IRGS 30

Chapter 30

[What Are You Plotting?]

I sat alone at the tea table in my room, resting my chin on one hand.

Spread out before me was a light brown paper letter—the very thing that had plunged me into deep thought. There was only a single line written on it.

It had arrived just moments ago, delivered by servants from the ducal house.

The recipient was me, Sophia ta Bartoli.

Startled, I asked the servant who brought it:

“You’re saying this came for me? Here, at the duke’s residence?”

“Yes, m-my lady.”

How did anyone know I was here? Who could it be?

Half doubtful, I checked the sender’s name, and only then did I calm down slightly.

Leoni ta Bartoli.

It was a letter from my younger sibling.

So now they’re not even trying to hide the fact that they’re watching me anymore.

There was no way the servant recognized Owen, and I certainly hadn’t told anyone where I’d be staying, which meant they had tailed me.

And naturally, they must’ve also discovered that I’d come to the duke’s estate—and that all the servants at the marquis’s residence had been sent away on leave.

Honestly, it wasn’t exactly surprising.

Considering our relationship, Leoni probably already knew there were one or two of my spies lurking around the detached palace they lived in.

Still, for a letter to arrive this quickly, they must’ve been pretty desperate.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

My fingers drummed rhythmically against the table.

Now then—the problem was what kind of reply I should send back.

[I don’t have any ulterior motives.]

No, that was pointless now.

[I just want to leave the marquis’s household and find my own life.]

That would backfire horribly if “my own life” was interpreted as becoming empress.

“……”

People don’t change easily.

I knew that better than anyone.

Maybe, rather than claiming I had changed, it would be better to give Leoni some other reason they could actually believe.

Right now, I wasn’t the Sophia who had lived through the end of her life.

I was merely the passionate twenty-one-year-old Sophia.

Good. I found the perfect excuse.

I dipped the quill into the ink.

[Hello, Leoni. How have you been?]

I dipped the quill once more.

My reply would also be only one line long.

[I guess I’m weak to handsome men.]

Mm. Perfect.

Completely satisfying.

I had just folded the letter and was about to slip it into the envelope when—

“Sophia—!”

A voice came from outside the window.

I stood and threw the window wide open.

In the garden below, a man with dirty blond hair looked up toward me.

When he saw me appear at the window, he waved.

Ah. Owen.

The smile rising to my lips practically proved the truth of the letter I had just written.

It reminded me of that time.

Back when Father slapped me across the face and locked me in my room.

I had stood out on the balcony, staring at the moon hanging alone in the night sky, when suddenly a man appeared in the garden below.

The difference now was—

“Owen!”

I could call out his name loudly.

My bedroom was on the second floor, so I could see him clearly.

Owen cupped his hands around his mouth and answered:

“Let’s go now.”

In the same calm voice he had used when he asked me to marry him.

“……”

Before my regression, all I ever received were wounds.

I always had to clutch those wounds tightly and fight desperately.

Of course, those scars made me stronger.

But maybe… maybe I could have grown just fine without all that pain.

Yet whenever I’m with this man, everything feels insignificant.

In this life, it feels like nothing can hurt me anymore.

Even if I touched a cactus, it felt as though every sharp thorn would simply melt away.

It was truly strange.

Smiling brightly, I waved back and shouted:

“Yes! I’m coming down!”

I muttered blankly:

“That’s all?”

Five days there. Five days back.

A ten-day journey just for travel alone.

And this was an old, prestigious ducal family.

I had expected an enormous line of luggage wagons trailing behind our carriage once we stepped outside the estate…

But that wasn’t the case at all.

There was only one baggage wagon.

And even that one was carrying the accompanying servants inside.

If we were camping outdoors, we’d need sleeping bags or tents.

We’d need ingredients and cooking tools to prepare meals.

We’d have to make fires.

Extra clothes, medicine, soap, towels for washing—where was all of that?

Owen asked casually:

“Yes. Is there perhaps anything else you’d like to bring?”

“No! Owen, is this your first time traveling? Have you never camped outdoors before?”

Even to myself, that sounded strange.

Wasn’t that basically like asking a beggar on the street, “You’ve never attended an imperial ball before?”

“Camp outdoors?”

Owen repeated loudly, looking genuinely shocked.

“Sophia, surely you didn’t think I’d drag you through rugged mountain paths, cook over random campfires, sleep on the ground, and take turns standing night watch?”

“…Isn’t that how it works?”

Owen smacked his forehead.

“If that were the case, you should’ve refused to marry someone like me.”

Well, in my previous life, that was how I lived.

