-13-

The servants of the Bannister mansion trembled in the cold atmosphere. Their master, while usually indifferent, was not someone who easily lost his temper. His threshold for emotional change was significantly higher than most people.

“So you don’t know where she went.”

“…Yes. We’re sorry.”

“Apologies are unnecessary. Where might she have gone?”

Roan spoke coolly. The maids stammered as they answered.

“Ah, she probably went to the nearby bustling area. She said the mansion felt stifling since this morning.”

One of Roan’s eyebrows lifted.

“Stifling?”

“Yes. She said she wanted to be alone.”

“She said she wanted to feel free. She needed some time to herself….”

The maids were now on the verge of tears, as Roan’s expression grew increasingly severe.

“I also heard that some of her jewelry was missing.”

Ellen fanned the flames of his already grim mood.

The Duke looked at her with piercing eyes. Ellen felt a mix of unfamiliarity and fear at this side of the Duke.

“Jewelry is missing, you say.”

“Yes. A maid noticed that some jewelry was gone from her room earlier.”

“How much is missing?”

“Not many pieces, but enough to fetch a significant amount if sold.”

“Any signs of intrusion?”

“None that we could see.”

At that moment, Mary stepped forward holding a piece of paper. It was the note Delis had left earlier.

“Y-your Grace. The lady left this behind.”

Roan took the note from Mary’s trembling hands and read it, his face devoid of expression.

It was indeed Delis’s handwriting. She had left of her own volition. The Delis who had lost her memory.

If she had truly lost her memory, her leaving made no sense. She wouldn’t have known anything, much less how to leave.

She promised to return by dinner? Dinner time had long passed. Roan recalled Delis’s changed demeanor.

“Roan, you’re really kind.”

“Roan might not think so, but you are.”

“I’ll never regret it.”

He had known this might happen.

Even if all those smiles, those looks, those words were lies. So what?

Roan felt a mix of worry, anger, and something sticky and confusing bubbling up inside him. Part of him desperately wished for her safe return, while another part felt an inexplicable, impulsive emotion. He clenched his teeth against the sudden wave of feelings.

“I’m sorry.”

His shadow, Terik, stood quietly, waiting for his master’s command.

“It’s not your fault.”

Roan knew it wasn’t Terik’s fault. Inside the mansion, there was no need to monitor her every move. Until now, there hadn’t been much need to emphasize his duty to protect her.

The thought of letting her go, even briefly, crossed his mind but vanished without a trace.

What reason would he have to give her what she wanted after deceiving himself? Roan thought with a twinge of resentment, not taking into account the fact that not long ago he would have welcomed the situation.

***

“Oh no, this is bad.”

Really bad. The sun had already set.

Inside the prison, only the torches on the walls provided a dim light. By now, Roan must have arrived.

I had promised to return by dinner, but I hadn’t. The mansion was probably in chaos by now.

They wouldn’t believe my identity, so there was no way to get out. My body was bound tightly, making it hard to move, and I was even handcuffed.

Then, I heard a commotion outside the small window.

This place was like a semi-basement, so it was hard to hear outside, but the noise was loud enough. It sounded like a group of people moving together. What was going on?

“Soldiers.”

The dwarf, who had been sitting leaning against the wall in the neighboring cell, spoke.

“Soldiers? How do you know?”

“I hear the sound of metal. Only soldiers wear that much metal. They’re saying the capital is under lockdown.”

“Lockdown?”

Why would the capital suddenly be locked down?

“Why is it locked down?”

The dwarf listened for a moment longer before speaking again.

“They say a lockdown order has been issued. The soldiers are looking for someone.”

Who could they be searching for to warrant a lockdown of the entire capital?

“They’re looking for a woman with blonde hair.”

A woman with blonde hair?

No way.

Could Roan really be looking for me? Truly?

The tension that had been gripping my body seemed to ease. Just knowing he was trying to find me was reassuring. I had been genuinely worried that he wouldn’t care if I disappeared. I sighed in relief.

“Thank goodness….”

“Is the woman they’re looking for really you? Cough.”

“Seems like it.”

“So, you really are the Duke’s wife?”

“Yes, hard to believe, but it’s true.”

The commotion outside grew louder. It seemed the soldiers were getting closer.

“If I shout from here, they won’t hear me, right?”

“Of course not. Unless they’re dwarves.”

The dwarf listened intently to the outside noise again. After a moment, he spoke.

“Some of them are coming this way.”

