“Yes. We’re leaving the capital without anyone knowing. So you shouldn’t worry too much,” he murmured softly, his tone almost soothing, as if trying to comfort her.
“How… how long will I have to stay in the south?”
“As soon as your condition improves, you can return immediately.”
The count reassured her, even going so far as to pat Seria’s back gently through the sack covering her.
“So please bear with me for a little while.”
To his surprise, Seria calmed down quickly.
“If we call a doctor here in the capital, rumours will inevitably reach the royal court. If that happens, it could ruin your chances of marriage. This is all for your own good.”
The count’s reasoning made sense, and Seria nodded reluctantly in agreement. Slowly, her ragged breathing began to steady.
“Until we leave the capital, you must keep this on to hide your face. Do you understand?”
Although a small feeling of unease remained in her heart, Seria told herself that everything would be fine. After all, once they reached the south and she met the doctor, everything would be resolved.
“Ah, and I’ve made sure to pack all your jewels. You’ll need to have new clothes made when you get to the south.”
“Sniff, thank you, Father.”
Hearing that even her jewels had been taken care of, Seria felt the last remnants of her unease disappear completely. Though she regretted not being able to attend the long-awaited coming-of-age ceremony, it no longer mattered. What was important now was her recovery and leaving the capital as planned.
And so Seria was bundled into the sack like cargo and loaded into the carriage.
The carriage she boarded was humble – astonishingly so. It bore none of the Count’s insignia or ornate decorations, just simple wooden panels like any other common carriage.
Soon the carriage began to move forward, its wheels rattling noisily as it moved. Its small, unadorned form made for a bumpy ride, the jolts and shakes more severe than Seria was used to.
The rattling sound of friction echoed with every movement of the carriage, confirming that her father’s words about packing her jewels had not been a lie.
Seria felt waves of nausea creep up on her, but she closed her eyes and forced herself to endure. If she could just get through this moment, she would return to the capital as if nothing had ever happened.
* * *
She had no idea how far they had travelled or how much time had passed. She had fallen asleep and woken up countless times, too many to count.
Seria stared blankly at the dark fabric covering her vision, making no effort to hold onto her wandering thoughts. Her eyes were unfocused, her mind drifting, caught in a haze of exhaustion and uncertainty.
‘Why does it feel like it’s getting colder?’
Shouldn’t the south be warmer than the capital?
Seria shivered as the creeping cold seeped into her, a feeling of unease beginning to stir. Just as the thought crossed her mind, the carriage that had seemed to never stop finally came to a halt.
Her dull eyes brightened with a glimmer of hope and anticipation.
‘Have we… arrived?’
The sound of footsteps approached, probably the coachmen. Moments later, the carriage door swung open with a loud creak.
‘Finally…!’
Seria’s heart pounded wildly in her chest, as if to confirm that she was still alive. She squirmed slightly, her body shaking with both cold and anticipation.
Someone reached out and removed the sack covering her. Light flooded her vision in an instant, so blinding that she instinctively squeezed her eyes shut, her eyebrows furrowing at the sudden brightness.
How long had it been since she had last seen the light? Her eyes refused to open against the brightness.
“Ugh… Have we arrived?”
Seria rubbed her eyes hastily, forcing her heavy eyelids open with difficulty.
But something felt wrong. The coachmen standing before her were dressed in oversized robes, their figures surprisingly slender. This was unusual – such tasks were usually performed by burly men, not figures so delicate.
“Young lady.”
Sure enough, when the faces beneath the robes were revealed, Seria recognised them immediately.
“Ah, Anna? Selie?”
They were her maids, the ones who had always looked after her. The same maids who had helped her into her gown on that fateful day.
Anna and Selie stood in silence, their eyes fixed on Seria. Neither spoke, but the resentment in their eyes was undeniable – so piercing that even Seria couldn’t ignore it.
Startled and unnerved by their expressions, Seria turned her head to avoid their gaze. But what she saw around her was even more shocking.
Withered, charred trees. A barren land without a single blade of grass. In the distance, black smoke rose ominously into the sky.
This wasn’t the South.
