CH 4

The castle was in an uproar.

It wasn’t a big deal.

Except for the fact that the Grand Duke, who usually didn’t give any special orders, had commanded the entire castle.

“Bring her back. …Immediately.”

The servants who heard the chilling order began to move busily.

Thanks to this, the castle, which usually ran like a well-oiled clock, was now unusually tense.

It all started early in the morning when the Grand Duke discovered his clothes and handkerchiefs placed in his office, along with a note on top.

The note had a short message scrawled in a hasty handwriting.

「I’ll be back!」

At that time, no one knew where she intended to go.

It was only after the servant Lisa brought in traces of her research that they could guess where she had headed.

‘Prolene.’

He remained calm, but his eyes couldn’t hide his anxiety.

The reason she went to Prolene was obvious.

To look for lapocia.

Tranade, where he was the ruler, could block all smuggling of lapocia from Prolene due to its strict import regulations.

Thanks to this, Tranade was safe from the influence of the drug lapocia.

That’s why Delia directly left for the village of Bayford in Prolene, where lapocia was cultivated.

‘This is my mistake.’

Kaiel pressed his temples.

He never expected she would come to his room and steal a sample for research.

When she came late at night saying she was scared because of a spider, he really believed her.

Whether it was a coincidence or not, there really were frequent appearances of spiders in that room.

There were stories among the servants that Delia would have a fit and run around every time she saw a spider.

Each time, her maid would catch the spider for her, but it seemed the maid was also quite afraid of spiders.

So, Kaiel had been planning to prepare a more comfortable room for Delia.

If she hadn’t left just a note and run away, she could have slept in a new, well-decorated room today.

But she wouldn’t know that, having run off completely.

Kaiel began to pace slowly around his office.

He certainly believed her excuse for entering his room without permission.

‘Is it possible?’

If asked whether he had ever trusted someone so easily, the answer was definitely no.

He previously dismissed the reason for his unusual leniency towards her as due to her ‘easiness’.

But was that really all?

As he moved, his eyes fell again on the clothes, handkerchiefs, and gloves she had washed and left.

After staring at them for a moment, he turned and left the office.

“W-where are you going?”

“To catch her.”

“Pardon?”

“Prepare a carriage. …No, I’ll go alone.”

“What are you talking about!”

“It’s dangerous.”

Having quickly prepared to leave, he gave orders to manage the castle well and left.

It was unprecedented.

Surely, the Grand Duke himself wasn’t going to catch the runaway researcher, right? The servants began to murmur among themselves.

Although people had already been sent to capture the researcher, he insisted on going himself.

The long-time servants began to recall the relationship between the runaway researcher and the Grand Duke.

“Miss has caused trouble and ran away again.”

“I think the Grand Duke is worried about her.”

“No way. His eyes were really fierce to call it worry.”

“The Grand Duke is always fierce.”

“Well, that’s true.”

The servants, each with their own reasons, nodded in agreement and went back to their work.

***

Meanwhile, Delia had been moving diligently and had already reached the border of Prolene. Fortunately, it bordered Tranade, so she didn’t have to worry about taking a boat.

She had spent half of the money she brought for the carriage fare but wasn’t particularly worried. She knew many ways to earn money with her vast modern knowledge and information.

Besides, wasn’t Delia a writer? Selling stories was a pretty decent way to make money.

“Be careful. This place isn’t safe for a woman to walk around alone.”

The coachman clicked his tongue and disappeared down the road he came from.

Delia looked around. Although she set the environment for Prolene, she hadn’t described it in the novel, so it was unfamiliar to her. It definitely had a different atmosphere from Tranade or Sheriton.

Tranade, which was ruled by Kaiel, had a harsh, cold, snowy environment, but the villages clustered near the castle gave it a cozy feel.

Meanwhile Sheriton, where the imperial palace was located, had a mild climate and four seasons, which is fitting for a central empire. Though the slums were gloomy, the numerous large cities made it a bustling country.

But Prolene was different.

Prolene was a small country located in the eastern part of Tranade, ruled by a king. The problem was that the country itself was very poor.

Even in the largest city, issues such as theft, sexual violence, murder, and drugs were rampant.

It was in the Bayford village of Prolene where lapocia was cultivated and smuggled.

‘I didn’t expect it to be this bad… It’s a complete slum, isn’t it? It’ll take quite some time to get around.’

As she was observing the densely packed buildings, she noticed several heads moving in a corner of an alley between the buildings.

She approached and saw they were children.

“Hello?”

The children’s eyes gleamed white in the dark alley at the sight of a stranger. They all looked emaciated and wore dirty rags, indicating they had been left on the streets for a long time.

‘Hmm…’

Soon, a good idea came to Delia’s mind, and she asked the children.

“Aren’t you hungry?”

A little later, a customer appeared and emptied the display cases of a nearby bakery, dragging the children along.

Delia, who shoved the empty money pouch into her pocket, smiled brightly.

“Is it good?”

As if someone might take it away, the children stuffed the bread into their mouths, and Delia spoke to them.

“Now! There’s something I need you to do.”

Meeting the children was actually beneficial for her.

“Go around the village and find shops with this symbol on the door.”

While speaking, she drew three wavy lines stacked on the ground.

“What is that?”

One child asked. Delia put a finger to her lips with a serious expression.

“Shh! Don’t try to know. You’ll get hurt if you do.”

The children shouldn’t know that it was the symbol of shops dealing in black market lapocia.

“Now, go!”

Soon, the children scattered throughout the village to repay Delia for the bread she bought them.

Now, Delia just had to listen to the information the children brought back and go to the shop dealing in lapocia to buy it.

Although she stumbled over stones several times due to a minor penalty, she was used to it by now.

Delia kicked the stone in front of her.

‘Hmph!’

Except for the dozens of stones, everything seemed to be going smoothly.

Just as she barely balanced herself after almost tripping over a larger stone, Delia’s breath got caught.

She had been feeling like someone was following her for a while, and now she could clearly hear the footsteps.

The footsteps matched hers when she walked and stopped when she stopped.

The coachman’s warning echoed in her mind.

“Be careful. This place isn’t safe for a woman to walk around alone.”

She thought then, even if it was dangerous, how dangerous could it be for a woman alone? Especially in broad daylight, so she was less worried.

‘As long as I don’t die. I won’t die.’

But feeling the threat firsthand, fear was inevitable.

Delia decided to identify the person following her just in case.

‘System, show me the Character List.’

Soon, the Character List appeared.

Delia, who checked the window, rubbed her eyes for a moment and checked again.

She was simply dumbfounded.

A familiar name caught her eye.

‘Kaiel? Why is Kaiel here?’

……Why are you appearing here?

Delia doubted her own eyes.

‘Did he come all the way here looking for me? Because he was worried about me?’

Thinking that way, her heart fluttered again.

Feeling glad, Delia unconsciously turned her head to check her surroundings, but then fixed her gaze back in front of her.

‘Hmm……’

A small, mischievous smile bloomed on her lips.

‘Let’s see how long he’ll follow.’

Delia started walking along the road.

Sure enough, the footsteps moved along with her.

Delia wandered around the entire street as if she was solving a maze.

Tempting smells wafted from everywhere, and Delia truly explored all the streets, led by the scents. Even so, the footsteps following her from behind kept up well.