“What are you talking about?”

Rowell asked in return.

To say “go find that woman” implied that she had run away somewhere.

Lady Catherine Rochelin was praised as the flower and jewel of high society — a celestial masterpiece bloomed upon the earth, adored and celebrated by all.

And that wasn’t all.

Her impeccable grace went without saying, and the gentle smile she wore made it seem as though all the light in the world converged upon her. A single small gesture of her hand was enough to make it feel as though flowers bloomed at every corner of every path.

The majority of those who watched her lost track of time, utterly entranced.

Women were no exception.

Rowell himself had once harbored a fondness for her. But that was all it had been.

For all her popularity, Catherine was remarkably indifferent to men. And she was particularly ill at ease around Rowell specifically. At times, it even seemed as though she was afraid of him.

And so Rowell had stopped trying to approach her. Not that there had been much of an attempt to begin with.

Exchanging greetings on the rare occasions they crossed paths had been the extent of it — and even that had eventually ceased. They passed each other as though they were strangers with no acquaintance whatsoever.

Since he no longer paid her any attention, Catherine, on the contrary, seemed pleased by it.

It would be a lie to say her reaction had meant nothing to him, but fortunately, it hadn’t been a deep wound. He himself had never been particularly interested in women to begin with.

He was forever being sent off to battlefields, which left him rather oblivious to the rumors of high society.

They say a person grows interested in what they frequently see — and he was far more interested in battle strategies that led his allies to victory, swordsmanship, and the cultivation of stronger knights.

He was always surrounded by grim-faced men.

He had assumed that this time, too, he would rest briefly from his fatigue before leading his army off somewhere again. The number of insurgents stirring up unrest had been growing lately.

Kelt was a comfortable place to live, but light and shadow always coexist.

Where there are those who live well, there are always those who do not.

Where there is ease born of unearned abundance, there are always those who are exploited.

Most of the vassal states paying tribute to the Empire fell into the latter category. For reasons unknown, Edwin had been steadily increasing the weight of the tributes demanded.

And the vassal states, buckling under the burden, had begun to rise up in revolt, declaring they could bear it no longer.

But every time, they were crushed mercilessly beneath Rowell’s army. And what awaited them upon defeat was the price to be paid for daring to defy the Switzelia Empire — usually an increase in tribute, or the seizure of sl*ves.

Rowell did not agree with Edwin’s course of action, but he followed orders in silence.

For that was his place.

This time, too, he had intended to follow Edwin’s orders. No — he had no choice but to.

Yet he couldn’t help but be curious.

Watching Edwin snort and fume without answering his question, Rowell asked again.

“Bring her back, you say. Has Lady Rochelin actually run away somewhere?”

Edwin ground his teeth and muttered.

“That insolent woman. How dare she.”

The more he thought about it, the angrier he seemed to grow, his huffing intensifying. His shoulders heaved with each breath in and out.

Sandy, caught in Edwin’s grip, trembled as she tried to read the room.

One wrong move and it seemed she might get struck. Being struck would have been the lucky outcome. What if a fist came flying? No — what if she got kicked?

Tears pricked at her eyes from sheer terror.

“Eek!”

And then it happened.

Edwin grabbed Sandy by the hair and flung her to the floor.

“You can’t even properly attend to your own mistress, and this is the disaster you’ve caused?!”

Edwin’s fury directed itself toward Sandy, who was an easy target.

One of Rowell’s eyebrows twitched upward, then back down.

‘Ah, I see.’

He had been wondering why Edwin had brought in some woman who was clearly not his type — she was Catherine’s maid.

Rowell’s gaze grew heavy and low.

He wasn’t entirely sure what had happened, but it seemed like something had occurred while he was away from the capital. Judging by the scene before him, it appeared Edwin had been tormenting Catherine, and she had fled as a result.

Just what had he done to her.

That proud, refined lady.

At that moment, Edwin strode toward Sandy, who had collapsed on the floor. It was only for an instant, but Rowell’s expression hardened. If left as is, it was obvious she was about to get a hard kick to the abdomen.

It wasn’t exactly something a man who spent his days running across blood-soaked battlefields had room to say, but —

This man is truly no better than a beast.

Rowell rose abruptly from his seat.

“Your Majesty.”

Edwin was still glaring at Sandy as though he intended to k*ll her. He appeared to be more than a little furious and frustrated over Catherine’s disappearance.

And whose fault is it for tormenting her in the first place.

Worried that Sandy was about to be struck, Rowell quickly added:

“I will bring her back.”

Edwin visibly paused.

“I will depart at once to retrieve Lady Rochelin.”

At the word “at once,” Edwin’s gaze finally shifted toward Rowell.

Sandy exhaled with the expression of someone who had just aged ten years in relief. It was a serious matter that Catherine was about to be dragged back, but at least the immediate hell before her had been averted.

Edwin’s eyes gleamed as he spoke.

“Have her before me within a week.”

“Of course.”

“Bring her to her knees before me right now! Argh! She’s not here and it’s driving me mad!”

Edwin clutched his head and raged.

It seemed the symptoms of his obsession with Catherine were beginning to take hold.

Since childhood, everything he had ever wanted had come to him easily. Conversely, when things did not go his way, he erupted in fierce anger and frustration.

