Chapter 21: How I Got Fired While Sprinting Through Enemy Territory – End Arc 1【Arc 1: I Was Expelled for Seducing the Enemy Princess】

Hours Ago…

The grand, highly dangerous escape plan from the heavily fortified northern royal palace was actually going shockingly, terrifyingly well.

That single, undeniable fact alone should have been my very first, crystal-clear clue that we were entirely, completely doomed. Things simply did not ever go smoothly for our party when my romantic curse was actively involved.

Gabriel had expertly and desperately tied our incredibly expensive, heavily embroidered northern silk bedsheets entirely together. He had meticulously secured the makeshift, highly fragile rope to the massive, heavy cast-iron radiator near the frosted glass window before we carefully slipped out over the third-story stone sill.

Togashi naturally went first.

He rappelled down the sheer, freezing stone wall in absolute, terrifying silence. He dropped effortlessly into the pitch-black, freezing shadows of the intricate frost-rose garden below exactly like a supernatural entity born from the darkness itself.

Gabriel followed immediately after him.

His massive, highly reflective silver paladin armor was heavily muffled by his thick, dark travel cloak. He descended the fragile silk rope with the grim, wide-eyed determination of a completely panicked man actively fleeing a violently burning building.

I went absolutely last.

My bare hands were shaking so incredibly badly from the freezing northern temperature and sheer, unadulterated terror that I nearly lost my precarious grip twice. I had to desperately, frantically channel a massive surge of warm, golden healing mana directly into my fragile ankles right before I hit the frozen ground, just to keep my weak healer bones from instantly snapping upon impact.

“Move.”

Togashi whispered the single command.

He was a mere, barely visible ghost blending perfectly into the pale moonlight, already scanning the perimeter for threats.

We crept slowly and desperately through the sprawling, meticulously trimmed royal hedges. We moved exactly like three highly stressed, completely panicked field mice actively navigating a deadly, inescapable maze filled entirely with sleeping, predatory cats.

The icy, unforgiving northern wind bit harshly at my flushed cheeks. But even under my suffocating, incredibly itchy layers of ugly cotton shirts, I was entirely drenched in a cold, heavy, and extremely panicked sweat.

Up ahead in the terrifying darkness, the massive, iron-wrought outer gates loomed menacingly.

Two towering elite palace guards, completely clad in heavy, rune-etched defensive armor, stood absolute watch over the only viable exit. Their incredibly lethal, razor-sharp halberds were resting casually against the thick stone pillars.

Togashi did not even hesitate for a single fraction of a second.

He melted completely and entirely into the dark shadows cast by the high walls. Exactly ten agonizing seconds later, a small, entirely ordinary pebble clattered loudly against the far stone wall.

The exact moment both massive guards turned their heavy, helmeted heads to investigate the noise, Togashi materialized instantly directly behind them. He struck the highly vulnerable, unprotected nerve clusters located at the very base of their heavily armored necks with the heavy, solid iron pommel of his specialized dagger.

Both towering juggernauts crumpled instantly to the freezing ground without making a single, solitary sound.

“He is absolutely terrifying.”

I whispered the honest observation to Gabriel as we aggressively sprinted toward the unconscious, heavily armored guards.

“He is an absolute professional.”

Gabriel hissed the correction back at me.

His panicked blue eyes were frantically scanning the empty, moonlit courtyard for any hidden threats or returning patrols.

“Now absolutely shut up and use your weak arms to help me lift this heavy crossbar.”

We were exactly ten short feet away from absolute, undeniable freedom.

The massive, incredibly heavy wooden crossbar of the side postern gate was located directly in front of us. My desperate heart soared completely into the sky. We were actually going to successfully make it out alive. We were going to slip seamlessly into the dark capital city, completely disappear into the treacherous northern wilderness, and I was going to successfully, miraculously avoid becoming a permanent, heavily chained royal prisoner of love.

Then, the ambient temperature in the massive courtyard violently and completely plummeted to absolute zero.

The Monster Wakes

A terrifying wave of crushing, completely suffocating magical pressure suddenly slammed directly into our bodies like a massive, physical tidal wave made of solid lead.

It was so incredibly heavy and overwhelming that it actually forced me entirely to my trembling knees. My lungs physically refused to pull in any oxygen.

Gabriel swore violently and loudly into the freezing night air.

