Don't Abandon Me
The carriage rattled along. Clackety-clack. Clackety-clack.
"..."
"..."
We sat in silence inside the two-seater carriage, Era and I side by side. The space was so narrow our shoulders nearly brushed. Yet not a single word passed between us.
"...!"
I sat with my arms crossed, staring hard at her. Era kept her head bowed, face twisted in some complicated emotion as she fidgeted with her fingers. Both hands rested on her lap, twisting and turning restlessly.
Beyond the window, the plains rolled past. The sun had fully risen, morning light spilling everywhere—the first bright sunlight I'd seen in days. And with it came the first stretch of '......' '......' silence in days. Awkward. Heavy.
Outside the carriage, Maryeokche agents rode escort on horseback. Ever since that moment, they had moved with terrifying efficiency. They'd gone to a nearby village, found a decent carriage, and returned with it in under two hours.
"We will escort you comfortably to the imperial capital, Your Highness."
Jork had said something along those lines while personally opening the carriage door for us. Because it was only a two-seater, Era and I naturally ended up sitting shoulder to shoulder, but even after we set off, neither of us spoke.
I didn't ask what the Maryeokche had done with the villagers. If Era had truly erased their memories and sent them back like she'd whispered, they would have returned to their ordinary lives—doing laundry, baking bread, picking wildflowers—as if nothing had happened. I chose to believe that.
Right now, the only person I needed to worry about was the girl sitting beside me.
"Ha..."
In the end, I broke the silence.
"...Hey."
"Yes? Y-yes???"
Era jumped as if startled. The cold, unshakable Era from a few days ago had vanished. She was back in full coward mode, shoulders flinching.
"...That thing you said back then."
"Th-that thing..."
"...I didn't mean it."
"...!"
"You already knew that, didn't you?"
Era lowered her head even further and answered in a tiny voice.
"...Yes."
"...Good. I'm telling you so you don't get the wrong idea."
I drove the point home firmly. If I didn't make it crystal clear now, there was no telling what delusions this girl might cook up. Just hearing the word "fiancée" might convince her that her dream of living together forever had actually come true.
"I don't like you. And I won't like you."
"......"
"The reason I saved you earlier wasn't because I like you. I've just grown a little fond of you over time. Understand?"
Era stayed silent, head still bowed. But I saw her shoulders curl inward just a fraction.
"...Whew."
I let out a sigh and continued.
"And I'm still not over it. I'm still angry with you."
"..."
"No."
I paused, then corrected myself.
"...I'm scared of you."
Era lifted her head slightly.
"The way you tried to cut my ankle without hesitation. It's too creepy."
It was the truth. The girl who had giggled and slept on my lap for days—the same girl who had calmly explained how she'd slice a person's tendon like she was describing how to boil porridge. That image refused to leave my head. Cutting my wrists and ankles, locking me in a room. If that didn't work, beating me until something broke. And if even that failed, scrambling my mind.
The disconnect between the girl fidgeting with her fingers beside me and the Era who had held that kitchen knife was... too jarring.
"..."
After a long silence, Era finally murmured.
"...Then why didn't you just let me die?"
"...What?"
"...I know."
Tears began pooling in Era's eyes.
Wait, this isn't how it was supposed to go.
I'd meant to give her a stern lecture, but the mood had suddenly taken a strange turn.
With tears trembling on her lashes, Era spoke.
"...It's all my fault. I ruined everything. I know that."
Her voice shook.
"I know I did something unforgivable to you, Your Highness..."
Era clenched her hands tightly in her lap.
"I thought... I thought I'd never be forgiven by you, so..."
Then she suddenly turned toward me.
"Your Highness. I'll do anything."
Desperate. Clinging.
"Of course I'm poor and powerless and ugly... and I have Black Star Veins, but..."
She tore herself down with every word.
"Still, I can do whatever you order me to."
"If there's something I can't do, I'll stay up all night until I learn it."
"No matter how hard it is, I'll endure it. If I keep trying, I'll get better, right?"
Her words tumbled out faster and faster, until she was nearly breathless.
"And... and... anyway, I really can do anything! I mean it!"
"Hic... I'll do whatever you tell me to, anything at all...!"
Finally, the dam broke.
"So... so..."
Era grabbed my sleeve with both hands.
"Don't abandon meeeeeee—"
Tears poured down like a waterfall.
The madness I'd witnessed on the plains, the resignation she'd shown in front of the Maryeokche—none of it remained. There was only a small girl terrified of being thrown away.
"..."
That was all.
Era clutching my clothes, crying so hard snot ran down her face.
"..."
Ha, seriously...
"Hey! Stop crying."
"...?"
Era hiccuped and froze.
"Who said you get to decide whether I abandon you or not?"
"...Huh?"
She looked up at me, startled.
"From now on, even if you wanted to leave, you wouldn't be able to."
"...?"
Era's face went blank, eyes still watery.
"...Because I declared in front of them that we're engaged."
Era blinked.
"As soon as we reach the palace, things are probably going to get hectic. The prince has finally chosen a bride, and so on."
"...And?"
She still looked completely lost, so I decided to explain everything step by step. It seemed she didn't fully understand the situation she was in.
"First, answer me this."
"...?"
"You don't want to die, do you?"
"O-of course not! Who would want to—"
"If you break the engagement with me, you'll probably die."
"...!"
"I barely managed to stop it by claiming you were my fiancée. Otherwise, you would have been exposed and killed on the spot."
"......"
"A Black Star Vein attempting to harm a member of the imperial family. There's no defense for that crime."
I watched Era slowly process my words.
"...And if you break the engagement, could I still protect you from them the way I can now?"
