The wound healed in a short time. Lara couldn’t believe what she saw, so she opened her mouth slightly, but at that moment, Krion’s eyes flinched. When he opened his eyes, he first met Elina2’s eyes.

“Oh, you’re awake? Are you okay?”

“… … .”

Krion put his nose to Elina2’s hand, sniffed, and then stepped back. Why is it so strange to call him a large dog male protagonist? As Lara thought that, Krion’s gaze shifted to Lara.

“… Grrrrrrrr.”

A fierce voice flowed through his throat. Lara flinched and hid the bloody book behind her back.

‘… No matter how I look at it, he’s not a large dog male protagonist, right? There’s something strange about this guy.’

<The cliché of calling the male protagonist a large dog seems to have disappeared. Perhaps he is no different from a normal large dog.>

‘What is that!?’

Lara covered her head with both arms in surprise at the sight of the large dog, who seemed ready to rush at her and bite her at any moment.

At this time, Elina2 quietly blocked Lara’s path. Then, as if trying to subdue the large dog, she glared at him fiercely and slowly approached the man who was larger than her. Krion, who had become extremely sensitive, growled and backed away from the wall. “Backing away means you are really scared right now.”

Elina2 did not back down and stepped right in front of Krion. She stretched her legs out to the side to prevent Krion from escaping, continuing the tense standoff. It was as if Trainer Kang X-wook had been possessed.

“You can trust me.”

“… Growl.”

“I won’t hurt you. I promise.” “… Kkiing.”

As if he remembered the person who had treated him, Krion soon approached Elina2 cautiously, one step at a time. Elina2 cutely accepted Krion, who was hiding his face.

“Right, good. You’re quite gentle, despite your large body?”

Lara watched the warm scene from a distance, and then her eyes met with Krion, who was obediently burying his head on Elina2’s shoulder. At that moment, Krion opened his lips and showed his sharp fangs.

“… Grrrrrrrr.”

It seemed like he should put a ‘Beware of Fierce Dogs’ sign on his back.

‘Things must have gone well… … . It’s a cliché for a male lead with a large dog to only follow the female lead.’ Lara thought as she turned away from Krion, who was panting and walking behind her.

He was a real beast with no humane aspects. Just watching whether he would bite or not made him tense, so even the most skilled push-pull experts wouldn’t be able to hand out business cards.

Elina2 simply felt sorry for him because he had been imprisoned as a slave of a different race for a long time and had not been treated like a human being.

“I want to help him live like a human being again.” “That means… … .”

“You have no guardian and no place to return to, right? I don’t know if I can be of any help, but I want to help you as much as I can.”

When the cheerful Elina2 spoke so seriously, Lara saw her again.

She came out into the hallway, thinking that she had to find either the male lead or Elina3, but Krion couldn’t stay still, perhaps because he was excited by the new environment.

“You can’t go there!”

“… … ?”

At Elina2’s firm shout, Krion tried to run to the other side, but stopped and looked back. Then he circled around and started sniffing the wall with his nose.

Lara felt tired. Elina2, who was chasing him and stopping him one by one, seemed amazing. I didn’t really want to pay attention, so I just looked forward and walked, but when it suddenly became quiet behind me, I glanced back.

I saw Krion walking obediently next to Elina2, wearing a dog collar around his neck. It was like a dog and its owner had gone out for a walk.

“… What kind of leash is that… … ?”

“Oh, this? I thought it would be nice to have a dog leash, but I just happened to find it lying there, so I picked it up.”

‘You said you’d help him live like a human being… … .’

Lara wrinkled her eyes slightly. She doubted whether she could really leave it to the female protagonist. More than that, it was strange that a dog leash was lying in the middle of this hallway. The male protagonist was even stranger.

<Have you forgotten? It’s a cliché reward system.> ‘Oh, that’s right. There was something like that.’

<Beggar-like, that’s harsh.> ‘… I never said beggar-like.’

Even she thinks she’s beggar-like. Lara walked forward, not wanting to be tied down any longer. After turning the corner of the hallway three times, she saw knights standing in front of a large door.

Fortunately, there were no familiar faces. Judging from the fact that this place was the only place where people were concentrated, it seemed that a slave auction was taking place here. Lara adjusted her dress once and approached the knights. As expected of a knight, she immediately turned her head at the slightest noise.

“Aren’t you the princess?”

“Princess! I’m glad you’re safe!” “Let’s go to the duke’s residence quickly.” ‘… The countess’s daughter is next to her.’

The knights all looked relieved when they found Elina 2. They must have been quite upset that two princesses had gone missing.