His armored hand flew instantly to the worn leather hilt of his massive broadsword. Togashi spun around in a blur of motion, both of his lethal iron daggers completely drawn, his dark eyes completely and entirely wide for the absolute first time since I had originally met him.

High above our heads, on the stone balcony of the luxurious third-floor guest wing we had just successfully evacuated, the heavy frosted glass doors did not just simply open.

They completely, violently, and catastrophically exploded.

A massive, glittering shower of razor-sharp broken glass rained down beautifully and dangerously over the frozen courtyard.

Standing absolutely perfectly amidst the shattered, ruined remnants of the stone balcony was Princess Diana.

She was absolutely not wearing her elegant, flowing royal nightgown. She was currently wearing her highly functional, dark leather combat tunic. Her pristine, glowing white hair was violently whipping around her delicate face like a divine halo of pure, unadulterated, and catastrophic magical fury.

She looked absolutely nothing like a polite, elegant foreign diplomat. She looked exactly like a highly vengeful, completely heartbroken, and incredibly overpowered god of war descending rapidly to punish the fragile mortal realm.

“TAKASHI!”

Her voice was absolutely no longer the sultry, intoxicating, and husky purr that had completely paralyzed my body inside the blooming glasshouse.

It was a massively magically amplified, genuinely terrifying sonic boom of pure, unfiltered yandere obsession. The sheer volume and magical force behind her voice physically shook the delicate frost-roses entirely off their frozen stems and rattled my teeth inside my skull.

“Did you honestly, truly think you could simply leave without saying a proper goodbye?!”

She did not bother to use the marble stairs.

She did not bother to use our makeshift, fragile silk rope. The incredibly powerful Princess of the North simply vaulted casually over the third-story stone railing and plummeted directly toward the hard earth.

“Brace for impact!”

Gabriel roared the tactical command at the absolute top of his lungs.

Diana hit the exact center of the stone courtyard exactly like a falling, highly destructive magical meteor.

The thick, ancient stone paving actually violently cratered beneath her heavy leather combat boots. The massive impact sent a blinding, choking shockwave of pulverized dust and violently crushed rock washing completely over our defensive formation.

She stood up incredibly slowly from the center of the deep impact crater.

She was completely, utterly unharmed by the massive, deadly fall. Her glowing, terrifyingly bright silver eyes locked instantly and flawlessly onto my face with a terrifying, absolute predatory intensity. It was an obsessive look so incredibly dense and heavy that it made my fragile soul attempt to forcefully leave my physical body for the fifth distinct time that entire week.

“You completely belong to me.”

She whispered the terrifying words softly.

And somehow, completely defying all known laws of physical distance and acoustics, the terrifying, highly possessive promise echoed perfectly and directly inside my panicked head.

“Open the massive gate right now!”

Gabriel screamed the desperate order, completely and entirely abandoning any lingering pretense of stealth.

He grabbed the massive, incredibly heavy wooden crossbar with both armored hands. His thick muscles visibly bulged under his clothing as he violently threw the heavy wood aside with a loud, echoing crash.

Togashi aggressively shoved the heavy iron door entirely open.

He moved his body just a tiny fraction of a second before a massive, highly lethal spike of solid, freezing magical ice violently pierced the thick stone wall, striking exactly where my head had been resting a single second prior.

“Run for your lives!”

I shrieked the warning at the absolute top of my lungs.

My voice cracked entirely into a highly embarrassing, incredibly high pitch that only local dogs and nocturnal bats could properly hear.

We burst violently out of the palace grounds. We hit the freezing, slippery cobblestone streets of the northern capital city just as the very first, fragile rays of morning dawn began to slowly bleed over the high, imposing defensive walls.

The Sprint to the Present

The delicate, highly planned stealth mission was entirely, officially dead. We were now operating entirely in a permanent state of pure, completely chaotic, and highly panicked survival.

“I love you so incredibly much, please just go out with me right now!!!”

Diana’s magically amplified voice echoed violently off the painted wooden shutters and the thick stone walls behind us.

Somehow, her desperate, terrifying confession of absolute love sounded even louder and significantly more threatening than the massive, heavy bronze alarm bells that suddenly began ringing frantically from the high palace towers to alert the city guards.

The massive northern city was actively waking up.

