Please Answer Me - Chapter 141

Rosetta finally realized the significance of the first journey she had ever taken. She had longed to see the sea, and that sea had already come to her.

Rashid spread his arms wide. Without a moment’s hesitation, Rosetta jumped into his embrace. Rashid held her tightly as she collided with him.

“See? I told you that you’d end up in my arms like this.”

Just as Sika had said, the silk was truly enchanted. From the moment Sika mentioned it, Rosetta could see nothing but blue. And it was undoubtedly the color of the eyes of the man she loved so deeply.

Rashid cupped Rosetta’s tear-streaked cheeks and kissed her. They frantically clung to each other. Their tongues entwined, and their mingled saliva became indistinguishable.

Rosetta grabbed his shortened hair, which kept slipping through her fingers, as if she would tear it out. She fervently sought his lips and breath, more desperately than ever before. Yet, it was still far from enough to quench the longing she had felt. Rashid felt the same way.

“Damn it…”

Rosetta was startled by the sudden curse. Rashid had never uttered such words before. For a moment, she doubted her ears, thinking she might have misheard. But then her vision flipped. The white ceiling with the canopy came into view, and Rashid cupped her chin and kissed her deeply once more.

This time, the kiss was so intense that Rosetta could hardly breathe. Rashid didn’t hold back as he ravaged her mouth, almost as if he intended to devour her whole. His hands, well-acquainted with her body, roamed over her and slid down her waist.

Soon, soft moans began to escape from between their joined lips. The more sweet sounds Rosetta made, the rougher Rashid became.

The kiss, which felt more like biting, left her lips tingling, and eventually, her lower lip split, bringing the taste of blood.

“Ah…”

Rosetta let out a small cry, and only then did Rashid come back to his senses. He pulled away slightly to look at her. Rosetta, her eyes still half-closed, was panting heavily. Just as he was about to lean in again, as if entranced, the sound of an owl hooting outside caught his attention. The flame of desire that had been burning in his eyes finally began to die down.

“…What a damn situation,” Rashid muttered with a deeply troubled expression. Time was running out. He had to leave now.

Rashid lowered Rosetta’s skirt, which had ridden up, and pulled her dress, which had slipped off her shoulders, back into place.

After sitting her back on the bed, he ran a hand through his disheveled hair and spoke, “Rosetta, I’m sorry, but I don’t have time…”

“By the way, what happened to your hair?” Rosetta suddenly grabbed his collar and burst out in anger. “Who told you to cut your hair like that? Why did you do it?”

“…Long hair would have drawn too much attention at the palace. I was even considering dyeing it, but I didn’t…”

“Dye it? Don’t even think about it! Who gave you the right to dye your hair? I like your long black hair the most!”

“……”

Rashid was momentarily at a loss for words, but then the owl’s hoot sounded again. This time, it was a rather urgent cry, as if to convey that they would all be dead if he didn’t leave the room immediately.

Rosetta’s head turned toward the window. “That sound…”

Finally, Rosetta realized that the owl’s hooting had been a signal from Sika all along.

“Rosetta.”

Rashid gently turned her head back toward him, cupping her head with his large hand.

“Can you find an opportunity to leave the palace soon?”

“Leave the palace?”

“Yes, it’s difficult to get you out of here right now. But if you’re outside the palace, I can find a way to create an opportunity.”

Rosetta recalled what Arman had said at the dinner table not long ago. “There’s a jousting tournament in three days. If I say I want to go, no one will think it’s strange. My brother even suggested it to me.”

“Is the tournament at the Colosseum?”

“Yes, I’ve been to several events at the Colosseum before…”

Rashid brushed his thumb over Rosetta’s lower lip, causing her to stop talking. He kissed her injured lip softly before pulling away.

“Let’s leave together then. This time, we’ll never part. Not until death. Understand?”

Rosetta smiled at the earnest blue eyes looking at her and nodded vigorously. “Yes.”

She knew it wouldn’t be easy. Rashid could be in great danger, and Iselle and her family might try to stop them. Even if they managed to escape safely, there would be even greater challenges waiting ahead.

