🔊 TTS Settings
~Chapter 3~
Elenoa stood before the bed, staring at the bag laid out beside a set of men’s clothes, a dress, and a simple one-piece outfit, deep in thought.
Elenoa was good at climbing trees. If I’m going to climb one, men’s clothes are definitely better, right? But… can I actually climb as well as she could? On the outside, I’m Elenoa, but inside I’m still Jung Suryeon…
No, no.
Elenoa’s athletic ability should still be intact. Right. I’m choosing to believe that. For money, I can just take the jewelry box. Mm! Perfect. Escape— no, not escape. That sounds like I committed some crime and I’m running away. Right… running away from home. That sounds much better.
Preparations for running away from home: complete!
“My lady, what are all these?”
“Gah—!”
Elenoa nearly jumped out of her skin.
“Y-You startled me, Sharmel!”
W-When did she come in?!
The sudden voice beside her startled her so badly that even her words came out stuttered.
“Why are you acting so startled? You’re being suspicious.”
“S-Suspicious? W-Who’s suspicious?”
“You are, my lady.”
“M-Me? What about me?”
I can’t let her find out. If she does…
“Why do you keep stuttering?”
“I-It’s nothing, so don’t worry about it. And when did I ever stutter?”
In a panic, Elenoa quickly gathered everything on the bed into one pile, then shoved Sharmel toward the door and pushed her out of the room.
Once the door shut, she leaned against it and let out a long sigh.
“She didn’t notice… right? Okay. For the next three days, I prepare to leave this place. First, I get as far away from here as possible, and then I decide where to go.”
She picked up the paper lying on the vanity.
It wasn’t exactly a formal plan, but rather the rough outline she had painstakingly put together over the last three days.
First: Escape the baron’s estate and leave the territory safely before the baron and baroness—her so-called parents—returned.
Ideally, it would be better to decide where to go before leaving, but there wasn’t enough time. She had to get out before they came back.
Second: Absolutely do not get entangled with the Emperor or Grand Duke Einhardt.
Even if I want to avoid them, I don’t even know what they look like! Couldn’t those prophetic dreams at least show me their faces too?!
This was the hardest part.
How was she supposed to avoid people she couldn’t even recognize?
Well… surely they wouldn’t kill me just for crossing paths with them, right? Even if I got caught…
Still…
“Where am I even supposed to go once I leave?”
She had no destination, no knowledge of this world, and nowhere to call home.
Then suddenly—
“Right. I had an older brother.”
Maybe she should find him.
Maybe she should ask him why he never kept his promise to come back for her.
“…But I’d have to know where he is first.”
With a groan, she glanced at her reflection in the mirror—
—and froze.
The girl staring back at her had puffed-up cheeks like she was holding acorns in both sides of her mouth, tears clinging to her lashes, looking utterly pitiful.
“…Did I really just make that face?”
Well… she was Elenoa now, so technically yes.
Elenoa can make expressions like this too…
It was…
…adorable.
“Get a grip!”
She slapped her cheeks lightly.
“I’m not some narcissist! She’s me now, but if I start thinking I’m cute, what does that even mean?! Pull yourself together! I’m not Jung Suryeon anymore—I’m Elenoa!”
After several gentle slaps to her face, she nodded firmly.
“Good. Since it’s my last day here, maybe I should at least look around a little. It’s unfamiliar to me, but… I’ve still spent a few days here.”
That decision, however, became one she regretted almost immediately.
Because she had forgotten one very important fact.
Jung Suryeon—
was hopelessly directionally challenged.
Why is THAT the one thing that stayed the same?!
She had never imagined she could get lost inside a shabby little baron’s mansion that wasn’t even particularly large.
But while even someone with terrible direction could eventually navigate a place they’d been dozens of times…
This was her first time here.
“Where is my room?! Why are there so many rooms?! And why do all the doors look exactly the same?!”
“My lady… what are you doing here?”
“Sharmel?! I can’t find my room.”
Tears welled in her eyes.
Thank goodness.
She had found Sharmel before she truly perished.
“…Pardon?”
“My room.”
“…Pardon?”
“My. Room.”
“…Ah. I understand. I’ll take you there, so please calm down.”
Sharmel blinked blankly at the sight of her mistress on the verge of tears because she couldn’t find her own room, but silently guided her back.
“I should’ve left some kind of marker…”
“…Excuse me?”
“Nothing.”
Once they returned, Elenoa hesitated before asking carefully,
“Sharmel… I have a question. I have an older brother, right?”
“Yes, you do.”
“Is his hair silver? No… maybe lighter than silver?”
“Young master has silver-white hair.”
Silver-white.
No wonder it looked lighter than silver in my dream.
“Do you know where he is now?”
At that, Sharmel’s expression darkened.
“We lost contact with him a long time ago. Since young master was thirteen… and you were eight.”
Elenoa’s eyes widened.
That meant the dream—where young Elenoa had chased after her brother, begging to go with him—was from when she was eight.
Nine years.
Nine whole years without contact.
Then… maybe he didn’t abandon her.
Maybe he simply couldn’t return.
“But… the loss of contact was also because of Baron Ricardo and the baroness.”
“…What?”
