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Chapter 14
I have a box.
Not a treasure chest, nor a secret box. I always called it something much simpler—
“The Box I Sometimes Want to Open.”
Inside were all the things Jess had given me.
He had always taken good care of his fiancée, the girl who had arrived with nothing to her name. Every year on my birthday, whenever the seasons changed, whenever a festival came around, he never failed to hand me a gift.
Bracelets. Necklaces. Earrings. Brooches. Hair ornaments. Sometimes simply a beautiful ribbon.
Every kind imaginable.
I carefully stored every single one inside the box.
At first, it was because I couldn’t believe they truly belonged to me. I thought that one day I might have to return them, so I kept them pristine, ready to be handed back at any moment.
Later…
Once I became certain they were really mine, I kept them there simply because I wanted to.
Untouched. Sparkling. Flawless.
Exactly as Jess had given them to me.
I had never made my debut in high society, nor did I attend the small tea parties held among the northern nobles. Because I rarely had an occasion to wear them, I could preserve them perfectly.
Things Jess gave me.
Things that belonged to me.
Whenever the thought crossed my mind, I’d open the box for a moment.
Usually I only looked.
I was afraid even fingerprints might stain them, so I hardly touched them. Only once in a great while would I gently brush my fingers across one.
Strangely enough, that alone made me happy.
It was such a small thing.
Just a few seconds spent staring into the box, and I’d carry that quiet satisfaction with me for hours afterward.
When Lady Hilde threw me out, leaving the box behind had been intentional.
If I’d tried to take it in front of her… she would have taken it away.
Walking away without it had hurt far more than I cared to admit.
Right after I was cast out, I honestly wanted to cry.
Considering how my previous life had ended, I never expected to set foot in Lefgaen Castle again.
For a fleeting moment, I’d even considered sneaking into the castle and stealing it back.
Naturally…
I abandoned that idea immediately.
It was impossible.
After discovering that the annulment document had been forged, however, some of that anxiety faded.
And secretly…
I allowed myself to hope.
Maybe I could retrieve at least one or two pieces from the box before leaving the North.
The only problem was making sure Lady Hilde never discovered it.
Still, I was confident.
I’d become rather skilled at hiding my belongings back when I lived in the temple.
Which was why…
When Sylvia secretly searched my old room at my request, I couldn’t believe what she told me.
“Lady Linea… the box wasn’t where you said it would be.”
Just in case, I asked the butler to look as well.
His answer was the same.
“I checked every brick behind the pillar. The box was nowhere to be found.”
This time, it was different from when I’d first been driven out.
Back then, there had been no time to feel the loss.
Now…
It crept in slowly.
Like hunger hollowing out my stomach.
Like a tiny paper cut that wasn’t serious at all, yet stung constantly enough that I couldn’t stop noticing it.
I’d believed everything inside that box was gone forever.
And yet…
One of the treasures I’d cherished most…
was hanging around a maid’s neck.
Not Lady Hilde’s.
The maid’s.
After pretending to disappear, I watched Brynhild and Lady Hilde from a short distance away.
Brynhild looked flustered after I ran off, but eventually decided to continue following Lady Hilde into the castle.
Keeping far enough away not to be noticed, I tailed them.
“Milady, may I step away for a moment?”
“Mm. Go ahead.”
The maid wearing my necklace asked Lady Hilde for permission instead of entering the castle.
I watched her leave the group and hesitated.
Should I keep following…?
Or let it go?
She was suspicious.
And following suspicious people usually meant accepting equally suspicious risks.
But the moment I realized she was heading toward the southern gate, my hesitation disappeared.
The southern gate remained open at all times for the people of the North.
What if she leaves the castle…
What if she disappears?
What if she leaves the North entirely?
If that happened…
One of the central figures behind the forged annulment papers would vanish.
Even if I couldn’t catch her, I at least needed to know where she was going.
So I continued after her.
Since when was I ever someone who made careful plans?
I’d climbed trees to cry before.
Truthfully…
I was an incredibly impulsive person.
Whether because of my injured foot or because I was naturally slow, the maid gradually widened the distance between us.
Eventually I had no choice but to jog.
My ankle throbbed painfully, but I ignored it.
When she turned a corner and disappeared from sight, panic surged through me.
Grinding my teeth, I hurried after her.
The moment I rounded the corner—
She was there.
Leaning casually against the wall.
“…Hello?”