We tore desperately through the narrow, winding cobblestone avenues, completely disrupting absolutely everything in our destructive path. We cut aggressively through a busy row of early morning spice stands. We sent massive, blinding clouds of expensive cinnamon and dark black pepper violently exploding into the cold morning air, causing massive coughing fits among the early merchants.

“Takashi, actively do something about this!”

Gabriel roared the command loudly.

He violently twisted his heavily armored body around just enough to glare fiercely at me while maintaining his incredibly fast, desperate sprint.

“You single-handedly put us in this exact situation, now properly deal with it!”

I was actively running entirely on pure cardiovascular desperation, highly concentrated mortal fear, and absolute, undeniable bad luck.

My exhausted lungs were actively on fire. My heavy leather healing satchel was violently and repeatedly slapping against my bruised hip. And I could not even properly formulate a valid verbal defense to his harsh accusation, because my completely stressed, hyperventilating best friend was absolutely, undeniably right.

I risked one single, highly terrified glance backward over my trembling shoulder.

Diana was actively weaving effortlessly and gracefully through the rapidly growing, highly confused crowd. She was casually dodging startled local merchants and loudly barking street dogs exactly like this was a highly entertaining, romantic morning game of tag.

Her beautiful, pristine white hair streamed completely behind her in bright, glowing silver ribbons under the slowly rising morning sun. She did not look tired. She did not look angry anymore.

She looked incredibly, entirely, and genuinely terrifyingly happy.

A massive, completely overloaded wooden fruit cart suddenly rolled directly, maliciously into our fast escape path.

Gabriel vaulted entirely over the massive obstacle. He cleared the high pile of green apples exactly like an impossibly athletic hero statue that had magically learned how to violently sprint. Togashi slid seamlessly and effortlessly right around the heavy wooden wheels with absolutely frictionless, highly impossible ninja grace.

I desperately tried to follow their lead.

I was heavily burdened by my physical exhaustion, my terrifying romantic curse, and my complete lack of athletic ability. I violently clipped a thick wooden wheel with my right shin. I hit the hard wood so incredibly hard that I instantly saw an entire, sprawling galaxy of bright white sparks explode behind my eyes.

Fresh, crisp northern apples flew absolutely everywhere in a massive, chaotic, and highly colorful explosion of bright red and vivid green.

I stumbled forward incredibly awkwardly. I desperately pushed massive amounts of my remaining healing mana directly into my deeply bruised legs just to keep my weak bones from instantly turning into absolute, useless liquid soup.

I slowly looked up from the chaotic pile of fruit just as Gabriel completely skidded to a violent halt.

He was standing directly amidst the massively scattered fruit. We were completely surrounded by the loud, aggressive shouting of heavy northern city guards rapidly closing in from the various side streets and narrow alleys.

Gabriel turned slowly to face me.

The highly polished, incredibly stressed, and highly capable SSS-ranked southern diplomat was completely, utterly gone. The fiercely protective, highly legendary vanguard captain was entirely gone.

Absolutely all that was currently left standing in the freezing cobblestone street was a deeply exhausted, completely and entirely broken man.

He was a devastated party leader actively watching his entire successful life, his legendary career, and his very sanity violently burn to complete and utter ashes. And it was absolutely all happening entirely because his physically fragile, completely passive medical healer had accidentally, irreversibly charmed the absolute most dangerous, overpowered woman on the entire continent.

He raised his arm very slowly. He pointed a violently shaking, heavy armored finger directly at my terrified face.

His left eye was twitching so incredibly violently and rapidly that it genuinely looked like the entire eyeball might permanently and violently detach from his skull.

“You are completely fired!”

Gabriel screamed the final, devastating sentence entirely over the absolute chaos of the ringing bells and the shouting guards.

The heavy, utterly final words landed significantly harder than the painful sprint.

They hit me significantly harder than the heavy weapons of the approaching northern guards. And they crushed me significantly harder than the immense, suffocating weight of my entirely cursed romantic existence.

I just stood exactly there, frozen directly in the middle of the hostile enemy capital city.

I was completely breathless, surrounded entirely by scattered apples and impending doom, while my fragile, completely overwhelmed brain slowly, painfully caught up to the absolute reality of the situation.

My peaceful, perfectly planned life was, once again, violently and catastrophically starting entirely over.