Dragon King's Harem Chapter 53. Unexpected Meeting III

I looked at Jyne who was sitting beside me with furrowed brows. Meanwhile she was eating my candy. Her face flushed and her head bowed in shame. Occasionally, she sobbed either in shame or sadness. She had used her cloak to hide her tails. Her hand held the candy stick like a kid. I also caught her eyes stealing glances at me several times. Previously she had returned my money pouch and apologized to me, also admitting that she had done it because she was too hungry. She confessed when she saw me buying the candies with a silver coin, she thought I was a good rich man. So she decided to steal my money and that was the first crime she committed.

Although this was our first meeting, based on my memory, I knew her as the only princess of the Fox tribe, moreover, she was the youngest. Her four brothers were four strong warriors who guarded their tribe from the four cardinal directions and each was entrusted with a large army to keep the tribe safe. Which made me even more confused, why did she run away since I was sure she got a lot of protection from her father and brothers. It seemed that this was also one of the reasons why she acted recklessly without thinking about the consequences. It was because she was used to being spoiled, also it was the reason why her endurance was kinda… Pathetic.

Regarding my candy, even though in the modern world accepting stranger's food and drink was a foolish act since it could be poisonous, it didn't matter for a fox tribe like her since her tribe had a sharp smell. So they could tell which poisonous food and drinks and which were not.

"I-I'm sorry, sir ... Please don't report this to the guards." Her sobbing and regret were clearly heard in her voice.

"I only sent my Magic Messenger to my companion, not to the guards," I said since I wanted to find out why she was here.
"You're a princess, right? Why are you here? Where is your convoy?" I repeated my question.

“I came alone…” she said regretfully.

"So you ran away from your palace?" I said straight to the point.

She nodded her head without daring to look at me.

"Why? Did something happen to the fox tribe?" It was unusual for a princess to run away from her homeland. But strangely, I also didn't hear any bad news about the Fox tribe when I checked Chancellor Allan's reports earlier. Although the Fox tribe didn't have an alliance with Draconis, the Dragon tribe and fox tribe had a longstanding trading relationship. That's why the Palace always kept an eye on the tribe's condition to make sure our traders and people were fine.

She answered me by shaking her head from side to side.

"Then what happened?"

She glanced at me one more time before lowering her head.
"It's because of my father ..."

"What happened?" I asked with a frown. As I recalled, the fox king loved his children and there wasn't any bad scandal about his family.

"My father wants to marry me to the crown prince of the Serpent tribe," she said with a pout.

'The crown prince of the Serpent tribe?' My brain tried to remember what's wrong with that man, but I couldn't find it. Despite the Serpent tribe' had slightly intimidating appearance with their terrifying tail and scales, they were a peaceful tribe.
"What's wrong with it?" I asked since I didn't find the problem of her father's choice.

She looked at me in annoyance.
"My father wants to marry me to someone I don't love. Of course, that's wrong," she said with a pout.

I frowned at her childish reason since it was very dangerous for a princess to escape from her kingdom, especially over this trivial reason.
"But your actions could bring disaster to your family and your kingdom," I said without hesitation despite my current status as a commoner.

She paused for a moment before lowering her head again.
"I know ... It's just ... I want to feel true love." She lived in a luxurious palace with the servants who served her for 24 hours also getting protection from her father and brothers. Moreover, she was treated like an expensive diamond by her family, no other man could touch her so she had difficulty interacting with the opposite sex. Since she had long since entered puberty, of course, her curiosity to feel what it was like to fall in love with a man deepened. And the more they forbid her, the more her curiosity became. It was just, as royalty she had a hard time getting it since she would end up with an arranged marriage.

A long breath came out of my mouth since I couldn't judge her if it related to her feelings. I admitted that Igixar's royalty marriage was not something beautiful, it was so different from the fairy tales.
"Still, escaping without a destination will only cost you. You cannot run away from your family forever."

She turned to me with a frown.
"Of course I have a destination. Do you think I'm that stupid running away without a direction? Besides, I have prepared everything well," she said in displeasure.

Hearing her words, my eyes observed her from her feet to her head. From her looks, it seemed like she was far from words well prepared. If it was not covered by her cloak, her fox tribe's royal clothes alone showed her status clearly. If she really prepared everything well, she should at least wear commoner clothes.
"Let me guess, the only thing you brought was money for your trip, " I said. And I was sure that money ran out since she kept getting lost here and there.

"Of course not!" she retorted.

But I replied with a look of disbelief, so she pressed her lips with a gloomy face and lowered her head.
"I mean ... Who knew the outside world wasn't that easy ..."

Her last words showed that my guess was correct. I turned the other way and chuckled since I couldn't take it anymore.

"You really are annoying!" she said irritably. She stood with a pout and almost left but I caught her wrist.

"The sun is almost set. It will be dangerous if you sleep outside. Tell me where you are going, I'll take you," I said as I swallowed the rest of my laughter. She was too naive to live alone like this, plus she had no money.

She turned to me in doubt.
"Do you really want to take me?" Her doubts were clear from the tone of her voice.

"Yes, I can't possibly let a princess like you roam around aimlessly like this," I said.

Jyne was silent in hesitation. She could tell if the food was poisonous or not, but she couldn't tell if someone was lying or not. Still, judging that rather than end up sleeping on the streets like yesterday, the offer was very tempting to her. Besides, even though she wasn't sure, after she saw Argod buying the candies for the kids, it seemed like he was a pretty good person. Also he didn't report her to the guards, even though she had stolen his money.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to report it to the guards," I added.

She looked at me and took her hand away from me.
"Then can you take me to Dragon Cross City? It shouldn't be far from here, but since I don't know which way, I don't dare to leave this town," she said in the same hesitation.

"Do you have acquaintances there?"

"No, I want to see the king."

"For what?" I said with a frown. I had no connection with the Fox tribe's royal family, of course, I was confused with it.

"I want to be his wife."

My eyes widened in surprise and confusion.