9

Before dawn a carriage carrying Elena and Leabrick ran down the icy streets of Sylence.

"Miss Elena, I heard about your parents at dawn."

"Really? What happened? Did they get out of here safely?"

Elena became a devoted daughter when she heard about her parents' news. She was so desperate that Leabrick couldn't believe it was acting.

"They're safely out of the land."

"That's fortunate. Thank you, Liv. Thank you for your concern."

Leabrick narrowed her eyes.

"But, I heard that your mother's health is not good, perhaps she was overwhelmed in the process.."

"What? Oh, what's wrong with my mother? Is she in a lot of pain? Where does it hurt? It's my fault. She's so heartbroken that her body is..."

Elena fussed half-heartedly and immediately nodded off. There was a trickle. Drops of water fell under her head and soaked the road.

"Mom, mom... ugh, mom."

Elena cried out sadly, her voice raised in nostalgia and worry. It was painful, like a child separated from her mother.

"..."

Leabrick narrowed his eyes. She had deliberately given Elena false information, hoping that she would react in any way if she had been involved in the couple's escape. But what a surprise. She was too sad to imagine the fact that the couple had escaped.

'You don't seem to know a thing.'

Leabrick bit her lips.

"Don't cry. The physician said it was a temporary fever and that she could get better soon if she took a rest."

"She must get better. Or I won't have the confidence to live in the Empire."

"Of course."

Elena managed to calm herself down and wiped her eyes with her handkerchief.

"They both must have arrived at the Mariana Islands by now."

"M-Mariana Islands the earthly paradise?"

"Yes, it's called the best island in the world."

Leabrick lied brazenly. The Mariana archipelago had been referred to as a "paradise on earth" through oral fairy tales and novels, but the reality was quite different. The islands were crawling with pirates, and the waves were so strong that fishing was not easy. Elena was happy to pretend that she didn't know that.

"I've heard that, too. I'm relieved if that's where they are. I hope they don't have to struggle and live comfortably."

"... That's what they're going to do."

Looking at Elena, who was naively relieved, Leabrick had no choice but to question the doubts she had.

'That's her level, and I'm the only one who's sensitive, aren't I?'

Elena consistently showed substandard appearances. Even so, it drove her crazy that she doubted Elena. Inwardly, Elena was relieved to see the anxious Leabrick.

'Leabrick is suspicious of me. That means my mom and dad ran away safely.'

Elena was glad to have Leabrick's doubts. It was clear that her parents safely ran away from the pursuit. Otherwise, there was no reason for Leabrick to doubt Elena.

When they arrived at the warehouse wharf behind the pier, they disembarked from the carriage. Then the middle-aged knighy who was driving the carriage led them to a ferry that was tied up at the end.

Through the fog, they moved farther from the land. The boat reached the rear of a huge and colorful sailing ship.

"We go up?"

Leabrick, Elena, and the middle-aged knight got on the ladder and boarded the ship. Perhaps it was still early in the day, but there were no crew members on deck. Perhaps that's why they couldn't be bothered.

Leabrick passed the deck and stepped into the ship. She walked until she reached the cabin at the far end of the corridor where the candles fluttered.

Kkiik.

Opening the creaky wooden door, she found herself in a spacious cabin that was furnished in a rather luxurious manner. At first glance, it looked like a luxury cabin that could be used by a high-built aristocrat or royalty.

As soon as she came in, Leabrick locked the cabin door tightly.

"You'll be staying here with me for the next ten days."

Elena forced a smile. Barely holding back her upset stomach.

***

"You're not allowed to leave the cabin at this time."

It was a unilateral notification.

"Three meals a day, it'll be served from the outside."

It did not even give room for rebuttal.

"You can use the bathroom inside the cabin."

Leabrick's attitude toward Elena had changed. The way she was before disappeared from nowhere, and she authoritatively treated Elena like a subordinate. Leabrick used her spare time to teach the basic culture and history of the empire.

'I know everything.'

Elena adjusted her progress along unchallenged lines. If she was too perceptive, Leabrick would be suspicious. On the other hand, if she acted too foolishly, she was bound to complain and insult her.

It had been nine days since they sailed. The sailboat also entered the waters of the empire.

"What is the duty of the nobles?"

Noblesse oblige."

"Imitate those words, and in the future, Miss Elena will become a nobleman who will be respected by nobles. This is the duty you have as the princess, and the legitimate daughter of Grand Duke Friedrich."