"......"
"Probably not."
"..."
Only then did Era seem to truly grasp her position. The Maryeokche had lowered their blades because she was supposedly the prince's consort. The moment that shield vanished, she would be nothing more than a dangerous Black Star Vein user.
"So for the time being, we have to pretend to be lovers."
"...I know. I don't like it either. But there's no other—"
The moment I started to say that—
"R-really?"
Era looked... happy.
Her eyes sparkled. The tears from her earlier sobbing hadn't even dried yet.
"You mean... I can really keep staying by Your Highness's side?"
"...Did you not hear me? I said if we separate, you'll die."
"It's okay! Everyone dies eventually anyway."
"...?"
"Getting to live by Your Highness's side until then... that would make me happy."
For a second I was speechless.
...Ha.
What kind of flowers are growing in that head of hers? Poppies? She seems completely out of it.
The same girl who had just been sobbing and asking why I hadn't let her die was now saying staying by my side would make her happy.
...Seriously. I couldn't figure her out at all.
Whether this was love, obsession, or just her brain being broken—probably all three.
I pulled myself together and got to the main point.
"...Anyway. Like I said, I have no intention of letting you die."
"...!"
"But!"
Before she could look at me with those hopeful eyes, I quickly corrected myself.
"I have no intention of falling in love with you either."
Era's face fell again.
"Therefore, our goal is to act like fake lovers. Got it?"
It was the solution I'd spent the entire carriage ride thinking up. To keep Era alive, the engagement had to continue. But a real one was impossible. So we'd pretend while I searched for an escape route.
"Just one year. We'll pretend to be fake lovers for one year."
"......"
"And within that year, I'll find a way to get you out safely."
A way to extract a Black Star Vein from the imperial palace without getting her killed. Whether by laundering her identity, sending her far away, or something else entirely. I figured one year was more than enough time—maybe even too generous—but...
"...Only one year?"
...That was not the reaction I expected.
"Your life is literally on the line here."
"...Doesn't matter."
"Aish... Should I just kill you myself right now?"
I poked her side repeatedly with my index finger.
"Ah, ah—! Wait! It does... it does matter!!! It matters—!!!!!!"
"...Whew. You owe me your life. Remember that. I'll collect someday."
At those words, Era suddenly covered her mouth.
"Oh my~ How perverted of you... What exactly are you planning to take from me...?"
She gave me a sly look.
"For someone as poor as me, all I have left is my vi-r-gi-ni-ty..."
The girl who had been bawling her eyes out moments ago was now acting coy as if nothing had happened. This was the bright Era I'd seen these past few days.
"...What nonsense."
I nearly laughed at how absurd it was.
"Enough. Even doing this much is a huge favor."
"...Hehe."
"...Ha. To think I'm tangled up with my own kidnapper. What has my life become?"
I sighed, gazing out the window. I'd been living comfortably as a rich family's young master, only to suddenly possess a character in a novel. No sooner had I possessed him than I was kidnapped. Then I declared an engagement to save the kidnapper. I had no idea where exactly my life had gone so wrong.
"..."
Hearing that, Era's expression darkened again. The playful look from before disappeared completely.
"...Your Highness."
"...What."
"I'm sorry."
"...Because of me, Your Highness's life has been completely ruined..."
Tears welled up again.
"Hic... If it weren't for me, Your Highness could have lived so comfortably..."
"......"
"Meeting someone like me..."
The complaint earlier had been half a joke, but Era had taken it as genuine blame. She truly believed she had destroyed the prince's life by clinging to him.
"..."
"Hiccup... hic..."
I watched her. This girl who kept tearing herself down, over and over. In all the days I'd known her, I'd never once seen her value herself.
"Hey. Don't cry."
"...Hic."
"And don't force those fake smiles either."
"...?"
That coy act from earlier—maybe that had been a fake smile too, meant to hide her real feelings.
"Smile. Comfortably."
Era stared at me with a dazed expression.
"No matter how it happened, the fact is I'm looking out for you now, right?"
"So stop thinking like that and just enjoy it."
"..."
"...Who knows? If we keep staying together like this, my feelings might change."
The words slipped out before I could stop them. Era's expression softened just a little.
"...Really?"
"...I don't know. That depends on you."
I quickly turned my gaze back to the window. Truthfully, I'd only said it because I couldn't stand watching her cry anymore. But once the words were out, even I couldn't tell whether they were true or a lie.
The possibility that my feelings might change. A few days ago, I never would have said something like that. But now... for some reason, it didn't feel like a lie.
The carriage continued rolling endlessly forward. Beyond the plains, the silhouette of a city slowly came into view. High walls. Spires rising above them. And the Star Pieces that would light the city at night. The imperial capital.
"...Anyway, things are going to get pretty tough from here on out."
"Tough?"
"You can't afford any mistakes. The imperial palace isn't a place to take lightly."
I spoke seriously. The palace. The emperor. The heroines from the original story. And on top of all that, the massive bomb of a prince who had taken a commoner as his fiancée.
...I wonder how this is going to turn out.
Just thinking about it made my head throb.
"Did you understand?"
When I glanced sideways to check, Era had—at some point—put on a comfortable expression. She was looking at me and smiling brightly again. Not a fake smile, not a coy act. Just a genuine, relaxed smile.
"...What are you staring at?"
"Hehe. Just because."
"...What do you mean 'just because'?"
"Just... because Your Highness said you wouldn't abandon me..."
"......"
"That made me so happy..."
"..."
"..."
"...Yeah."
After that answer, silence settled between us once more. But this time, thankfully, it wasn't nearly as heavy or cold as before.