Chapter 15: I Want To Help You
Aideen raised her head, intending to express her gratitude, but her efforts were thwarted by another man’s voice shouting from behind her mysterious savior. The man dragged another person like a sack of potatoes behind him.
"Your Grace, he was hiding behind the outer wall. This is the one who agitated the dogs. What are we going to do with him?"
’Your Grace? Is it Duke Tillian Valentine?!’
The princess arched her eyebrows, rendered speechless and stunned. She had been eager to meet the castle’s owner, the one responsible for bringing her here. He had successfully maintained a distance from her, but now, as she stood face to face with him, she felt like an empty vessel, unable to either speak or even think.
Tillian, however, appeared uninterested in Aideen. Despite standing directly in front of her, he turned his head once more to assess his knight and the man trapped in his grip with a long, intense glare. Afterward, he released a weary sigh and asked in a cold tone,
"Who gave you permission to leave your tower?"
Ahspid attempted to wriggle free from the knight’s grasp but proved unsuccessful as the man tightened his hold, securing Ahspid in a headlock. Simultaneously, the knight caught the mage’s hands behind his back with his free hand.
Admitting his defeat, Ahspid sighed and curved his reddish lips into a playfully guilty smile,
"I apologize, Your Grace, but I couldn’t bear to stay locked up in that room any longer! As a mage, I cannot function when confined within four walls! I simply craved some fresh air, especially on such a splendid day. And, of course... a change of scenery."