“What about Elina 3? Where did Elina 3 go?”

Elina 2 approached the knights while holding onto the end of the leash. She didn’t care about the knights’ strange glances at the blond man who was standing on two feet and making a growling sound.

“That… I haven’t found it yet.” “That, I have to find it right now. Silphid!”

A small whirlwind blew from somewhere, as if she had summoned the Spirit King again. While Elina2 was seriously talking to the air, serious reports continued from the other side.

“I just checked the ledger that recorded the sale, but it seems certain that Princess Elina3 was sold to a wealthy merchant named Recal.”

“Recal… …?”

“Yes. He’s a pot-bellied old man who’s crazy about money and women, and he used to frequent this place in particular. He was famous for buying slaves in large quantities, so he was treated as a big-handed customer here.”

Even just hearing it, you could tell that he was a perverted old man who was unpleasant. Elina3 was forcibly sold to such a man… … .

<Thank goodness it went smoothly as a cliché.> ‘Fortunately!’

Lara suddenly thought of Elina3’s face. Although there were no good memories to recall, she was still a friend. If the male protagonist showed up even a little late and something happened, it was horrible to think about.

“Lara, let’s go.”

There was a hand that gently but strongly grabbed her wrist. “To save Elina3.”

Elina2 grabbed Lara’s wrist and ran without giving her a chance to speak. Krion jumped up and down excitedly, as if he thought she was going for a walk outside. The knights hurriedly followed her to escort the princess.

Because of the people running through the narrow corridors like a marathon, Lara was out of her mind. It might not have been the final battle with the Demon King, but there were too many people for a place to go to defeat a perverted old man.

It was a time when they were being pushed here and there, and it seemed like they would be swept away by the crowd at any moment. A man was standing in the moonlight between the wide open main gates.

“I will take responsibility for the princess and bring her here.” ‘This voice… …!’

The ripple effect was tremendous. Everyone stopped in their tracks and looked at one place. Lara was buried in the crowd, so she couldn’t see him clearly, but she could tell who he was right away. The only person who could control the knights like this was the Knight Commander Diches. “And you too.”

Lara raised her head in surprise at the low voice that came right in front of her. Diches, who had taken off his office glasses, was looking down at her. Judging from the fact that the crowd was divided into two sides from behind him, it seemed like he had made his way through the crowd to find her. ‘No, me… …?’

She thought he had confused her with Elina 2, but his intelligent black eyes were pointed specifically at her. Soon after, he took my wrist out of Elina2’s hand and held it instead, and he leaned in closer as if he were a lover.

“Don’t ever think about leaving me again, Raan.” “Why are you whispering in my ear… …!”

“I regret that you went so far as to dress up as a woman to get away from me. I wonder how you’ll escape next time and make me happy. But I can tell you one thing for sure. You won’t be able to escape from me even in death.”

As his hot, sticky breath touched her, the fluff grew along her earlobes. The obsessive line had more of an antidote than she had thought, so Lara felt more goosebumps than thrill.

“You’re like the hot sun in the desert. The closer you get, the more thirsty you make me.”

‘It’s embarrassing, so stop it!!’

He started to forcefully drag Lara along, not even caring about the eyes around him. Lara didn’t know at the time. How scary was the uncomfortable obsession of her boss? How scary it could develop.

* * *

She sat on the top-quality sofa seat that didn’t shake, but her mood didn’t feel like a bed of thorns. Lara’s breathing was tight. Because of the gazes that were pointed at her like arrows, her face felt like a target.

“Tell me, why did you run away from me?”

“I didn’t specifically run away from the captain. I escaped because I felt so wronged by the false accusations and because I couldn’t stay locked up like this.”

“You’re saying that you tried to escape from me for that reason?” His eyes were sharp and unkind.

“Yes… … . That’s really the reason. I’m sorry for not living up to your expectations. I’ll close it today.”

<Can’t you cancel it right now!>

Despite God’s scolding, Lara remained firm as if she had made up her mind. She should have come out like this from the beginning. She didn’t know what kind of wealth and honour she had when she joined the Knights.

“It doesn’t suit me, and I don’t even know how to hold a sword well.”

“Do you think you can escape from me with excuses like that?” “It’s not an excuse, it’s the truth. And I… … .”

Lara hesitated and then moved her lips with difficulty. “I’m a woman. I lied to you from the beginning when I joined.”

“Do you think you can escape from me with excuses like that?”

“No, it’s not an excuse, it’s the truth! I don’t know how being a woman can be an excuse… … .”