The maid stared at me blankly before lazily giving a small nod.
So she’d noticed.
Well… my footsteps hadn’t exactly been quiet.
Since I’d already been caught…
Should I just confront her directly?
But this was my first time doing something like this.
I had no idea how to handle it.
After a moment’s hesitation, I spoke.
“That’s a pretty necklace.”
She looked down at it.
The corner of her mouth twitched.
Almost like a smirk.
“Thank you.”
Bathed in the crimson glow of sunset, the blue topaz glittered brilliantly.
Among all my treasures…
I’d always loved that necklace the most.
The blue stone reminded me of Jess’s eyes.
As my gaze lingered, the maid hooked a finger beneath the chain and tugged on it carelessly, letting it stretch taut as she toyed with it.
I couldn’t stand watching any longer.
“Why do you have it?”
“…What?”
“The necklace around your neck.”
“It isn’t yours.”
She frowned.
“What are you talking about? This is mine.”
The polite smile disappeared from my face.
I reached out.
Her expression instantly hardened as she darted backward, glaring at me with open hostility.
Far too arrogant for an ordinary servant.
Who exactly is she?
“And why do you have the necklace instead of Lady Hilde?”
She definitely wasn’t an ordinary maid.
If one of Lady Hilde’s servants behaved this way, she’d have screamed about knowing her place—or thrown her out immediately.
…Wait.
A maid hiding her identity?
Could she possibly—
“Are you Lady Hilde’s secret daughter?”
“W-What?! No!”
“If you’re not, then why are you shouting?”
She scowled fiercely.
“As if I’d resemble that woman! Don’t be ridiculous!”
“Alright, alright. Calm down.”
“So who are you?”
“I-I’m… no… I mean…”
“I serve Lady Hilde as a maid.”
“As if I’d believe that.”
Even she looked unconvinced by her own answer.
“What’s your name?”
“Sophia.”
“Ah. Sophia.”
“Is that your real name?”
“…”
“Fine, Sophia.”
“You said you’re a maid.”
“Not a thief.”
“So why did you steal my necklace?”
Sophia’s face froze.
After being questioned repeatedly, she finally snapped.
“Why do you keep saying that?! It’s mine!”
“I don’t think so.”
“It’s definitely my necklace.”
“Do you have proof?”
“I do.”
“There’s a mark engraved on the back.”
“Take it off.”
“We’ll check together.”
There wasn’t any mark, of course.
I’d treasured it too carefully to scratch even a speck of dust onto it.
But moments like this required one thing above all else.
Shameless confidence.
I crooked a finger, gesturing for the necklace.
Sophia flinched before swinging her arm to knock my hand away.
The instant our hands touched—
Crack!
A spark burst between us.
Huh?
Not the romantic kind.
Quite the opposite.
“…Sophia.”
“Are you from the temple?”
That reaction only happened when two incompatible divine powers collided.
Shock flashed across Sophia’s face.
“Y-You… how…?”
“She clearly told me your divine power had disappeared!”
“…That’s true.”
Mine should have been gone.
So why had that happened?
Could there still be a tiny fragment left?
I had no idea.
For several long seconds, we simply stared at one another.
“…By the way.”
“Who is ‘she’?”
“Lady Hilde?”
“…”
A heartbeat later—
Sophia spun around and bolted.
Instinctively, I lunged after her.
My hand grasped nothing but empty air.
Thrown off balance, I stumbled forward and crashed onto the ground.
My necklace.
The forger.
The temple!
It hurt.
But I couldn’t let her escape.
I hurried to push myself back up—
When suddenly…
Strong arms wrapped around my waist and lifted me effortlessly.
Firm.
Steady.
Familiar.
I couldn’t even scold whoever had grabbed me without permission.
Ridiculously enough…
I recognized him by his scent before anything else.
A snow-covered forest.
The quiet fragrance of a gentle wind drifting through white pines.
I struggled to steady my ragged breathing.
“Jess?”
“Yeah.”
When I turned around, I found those striking blue eyes peering through hair that had fallen messily across his forehead—so unlike his usual immaculate appearance.
He looked at me silently for a few moments.
Then he bent down…
and gently brushed the dirt from my dress.
I watched every movement without saying a word, unconsciously holding my breath.
Only after he straightened and our eyes met again did he tilt his head slightly in confusion.
“What?”
“Were you angry because I came too late?”
