Chapter 4

No matter how she looked at it, the way everything was diverging from the original story left Enria uneasy.

More than anything, the fact that it wasn’t Lahar but the Magic Tower that was after her life—she had no idea how to deal with something that big.

The sheer weight of that reality made it hard to breathe.

Her head throbbed, and she furrowed her brows again and again.

“Well, whatever the case, my sister asked me to protect you, so I’ll honor her request.”

After finishing his words, Lahar looked at Enria with a faint trace of irritation before continuing.

“A woman who used to be the mistress of my sister’s fiancé—honestly, it’d be easier to just let you die. But my foolish sister is such a kind soul that she still worries about you.”

Enria’s expression stiffened slightly at that.

His words rubbed her the wrong way—more than just a little.

Maybe it was because the man who had topped her “people to avoid” list had now been bumped down to second place.

Her fear of Lahar had dulled somewhat, so she didn’t bother to hide her irritation.

“I’d appreciate it if you didn’t talk like that in front of me. It’s not very gentlemanly.”

Lahar’s eyebrows shot up, but Enria pressed on, unfazed.

“And for the record, I’m not a mistress anymore. Actually, I never really was. Your sister and my ex-lover aren’t even married yet.”

“True, but their engagement was announced months ago—”

“That’s why we broke up.”

Her firm tone cut him off. Lahar fell silent for a moment, staring at her, before letting out a short sigh.

“Fine, let’s say that’s how it is.”

“It’s not ‘let’s say.’ It is how it is.”

“Yes, yes. I’ll take your word for it.”

“…Anyway, thank you for saving me.”

As Enria bowed her head in gratitude, Lahar’s expression turned oddly complicated.

“Well, anyway, you’ll need to stay hidden from the Tower’s mages. It’s too dangerous to settle in one place, so for now, we’ll keep moving—”

“About that, I’m pregnant.”

“—keep moving and… wait, what?”

Lahar’s words stopped dead.

***

“Search every inch of the area. Leave nothing unchecked.”

“Yes, sir!”

“Understood, Your Grace!”

The knights saluted Caldeon sharply before scattering.

Caldeon turned away and pressed the communication stone, connecting to Fyoren, the head of the Empire’s top guild.

{Yes, Your Grace?}

“Someone took Enria. Find her. Now.”

Behind him, Caldeon’s aide, Arsen, looked on with a worried face.

It had been his idea to hide Enria somewhere quiet until the emperor’s marriage decree was finalized.

He had chosen that mansion carefully—somewhere no one should have been able to find.

But Count Dalbreon, that snake, had apparently caught wind of their plan and acted first.

Dalbreon, a business partner of Count Kaznaren, was one of the main supporters pushing Roseanne Kaznaren toward becoming the Grand Duchess.

To eliminate the obstacle Enria posed, those men had somehow discovered that Caldeon had sent her to Endelie.

Fearing for her safety, Caldeon had already been preparing a new location and a countermeasure against Dalbreon when Enria’s letter arrived.

Whatever that letter said, the moment he read it, Caldeon dropped everything and raced to Endelie—only to see her vanish before his eyes, wrapped in another man’s arms.

And that man was a mage.

‘What in the world is happening?’

Arsen sighed heavily and looked down at the endless paperwork on his desk.

He already knew it—there would be no sleep until Enria was found again.

Swallowing his frustration, he went back to work.

***

After blinking in disbelief, Lahar asked carefully, “You… what did you say?”

“I said I’m pregnant. Oh, but don’t misunderstand. I have no intention of using this as an excuse to go back to the Grand Duke’s mansion. Caldeon will never find out about it.”

“Good heavens…”

All color drained from Lahar’s face.

“I didn’t have a choice. I found out after we’d broken up. I couldn’t… I couldn’t get rid of the baby, and after thinking about it for a long time, I decided to have it. I know you might think this child could become a problem for your sister’s happiness—and honestly, I get that. But I swear, neither I nor my baby will ever have anything to do with Caldeon again. He’ll never even know this child exists.”

