Even though known as the princess of Bajalekat Kingdom, Poetica Verlangen desires to live a normal life, free to roam outside the kingdom without the constant escort of warriors. This desire peaked when she was 8 years old, planning to leave the castle secretly.
Poecita meticulously planned the route she would take. After covering a pillow with a blanket to mimic her sleeping form, she slipped out of her bedroom. Passing through corridors and grand halls, she occasionally hid when she spotted servants or royal guards on duty. Eventually, she almost reached the west gate guarded by two soldiers.
Behind the bushes, she shouted, "Help... help."
"That's the princess's voice," said the guards, approaching the source of the sound.
Successfully luring the guards away, Poetica hurriedly left and managed to exit the palace.
A servant approached the gate guards, "Did you see the princess?"
"We just heard her voice from this direction."
"The princess is trying to escape again; she might have just passed through this gate. Hurry, chase her!"
"Alright."
Looking left and right, the guards saw Poetica's red hair among the crowd, "Princess!"
Poetica glanced back and saw the guards starting to chase her. Squeezing through a narrow gap and entering a dark alley, she ran with all her might.
However, her struggle halted when she carelessly observed the pursuing guards behind her and didn't pay attention to the front. Poetica collided with Rozer, who was standing still in the middle of the road.
Poetica found herself falling onto the cobblestone road, causing abrasions on both elbows as she braced her fall. Her head ached from the impact, and her legs sprawled wide open. She groaned in pain, rubbing her reddened nose, "Ouch... can you move!"
Rozer looked back to find a young girl with blue eyes and long twin-tailed red hair. She had a fierce and rough aura, fair skin, and appeared slightly younger than her actual age. Poetica was shorter than Rozer. She wore a Gothic dress with long-sleeved white lace collar, black corset, and short white skirt with red-patterned lace. She wore brown loafers and Black stockings.
Rozer extended his hand to help her stand, but Poetica, aware of her current situation, immediately adjusted her skirt, revealing her underwear. Her blue eyes stared at Rozer fiercely, "Did you see?"
"What do you mean?"
From a distance, two guards came and shouted, "Princess!"
Poetica grabbed Rozer's hand and hid behind him, "Please, make them go away," she said.
"Princess, if you want to leave the palace, let us escort you. You cannot go alone."
"No, let me be. Let me alone!"
"You cannot be selfish; let us do our duty as it should be."
"No!"
One impatient guard forcibly grabbed Poetica's hand behind Rozer. However, Rozer stopped him by holding the guard's hand.
"If she doesn't want to, don't force her."
One guard pointed his spear at Rozer, "Impudent, what do you think you're doing to stop us!"
Rozer sensed danger instinctively. With a reflex move, he quickly broke the tip of the spear, making his movements untraceable to the guard. Startled, the guard stepped forward due to the broken spear, and before his eyes blinked, he realized his head hit the ground hard, causing him to faint instantly. From behind, another spear shot towards Rozer, but he managed to evade it. Gripping the spear handle with his armpit, Rozer jumped and kicked the chin of the other guard, making him fall and lose consciousness.
The threat disappeared, and the troublemaker was gone.
Poetica had already left Rozer while he fought with the two guards.
Feeling uncomfortable being watched by the residents, Rozer quickly left and searched for Poetica.
***
In a large bakery, Poetica waited for her order while chatting with her two classmates, who were also girls of her age, Wafie and Cyka. They, being royal nobles, intentionally escaped from home without escorts to meet at the planned bakery.
They laughed, recounting the events before coming here.
"After that, I escaped from the back of the house, passing through the forest... Quite challenging, but I succeeded," said Wafie, smiling. She was a young girl with blue eyes and long straight blonde hair, partly free-flowing but partly braided on the right side of her face. She exuded a classy and gentle aura, with smooth porcelain-like skin, appearing slightly older than her actual age. Wafie was slightly taller than Poecita. She wore a long white one-piece dress with a gold necklace. She had pink flat shoes and white stockings.
"As for me, I had a servant from my house helping me escape. She's currently outside the bakery," said Cyka, smiling wryly. She was a young girl with bright shoulder-length brown hair and deep red eyes. She had tan and smooth skin, with a somewhat blurry aura, looking much younger than her actual age. Cyka was shorter than Poetica. She wore a long blue dress and silver flat shoes.
"That means you were escorted. Ah... Cyka can't keep promises precisely," commented Poetica.
"Never mind, the most important thing is that no guards paid attention to us," said Wafie.
"Yeah... I feel a bit annoyed if accompanied; I'm sent home without even doing anything," Complain Poetica.
"I'm also a little embarrassed to talk when they're around." Complain Cyka.
A waiter arrived with tea set and three slices of cheese cake, placing them on the table.
"Enjoy your meal, my princess," said the waiter politely then leave
The three of them enjoyed their food while occasionally chatting about school and their classmates.
Rozer behind the glass window caught Poetica, who was a bit late to cover her face with her palm.
"What's wrong?" asked Cyka.
"Nothing," said Poetica. Rozer came from behind and sat at the same table as the three of them.
Rozer looked at Poetica, who diverted her gaze out the window, "Why did you run away?" he said.
Poetica's friends were curious.
"Uh, who? Your friend?"
"Your fiancé?"
"No!" snapped Poetica.
"So who is he?" Wafie asked, intrigued by the handsome man who had just arrived.
"I'm Rozer, nice to meet you all," said Rozer, smiling thinly, penetrating Wafie's heart.
"I'm Wafie."
"I'm Cyka."
"Poecita."
The atmosphere became awkward.
Poetica still couldn't speak. Meanwhile, Rozer continued to wait for a word from Poetica while staring at her face.
"So, is he the one who helped you escape from the guards?" Cyka asked.
"He's quite handsome," said Wafie, already enchanted by Rozer's charisma.
A different waiter came and held Wafie's hand, "Your father is worried, waiting for your return at home, my princess."
Wafie couldn't refuse and was dragged out of the bakery by her servant, "Goodbye..." she said, looking at Rozer in the last few seconds as she passed by.
Outside the bakery, Cyka's servant had given her a hand signal to go home,
Cyka stood up and bid farewell, "I'm going home too, see you, Poetica, Rozer." She said, then left the store.
Now only Rozer and Poetica remained, still awkward to look at each other.
"Speak," said Rozer.
"Like What."
"Why did you leave like that? Explain it to me."
"Fine, thank you for saving me. Now go."
Rozer smiled bitterly at Poetica's arrogant words.
Poetica glanced at Rozer, who was looking at the menu, "What?"
"Nothing."
"Do you want to order something? I'll treat you as a thank you." said Poetica.
"Really? In that case, I'll order this," said Rozer, pointing to a picture of chocolate bread.
Poetica called the waiter and ordered Rozer's chosen menu, two slices of chocolate bread.
"Two? One is enough."
"The other one is for me, fool."
Rozer felt annoyed being called 'fool' by someone younger than him, but he covered it with a forced smile.