Runaway

"I confirmed that Verona's couple didn't know at all about their nephew's whereabouts. They even thought that he wouldn't come home, I heard that they want to marry their other nephew to a Count as a second wife," explained Carl, the man who claimed to be a merchant. His gestures were a little nervous and he didn't dare look the man directly in the eye.

the man he was talking to had just put a few drops of perfume on the horse's bridle - which was wrapped around the muzzle of his golden-maned horse.

"I think we're in vain here. What about his sister? If she dies—" Carl added.

"No one will care about a little girl, just leave her alone," the black-haired man refused.

"But he might threaten your position, Your Grace,"

"She's a woman, our target is only Roran," said the man again, rubbing his horse's neck.

The man thought, a talented girl like Sophie would be a waste if she just died. Not many people are born with a sensitive sense of smell like Sophie. If there was a chance, he thought about making way for the girl to attend school in the capital.

but that was before he knew who Sophie really was. Now she is more than just a talented girl who can make perfume. She is Roran's younger brother who will become a threat if not removed immediately.

maybe he should get rid of her, but at least he should make her useful to him.

"Then, where is that girl now, Your grace? I heard she was detained in a horse stable," said Carl again with his eyes wandering around.

Currently they were outside the main house. Carl secretly meets his master who is conducting his own investigation around the farm owned by the baron of Verona.

"She ran away, but she said she would come back,"

"What? How are you sure she didn't run away? Just look, her family treats her very badly,"

the man pondered, several hours had passed and the girl had not returned. What if something bad happens to her? It was night now and she was just a petite, unarmed girl.

Summerville is a peaceful area. There are almost no drunkards or robbers roaming around at night. Verona Farm is also far from the centers in the city. But all that doesn't actually prevent someone's evil intentions.

It could be that someone kidnapped Sophie to sell her to a brothel. That's not a rare thing. Evil intentions can arise from anyone, whatever their profession.

Anxiety swept over him. He looked in the direction Sophie had left. There shouldn't be any settlements there. Sophie went towards an uninhabited hill which was only filled with grass and weeds.

"I'll look for her,"

Immediately, the man mounted his horse and stomped away.

"Your grace, wait for me!" Carl nervously ran towards his own horse and although a little late, tried to catch up with his master.

Sophie walked, but her destination wasn't very far. In just a matter of minutes, the man and his subordinates had arrived. There was a shack that looked shabby and had just been demolished. They immediately found out because there were many fresh footprints around.

But none of the footprints in the damp earth lead back to Verona Farm.

"The girl has no intention of returning to her uncle's house," the black-haired man muttered.

He got off his horse and looked around the hut. He squatted down, explored the remains of the excavated soil, then found a chest whose contents were empty.

"That girl must have found something here. "Maybe his brother gave a secret message," he muttered, concluding.

"That young man is quite clever, he is an amateur in the military and only received basic training. But he is wary and doesn't trust easily. All our assassins didn't manage to kill him," Carl commented.

"But we know something Carl, that young man can't leave his little sister alone," the man smiled.

"This means that the girl is the key to finding Roran," he continued.

***

Sophie gasped, she was reckless this time. Verona Farm is located on the edge of town, in fact it is almost isolated. She usually went to town in a horse-drawn carriage with other workers to buy necessities. But this time she couldn't do it. She has run away from home. And it's too far to go back again.

Sophie tightened her coat to ward off the cold air, while also making sure that her pockets were still there. The street was very dark,  Sophie tried not to be afraid.

She knows Summerville is very safe. There are almost no criminal cases other than homeless people stealing fruit or cows trespassing on neighbors' land. But still, when she was alone like this—images of scary tales just appeared in his head.

What if there were werewolves? Or vampires? or what about monsters? Sophie knew that the majority of these legends were never heard of again today. But there are monsters, they often appear and disturb humans. Although luckily it's never been heard of one showing up in Summerville.

Unfortunately she had to go to town to buy a ticket to the city of Wysterina, the name of the city sounded similar to the Wysteria flower. Was that why Roran planted them?

But why Wysterina? Why did Roran ask her to meet there? Sophie thought hard to remember. it is also useful to help her get rid of fear. Then Sophie realized. It was their mother's birthplace.

"Hey!" Sophie turned around for a moment but immediately ran. Someone calling her. The man was riding a horse, even though it was only a glance and it was dark, Sophie could see him.

"Hey wait!"

What's that? who's he? Was he a slave trader? Is he a bad person? Sophie was too rash in deciding to walk into town at night. She may now never meet Roran.

The girl nimbly jumped out of the way and into the lush trees. She ran as fast as she could, relying only on the light of the full moon to light the way.

Good grief! Am I going to die? Sophie thought to herself.

Seeing Sophie run into the dense bushes, the man on horseback got off and chased her.

Sophie felt her legs were very sore but continued to push through. Until finally a piece of wood stops her and she falls.

"Ouch!"

But someone held her hand.

"Careless girl! Why did you enter the forest? Do you want to die?"

"Kyaaaahh!"

"Calm down! Why are you screaming?" the man grabbed her shoulder.

"No! Don't touch me!" Sophie was shaking, she knelt down holding back tears. The man fell silent, feeling empathetic. The girl may have experienced something bad in her past. And he didn't have the heart to probe further.

"It's me, the man who freed you from the horse stable, I won't touch you," the man kept his distance by taking a few steps back.

Sophie now saw his face clearly. His breathing started to become regular.

"Why are you here?"

"Because I realized you went out alone at night. I thought you were only gone for a while but you didn't come back. You're a girl, it's natural that I'm worried,"

Sophie got up and brushed off the mud and dry branches stuck to her clothes.

"You have no obligation to worry about me,"

"You want to go to town? I'll take you,"

Sophie didn't want to stand up to her stubbornness. She knew she needed a ride.

"What do you want from me?"

"Can't it be done for the reason of wanting to do charity?"

"No one is sincere, even a priest does good things to hope for love from their god," said Sophie curtly.

"I don't know who you are either," added Sophie again.

"You can call me Thaddeus,"

"I didn't ask your name,"

"Now you know my name, so, we're not strangers anymore," Thaddeus smiled with a small grin.

"That's not the rule!"

"Well, if you're so insistent, I might need something from you,"

"What?"

"Make me a perfume, I didn't find another perfumer of as good quality as you in summerville. Is that fair enough?"

"I don't want to owe favors, so you don't have to pay,"

"That's fair enough, you can ride my horse. I'll ride another horse," said Thaddeus completing the transaction.