Enria did her best to convince him, fearing he might change his mind and kill her on the spot for carrying Caldeon’s child.

At first, she’d regretted revealing her pregnancy at all, but she’d had little choice.

She didn’t know how long she’d be on the run, or how many more life-threatening incidents like today she’d face.

And besides, her belly would start showing eventually.

Since Lahar had decided to help her, he would find out sooner or later—and telling him too late might only make him resent her more.

Still, as she looked at his pale, stunned face, she couldn’t help but regret it.

If he snapped and decided to kill her here and now, she wouldn’t stand a chance.

Her mind raced, searching for any possible escape route.

Not that running away would actually save her—not when the one hunting her was the Tower Lord himself, the main villain of the story.

‘Then what if I go back to Caldeon and ask him to protect me…?’

That, too, was out of the question.

He had thrown her out to preserve his relationship with Roseanne.

There was no reason for him to protect a woman pregnant with his child while living with his fiancée.

But could she trust the man in front of her?

Not really.

Lahar was the one who had killed her in the original story.

Even now, he hadn’t changed much—only helping her because his sister had asked him to.

‘What a mess this is.’

Enria pressed a hand to her aching forehead and looked out the window.

She had only ever wanted a peaceful life.

How had it all come to this—running for her life, hunted by both Lahar and the Tower Lord himself?

She had no idea how to survive this chaos.

Just as she sank into those hopeless thoughts, Lahar spoke.

“Then we’ll need to find a place where you can rest safely.”

Her eyes flew open wide.

But at that very moment, Lahar’s expression darkened.

He looked sharply toward the window—then grabbed Enria and pulled her tightly into his arms.

BOOM!

A deafening explosion shook the carriage.

Still holding Enria, Lahar kicked the door open and leapt out.

A massive fireball engulfed the carriage, the defensive spell around it already shattered halfway.

The carriage exploded midair.

“Kyaaah! Ahhh!”

“Hold on to me!”

Enria screamed in panic, clinging desperately to him, wrapping her arms so tightly around his waist that he nearly choked.

He fRosee for a moment at the sudden closeness, then quickly spread his hands, chanting a spell.

A transparent yellow barrier flared to life around them.

The next wave of fireballs slammed into the barrier, bursting like fireworks.

Enria screamed again and clutched him even tighter, nearly making him lose balance.

Despite the awkwardness, Lahar bit his thumb, drew blood, and scattered it into the air.

The blood transformed into sharp, glowing wind arrows that tore through the oncoming flames.

Only then did Enria remember—Lahar and Roseanne were both powerful mages.

The Kaznaren family had long been known as a lineage of formidable magicians.

A noble house allied with the imperial family instead of the Tower—a fact that had made them bitter enemies with the mages for generations.

In the original story, Roseanne and Lahar had waged war against the Tower with Caldeon’s support.

‘Right. Roseanne totally carried that fight back then.’

Recalling how Roseanne had outshone even the male lead, Enria felt a flicker of reassurance.

If the woman who had told Lahar to protect her was that Roseanne, maybe the Tower Lord wasn’t that scary after all.

But just then—

Groen Marsone appeared before them.

The Tower Lord’s son himself, dressed in an ornate robe that screamed “mage.”

“Well, well. Looks like the imperial dog moonlights as the Grand Duke’s lapdog too.”

He smirked as he looked at Lahar holding Enria close.

Enria stared at him.

‘Wow… he’s stunning—and looks absolutely evil while smiling like that.’

It was such a jarring, cinematic kind of beauty that her mouth fell slightly open.

He had the perfect face for a villain, the kind that could win awards for playing one.

Maybe it was the absurdity of being suspended midair amid explosions, but even in that moment, stray thoughts like that crossed her mind.

She tore her gaze away and looked down at the ground far below, trying to get used to this surreal situation.