We continued down the path, but as expected, nobody even paid us any heed. It was like everyone was living their own lives completely. Even the stalls didn't dare call to us while we passed by.
"But I guess the reason is..."
I looked ahead to Miss Yu Na, who was still showing a pissed expression. She had that face as soon as we started walking down the road, after all. Everyone was literally avoiding eye contact with her, afraid of what might occur.
'I'm curious as to why she's so riled up, but better let sleeping dogs lie...'
Yu Na guided us straight to the castle without even the slightest deviation from the path. As soon as we were in the vicinity, she turned around.
"Then, from here on out, you can head on alone. My job here is done."
Just as she was about to head off, a voice suddenly called for her, making her face warp in disgust.
"My fair lady, Yu Na, what's the rush? Why don't you stay for a while and, maybe, spend some time with me?"
I felt goosebumps after hearing the demure voice echo from afar. Turning to the gates, which were opening slowly at that moment, a man wearing a pure white coat appeared with his arms crossed behind his back.
He was pretty tall—probably taller than me—but was pretty skinny. No, was it that he just lacked muscles? Either way, he looks like he'd be easy to mistake for being malnourished based on his appearance.
Yu Na turned to the man and bowed with an expressionless face, hiding her previous disgusted expression in a matter of seconds.
"Prince Melo, please excuse me, for I still have duties to attend to."
"Whaaat~? Come on... Who's more important to you, your duties, or me~?"
I hurriedly rubbed my arms, trying to stop the chills from crawling up my arms and to my face. Is this guy for real? He's talking like a clingy girlfriend, asking for the obvious! Yu Na was probably thinking along the same lines, seeing her expression twitch greatly.
"Please forgive me, your highness, but my matters are urgent."
Again, she tried to excuse herself. However, this time, the man's face turned from a flirty smile to a deep frown.
"Yu Na... Are you going to disobey me?"
"..."
I could feel the tension rise between them, but I finally couldn't help but raise my hands to interject.
"Excuse me, can I go inside the gates already? It seems like I have no relation to the business between you two, after all."
"Hmm?"
The man turned to me with his brows raised, scanning my face from top to bottom before sneering. Then, when he turned to the rest of the girls behind me, his expression visibly changed. A creepy smile appeared on his face.
"You must be Will, right? Yes, I recall Father calling for you. You may enter."
"Thank you, Prince Melo."
I bowed my head slightly before calling the girls to follow behind me as we entered. But just as I passed beside the man, he extended his hand to block the path for the girls.
"Sorry, but only you can proceed. Don't worry, I'll take care of these girls for you. They won't get bored."
"What...?"
I must be mishearing things. Did this bastard just claim, as plain as day, that he'd touch my girls? And right in front of me, really? After that, when I turned to the little f*cker again, he was already sprawled on the ground and having difficulty breathing.
"Ah!"
I completely forgot. Death's aura, the one that he taught me during our short training within the space of the five regressors, was something that I couldn't fully control yet. This trash would probably have a hard time breathing for a minute or so, even after I went away.
I closed my eyes, which probably turned red right now, and waved to the girls to continue ahead. The little turd that was crumpled down on the floor can be ignored; don't mind him.
"Will..."
Yu Na's exasperated voice echoed from behind before I heard her footsteps echo as they went farther. She probably took the chance that the prince was immobile to sneak away from him.
Right now, I guess I can understand her pissed expression while walking toward the castle. It must be because of that disgusting thing. Anyway, let's forget about him and just move on.
Repercussions? Punishment? Did I do something? I didn't even touch him, so I'm innocent.
Anyway, after passing through the gates, it was just a wide courtyard from there, leading to the majestic white castle before us. Along the way, a few guards rushed past us and headed for the gates. They were in a hurry, so it must be something important.
A few moments later, we finally reached the large door leading into the castle. Two guards stood on either side of it, with expensive-looking halberds about twice as tall as they were. The weapons that were in their hands were crossed over the door as soon as we approached, as if to prevent us from entering.
"I'm Will. I'm here for the scheduled audience with the king."
I passed the letter of invitation to one of the guards, letting him confirm it just for formalities. After all, if I didn't have any business in this place, I'd probably stay clear of it for good.
He only glanced at the wax seal before nodding his head and returning the letter to me. Then, they returned their halberds to their sides while the door slowly opened inward.
"..."
I've seen this so many times that I'm numbed by it, but can't they make it open outward instead? What would they do if a fire broke out or something? There'll be chaos!
As soon as we entered, a maid quickly went to usher us toward a waiting room nearby. As we were walking down the long hallway, we could hear the panicked shouts of the guards from the doorway. I wasn't curious about it at all. After all, it's none of my business. Definitely.
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