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Episode 7
The inside of the shop was dark.
Sarubia could barely make out the man walking ahead of her, so she followed him while keeping an eye on his figure. Once inside the shop, the man looked around.
“There was a lantern around here somewhere…… Ah! Found it.”
The man found the lantern and lit it.
The inside of the shop instantly became bright, and only then could Sarubia properly see the place.
It looked like the shop had been closed for a long time. Thick layers of dust covered the cabinets, tables, and everything else.
Sarubia immediately looked at the girl and spoke gently.
“Sweetie, are you okay?”
The girl gave a small nod and quietly slipped out of Sarubia’s arms.
The man holding the lantern looked around the shop and said,
“This shop used to be a gambling house. There’s a secret door in the back. If we go through it, we can get outside the alley…….”
The man shrugged and slowly walked forward.
Can I really trust him?
Sarubia was still suspicious.
But right now, she had no choice but to trust him.
“There was a door somewhere around here…….”
The man tilted his head while looking around in front of a cabinet.
Then suddenly,
“Ah!”
He ran his hand along the wall.
Clunk.
With a clicking sound, a door appeared.
The man turned around and looked at Sarubia.
“We’ll have to walk through a tunnel for a while, so if you’re really scared, you can hold onto my collar.”
“Ah, okay…”
Sarubia tightly held the girl’s hand with one hand and grabbed the end of the man’s shirt with the other.
The three of them carefully entered through the door.
Inside was a narrow passage, just wide enough for one person to walk through.
The smell of old, stale dust brushed against the tip of Sarubia’s nose, and a cold chill touched her fingertips.
“How do you know this place so well?”
Step, step.
The only sound echoing through the passage was their footsteps as Sarubia carefully asked the man.
“I had a friend who worked here when I was young. That’s why I know it well.”
“……I see.”
“We’re almost there. If we go a little farther, we’ll probably see a door, and it should lead out near the fountain in the plaza.”
Sarubia nodded.
Just as the man had said, they could see the end of the tunnel in the distance, along with a small door beside it.
The man walked up to the door and opened it.
Another small shop appeared on the other side.
So this passage connects to another shop.
She had never imagined that the shops in the alleys were connected like this.
When they opened the door leading outside, Sarubia saw the clear sky.
She could also hear the noisy voices of people.
The moment she saw people again, Sarubia let out a sigh.
It felt as if the tension that had stiffened her entire body suddenly disappeared.
The man looked at Sarubia and gave her a faint smile.
She was just about to snap at him and ask why he was smiling when his eyes met hers.
Deep emerald eyes.
The moment Sarubia saw those eyes, she remembered Elaine, whom she had forgotten for a moment.
This happened because I was trying to find her.
Then she remembered Jenaden as well.
He was probably searching the entire city for Sarubia after she suddenly disappeared.
Haa…….
A sigh naturally escaped her lips.
Just thinking about how she was going to explain this to Jenaden made her head ache.
While she was wondering what she should say, she heard the girl’s small voice.
“Um, thank you……”
Sarubia looked down at the girl.
Now that she could take a closer look at her, the girl looked no older than about ten years old.
Her clothes were dirty and shabby, but there was something about her that made Sarubia feel as if she had been raised in a noble and well-off household.
Sarubia tilted her head in confusion.
Perhaps because her tension had finally eased, the girl began to cry.
“Really…… thank you…… Sob……”
Tears fell from the girl’s eyes.
Sarubia gently patted the girl’s shoulder with one hand.
“What are you going to do now? I don’t think it’s safe for you to stay around here.”
“……I don’t know either.”
The girl shook her head.
It was dangerous for a child with no guardian to leave this place alone.
Sarubia wondered what she should do with the girl.
The man, who had been quietly listening to their conversation, finally spoke.
“……Well…… I was planning to leave this place today anyway. I’ll take the child somewhere safe.”
“Somewhere safe?”
Sarubia looked at the man and asked.
The man nodded.
“Yes. If we go a little farther from here, we’ll reach the territory of Duke Hyden. I know of an orphanage there.”
“The Hyden ducal family……?”
“Yes. The territory may be small, but it should be much safer than this place.”
The man shrugged.
He was right.
If the girl stayed in Bronard territory, there was no telling when those men would catch her again.
Sarubia nodded.
She didn’t feel comfortable simply sending the two of them off alone.
She reached into her coat pocket, took out a bundle of money, and handed it to the man.
The man accepted the money without even realizing what he was doing. Then his eyes widened as he looked at Sarubia in surprise.
“It isn’t much, but it should be enough to get you to the territory of the Duke of Hyden.”
“……Why are you giving this to me?”
The man asked.
Sarubia blinked and said,
“What?”
“You just met this child today, yet you’re giving us money so easily. Don’t you think that’s a little too generous?”
“That’s true. I only met her today…… But isn’t it better than sending a child off alone with nothing?”
“Still, there’s no need for someone like you to go out of your way to help commoners like us……”
Commoners……
Sarubia frowned at the man’s words.
His tone sounded as if he was deliberately drawing a line between them.
“Are you telling me I should just walk past and leave her behind?”
Her voice was sharp.
The man hesitated for a moment before quietly mumbling,
“I’m sorry.”
Nobles didn’t usually care about commoners.
Of course, there were occasionally nobles who helped them, but they were extremely rare.
Sarubia couldn’t bring herself to simply walk away from the girl.
The crying child kept reminding her of her younger self.
Her childhood had been materially comfortable, but her heart had never had anywhere to belong.
