Only now did he understand the strange behavior Madam Noma had displayed on the anniversary of his sister’s death.
The dignified Elise Strilland had met with a humble boatman. This alone aroused suspicion, prompting Aiden to order an immediate investigation.
However, when almost a month passed with no sign of trouble, he ordered the surveillance to be withdrawn.
That had been three days ago.
It was a mistake born of arrogance.
‘What could an old woman, confined to the west wing and kept under watch, possibly accomplish?’
Besides, wasn’t his mistress a woman who trembled at the sight of even a small amount of water? She couldn’t even step into a bathtub filled with it. She should never have had any connection with a boatman.
He had allowed himself to become complacent.
This was the result of his own negligence.
His cold, methodical mind easily reconstructed the situation.
Taking every detail into account, it was clear that his mother had put Sveta on the boat.
If she had escaped through the window, she could not have got far.
Aiden immediately assembled a pursuit party.
Unable to endure even the short wait for a servant to saddle the horses, he ran to the stables himself in the pouring rain.
“Are you going to fetch Baron Luce’s daughter?”
Hazel’s unhurried voice sounded suddenly from behind him as he gripped the reins.
“I thought we might talk over dinner.”
“…You know something.”
“That’s why I came to the stables. To tell you what I know.”
“……”
Hazel, arms crossed and leaning crookedly against the wall, smiled faintly—as though she found the situation amusing.
“She must have taken a boat, Aiden. It looks like she was trying to escape through the Brimiya River.”
“I know.”
“I thought as much. By tomorrow, we’ll be seeing her back in this estate.”
“You saw her leave.”
“Mm. I saw her board the boat.”
“Ha…”
Aiden exhaled roughly and mounted his horse in one seamless motion.
“Why did you let her run?”
“Because she longs for freedom. Rather like I do.”
A sharp fury glinted in Aiden’s green eyes as he looked down at his brother.
“Stop talking nonsense and answer me properly.”
His voice, restrained with effort, was colder and more rigid than ever.
“She was too desperate. I couldn’t stop her.”
“…Desperate?”
“Yes. She wanted to be free of you.”
Hazel’s words drove through his ears like iron stakes. A thin ringing pierced the hollow they left behind.
“Why.”
“Why not ask her yourself? You’re going to bring her back anyway.”
“……”
“You never lose what you want. I never thought you would let Baron Luce’s daughter slip away in the first place. That’s why I let her go.”
“……”
At that moment, the stable hand threw the creaking doors wide open.
Rain and wind surged inside, soaking the scattered straw on the floor.
She was out there in that storm.
She had run to escape him.
Hazel seemed to say something more, but Aiden could not hear a word. He urged his horse forward into the pounding rain, with Pailin and several knights close behind.
A harsh grinding sound escaped from between his clenched teeth.
The instant he realized she was gone, all the feelings that had once dissipated came crashing back beneath the cold rain.
In his terrifyingly clear mind, only one word remained: ‘How dare.’
Aiden recognized his emotion clearly.
It was rage.
“She… she boarded a boat…”
A woman who was afraid of water had boarded a boat just to escape him.
The absurdity of the situation was so great that it tore a harsh, uncontrollable laugh from his throat.
Fortunately, it was raining.
The storm concealed both the madness of his laughter and the distortion of his face.
She was a woman who could not bring herself to throw away a single flower he had given her. She had carefully dried a wilting rose, unable to bear its fading, and kept it where she could always see it.
That was why.
She might have lied with her words, but her actions had always been sincere. Those clear eyes that trembled whenever she looked at him were incapable of deceit.
And so he had believed her.
The violent wind and rain lashed mercilessly against his cheeks. Aiden urged his horse forward as if possessed, his wide, blazing eyes revealing the blood vessels standing out starkly beneath his skin.
“Ha…”
A hollow laugh escaped him again.
What should he do.
“What should I do with you.”
Should he break her ankle so that she could never run away from him again?
Or should he silence her so that she could never lie to him again?
Perhaps both.
If he gagged her and tied her to the bed, would she look up at him with swollen, ruined eyes and beg for forgiveness?
Would she plead her love for him and beg him to let her stay by his side?
Before he knew it, they had reached the riverbank.
The sharp, briny stench of the river hung thick in the air.
Picture Sveta somewhere along the river stretching out from this place, he urged his horse on even faster.
Even as he rode, his thoughts surged ahead of him.
Aiden was certain of it. She would fall back into his hands soon enough.
If she tried to run again, though—
—he would take her beloved horse as a hostage and use it to threaten her.
“Who else does she care about…”
Cruel thoughts burrowed into his mind.
The woman who had reduced him to this wretched state!
How should he punish that beautiful creature?
He could not quite decide.
***
Tap. Tap.
A sharp prod against her back forced Sveta’s eyes open.
“Well, how long do you plan to sleep?”
