Dear Immortal Tyrant

True to his word, the man moved his hand and released her mouth. Lina immediately turned around, ready to give him a piece of her mind. Then, her breath was caught in her throat. Her mind went blank and she could only stare.

In front of her was one of the most handsome men she had ever seen. His eyes resembled high-quality ink, his skin like soft honey and his jaw was sharp enough to cut through rocks. There was an air of mystery around him like he knew her deepest, darkest secrets. 

His jaws were clenched, the muscle ticking. He narrowed his gaze into slits, his lips in a grim line.

"What?" Kade demanded from the Princess, who stared up at him like a fool.

Kade couldn't deny it. He knew this fact, even from afar. The Princess was beautiful. Her neck resembled a graceful swan, her eyes large like a baby deer, and her features as adorable as a lost puppy.

"You…" Lina didn't know where to begin. 

Lina felt like an idiot. She should be screaming bloody murder at the sight of this intruder. But because he was too damn handsome, she was admiring his face instead. She cursed herself.

"You shouldn't kidnap me," Lina blurted out.

The man stared at her like she was stupid. He even gave her a pointed look that said, "try me." She nervously licked her bottom lip. His eyes followed her tongue, lingering on her mouth.

Lina's voice was silent, as it got trapped in her throat. Their bodies were pressed tightly together, her breast grazing his firm chest. His hand had grabbed her waist, keeping her in place. She could feel the heat radiating off his body. 

"I have no prospects," Lina suddenly said. "You see, I am only the daughter of the Second Concubine. And… and… I don't have a lot of political power, so even if you do kidnap me, the ransom won't be that high. Don't you know it's bad to kidnap women for money? As a bandit, don't you have any honor or integrity? Your mother would be so sad to hear you're holding a girl hostage. Don't you have a little sister or something—mmph!"

He covered her mouth again.

"I'd rather you scream at the top of your lungs," Kade deadpanned, staring at her incredulously.

What kind of woman had the time to lecture him in the middle of a kidnapping? Kade expected her to cry and beg for her life. He didn't expect her to nag like a mother hen. The whole situation seemed absurd.

Lina slapped his hand away. "All I'm saying is that there is really no point in kidnapping me! You're a bandit, your royal family would have your head for worsening the relations between Teran and Ritan. Just think about it, kidnapping a Princess has no other virtue, besides—mmph!"

He pinched her lips shut.

The Princess resembled a duck. 

Suddenly, Kade wished he had kidnapped a normal Princess. This one would talk his ears off the entire journey to Ritan. Even if she was gagged, she'd find a way to scold him for his actions. He was a grown man, for god's sake. 

Without warning, Lina pulled up her sleeve to reveal the ink. She shoved his hand away again.

"S-see, I'm such a foolish Princess, I can't even memorize my own poetry. I have little to none womanly prospects so I'm certain there's no point in kidnapping me, or any other Princess!" Lina blabbed, her anxiety reaching its all-time peak.

Silence.

The man continued to gawk at her. After a second, his eyes darkened. Lina yelped at the sight of his infuriated expression, but a part of her was angry. She was giving him the best reasoning she could find, yet he wasn't believing her. Not even one bit.

Finally, he opened his mouth. "I'm not here to kidnap a Princess for ransom."

Lina let out a sigh of relief. She wiped her forehead and readily nodded her head. Now, that was a good response. See! 

Lina knew she could talk her way out of this kidnapping. It was a relief that her explanation was as convincing as she had believed. Maybe she should join the debate tournament next time.

"I'm here to kidnap a Princess to be a wife."

What did he say?

Lina blinked. Once. Twice. Thrice. She stared at him like he had been beheaded. She was mortified.

"Is it really that hard to simply propose?" Lina asked like a fool.

He shot her a warning glare. She let out an awkward laugh.

Once, Lina's older sister told her she could even talk her way out of death. Lina was known for rambling on with her words. Now, standing before this handsome stranger, Lina felt like she couldn't even convince a child to eat cake.

"I mean," Lina nervously said. "Kidnapping isn't the best foot to start on with your future wife. In fact, I think she'd hate you, your family, your ancestry, your cow… Everything there is to hate about you, Mister Bandit."

"Kade," he snarled.

"What?"

"It's Kade."

Oh. His name.

Lina blinked. "Anyway, Kade, as I was saying, if you want to woo a woman, you should court her first. You know, ask her out on a date, take her for a nice walk in the gardens, bring over gifts. What you don't want to do is sneak into their tent, grab them, and then threaten to gut them like a fish if they scream!"

"I really wish you would've just screamed," Kade muttered, crossing his arms. 

Lina tried not to peek at his muscles. They bulged even through his well-fitted black robes. She nervously nibbled her bottom lip. She was trying her best here.

"R-right…" Lina trailed off. "Well anyway, I've got to go!"

Lina hurriedly ran for the entrance, believing she had confused him enough. She barely took two steps when he roughly grabbed her wrist. With a rough yank, she was against his chest again.

"You!" Kade growled, his eyes flashing murderously at her. His lips curled in irritation, his hand snaking around her waist.

"Don't think you can talk your way out of this," Kade snarled.

  Though, Lina nearly succeeded. 

Kade was beginning to find her irritating, like a puppy nipping at his ankles. It was getting to the point where he didn't want to kidnap her.

"I'm kidnapping you, Princess," Kade spat out. "Another word and it won't be pleasant."

"Word."

Kade wanted to strangle her. She naively blinked. 

Kade narrowed his eyes. "You—"

Lina tried to run again. She groaned when his arm didn't budge. His grip was like an iron bar. 

Lina began to struggle in his grasp, leading to a rough tussle. Suddenly, her fingers caught onto something in his robes. Believing it was the string to tie his clothes together, she gave it a hard tug.

"You crazy woman!" Kade hissed.

It happened too quickly. Lina watched as something fell to the ground. It was a large pendant as big as a hand, with golden and black tassels hanging from it. 

Lina sucked in a sharp breath. Etched across the black jade was a name in silver. She was horrified to see the symbol of Ritan. Even more so, she was horrified by the sight of the Royal Crest of Ritan.

This whole time, he was not a bandit, but a Prince of Ritan.