Two-Faced Princess

e said again.
Unlike his fierce expression earlier, his voice was calm.
No, it was more placating.
As if to soothe her pain.

How dare he.

Her clothes were torn by the monster’s attack, revealing her left arm and shoulder.
Even in the midst of suffering, Apollonia couldn’t help but care about Uriel’s breaths that brushed past her neck and collarbone.

She tried to extricate her arm from his grasp, but Uriel tore fabric from her hem without letting go of her hand.

“Uriel.”

He stopped the bleeding by tightly wrapping the makeshift bandage around her shoulder.

“Uriel.”

“It’s done.
You’ll have a scar, but you’ll be able to move once you heal.”

His diagnosis was correct.
But that only applied if Apollonia was an ordinary person, which she wasn’t.
The monster problem was solved, the problem now was Uriel.

“Go back, Uriel.
It’s dangerous over here.”

“If Your Highness doesn’t go, I won’t go either.”

He no longer looked angry at her words, and it seemed that her latest order hadn’t been enough to convince him.
Apollonia sighed.

“Uriel, the truth is—”

Rumble-!

The sound came from the mountain.
Obviously, this was the cry of the mountain that the Bellas was talking about.

Rumble-!

This time, the sound came with a strong vibration.

“It’s dangerous!”

Uriel’s voice rang in her ear as she could feel his arms tightly wrapped around her.
The next moment, her feet were off the ground.
As Uriel lifted Apollonia up and leaped forward at the same time,  a pillar of fire rose up from where they were sitting.

“Hold tight.”

Pillars of fire sprang up all over the mountain with no discernible pattern nor warning.
He simply relied on his keen instincts to guide him to safe land.

Boom-!

Once again the flames erupted, and a large tree fell near them.
Uriel threw himself sideways while holding Apollonia.

“Uriel.”

The tree crashed into his legs and he felt a dizzying pain.
As he stumbled and tried to get back up, Apollonia spoke, releasing her arms that had been hanging around his neck.

“Put me down.”

“No, I don’t want to.”

“Uriel, trust me.”

She wrapped her hands around his face as she spoke.
Even though she was dying, her voice was filled with a strange conviction, something deeper than mere stubbornness.

“Why would I….”