The boatman, nudging her with a fire poker, spoke brusquely.
“Time to get up, isn’t it?”
“Is it already… time to leave?”
“The sun’s up, and the rain’s stopped. We should hurry.”
The morning sunlight, damp with dew, filtered through the small window of the hut.
Blinking away the sleep, Sveta sat up and carefully folded the blanket that had been covering her.
She wanted to leave this mildew-stained place as soon as possible. She got up and followed the man outside.
“I’ll ready the boat, so take your time coming down. If you rush and slip and break something, it’ll be a headache for me.”
“All right.”
As he had said, the ground had turned to slippery mud beneath her feet. Careful not to fall, she tightened her grip on her ankles and stepped forward cautiously.
A wind carrying the raw scent of river water swept past.
Amidst the restless slapping of the swollen current, she could faintly hear hoofbeats in the distance.
Sveta turned towards the sound. Beyond the hut, she could see several riders approaching.
“No…”
She could not see clearly, but she could make out the color of the cloaks snapping in the wind.
Gold.
The symbol of Strilland.
Her heart dropped.
“Please—leave now. Hurry.”
Climbing into the boat with difficulty, she urged the boatman in a desperate voice.
“If you were going to rush, you should’ve woken earlier.”
He grumbled in irritation. The hollow beneath his cheekbones made his gaunt face look like that of a grim reaper.
“For a mere maid, you’re awfully demanding.”
Muttering a curse under his breath, he pushed the boat away from the riverbank and climbed aboard with a violent shove.
The small vessel was quickly caught by the current and began racing downstream.
Without thinking, Sveta glanced back. Seeing the white wake churning behind them, she squeezed her eyes shut.
Each time the hull tilted, a chilling sensation swept through her, as though her heart had dropped to her feet.
Desperate to forget her fear, she forced herself to focus on the baby inside her. She tried to think of a name.
But the relentless slap of water against the boat drowned out every other thought, and her body trembled helplessly.
“Who are those people?”
The boatman suddenly jerked his chin towards a group of riders racing along the distant riverbank.
Sveta, who had been crouched with her face buried in her knees and her eyes squeezed shut, slowly lifted her head.
She opened her eyes.
The first thing she saw was a golden cloak flapping in the breeze.
There were about ten fully armed knights, each exuding an unmistakable air of authority.
At their head rode the duke.
His sharp gaze cut straight towards her.
Strangely, despite the great distance, she could feel his eyes fixed on her, even though she could not make out his expression clearly.
Like a fish pierced by a harpoon, she gasped for air.
Her chest tightened painfully.
‘He will never forgive me.’
On the day she decided to leave Aiden, she believed that even if she was caught, he wouldn’t kill her immediately.
That’s why she thought it was worth trying to run away.
How foolish she had been!
Only now did she understand. A man who radiates such murderous intent could never show mercy.
“Who are they, then?”
The boatman snapped irritably.
“No one… They’re no one.”
Sveta wrapped her arms around her stomach and bit down on the tender flesh of her inner cheek. A metallic taste spread across her tongue. She must have drawn blood.
The boatman clicked his tongue.
“I thought as much. You think I’ve been doing this for a day or two? Don’t you worry.”
“……”
“No matter how great a lord he is, he can’t ride across water. He’ll tire himself out soon enough.”
She prayed the duke would tire, that the boat would move just a little faster.
‘Please. Please…’
As the boatman had said, after some time the distance between them and the riders gradually widened.
Before long, the duke and his knights disappeared from sight.
***
How much time had passed?
Once they had reached a point where the river widened to resemble the sea, the current slowed considerably.
Like a leaf floating on a calm lake, their boat moved slowly forward.
“Heh… heh heh…”
Suddenly, the boatman started to snigger.
Startled, Sveta looked up at his hollow cheeks.
The grey sky seemed unreal. Beneath it, the gaunt figure standing tall before her looked like Death itself.
His pitch-black eyes, as deep as a well, were fixed on the opposite riverbank.
“Why are you laughing? Is something wrong…?”
“This is about the right spot to cross over.”
“What? Why would we cross to the other side?”
As if preparing to dive into the water, he removed his shoes one by one.
She was overcome with a dreadful unease, as though he might abandon her on the boat.
Goosebumps prickled her arms like fish scales. A cold shiver ran down her spine.
The boatman stood at one end of the boat and took a long step towards her.
“You can’t swim, can you?”
A sneer curled the corners of his mouth.
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bluemoon238
This is the problem with the pushover FLs. They know the personalities of others and still trust them. Here FL already knows how ML acts, how ML’s mother is and despite all her instincts and common sense knowledge she keeps with the plan EXACTLY without changing anything up. When woman in these types of novels keep bending despite small verbal protests, using beauty and money as reasoning it makes me feel like they just want a life of suffering while looking at pretty artworks