Masked Limerence // Yandere Nobleman x Reader

A Million Apologies

       Once you escaped from the town square, you didn't stop. You didn't stop when you reached the outskirts of the small town either. You only glanced at the main road for a moment before continuing on it, knowing exactly where it was going to lead you.

       Your mind didn't jump to your fears as the sun began to set. Your head was already so consumed with worries for Adelaide, it didn't seem that you could think of anything else. So, you continued to trudge on through the night unable to think about how tired and thirsty you were or how bandits could be lurking around.

       The only thought not involving Adelaide that crossed your mind was just how the wind seeped into your skin. Bringing your hands to your arms, you tried in vain to keep yourself warm as your teeth would chatter together. In your hurry to get to the capital, you had completely forgotten your need of a coat.

       If Adelaide was in the dungeons right then, would she be just as cold as you were?

       Maybe if you just handed yourself over to Ernest, he would set Adelaide free.

       You abruptly stopped in realization for just a moment. If Adelaide was set free, but you weren't, she would still probably freeze every night. She had been trapped in a room all her life after all. How would she take care of herself? Would she even know how to find a job or even how to do any work? You never taught her how to tell if someone was conning her or not. She'd probably pay a whole silver piece for 'Ice-Feathered Illian Finch eggs.' Hell, she probably didn't even know how big of a difference there was between a silver piece and a copper piece. Now, Adelaide was smart. She easily learned how to read when you first began to teach her, but she couldn't possibly know what no one decided to tell her.

       You weren't sure what to do anymore. Returning to the capital or staying on the run both seemed to have horrible outcomes: a terrible life for Adelaide full of suffering or no life at all. You weren't even sure if Ernest would let her live if you returned to him. He might just execute her either way.

       You had to help Adelaide escape from Ernest. That way you would be free to take care of her. This life wasn't what you wanted for Adelaide at all. What you wanted was for her to be treated like royalty. Unfortunately, you couldn't see that outcome so much anymore no matter how much as it pained you to admit.

       If you weren't able to rescue Adelaide, that could only lead to her suffering. For that reason, you had to at least try, and to do that, you had come up with a plan that had a chance of success.

       You began running any strategies that could possibly work through your head. Maybe you could sneak into the dungeons and use Somnum powder on the guards to put them to sleep? No, that was extremely expensive and excessively rare. Even if you were able to get your hands on a little bit, a small amount would only last five minutes or so. You would need a lot for that plan to work. Scratching that idea, you just continued onto the next.

       Unfortunately, after walking for quite a while, you still weren't able to think of anything that would work. Well, nothing that had a good chance of succeeding at least. Every idea you came up with always had a downside, and if you could think of a flaw in a plan, you already knew Ernest had thought of it as well.

       It came to a point when you had run out of any ideas. You weren't an assassin or spy. You weren't incredibly gifted in the art of sneaking through heavily guarded areas.

       You took in a shaky breath, something you had become accustomed to. As you breathed out, the air fogged up in front of you. You'd almost forgotten how cold it was as you had been lost in thought. Seeing your breath just reminded you of all that was at stake.