Sarubia looked at the man with a firm expression and spoke as if warning him.
“I’m giving you this money so that you’ll feel responsible for her. If you abandon the child somewhere along the way, I’ll find you later and punish you.”
The man’s shoulders flinched.
After saying that, Sarubia turned to the girl with a gentle look in her eyes.
“What is your name?”
“……Grace Hop…… No, Grace.”
“Okay. Grace. If something happens to you later, go to the Imperial Palace and give this handkerchief to the gatekeeper. Then you’ll be able to meet me.”
Sarubia took a handkerchief from her coat pocket and firmly placed it in the girl’s hands.
Her name was embroidered on the handkerchief in gold thread.
The girl stared at the handkerchief with wide, surprised eyes before looking back at Sarubia.
Sarubia gently stroked the girl’s head.
Then she looked up at the man, who was staring closely at the money pouch, and asked,
“And what is your name?”
“……I’ll tell you if we meet again someday.”
“……What?”
Sarubia stared at him with an incredulous expression.
When their eyes met, the man playfully winked at her.
“Maybe we’ll meet again.”
The man smiled brightly.
His emerald eyes sparkled.
Sarubia was about to get angry, but when she looked into his eyes, she calmed down.
Those eyes looked far too much like hers.
Every time she looked at those eyes, she thought of Elaine, and the words wouldn’t come out.
“If something serious happens later, I’ll punish you myself.”
Sarubia answered him clearly, making sure he understood that it was a threat.
The man smiled once as if telling her not to worry, then nodded.
“Grace, make sure you stay safe. And contact me later, okay?”
The girl looked at Sarubia and nodded.
Jenaden was surely searching the entire city for her.
She couldn’t waste any more time.
Sarubia slightly bent her knees so she could meet the girl’s eyes at the same level and spoke to her one last time.
“Even if you’re alone, stay strong and live well.”
“Thank you so much. I’ll never forget what you’ve done for me.”
Tears welled up in the girl’s eyes.
I hope she gets adopted by a good family at the orphanage.
Sarubia silently prayed for that.
“Thank you.”
Sarubia smiled and stood up.
When her eyes met the man’s, she nodded once.
Even so, it was thanks to that man that she and the girl had survived.
The man looked interested.
Then he bowed his upper body politely in response to Sarubia’s gesture.
“Please make sure you protect the child.”
With those words, Sarubia turned around and left.
The man who remained behind watched her back as she walked away.
Then he turned toward the girl, who was still standing there.
“You’re from the Viscount Hobbs family, aren’t you?”
At the man’s words, the girl looked at him with eyes suddenly filled with fear.
“Don’t worry. I’m not trying to hurt you. Come with me……”
The man held out his hand to the girl.
The girl hesitated for a moment, then grabbed his hand.
As she followed the man, the girl carefully watched his back.
His brown hair slowly fluttered in the wind.
Strangely, under the sunlight, his hair didn’t look brown at all.
It looked like a deep golden color.
The girl wondered if she had seen it wrong and rubbed her eyes with her hand.
No, it’s brown.
Thinking that the sunlight had simply made it look that way for a brief moment, the girl hurried up and walked beside the man.
Jenaden’s mood plummeted.
Right after Sarubia suddenly got out of the carriage and ran off, he immediately chased after her to catch her.
But the moment she disappeared from his sight, she was suddenly nowhere to be found.
Where on earth did she run off to?
Jenaden, left behind, immediately ordered the knights to search for her.
The Bronard territory was huge, and unfortunately, it happened to be a day when a large market was being held.
With so many people crowding the streets, it was extremely difficult to find Sarubia.
“……Where the hell did she go?!”
Even though this was the Bronard family’s territory, only a very small number of people knew Sarubia well.
What if she gets involved in something dangerous?
The thought made his fingertips turn cold.
Even in the territory of her own family, how could a woman possibly……!
“Your Majesty……! Her Majesty the Empress……”
Jenaden had been sitting inside the carriage anxiously waiting for news from the knights.
When he heard a knight’s voice, he immediately stood up, kicked open the carriage door, and stepped outside.
Then he saw Sarubia slowly walking behind one of the knights.
“Haa……”
Jenaden let out a sigh of relief.
But his relief lasted only a moment.
When he saw Sarubia’s calm expression, he couldn’t help feeling speechless.
What on earth was she doing to make everyone worry this much?
Jenaden called out to her in an angry voice.
“Empress……!”
His sharp voice made Sarubia’s shoulders flinch.
Does she even realize what she did wrong?
Sarubia’s shoulders drooped.
When Jenaden walked up to her, Sarubia met his eyes and immediately lowered her head in surprise.
“Your Majesty, I’m sorry for making you worry.”
“Where on earth did you go that you’re only coming back now……!”
Jenaden was about to get angry when he noticed the torn edge of her dress.
Looking more closely, he saw dust stuck all over various parts of Sarubia’s dress.
Jenaden’s gaze became fierce.
“Empress, what happened to the torn part of your dress?”
“I’m sorry, Your Majesty. I thought I saw someone I knew, so I got out without thinking. Then I tripped over a stone and tore it.”
You tore it because you tripped over a stone?
Even from the torn edge of the dress, Jenaden could see dust and dirt stains in several places.
It was obvious that something else had happened.
But Sarubia didn’t say anything more.
“Haa. Fine. Let’s return to the estate…”
Jenaden turned away coldly.
Sarubia followed him as he headed back toward the carriage.
From the moment they got into the carriage until they returned to the villa, neither of them said another word.