So naturally, I thought long journeys were like that.

“Then… how are we traveling?”

“We’ll stop by cities along the way, eat at restaurants, and stay in hotels. If we find nice places, we’ll do some sightseeing too. There are a few good commercial cities on the route, so let’s do some shopping while we’re at it.”

My jaw dropped.

“That’s… really just a vacation.”

“Yes. Exactly.”

A trip for the sole purpose of enjoyment.

“But… is that really okay?”

“What wouldn’t be?”

“Well, true.”

Nice. Very nice.

Just then, Arne stepped out of the townhouse.

After receiving devoted care at the duke’s residence for several days, he practically radiated nobility.

Beside him trotted the white fox, Popo, glued to his side.

The fox strutted proudly like a guard dog, though to me it only looked adorable.

The moment Arne spotted me, his face lit up.

“Mom!”

“Come here, Arne!”

Now that I thought about it, Arne was wearing the same navy jacket as Owen.

The servants must’ve prepared matching outfits for them.

Even the little bag strapped to his back looked adorable.

The excited boy ran toward me.

“Did you pack everything?”

“Yes! The butler took care of it for me. But… are we really riding that carriage?”

“That’s right.”

Arne’s eyes widened.

Well, it was understandable.

Even I had only seen such a large, luxurious carriage a few times.

There was no family crest on it, but anyone could tell it belonged to a wealthy household.

But apparently, the carriage wasn’t what amazed Arne.

“Wow, it’s my first time seeing a black horse.”

“Hm?”

A black horse?

Did he mean the horse pulling the carriage?

I turned my head toward the front of the carriage.

Because of that, I failed to notice Owen glancing at Arne.

The black horse harnessed to the carriage—

“Clopclop!”

“Neigh!”

Oh my goodness, it’s been so long!

I hurried over to the horse’s side.

The handsome black horse pranced lightly in place.

I reached out and scratched under his chin.

Clopclop lowered his head on his own and licked my palm as if greeting me warmly.

“Oh, there you are. Big sister missed you too.”

“Neighhh!”

“You’re still so handsome. Have you been doing well, Clopclop?”

Arne came over to admire the horse.

But Clopclop didn’t even spare him a glance.

Suddenly, I remembered Owen once saying that Clopclop had a terrible personality.

After spending a while admiring the horse’s affection, someone strode up beside me.

“Owen?”

Almost simultaneously, Clopclop snorted and turned his head the other way.

My hand was covered in the horse’s saliva.

Owen wrapped my hand in a handkerchief and wiped it so thoroughly it practically squeaked, then subtly tugged me closer.

“Let’s depart now.”

“Yes, sounds good.”

I secretly held back a laugh.

Seriously, don’t get jealous of a horse.

The inside of the carriage was spacious, and the seats were soft.

Arne pressed himself against the window, gazing outside while firing off endless questions.

“What’s that?”
“What about that?”

He looked exactly like an excited child.

Owen acted annoyed, yet answered every single question anyway.

“Anyone can make mistakes.”

Thinking about the words Owen swallowed back the night before, the sight felt strangely meaningful.

In any case, the two seemed to get along quite well.

Popo also stuck his head out the carriage window, enjoying the breeze.

It must’ve been thrilled to finally be outside again.

Inside the carriage, I gave both Arne and Owen handkerchiefs as gifts.

I had embroidered them myself back when I was staying at the marquis’s estate.

Arne was overjoyed.

Clutching the handkerchief in both hands, he whispered:

“How could I ever use this? It’s the only one in the world.”

“Yes, Arne. That’s exactly why you must treasure it carefully.”

I wasn’t the one who said that!

“Owen!”

When I whipped my head around, Owen was also clutching the handkerchief I gave him with both hands.

The navy square cloth had Owen’s name embroidered in white in one corner.

Beside it was a small embroidered flower.

“Why are you calling me, Sophia?”

“Handkerchiefs are meant to be used. What’s the point of saving them?”

“That’s my decision.”

Like a priest carefully arranging ceremonial robes, Owen solemnly folded the handkerchief and tucked it neatly into the inner pocket of his jacket.

Watching him, something suddenly came to mind.

Actually, I’d thought of it immediately after regressing, but so many things had happened that I’d forgotten about it.

Now that we were outside, the timing was perfect.

Absolutely perfect.

“Owen, do we have a little time?”

“Of course. Is there somewhere you need to go?”

Owen looked puzzled.

Naturally, it wasn’t something to do inside the carriage.

I answered simply.

“There’s somewhere I want to stop by.”