🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 7
And he’s speaking Hifri… Could this child…?
As soon as Emilia thought about the original novel, one incident came to mind.
It was the event that happened before the story began—
The incident where the male lead was seriously injured.
“Could it be…”
Hooooonk—
At that moment, the train let out a loud whistle as if it was about to depart.
The child looked around in panic before quickly running back toward the train.
“Wait!”
Startled, Emilia tried to stop the child.
But the child had already reached the train.
She quickly grabbed her suitcase and ran after him.
Thud!
The moment they both barely managed to climb aboard, the train doors closed.
The child hurriedly tried to run somewhere.
Emilia grabbed the child’s shoulder and asked,
“[Name. Your name.]”
“[Ivan! I’m Ivan!]”
The child answered without hesitation.
Emilia let out a quiet sigh.
Just as I thought.
It was a name she remembered.
The Emperor’s hidden illegitimate son.
And…
The child who would soon be killed by the Empress.
Since this happened before the original story began, Emilia didn’t know every detail.
But she was certain that the one bringing Ivan to the capital…
Was the male lead.
Just then, a passenger walked past them and glanced in their direction.
Ivan immediately flinched and hurried behind Emilia’s back.
Feeling something was wrong, Emilia spread part of her skirt to hide him.
Once the passenger was completely gone, she quickly turned around.
“[Bad person… here?]”
She whispered softly.
Tears streamed down Ivan’s face as he nodded.
At once, Emilia’s expression became serious.
So that’s why he got off the train to ask for help.
Because he believed the people on the train were dangerous.
What should I do?
She turned toward the train door.
But the heavy iron door had already been tightly shut.
Soon the train began moving, making the entire carriage shake.
In the original novel,
Ivan had been murdered by assassins.
Judging by the situation,
The male lead, who should have been protecting him, was too badly injured to move.
Ivan was completely alone.
No matter how she looked at it…
This train was where Ivan would be killed.
I should have stopped him from getting back on…
Realizing her mistake, Emilia bit her lip.
“It’s okay.”
“Everything will be alright.”
She gently patted Ivan’s back while quickly organizing her thoughts.
First… his clothes stand out too much.
She had noticed it at the station as well.
His appearance was anything but ordinary.
That passenger had probably looked at him for the same reason.
“Just a moment…”
Emilia reached to remove Ivan’s robe—
Then suddenly stopped.
There’s blood on his clothes.
Compared to bloodstained clothing,
The robe actually attracted less attention.
With a sigh, Emilia carefully adjusted the robe again.
“[Come… here?]”
Ivan immediately grabbed the hand she offered.
Keeping him hidden between herself and her suitcase,
Emilia carefully walked through the train.
First, I need to get him to my seat.
Each train compartment had four seats separated by sliding doors.
When she bought her ticket,
She had noticed that the other three seats in her compartment were empty.
Since she had purchased her ticket just before departure,
There was a good chance they were still empty.
Soon, Emilia stopped in front of the compartment door.
Holding the handle,
She listened carefully.
Thankfully…
There wasn’t a single sound inside.
Click.
Thank goodness.
Just as she expected,
The compartment was empty.
Emilia quickly stepped inside and shut the door.
She helped Ivan sit down before kneeling in front of him.
“[Hurt person… where?]”
“[At ###!]”
What does that mean?
Emilia frowned.
She couldn’t understand that word.
So she tried asking in a simpler way.
“Um… Train…”
“No…”
“[Front? Back?]”
“[Back!]”
Just as Emilia was trying to figure out where the male lead was…
She heard voices outside.
She stopped talking and looked toward the door.
Are they checking tickets?
She turned back to Ivan,
Took out her ticket,
And showed it to him.
“[Do you… have this?]”
Ivan shook his head.
The station staff will catch him…
Wait… Something feels wrong.
Normally,
Train staff checked only a few passengers’ tickets.
They didn’t inspect every single compartment one by one.
Don’t tell me…
Emilia quietly opened the compartment door just enough to peek outside.
A few compartments ahead,
She saw a station employee checking tickets.
On the surface,
He looked completely ordinary.
But…
There was dried blood on the bottom of his trousers.
He’s definitely looking for Ivan.
Emilia took a deep breath and quietly closed the door again.
At the same time,
She heard the man speaking to the passengers in the next compartment.
It’s too late to move Ivan somewhere else now…
Then…
Her eyes landed on her large suitcase.
That’s it!
She immediately threw open the window and looked outside.
A wide river flowed directly below the train tracks.
From this height, it shouldn’t make much noise.
She pulled her head back inside and opened the suitcase.
Ah! The pouch Mrs. Anderson gave me!
Her eyes widened.
She quickly took out only one money pouch.
Whoooosh—
The wind blew through the open window, making her hair flutter.
Without hesitation,
Emilia threw everything else inside the suitcase out the window.
She felt guilty for littering.
But…
Saving a life is more important!
Ivan stared at her in surprise.
Pointing to the now-empty suitcase,
Emilia hurriedly said,
“[Quickly… get in here!]”
Still confused,
Ivan looked back and forth between Emilia and the suitcase.
Then he climbed inside.
Thankfully,
His small body fit without much trouble.
“[No sound. Understand?]”
After confirming that Ivan nodded,
Emilia closed the suitcase.
She quickly sat down and straightened her clothes.
Just then—
Knock. Knock.
Someone knocked on the compartment door.
Stay calm.
The door slowly opened,
And the same man appeared.
“Can I help you?”
“I’m checking train tickets.”
“May I see yours?”
The man stepped into the compartment and slowly looked around.
Emilia swallowed nervously and quickly handed him her ticket.
As soon as he took it,
She quickly pulled her hand back.
Her fingertips were trembling from nervousness.
I can’t let him think I’m suspicious.
No matter how she thought about it,
There was no way she could overpower that man.
And even if I ran… we’re on a moving train.
Meanwhile,
The man checked the seat number on her ticket.
Emilia prayed he would return it and leave.
But then—
“What’s inside that luggage?”
He pointed with his eyes toward the suitcase resting beside Emilia’s feet.