"W-wait, the Grand Duke?"

Elena stuttered at the end and raised her head. She was embarrassed as if it wasn't possible even if that was true.

"Princess Veronica is the sole blood of Grand Duke Friedrich, the head of the four great families of the Empire. It's also Miss Elena's new identity."

"Oh, my God."

For a moment, Elena's mouth poked up.

"G-Grand Duke... That's more than I can imagine."

Even if she tried to pretend she wasn't, Leabrick was convinced as she saw Elena's mouth rising as if it was going to tear. She was a snob blinded by desire.

"That's enough for today."

"N-now?"

"We're leaving the ship."

Elena was able to leave the cabin in almost ten days. In the meantime, she felt a little better after spending some time with Leabrick and letting the sea breeze carry away the resentment that had built up in the cabin.

They climbed over the railing, onto the ladder, and onto the ferry, just as they had done when they boarded the sailboat. After more than three hours of rowing, they arrived at a beach along the coast. They stepped on the slippery sand and climbed out of the beach and onto a carriage hidden in the bushes.

"Liv, where are we going?"

"The safe house."

"Are you not going?"

"It's a very private place. Even in the Grand Duke's residence, few people know about it."

Leabrick turned her head out the window. It was an indirect expression she did not want to continue the conversation. Elena also shut her question. It was a compulsory question, anyway, and there was no reason for her, who already knew the destination, to ask.

The carriage really ran without ceasing. Even though the road was not maintained, the carriage did not stop despite the difficulties in discerning where to go due to the darkness without a single moonlight

They finally reached the mansion that she thought was not home. It was located in a secret place, so secret that it could never be visited if you didn't know the way, as it was a forest on all sides. Elena's expression turned cold as she looked at the exterior of the mansion looming in front of her.

'There's the place that drove me to ruin.'

Try as she might to remain calm, Elena's heart raced with a distraught passion. What would she look like when she saw him? How would she be able to withstand this boiling anger in front of him? Many thoughts and uncontrollable emotions were constantly colliding in Elena's mind.

The carriage stopped just in time. When she got off the carriage following Leabrick, a maid greeted her.

"She's Jane, take a step forward. She can't talk because she's deaf, so if you need anything, you can write it down in a notebook and show it to her."

As soon as she exchanged eye greetings with Jane, she followed Leabrick into the mansion. A parlor decorated with marble appeared as the splendid chandeliers went straight across the corner to the right of the main hall.

"He's beyond here."

"He?"

"As soon as he heard that Miss Elena was coming, he ran from the capital."

Leabrick carefully put her hand on the doorknob and pushed the marble door open.

Elena's heart beat fast, too. An unruly storm of emotion swirled from the inside, as it did when she first faced Leabrick.

"...!"

There was a man standing in the distance. As a middle-aged man, he was upright enough to be indifferent to his age, and was a man of dignity enough to be considered a specimen of the aristocracy.

Elena recognized who he was at a glance. How could she forget? She could still remember his laughing at Elena, who was dying.

"Y-you... Really..."

He saw Elena and couldn't speak easily. His swaying eyes and trembling lips, his expression that went back and forth between joy and despair like a saint witnessing a miracle in front of his eyes, was too unflattering to be alone. Moreover, she got goosebumps when she realized that it was an act spelled out in hypocrisy and deceit.

"Did you come back to life... My daughter?"

The mastermind who drove Elena to ruin. A man who could chew it. It was Grand Duke Friedrich coming towards Elena.

Elena bit her molars tightly. Her fist rolled small in and an unaffordable rage shook like an acorn tree. She could still see his face, mocking her for her death. The idea that he was so hateful as to want to kill him was in her head.

'I have to put up with it. I can't be carried away.'

Elena constantly suppressed herself. Killing that human to relieve her resentment was a bad idea. What Elena wants is not only Grand Duke Friedrich, but also the complete destruction of Leabrick and Veronica. Until that day, she would be angry and wag her tail like their faithful dog.

"Are you really, Veronica?"

Grand Duke Friedrich asked and couldn't take his eyes off of Elena.

"Well, I'm..."

Elena, standing in front him, lowered her eyes without even making eye contact. Grand Duke Friedrich extended his hand at Elena, who was at a loss.

Shudder.

Elena shrank back as the back of his hand touched her cheek. It gave her goosebumps. There was a sense of uneasiness like a bug crawling on her face.