By now, there must be chaos at home. But she felt she had no choice but to do this.

“That man, he’s more unreasonable than I thought.”

Karina shuddered at the chilling feeling down her spine. If she hadn’t run away like this, he might have rushed to her house with a proposal. She absolutely had to avoid something like that.

She packed all her clothes, jewelry, and money, then asked the coachman to take her to the train station. As soon as she arrived at the station, she covered her face with a wide-brimmed capeline hat. Though it looked ridiculous for the season, she carefully tucked her hair up inside the hat. Her platinum blonde hair was too noticeable a color.

Using the name of a maid who worked at her house as an alias, she boarded the train heading north. A few months ago, she had heard news about hot springs being discovered near where there was a large lake. They said a luxurious hotel for nobles was being built in that area.

Karina was desperate enough to come unannounced upon hearing it would open soon. Fortunately, the hotel welcomed her visit. They gave her the largest and best of the separately built lodgings that were like villas.

“Well… You should know how lucky you are, Dominic Winchester.”

Karina muttered quietly while staring at the ceiling. If she had been a character with even slightly less conscience, she might have grabbed onto Dominic, who felt responsible for her, and gone straight to marriage.

Dominic was a good man. Their physical compatibility was quite, no, very good, and her family liked him too, so in some ways there might not be a better choice for a husband.

But Karina knew too much to make such a selfish choice, and her own life was precious too. She had met many men until now. It was to find the best man by her own hands, not someone her parents chose. But now to marry a man who held another woman in his heart…

Dominic’s pain in the original story, watching Olivia end up with another man, was definitely sincere.

How could she keep such a man by her side after seeing that?

It was just a fleeting moment of emotion.

Such a thing would only make both her and Dominic unhappy.

Her heart fluttered thinking about Dominic. Karina took a deep breath.

She had experienced romance to the point of being sick of it. So she knew well.

Human emotions are finite. They’re like fruit. They start fresh, become sweet at some point, but eventually rot. So this fluttering too would stop someday as time passes.

“One week… Did I say too short a time?”

If she sees Dominic and Olivia together right after returning, she might not be able to control her expression. She regretted not saying she would stay at the hotel longer. It seemed she still needed more time to congratulate the two without any lingering feelings and with a more refreshing attitude.

“Sigh.”

What would Dominic think about her going this far? He might be angry, but his pride must have been badly hurt. Since she had left like she was running away that day without properly finishing their conversation.

Maybe it was all her misunderstanding. What proposal? The reason he asked to meet separately outside might have been to ask her to forget what happened then. Maybe she unconsciously ran away like this because she was afraid of hearing those words, not a proposal.

“Ah, I don’t know.”

Karina spoke loudly, trying hard to forget her depression. Since she had come to a nice lodging, she planned to enjoy the week. It was like a heartbreak trip. Though she had run away from Dominic, it was also a necessary moment to cut off her emotions that were being swept up in Dominic’s rampage.

“Should I go to the hot springs in the evening… and ask them to get me some books?”

Snow began falling outside the window. Though she was already starting to get tired of the fact that she would have to spend a week alone in a place where all you could see was snow-covered fields, there was nothing she could do about it.

* * *

Around the time Karina arrived at the hotel in the north, the naval headquarters had entered an urgent situation comparable to wartime.

“Brigadier General! Someone saw a woman similar to this composite sketch at the train station!”

His aide rushed into Dominic’s office shouting loudly. His eyes were bright red like a rabbit’s from working overtime and staying up all night for several days already.

On Dominic’s office desk were several composite sketches based on Karina’s face. Even when searching for a first-class criminal, drawing five sketches would be considered a lot, but the completed sketches of Karina exceeded ten due to Dominic’s pressure.

He had suddenly come to work with a scary face and said they needed to find Karina Crawford’s whereabouts immediately. They were working while watching his mood, unable to even ask the reason.

Cold sweat ran down the aide’s back as he recalled Dominic’s emotionless but chilling words that if another day passed without finding her, he would use his authority as Brigadier General of the Naval Operations Command without restraint to expand the search for Lady Crawford overseas.

‘To speak so boldly about abusing power like that.’

Though he didn’t know why, Dominic seemed thoroughly angry. Or perhaps like someone driven mad with worry.

Anyway, from the aide’s position, he couldn’t let his respected superior go crazy and cause trouble.

That was why he had repeated overtime and all-nighters tracking Karina’s whereabouts, unable to return home despite having an adorable young child and beautiful wife waiting. If by any chance his superior really caused major trouble, wouldn’t cleaning it up be his job?

“They said it was memorable because it was strange to see someone wearing a summer capeline hat heading north. When we checked, there was a name of a maid who works at the Crawford mansion on the train heading north. Of course, that maid was working at the mansion at that time.”

“North.”

“Yes. We’re checking with the train crew who worked that day to confirm which station Lady Crawford got off at. We should know where she is once we wait a little longer.”

Instead of responding to the words that news would come soon since they had sent someone to the railway office, Dominic stood up from his seat.

“Brigadier General?”

“No time to wait. I’ll go check myself.”

“What? No, but…”

“Good work. You can go home now.”

“What do you mean?”

The aide asked back stupidly, truly not understanding Dominic’s words. At his words, Dominic answered quickly in a slightly irritated voice.

“I’m saying take a vacation since I won’t be here for a while. You’ve been working hard without even going home for several days.”

“But Lady Crawford… Don’t we need to find her?”

“I’m going to the north directly.”

“What?”

“I’m planning to go to the north myself and bring her back.”

Seeing Dominic’s fist with bulging veins, the aide quietly chose to close his mouth.

There are aspects of relationships between men and women that are difficult to understand with rational thinking alone.

‘I didn’t expect the Brigadier General to be like this.’

The aide quickly nodded. For him, appeasing his wife who was very angry from him being away from home for days was more urgent than Dominic or Karina.

Refusing even a carriage, he rode a horse, galloping roughly as if charging through the streets. When he arrived at the railway office, Dominic approached the soldier gathering information.

“Bri-Brigadier General?”

“Has Lady Crawford’s disembarking station been confirmed?”

“Ah, yes! The confirmation process just finished. According to the compiled accounts from the crew members, she got off at Sakhatsk Station.”

“Sakhatsk?”

“Yes. It’s a small city in the north with a large lake. Haven’t you heard of it? Hot springs were discovered there and they’re building a hotel now.”

The soldier answered in a loud voice with his legs snapped together. Dominic muttered in an ominous voice.

“She managed to think of even that while running away.”

“Pardon?”

The soldier asked back stupidly, but Dominic didn’t answer and hurriedly left the room.

Several hours later, the security force was dispatched after receiving reports of an ownerless horse standing continuously in front of the train station. Upon checking, the owner was Dominic Winchester.

The Winchester family’s butler came to the train station after receiving word that the horse’s owner had abandoned it and disappeared. He received the horse with a puzzled expression. He asked the security guard.