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Chapter 6
“What is it now?”
Even though it had been a week since he last saw her, Viscount Arlene did not look happy to see Ilyin.
If anything, he looked annoyed.
Ilyin quietly looked at her father.
Was he ever a good father when I was young?
Not really.
He cared more about the reputation of the family than his own wife or daughter.
Instead of pitying his wife after she lost her mind, he only became angry that she ruined the family’s image.
Ilyin could not remember ever being loved by him.
“I’ve decided where I’ll marry.”
“What?”
Viscount Arlene looked genuinely surprised.
Marriage among nobles was important.
The family one married into affected status, reputation, and political standing.
“Which family?”
“The North.”
That was all Ilyin said.
Viscount Arlene clicked his tongue.
The largest northern territory, Borough Territory, already had a mistress.
The remaining northern families were all much smaller and less prestigious than the Arlene family.
Ilyin quietly lowered her eyes.
“It’s better not to reveal too much.”
Viscount Arlene waved his hand impatiently.
It meant she could leave.
There was nothing beneficial about discussing marriage further anyway.
To him, she would only damage the family’s reputation more.
“Then I’ll take my leave.”
Ilyin turned around without expecting a farewell.
Then suddenly—
“Ilyin.”
She froze.
It had been more than ten years since her father last called her by name.
“Yes…”
Without realizing it, her voice softened slightly.
Their eyes met.
And then Viscount Arlene asked only one thing.
“Have you ever dreamed about me?”
The small hope inside Ilyin disappeared instantly.
A bitter smile crossed her lips.
“Never.”
After that, her father did not call her again.
Not a single person came outside to see her off.
Now, her father would probably continue living as though she had never existed.
Just as he already did with her mother.
Ilyin quietly looked away from the mansion window.
She never turned back.
“I’ll never return here again.”
“Biflten…”
She softly whispered the name while staring outside the carriage window.
The carriage quickly left the capital and headed north.
The horseman remained silent while guiding the horses.
A sword engraved with the symbol of Biflten hung at his waist.
The roads were smooth for now, so the carriage barely shook.
But Ilyin doubted the roads would remain peaceful all the way to Biflten.
She pulled out the thickest clothes she had brought.
Biflten was infamous for its deadly cold.
There were even rumors of frozen corpses being discovered there.
The winters she experienced in the capital would probably feel warm compared to Biflten.
“The horseman isn’t even wearing thick clothes…”
Perhaps people from Biflten were simply used to the cold.
Ilyin slowly looked around the carriage.
The seats were soft and covered with black velvet.
The walls were also lined with thick velvet and cotton.
Rather than decoration, everything seemed designed to block cold wind from entering.
Then her eyes stopped on a strange blue cloth lying across the opposite seat.
“What is this?”
The fabric was glossy like silk, but soft like cotton.
Silver patterns decorated the surface.
The moment her fingertips touched it, warmth spread through her skin.
She flinched in surprise.
Could this be something made in Biflten?
Even though Ilyin rarely attended social gatherings, she still had experience welcoming guests for her parents.
She had seen many expensive fabrics before.
But never anything like this.
There was no storage box nearby either.
Was it meant to be used as a blanket?
Carefully, she unfolded it.
The cloth was close to sky blue, but under the light, it reflected a faint violet color.
It was thin enough to see through.
More like a veil than a blanket.
Ilyin slowly placed it over her head.
At once, her vision became faintly blue.
Warmth spread through her entire body.
“Ah…”
A small gasp escaped her lips.
If this was ordinary clothing in Biflten—
Then the people there truly lived differently from the rest of the empire.
“I’m really going to another world.”
Biflten was practically cut off from the empire.
Could she truly adapt there?
Could she even survive?
Even though it belonged to the same empire, Biflten was like its own nation.
No one could punish the Duke of Biflten for ignoring imperial law.
And there was still the Duke himself.
“Never make eye contact.”
The rumors returned to her mind.
The nobleman who stared directly into the eyes of Aden de Biflten was later found dead with a stiffened body.
Soon after, even the knights who served that nobleman were discovered dead as well.
After that, everyone lost interest in investigating the Duke.
After all—
Who would risk dying out of curiosity?
Ilyin slowly removed the blue cloth from her head.
Her legs trembled slightly.
She did not know whether it was fear or the speed of the carriage.
“It’s alright.”
She comforted herself quietly.
“My dreams have never shown my death.”
Outside the window—
The world slowly turned white.
The strangely shaped carriage continued northward through the snowstorm.
The horseman rode inside a separate covered compartment, and even the horses wore protective gear against the cold.
Ilyin stared outside in shock.
It was still near the end of summer.
Yet it felt as though the carriage had crossed backward through time and entered winter itself.
Snow flew wildly across the landscape.
White tracks stretched endlessly behind them.
And inside the carriage—
The temperature dropped sharply.
Her breath became visible in the air.
In late summer.
“Haa…”
Ilyin rubbed her hands together and breathed warm air onto them.
The warmth disappeared almost instantly.
Quickly, she hid her hands beneath the blue cloth again.
Only that mysterious fabric still held warmth.
Then suddenly—
THUD!
A loud impact shook the carriage violently.
