Chapter One

Mmm, something smelled good. It had a similar scent to freshly baked cinnamon bread and a hint of chocolate in it.

I opened my eyes to see that I was still lying down in the same bed from last night. I tried to raise my arms and surprisingly, I've never felt better. I tried to sit upright, then I looked at my surroundings very carefully, since, after all, I still had no idea where I was.

The room was very big and spacious, with multiple gold plating all over the walls and the ceilings. A huge wardrobe was placed across the bed and a window that was similarly as big as the closet is found adjacent to it. The sun's rays seeped through the curtains and illuminated the room, allowing me to see very clearly. Different landscape paintings were hung up on the walls and a velvet-like rug was sprawled all over the floor.

Oh my god. Was I abducted by someone super, super rich? Please, god, don't let them make me pay in exchange for them taking care of me last night. Why couldn't they just take me to the doctor?! This is why I always pay my health insurance on time, for god's sake.

Ignoring any anguish I had in my head, I tried to get up from the bed and do a little stretch. I noticed that a very dry-looking piece of bread and a dark drink were placed on the nightstand. I picked up the food and attempted to do a smell test.

Just before I could do anything further, someone knocked on the door, causing me to trip and fall on the bed in shock.

"Dosom ug." A familiar voice said from the other side. As the gigantic doors opened, it was revealed to be the old man from last night. He was still wearing the same white robe but with even more embellishments on it. On top of that, he had a small crop top-sized cape over his shoulders. The old man saw that I was already awake and his eyes lit up in joy as he rushed to approach me.

"Arah atam agan! Atsomog knumi itabik?" He said.

Having no idea what it meant, I simply assumed he was asking me for my name.

"Um, Haruo," I told him. "It's Ha-ru-o."

The old man looked at me confused then gestured to me to sit back down. Without any delay, he sprinted out of the room and left me all alone again.

A few seconds later, the woman from last night joined the old man in returning to the room. This time, she had on a very puffy, dark violet gown with green gems encrusted on the skirt. Her green hair was left untied, flowing over her shoulders, with nothing but a headband filled with the same green gems on her dress, placed on top of her head.

Honestly, everything else looked too girly for me to even comprehend, but she looked good in that weird costume of hers.

The woman walked nearer to me which only caused me to crawl back on the bed as I held the blankets close. But before I could say anything, she spoke.

"Good morning, my dear one. I understand that you have spent half a month recuperating and resting, but don't be afraid, we all took care of you well. As you have traveled far and wide from your kingdom to come here to be with me, I believe we must make up for our lost time and delay no further with the ceremony."

Okay, um, my dear one? Half a month?! Did I fall into a coma or something? I seriously thought those events were last night!

"Sorry, who are you?" I asked politely as I could. I didn't want to come off as rude.

The woman did a small curtsy and introduced herself, "Yes, of course. My apologies for that. I'm Kleis Cannenta Eka Regalis, your betrothed one, my dear. How is your body feeling today?"

HOLD UP.

"Excuse me, I think you've got the wrong person," I said as I tiptoed my way out of bed. "Uh, I'll just go ahead if it's okay. Thank you so much for taking care of me. I-I don't have any money right now, so I'll just accept your generosity and leave. Bye now!"

I ungracefully ran to the doors and dashed out of the room. It led to a huge, more confusing hallway, and a bunch of maid-like girls walking around staring at me.

"Wait!" The woman yelled, but I did not bother at all. Without any hesitation, I made my way to the end of the halls and hurriedly scuttled down the very wide stairs.

I am so confused right now. What was that lady even saying? Please, this isn't some sick joke that my friends did by paying a bunch of actors and renting some studio, or something.

However, as I continued running down the stairs and hallways, I seemed to have lost my way already. The mansion was very big and columns of ivory on every floor kept making me confused about whether I had already gone through that place or not.

Just as my luck ran out, I turned around and saw the woman from earlier had caught up to me.

Even though she's wearing that gigantic gown, she's still able to run in that?

"W-Wait, please. I-I'm not… Wait, ah, wait." The woman stopped running and crouched down on the floor, breathing very heavily. I felt bad looking at her in that condition and went nearer to her.

"Are you okay–"

"Caught you!" She exclaimed as she held my arm. Her grip was really strong, making me fall over and drop to the floor.

"Ow, ow, ow," I muttered to myself. The woman realized what she was doing and let go of me. Thinking that it was the best time to retreat, I simply gave up and lay down on the carpeted hallways.

"I'm sorry! Please, you can hit me wherever you'd like." The woman cried and closed her eyes tight, bracing for an impact.

I looked at her confusedly, again.

"Huh, what? It's fine! It hurts though, but I don't think it will get bruised." I said.

"But, I caused you pain. It's unforgivable for a woman like me to lay my hands on you in such a manner." She said, still shutting her eyes.

I sighed and lightly tapped her face across her cheek. "There, we're even now. I forgive you."

The woman opened her eyes to reveal her glimmering green eyes, similar to the color of her hair. I couldn't help but stare at her, more so in pure astonishment how she could have the same shade of green in both her eyes and hair. She almost looked a little bit out of this world with those features.

Starting to blush, she bowed her head a little bit in embarrassment and cleared her throat. "I'll accept that for now." The woman said.

We both tried to stand up and dusted off our clothes in doing so. She then began explaining that I shouldn't have run, since I just recovered.

Great, now I feel a bit shy for acting like a kid and running off.

"Sorry about that." I apologized, feeling guilty that they must have used up their medicines or other resources just to nurse me.

"No, no, it's okay!" The woman added, "Let's go back and eat our breakfast, hmm?"

I shrugged my shoulders and followed her from behind, feeling compelled to just follow her in the meantime and see what's the big idea.

"The name is Haruo, by the way. Nice to meet you." I blurted out randomly.

"Haruo! My, what a lovely name." She smiled, "Just call me Kleis, okay?"