Cleaning up after Edwin had always been Rowell’s burden. This time was no different.

As the scale of the mess continued to grow, Rowell alone was left with a splitting headache.

His gaze settled low and heavy.

“Before that.”

His eyes drifted toward Sandy, who was huddled in a corner of the room, trembling in a pitiful posture.

“It seems I’ll be needing a guide.”

– – –

“Hehehe.”

Catherine laughed brightly, her straw hat pulled down low over her face. Her beautiful golden hair, as though it had absorbed the sunlight itself, swayed softly against her back.

“What’s so special about life, really? Everyone just lives like this.”

Unaware of what was unfolding in the capital, she tended to her vegetable garden with perfect serenity.

She felt sorry to her parents, but her own life came first.

To avoid getting entangled with Edwin and dying alongside him, she had given up even the sweetness of romance and lived like a nun.

But fate was fate for a reason.

Edwin’s obsession, growing worse with each passing day, seemed to be leading her toward her death in the end. A red warning light blared in her mind — she had to escape from his grasp.

Getting involved with that trash in any way was a surefire path to dying together.

“Mmm — the smell of fertilizer.”

It hadn’t been a particularly pleasant smell at first.

But it had been a week since she settled here.

She had grown used to the smell of fertilizer.

More than anything, she loved the feeling of touching this moist, rich soil. The sensation that came through her gloves was soft and yielding.

This is where seeds germinate, nestled in its embrace. This is where life grows.

Coming back to nature, even the smallest things are a source of joy.

This is what happiness is.

Catherine wiped the sweat from beneath her straw hat and smiled with quiet contentment.

“I should have come down sooner.”

She couldn’t understand why she hadn’t thought of this earlier.

She should have skipped her social debut entirely and just gone off to a rural farm.

Well, even then, she might have gotten tangled up with Edwin somehow.

“La la la la~ hm hm hm~”

A humming tune came naturally.

The one who had arranged her lodgings here was none other than Vivi Cheliano. The deception plan had had an accomplice.

Vivi was the one friend who had believed in her through all the rough storms of high society. She was also the type who enjoyed everything life had to offer while looking at the chaste Catherine with pitying eyes.

And then a scandal with the Emperor had erupted around that very Catherine.

Vivi had said:

「You poor thing.」

「……Thanks, really.」

「I haven’t even slept with His Majesty.」

「Neither have I?!」

Watching Catherine bristle indignantly, Vivi had cackled with laughter. She kept giggling, saying that having even one friend like herself meant a successful life.

「Then, my one and only friend. Do me a favor.」

And that had been a slip of the tongue.

Vivi felt a chill run through her as she opened her mouth.

「Wh-What is it?」

Catherine grinned.

「You’re going to have to contribute to ‘Catherine Rochelin’s Endless Vanishing Act.’」

She would disappear, completely and utterly, without a trace.

So that Edwin would never find her again.

If he found her, she would run. If he found her again, she would run again, and again.

That was how Catherine laid the groundwork for escaping Edwin’s clutches.

Looking at the ring on the index finger of her left hand, Catherine smiled with quiet significance. Set into the ring was a lustrous green gemstone.

This was a communication ring.

Matching rings could be used to communicate with one another — they were extraordinarily expensive items, so only nobles could even consider using them.

And the ring that paired with Catherine’s was in Vivi’s possession.

Using Vivi’s own intelligence network and that of the Cheliano Marquisate , they planned to monitor Edwin’s movements. And if any news related to Catherine’s whereabouts arose, Vivi would quickly use the communication ring to pass the information along to Catherine.

Simple, yet absolutely perfect!

“Hehe. I’m a genius.”

Even if Edwin sent someone after her, Catherine would already be long gone elsewhere.

She would keep running, and running, and running.

The countryside was vast and plentiful.

She had come down alone to live in the countryside anyway — what could possibly go wrong from moving lodgings a little?

Catherine slowly savored the rural scenery.

Fields and paddies stretched out before her eyes.

Just as her view was wide open, her chest felt as though it had been cleared out as well.

“I need to plant potatoes, sweet potatoes, and cherry tomatoes too. La la la~”

She was in the middle of making a small vegetable garden in the backyard.

Across the road, vast fields and paddies spread out in all directions, with various crops sprouting their lush green shoots. The grain storehouse was also full of last year’s harvest.

Everything was abundant.

It was then.

The communication ring flickered.

It meant Vivi wanted to make contact.

“Edwin, that bastard — already?”

With no ears around to hear, she called the Emperor whatever she pleased.

Just a moment ago she had thought moving lodgings was no big deal, but if he found her this quickly, things were going to be difficult.

Even so.

Moving once a week was a bit much.

A crease formed between Catherine’s brows.

She had been mulling it over with a serious expression, but she decided it was wiser to hear what Vivi had to say first, rather than imagining things on her own.

She tapped the green gemstone twice and accepted the call.

“Hey. Vivi. What is it.”

— ……

The other party did not respond.

Thinking the connection might be unstable, Catherine spoke again.

“Vivi. Can’t you hear me? Answer me.”

— ……Uh, um……

Vivi’s voice sounded distinctly off.

Catherine’s expression stiffened.

Something seemed to have gone wrong.