TTYF 06

chapter 06

And so, Evelyn was confined to her room.

That day, she was slapped for the first time in her life.

Smack!

For an instant, a flash exploded before her eyes, and her head snapped to the side.

Isaac had done it.

“So this is what comes of spoiling you. You’ve truly lost your mind.”

With a face darkened by contempt and anger, he glared at Evelyn before turning away.

“Lock her in her room until she comes to her senses. I have no desire to deal with that thing any longer.”

“Tch, I knew this would happen. You should’ve known when to stop, Evelyn.”

As Isaac left, Clorence shot her a cold look and followed after him.

Finally, Evelyn’s gaze shifted to Michelle.

But there was none of Michelle’s usual warmth left.

Instead, disappointment, betrayal, and contempt filled her face.

“After everything I’ve done to raise you.”

“…Mother.”

“I don’t want to talk anymore. I’m truly disappointed in you.”

The shattered vase had not even been particularly valuable.

Evelyn briefly wondered whether the broken vase or she herself held greater value in her family’s eyes, then gave up on the thought.

The words spoken by Evelyn in Under the Rose Tree had been right all along.

Only then did she finally admit that her life had been little more than a façade.

Only after being abandoned by every member of her family and locked away in her room.

I hoped at least one of them would say something different.

At least one of the servants who had confined her.

Isabella, who brushed her hair every day while chattering endlessly.

Benjamin, the butler who had practically raised her.

Even Leilama, who used to pity her for being stuck indoors.

All of them looked at her with the same eyes.

Eyes that seemed to blame her.

Eyes one would use to look at someone who had suddenly lost their mind.

The moment she saw those gazes, all strength left her body.

She had hoped that she and the Evelyn from the novel were different.

Or that the novel’s Evelyn had merely been indulging in the pessimistic fantasies of someone facing death.

But reality matched the story perfectly.

No more, no less.

Her life was nothing but a sandcastle waiting to collapse beneath a single wave.

The moment she stepped even slightly outside the mold others had built for her—the obedient, kind young lady—she was cast out with nothing.

In truth, Evelyn had always known this deep down.

She had simply pushed the realization beyond a hazy boundary and forgotten it.

When she was fourteen, she had gone boating with Daphne and some friends.

During the outing, she suffered a seizure and lost consciousness.

She remembered very little from that day.

She had collapsed on the boat, fallen into the water, and nearly died.

That much she later learned from her nanny.

But there was one memory she vaguely retained.

When she briefly regained consciousness while burning with fever, her body feeling like a lump of waterlogged cotton—

“How exactly are you looking after her? She collapsed clutching her chest! Do you want the entire social circle hearing that the daughter of this house is practically half-crippled?”

“I’m sorry, dear. I was wrong…”

“Make sure word doesn’t spread. I never want to hear something like this from outsiders again!”

The voices were familiar.

Her ears recognized them before her mind did.

Her parents.

Through blurry vision, she sensed her mother turning toward her.

A face desperately holding back tears.

Michelle stared at her young daughter for a long time.

Her eyes held resentment and contempt.

Then she simply left the room.

The coldness of that reaction had left Evelyn unable to call out to her.

Even if it had been a dream, it was a heartbreaking one.

This must be a nightmare.

And when she awoke again, her family treated her exactly as before.

“Let’s not go too far from home anymore, Evelyn. Do you know how worried I was that you might collapse again?”

“Listen to your mother. Even the doctor said you should avoid outside activities until you’re healthier.”

“…Yes. I will.”

Seeing the concern on their faces, Evelyn swallowed the nightmare down.

She convinced herself that what she had seen had merely been a bad dream.

But it wasn’t.

At first, they only told her not to go far.

Then they asked her to avoid outdoor activities.

After that, even indoor social gatherings became restricted.

And now, after all these years, she needed permission simply to leave the estate.

There was only one reason she had accepted it all.

“If you’re just careful, there won’t be any problems. We’re only doing this for your own good.”

“Do you know how much money it takes to raise you? Your mother and I have lost count of how many sleepless nights we’ve spent worrying about you.”

Words that made it sound as though she herself was the problem.

Evelyn had always felt guilty toward her parents.

Her illness.

The trouble it caused.

It all felt like her fault.

If she couldn’t become healthy, then the least she could do was become the good daughter they wanted.

She believed that would make everyone happy.

But how long was I supposed to keep living like that?

At first, all she had to do was be an obedient daughter.

Then what?

Become someone who could bring benefits through marriage?

And after that?

And after that?

Where, exactly, was the “me” that everyone claimed they cared about so much?

Now that she stood face to face with death, she could finally see things she had never noticed while clinging to endless hope.

The cage that bound her.

And how meaningless it had been to live attached to that cage.

The realization hurt more than being rejected by her family.

It brought tears to her eyes.

…Perhaps a small part of me hoped I would regret proposing to Dylan.

But now that things had reached this point, she was more certain than ever.

Proposing to Dylan.

Trying to save him.

Those actions had all been desperate attempts to break free from that cage.

Her dream had disappeared long ago.

She had lived inside the mold for so long that she had lost herself.

Even knowing she would die soon, she could think of nothing else she wanted to do.

So the only thing I can do is save you, Dylan.

It was shameless to ask such a thing from someone she’d only just met.

But he had to survive.

He had to become proof that her life had meant something.

So that when she closed her eyes for the last time, she could say her life had not been meaningless.

But first, I have to meet Dylan.

Back to the Present

Evelyn opened the window and looked down.

Her room was on the second floor.

Fortunately, a tall garden tree stood nearby.

One of its thick branches extended close to her window.

Judging by the distance, it might actually be possible.

It seems this is my only way out…

She glanced behind her.

There stood a wardrobe packed with clothes.

Looking back down again, she confirmed that nobody was passing below.

Having spent nearly her entire life inside the estate, Evelyn knew the servants’ schedules well.

And right now, everyone would be gathered in the kitchen preparing lunch.

If I want to escape without being noticed, this is my only chance.

She turned around once more and stared at the wardrobe.

A scene from a fairy tale she had read as a child came to mind.

The protagonist had tied clothes together to make a rope and escaped from captivity.

…Will that actually work?