to mount the horse, someone ran toward them. It was the man who had stolen the bread in the market.

‘That man… Did he recognize me earlier?’

An old man with white hair was with him. The old man cried out to Aura, “Princess Aura! Please save the magicians!”

“Hey! What are you doing?!” A vigilante tried to stop the old man. But the man was undeterred, held in place by the vigilante, as he kept yelling for them to save the magicians.

“Ruan. What is he talking about? Save the magicians?”

When Aura asked, Ruan looked troubled and tried to help her onto the horse. “Don’t worry about him. Let’s get on the horses quickly.”

“Ruan.”

“We can’t fix this now. I’ll explain on the way.”

Something felt off. Aura let go of Ruan’s hand and spoke to the vigilante. “Let him go.”

The vigilante reluctantly let go of the old man. The old man fell to his knees, pleading. “Princess Aura, I beg you…”

“Speak to me slowly. I’m listening.”

The old man raised his head and looked up at Aura. His eyes were full of tears and desperation. “I was a magician of Zenia, but three years ago, my magic was stolen by some unknown magicians. Not just me, but all the magicians of Zenia!”

“Your magic was stolen? How?!”

It was unbelievable. The magic that was the foundation of Zenia’s power, stolen? And from every magician?

“Princess, luckily, there was a witness.”

“A witness?”

“Yes. A few days before Zenia was conquered, the Crown Prince of Kasa appeared in the capital with some magicians. They sealed all of our magic in a crystal ball and left.”

“Just a crystal ball? That couldn’t have been so easy!”

“W-We couldn’t believe it either. It wasn’t Zenia’s magic. We think it might have been magic from a foreign land.”

Aura finally understood everything. Why Zenia had fallen so easily, and why they had become slaves without a fight. The old man’s rough hand gripped Aura’s.

“Princess, they called that crystal ball ‘Pin.’”

“’Pin’… And where is this crystal ball?”

“It must be in the imperial palace. The Crown Prince took it. Please, please find the Pin and break the seal!”

The imperial palace.

At the word, Aura’s head began to spin. Ruan pulled her wrist, which was still numb from the shock. “Aura, don’t think about it. For now…”

“Ruan, did you lose your magic too?”

Ruan couldn’t answer. It was a silent admission. Aura’s voice caught in her throat. “You should have told me! What were you thinking?!”

“Because you escaped from the palace.” Ruan’s face was filled with sorrow. “How could I tell you something like that when you finally escaped from the palace?”

Aura knew how Ruan felt. She had already suffered so much. Ruan didn’t want to burden her anymore.

“Aura, the vigilantes and I are investigating Pin. You need to go somewhere safe for now.”

“Leader! Leader!”

Vigilantes came running from a distance, their faces pale with panic. “Leader! The imperial guard is here. They’ll be here soon!”

“Damn it. Aura! Let’s go now!” Ruan pulled Aura along.

Another vigilante added, “You need to leave quickly. The Emperor came himself.”

“What? Karl?” Aura asked in shock. Leaving the palace at such an unstable time meant one thing: he would stop at nothing to catch her.

While everyone was in a panic, Aura stood tall. As Ruan had said, she could have run away. But she couldn’t bring herself to move.

“’Pin’…” she mumbled to herself.

After leaving the north tower and stabbing Karl, Aura had thought it didn’t matter if she died. Everything precious to her had vanished or been destroyed. But now, it was different. She had found a reason to live, a purpose for her life that she had lost during her imprisonment in the tower.

“Ruan. I have to go back to the imperial palace.”

“No, Aura.” Ruan shook his head.

Aura’s eyes were steady. “Someone once told me that I was still a princess at the top of the world. Even in this state.” Aura gave a self-deprecating smile. “It’s a painful truth, but it seems he wasn’t completely wrong. I guess I haven’t fallen all the way to the bottom yet.”

“Aura…”

“I can’t run away now.”

Ruan grabbed her shoulders. His face was frantic. “So you’re going back to the palace you just escaped from? To the man who abandoned you in a tower for three years?”

Aura frowned. She knew that going back to the palace meant going back to Karl. “Yes. But you know, Ruan. In this situation, someone has to go to the palace, and there’s no one more suitable than me.”

“…Then I’ll go with you. I can’t let you go alone.”

“Good. You can come and help me.” Aura cupped Ruan’s face and looked him straight in the eyes, as if to make sure he remembered her every word. “But not now. Hide your identity and wait for the right time to enter the palace.”

In the distance, the faint sound of hooves grew louder. Aura added quickly, “Listen carefully, Ruan. You must not let Karl see you now. And no matter what I do, don’t show yourself to him.”

“…What are you going to do?”

Instead of answering, Aura hugged Ruan and whispered, “I promise. I won’t die.”

“Aura…”

“Let’s meet again in the imperial palace.”

With those words, Aura let go of Ruan and ran into the headquarters. The sound of hooves was getting closer. A terrible premonition suddenly seized Ruan. “…No…! Aura!” Ruan ran after Aura into the building.

Aura ran up the wooden stairs. Her burned ankle throbbed. Karl had come all the way to Ansena to catch her. That fact alone made her heart pound like crazy. She could have surrendered to him. But Karl wasn’t a simple man. He would question her about her conversations with the people of Zenia.

‘It’s only a matter of time before he finds out I know about Pin.’

She had to somehow hide the fact that she knew about Pin.

Slam!

Aura burst open the door to the top-floor storage room. A balcony window was open.

Click.

She locked the storage room door, composed herself, and walked out onto the balcony. Below, she could see the open space in front of the headquarters. And not far away, Karl and his knights were rushing toward it.

‘I have to make it look like I came to Ansena to die. As if I’m not plotting anything, just here to end it all.’

It was a plausible narrative. A princess who wanted to die with her people. This was the only way she could deceive Karl.

Bang! Bang!

“Aura! Aura! Open this door!” Ruan’s voice echoed from outside.

Aura sighed. “That fool… I told him to hide.”

She calmly put one leg over the railing. An uncontrollable fear washed over her, and the hand gripping the railing was slick with sweat.

Just then, Karl arrived in the open space below. He saw Aura and dismounted his horse, his face pale with horror. “Aura!” he yelled, running toward the building.

At that moment, Bang!

The locked door broke, and Ruan ran in. “Aura!”

At Ruan’s voice, Aura glanced down. There was a considerable distance between Karl and the building. There was no more time to waste. Aura let go of the railing. It was foolish, but she had a feeling that Karl would never let her die.

Aura plunged headfirst. She squeezed her eyes shut from the pain of her organs seemingly tearing away all at once. Just as she thought she was going to die, someone caught her in a breathless, last-second grasp.

“Ugh…” Aura let out the stifled moan. The impact with him hurt her body. She opened her eyes to see Karl. His eyes were burning with an unreadable rage.

What would Karl do to her? And what would she do to him? Aura was both afraid and curious. The sky spun before her eyes. As her consciousness slowly faded, she closed her eyes.

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