I Married to Retire, Only to Find Out My Husband Was an Emperor Chapter 5

“But what exactly was this… appointment we had?”

“…”

I raised one eyebrow.

I could understand him being a little out of it because of his debts, but this was too much.

“Still, this is a blind date. You’re being quite rude.”

“Hmm, a blind date?”

Kai rolled the word ‘blind date’ around in his mouth, then chuckled as he rubbed his chin.

“How interesting. A blind date.”

He looked me up and down.

“You’re Regina von Eisenbach, aren’t you? I can tell just from your appearance and the way you speak.”

“…?”

I tilted my head.

If this was a blind date, he should have been given information about me, too. So why was he acting as if he had only just realized who I was?

‘As I thought, this man seems to have a screw loose.’

I picked up my teacup and reached my conclusion.

But I didn’t feel too bad about it.

Most men got scared as soon as they heard my name or met my eyes.

They were too busy backing away from the shadow of the ‘Black Grim Reaper’ looming behind me.

But this man was different.

He wasn’t afraid of me at all.

He even seemed to enjoy my stiff way of speaking and acting.

‘Someone with this much courage isn’t bad.’

I began to think that perhaps this blind date might actually succeed.

I was just about to start a proper conversation when—

Rattle.

I heard something scraping outside the window.

It was very faint, but mixed in with it were the footsteps of dozens of people.

Kai’s expression changed.

His relaxed smile disappeared, and a troubled look crossed his face.

“Oh, dear.”

He stood up.

“They’re nearby. They really do have an incredible sense of smell.”

“Who?”

“My creditors. They got here sooner than I expected.”

He shrugged and looked at me with regret.

“What should I do? I’m afraid we’ll have to end our blind date here because of my creditors.”

He raised a hand as if to say goodbye.

“I had fun, Regina. If we get another chance…”

“Wait.”

I stood up and cut him off.

He turned to me with a puzzled look.

“You’re giving up on our blind date just because of a few creditors?”

“…What?”

“If they catch you, my blind date will end in another failure. I won’t let that happen.”

I made up my mind and approached him.

If I let him go now, another ‘failure’ would be added to my blind date record.

Men who weren’t afraid of me were rare.

I couldn’t let this ‘diamond in the rough’ slip away.

“I’ll help you lose them.”

“You?”

“That’s right. Espionage and concealment are basic skills on the battlefield. Come here.”

I roughly grabbed the tablecloth and pulled.

The teacups on top crashed to the floor, but I didn’t care.

I threw the white tablecloth over Kai’s head and tied it tightly around his neck.

“W-wait! What are you doing to me…?!”

“Be quiet. It’s a disguise.”

He looked like a ghost or a traveling peddler carrying a bundle, but it was better than letting his shiny golden hair give him away.

Without hesitation, I flung the window open.

Looking outside, I saw red uniforms gathering near the cafe entrance.

As expected, creditors always block the exits first.

“Hold on tight.”

“Where?”

“My neck.”

I didn’t even give him time to answer. I hooked one arm around Kai’s waist.

Then I stepped onto the windowsill and leaped up.

“Gasp?!”

A breathy sound escaped Kai’s mouth.

I pulled him close and made him leap along with me.

Tap!

We landed lightly.

But I didn’t stop.

We had to get higher to escape the pursuers’ line of sight.

“Be careful not to bite your tongue!”

I kicked off the ground once more.

My next target was the roof of the building across the street.

It was a distance that an ordinary person wouldn’t even dare attempt, but it was familiar to me.

Whoosh—

Our bodies rose into the air.

I could feel Kai’s body stiffen in my arms.

Crash!

We landed, rolling across the rooftop.

“Hah… hah…”

Covered in dust, I raised my head.

Fortunately, the pursuers were still milling about in confusion down below.

“Are you all right?”

I checked Kai’s face as I held him in my arms.

The tablecloth had come loose, revealing his golden hair, now completely disheveled.

I had been worried that he might have fainted from the shock.

But—

“…Haha.”

He was laughing.

It wasn’t the laughter of someone terrified.

His golden eyes were sparkling with excitement, and a pure, childlike joy spread across his face.

“Hahaha! Amazing! Did you see that? We lost those guys down there in an instant!”

He grabbed my shoulders and shook me as he shouted excitedly.

“One more time! Can we jump again? How about all the way to that clock tower over there?”

“…”

I stared at him blankly. Instead of being scared in this situation, he was enjoying himself like a child at an amusement park.

‘He really is… not right in the head.’

But I didn’t dislike that smile.

No, if anything, my heart seemed to be beating a little faster.

“If you want.”

I gave a small grin and adjusted my hold on him.

“Hold on tight. This time, we’ll go even higher.”

I wrapped my arm around Kai’s waist again, bent my knees, and leaped with all my strength.

“Waaaaah!”

Kai let out a sound that could have been either a scream or a cheer.

The wind struck our ears, and the capital’s scenery danced beneath our feet.

I leaped from roof to roof, soaring toward the highest point of the city: the enormous clock tower, from which the entire city could be seen at a glance.

Tap. Tap.

After several leaps, I grabbed the clock tower’s railing and landed smoothly on the rooftop terrace.

This was a restricted area that no one could enter except the clock tower’s caretaker.

Besides, the caretaker was probably dozing off on the first floor, so this was practically a perfectly sealed room.

“Phew.”

I let out a rough breath and lowered Kai to the ground.

Sweat had gathered on my forehead, but I felt refreshed.

Kai grabbed the railing and staggered to his feet.

For a while, he couldn’t say a word. He simply stared blankly at the view of the capital spread out below us.

The wind tousled his golden hair.

A different expression crossed his face, unlike the playful excitement he’d shown just moments ago.

It was an overwhelming sense of freedom.

“…Haha.”

A breathy laugh escaped Kai’s lips.

Then his legs seemed to give out, and he plopped down onto the ground.

The cool touch of the stone floor seemed to feel refreshing, judging by his happy expression.

“That’s amazing, Regina.”

He murmured as he looked up at the sky.

“I’ve never… felt anything like this before.”

His eyes shimmered strangely in the light of the setting sun.

I gazed at him for a while.

Was escaping from creditors really something worth being that happy about?

 

 

****

 

 

 

Kai and I stayed there for quite a long time.

The lights of the capital were scattered below us like stars, and the night breeze was soft and cool, unlike the wind on the battlefield.

Despite being people on the run, we casually asked each other little things about ourselves.

What was our favorite food? (He said he liked sweet desserts.) What did we dislike? (He answered that he hated mountains of paperwork.)

It was strange to have a blind date conversation—the kind that should take place in a fancy tea house—while sitting on a dusty railing at the top of a clock tower after running away from creditors.

What a strange situation.

But strangely enough, the cold stone floor felt much more comfortable than the velvet sofa in the luxurious cafe.

Perhaps it was because the man sitting beside me saw me as nothing more than a ‘conversation partner,’ rather than a ‘war demon’ or a ‘killing machine.’

Clunk, clunk.

The sound of enormous gears turning and meshing grew louder from the floor below.

Then I faintly heard the caretaker’s heavy footsteps.

It was the sound of our magical moment coming to an end.