“After young master left for the academy, the family moved twice. We only settled in this territory five years ago. I wanted to send letters, but… I didn’t know the academy’s address. Or even where exactly it was.”
Elenoa stared at her like a stunned goldfish.
If that was true…
Then maybe he hadn’t broken his promise.
Maybe he just never had the chance.
But—
“…Wait. Isn’t that strange?”
“How so?”
“If the family moved… how could my brother not know where his own family moved to?!”
That made no sense.
Unless…
They abandoned him.
Sharmel lowered her head.
“I’m sorry.”
“…Why are you apologizing?”
“I can’t tell you any more than this.”
“What? Why not?”
“No more.”
“No, seriously—what do you mean no more?!”
“No matter what you ask… I can’t say anything else.”
Elenoa narrowed her eyes.
Suspicious.
Very suspicious.
There was definitely something here.
Something she wasn’t supposed to know.
Then suddenly—
“My lady… there’s something sticking out from under your bed.”
“…What?”
Elenoa glanced down, spotted the edge of her hidden bag peeking out—
—and immediately kicked it back underneath.
“No, just now, you clearly—”
“What? Me? I didn’t do anything.”
“My lady.”
“Nope. You saw wrong. Completely wrong.”
Avoiding Sharmel’s gaze, Elenoa hurriedly shoved her out of the room once more.
Then she exhaled deeply.
“Whew… That was close. She didn’t notice, right? I’m definitely running away tonight. I have to leave before Baron Ricardo and his wife come back. As far away as possible.”
But…
“Where do I even go?”
If her brother had attended the academy, maybe there would be records.
Maybe if she went there, she could find him.
Maybe.
…Or maybe not.
What if they didn’t believe she was family?
What if they found him, only for him to say—
I don’t have a sister like her.
“…I don’t know.”
She groaned, buried in uncertainty.
For now—
“I’ll just leave first and clear my head.”
And with that, she collapsed onto the bed.
The moment she lay down, sleep overtook her so quickly that if Sharmel hadn’t woken her for dinner, she might have slept straight through until morning.
That night.
Elenoa crept through the darkness of her room, pulled the hidden bag from beneath her bed, and tied its handle securely with rope.
She fastened one end to the bag—
…and the other around her right wrist.
Quietly, carefully, she opened her bedroom door just enough to peek outside.
No one.
Perfect.
Rising onto her tiptoes, she slipped through the hall and made her way outside.
She stopped before the tree closest to the estate wall and stared up at it.
Then—
Deep breath.
She climbed.
“…Whew. Thank goodness.”
At least Elenoa’s tree-climbing skills were still intact.
Relief flooded her.
Once perched on a sturdy branch, she used the rope tied to her wrist to haul her bag up after her, then carefully stepped onto the top of the wall.
She moved toward an outer branch—
—and nearly slipped.
Rustle!
The sound was loud enough that nearby knights inside the estate paused.
“Hey. Didn’t you hear something over there?”
“Hm? I don’t know. You probably imagined it.”
“That’s strange… I could’ve sworn…”
Frozen, Elenoa clamped both hands over her mouth and held her breath.
Only after the knights finally walked away did she dare exhale.
“I almost got caught…”
This time, she descended far more carefully, climbing down the tree outside the wall.
Then—
Without looking back—
She began walking.
Completely unaware…
That two hooded figures were following close behind.
“Where should I go? Maybe I should find an inn first, sleep there, and leave farther away in the morning…”
Then she stopped dead.
“…Wait.”
A horrifying realization struck.
“I DON’T KNOW THE GEOGRAPHY HERE.”
“My lady.”
“KYAAAH!”
A voice behind her made her shriek.
“This is quite the situation. A noble young lady climbing over walls?”
Elenoa froze solid.
No.
No, no, no.
It can’t be…
“Sharmel?! Why are you here?!”
“Please come back, my lady. Do you know how dangerous the streets are at night?”
“No! I’m not going back! I refuse!”
And with that—
She bolted.
“My lady! Stop!”
“Let’s follow her first.”
The second voice—
A woman, judging by the tone.
The hooded woman immediately sprinted after Elenoa.
And so…
For over an hour…
A chaotic chase unfolded through the dark streets.
Until finally—
She was caught.
“Let me go! I’m not going back!”
Elenoa struggled wildly against the person holding her, while Sharmel arrived moments later, gasping for breath.
“Hah… haaah… My lady… what are you saying?!”
“I ran away because I don’t want to get married! I’m absolutely not going back!”
“…What?”
Sharmel froze.
“Marriage? What do you mean?”
“What?”
Now it was Elenoa’s turn to stare.
“You mean… that’s not why?”
“Let’s change locations first,” said the hooded woman—Lanster, apparently. “We’ll return to the estate and discuss this properly—”
“I said I’m NOT GOING BACK! I don’t want to marry some old man!”
The moment those words left her mouth—
Sharmel’s face hardened.
“Sir Lanster… wait.”
“…?”
“Then… let’s go to a nearby inn first.”
“…What?”
“Please. I trust you, which is why I’m asking.”
Lanster looked troubled.
A noble lady spending the night outside her family estate?
Unthinkable.
But after a long pause…
“…Very well.”
And so—
Rather than returning to the baron’s mansion—
Elenoa, Sharmel, and Lanster headed together toward a nearby inn.