But at this moment, all the obstacles that lay before them seemed insignificant. She even felt an unfounded confidence that they could overcome anything as long as they were together.

As soon as Rashid heard Rosetta’s answer, he jumped off the bed and tied the rope, which had fallen to the floor, to the bedpost. Then he threw the other end out of the window. Watching him move so efficiently, Rosetta narrowed her eyes.

“Did you bring that rope for this purpose from the beginning?”

“Of course.”

“But earlier, you acted like you were going to tie me up with it!”

“If you had continued to be stubborn, I really would have done that. That would’ve meant tonight was my only chance to take you.”

Rashid approached her with the rope in his hand and kissed her cheek as if to soothe her anger. Even in his haste, he didn’t miss a beat, which left Rosetta utterly flabbergasted.

Rashid sat on the windowsill and pulled his mask up to cover his face.

“Rosetta, once I’m down, untie the rope and throw it to me.”

“Rashid, wait!”

Seeing him about to disappear, Rosetta hurried toward him. Although she knew she needed to let him go for his safety, there was something she had to tell him. If she didn’t say it now, she might regret it for the rest of her life.

Rashid glanced down at the ground outside the window. Below, Sika and Mark were frantically waving their arms, signaling him to come down immediately. Rashid turned away from them for a moment and looked at Rosetta.

“Tell me, Rosetta.”

“I’m pregnant.”

“……”

With the lower part of his face covered by the mask, Rosetta couldn’t see his full expression, but the shock in his wide blue eyes told her how stunned he was.

“…What?”

“It’s your child, of course. Now go, quickly.”

But Rashid remained frozen, not moving an inch. Now Rosetta was the one becoming more anxious, and she tried to push him out.

“If you delay any longer, it’ll be dangerous…”

Before she could finish, Rashid pulled her into a tight embrace. He held her so tightly that she could barely breathe, and then, suddenly, he pulled back. He grabbed both of her arms painfully.

“So, you were planning to go to him carrying my child? You intended to raise the child as his while never telling me?”

“……”

This time, it was Rosetta who was at a loss for words. His eyes were blazing with anger, and she was so frightened that she couldn’t say anything. She had never seen Rashid this angry before.

Grabbing Rosetta’s waist as she tried to back away, Rashid growled fiercely. “You’re lucky I don’t have time right now. Otherwise, I wouldn’t let you off.”

“I’m s-sorry. We can talk about it later, but you need to go now…”

Rashid reached out and gently touched her belly. Even though there was no visible change yet, he let out a soft sigh as if he could feel something. When he looked up at Rosetta again, his eyes were filled with joy, completely different from a moment ago.

“Wait for me. Both of you. I’ll come back for you.”

It wasn’t just joy that filled his eyes. His hand, resting on her belly, was trembling slightly. This man, who wasn’t afraid of death, was overcome with emotion because of a life that had yet to take shape.

Rosetta placed her hand over his and held it tightly. “Yes, I’ll wait.”

Rashid vanished from the window after one last look at Rosetta’s smile. She ran to the bedpost, untied the rope as he had instructed, and threw it down. The rope disappeared in an instant, and when Rosetta looked out the window again, there was no one there, as if no one had been there to begin with.

Feeling strangely unsettled, Rosetta looked around the room. Everything was as it usually was. It was hard to believe Rashid had been here just moments ago.

Could it have been a dream? She pinched her cheek for no reason.

***

“I’m losing my mind! I’m going absolutely crazy!”

From the moment he got into the carriage, Sika had been furiously berating Rashid, but this time, Rashid had nothing to say. No, even with ten mouths, he wouldn’t be able to defend himself. He had hesitated even though he knew they were running out of time, and he had almost taken Rosetta right there. If he had taken just a moment longer to regain his senses, he really would have.

“It’s a good thing I distracted the guards, so we didn’t get caught. But that’s not the issue now. How are we going to get through the palace gates? It’s already past nine o’clock!”

“……”

At this point, Rashid should have had some sort of reaction, but he said nothing. When Sika looked at his face, he was so shocked that his mouth fell open. At a time when they should be crying, Rashid was smiling, the corners of his lips curling up.