“W-what is this? Where are we? Anna, Selie! Weren’t we supposed to go south?”
The two maids just smiled coldly, their expressions devoid of sympathy.
“You really are…” one of them began, her voice dripping with mockery.
Anna opened her mouth as if to say something, but stopped herself and let out a dry, humourless laugh instead. Without another word, she took a large sack from the carriage.
“Just so you know,” Anna began, her tone laced with mockery, “don’t even think about going back to the capital. Not that you could, anyway…”
Selie followed her words by pulling a dagger from her cloak. With a quick movement, she cut the reins that held the horses in place. As if waiting for this moment, the horses bolted off into the distance, disappearing almost instantly along with the only means of transportation.
“W-what? Wait! Anna, Selie! What is going on here? This… this isn’t what I think it is, is it? It can’t be… right?”
Selie turned to her with a cold, contemptuous look and replied, “The Count will not show mercy twice to a lady who has so shamefully sullied herself.
With that cutting remark, the two maids pulled their cloaks back over their heads and turned away.
Anna, in particular, didn’t even look back, walking briskly until she was out of Seria’s sight, leaving no trace of hesitation or regret.
Just as Selie was about to follow Anna, she hesitated and turned back to look at Seria. Then she reached into the sack she was carrying and threw out a jewel. It rolled carelessly across the stone floor, but Seria recognised it immediately.
It was her most precious diamond earrings.
It was then that Seria realised what the contents of the sack really were.
“Thank you, young lady.”
Despite her words of gratitude, Selie’s gaze was icy and cold as she stared at Seria.
“Thanks to you, someone as lowly as me gets to see the north.”
Her voice dripped with bitterness, the resentment unmistakable and clearly meant to mock. But before she could fully process the resentment, Seria was struck by the word “North” and despair washed over her.
‘This can’t be happening.’
The North? This is the North?
“Don’t blame us for taking all the jewels. Considering who put us in this situation, we at least deserve to keep something, don’t we?”
And so Seria was left with a broken carriage and a single diamond earring.
She sat there for a long time, sinking to the ground, unable to summon any strength. It wasn’t just the exhaustion from being tossed around the carriage for hours – the psychological shock was simply too overwhelming.
She remained in that daze for what seemed an eternity. It wasn’t until the sun began to sink below the horizon that she finally snapped out of it and forced herself to her feet. The only thought in her mind was the need to get down the mountain before nightfall.
Without pausing to reflect on her pitiful circumstances, Seria quickly grabbed the earring and started walking in the direction Anna and Selie had gone.
And soon enough, Seria regretted her decision.
“Ah… ah… no…”
Rushing down the mountain, she came across a horrifying sight midway—two lifeless bodies, cold and still.
They belonged to Anna and Sally.
Their bodies had been savagely mutilated, as if torn apart by blades. It was a sight too gruesome to bear.
Though Seria knew she had to keep moving before it was too late, her body betrayed her, and she heaved violently, vomiting what little bile remained in her empty stomach.
“Ugh… ugh…”
Even though there was nothing left to vomit, she couldn’t stop. Tears poured down her cheeks, falling in a mess as she choked and sobbed.
Only when there was nothing left, when she could barely stand, did she manage to choke out her words as she stood before the mutilated bodies of the two women.
“I’m sorry… hic… I’m so sorry… Sally, Anna… I’m really sorry…”
She found herself wishing she could follow them into death. The weight of the situation bearing down on her was too much to bear, and she saw no glimmer of hope that she could bear it.
“I… hic… what am I to do now…?”
How could she go on? No – could she even go on living?
After sobbing for what seemed like an eternity, Seria noticed the cold creeping into her body. She picked up a robe that seemed to belong to one of them.
With shaking hands she wiped away her tears and forced herself to her feet.
“Hic… sniff…”
For now, she would go to the village. Yes, once she was there, she could find out something.
Even though she knew deep down that there was nothing she could realistically do, Seria tried to push those thoughts away and moved her feet forward.
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kadycat88
Not to be unfeeling…… but did she leave the jewels the maids took but wasn’t able to use as they were k*lled? This is coming from a concerned reader who works hard on every penny to survive life lol