I could feel their presence nearby. Now, even the sound of footsteps was audible.

Soon, I could faintly see their feet through the small window. The soldiers were right outside.

In desperation, even though it seemed unlikely they would hear me, I decided to shout.

“I’m here!”

It was strange, but the footsteps seemed to pause momentarily. Did they really hear me?

I decided to cling to hope.

“Don’t go! I’m here!!”

Despite not having eaten much today, I used all my strength to shout. If I had known this would happen, I would have just eaten breakfast instead of refusing it. I felt a pang of regret.

At that moment, Burrly and Slimy Smiley entered the prison. Following them were two more burly men I hadn’t seen before, Burrly 2 and Burrly 3.

Burrly 2 looked at me with a slightly pale face.

“It’s her. Blonde hair and amber eyes. D*mn, it really is her.”

“So why the hell did you lock her up!”

Burrly 3 shouted. Burrly 2 responded, looking incredulous.

“Would you believe she’s the Duke’s wife if she had no escort and no money? I thought she was just a crazy woman who came to steal a dwarf!”

“So what now, let her go?”

Burly’s eyes flickered.

“Let her go? Do you think she’d keep quiet? If she even whispers a word, we’re done for.”

Slimy Smiley spoke calmly.

“We’ve already crossed the point of no return.”

There was a dangerous glint in his eyes.

“We can’t just let her go. So….”

Slimy Smiley opened the cell door I was confined in. He was holding a long sack, just big enough for a person. Wait a minute. Were they planning to put me in there?

Burly 2 and Burly 3 approached and started to shove me roughly into the sack. I struggled with all my might.

“Let go!”

But I was tied up so tightly that my struggles were ineffective. Mr. Burly struck my neck, and that was the last thing I remembered before losing consciousness.

***

When I opened my eyes, my neck felt sore. My vision was blocked by something. I seemed to still be inside the sack. I could feel a jolting motion beneath me, indicating I was being transported somewhere. Then I heard voices.

“…River… dump….”

River? The word ‘river’ rang clearly in my ears. Could they mean the Enos River?

The Enos River was a large river that ran through the capital of Astrid, like the Han River in Seoul.

I tried to assess my current situation. These guys didn’t want me to return home. And now they had put me in a sack and were talking about a river?

They planned to dump me in the river! These lunatics!

They imprisoned me on a whim, and now they wanted to kill me on a whim? If only they had believed me, none of this would be happening!

Desperately, I tried to think of a way to escape. But there seemed to be no answer to the dire situation I was in. Facing death, thinking of a way to survive should be the most urgent thing, yet no solutions came to mind.

How could I do anything when my body was tightly bound and stuffed in a sack? I needed to move at least something to attempt an escape.

The jolting motion stopped. It seemed the cart or carriage I was in had halted.

Someone lifted me. I tried to struggle frantically.

“Oh, looks like she’s awake.”

“Hold her steady. We need to drop her in there.”

They must be talking about dropping me in the Enos River.

If I fell in, bound and in a sack, there was a 99.99% chance I would die.

Suddenly, I recalled the futility of my death in my previous life.

I really didn’t want to die. I wanted to live well in this life. Was I really going to die like this?

Would I never see Roan again and die so meaninglessly once more?

They say your life flashes before your eyes before you die. But why did the brief moments I’ve spent here overshadow the nearly nineteen years of my past life?

“What the—?”

The person holding me spoke in a startled voice. Following that, I heard the sound of something rushing toward us.

“What the hell!”

In the distance, I heard the clanging of swords. It sounded like someone was groaning in pain.

“Quick, we need to drop her!”

The footsteps of those holding me quickened. I could hear the sound of flowing water. I braced myself, anticipating being thrown into the river. But then, right beside me, I heard a grunt.

Thud.

Something fell into the bushes. The body of the person holding me suddenly stiffened. I felt his grip loosen, and he dropped me.

I was falling. The sound of rushing water filled my ears. I squeezed my eyes shut, expecting the icy embrace of the river.

Thud.

But instead of cold water, I felt the warmth of someone’s embrace.

“Delis.”

That voice.

It was low and deep.

Even without seeing his face, I knew who it was the moment I heard his voice.

“Roan…?”

Unintentionally, my voice trembled.

He was untying the knot of the sack. Soon, the sack opened.

Outside, it was as dark as it had been inside the sack.

The moonlight reflected off his stern face. Splattered with blood of unknown origin, Roan’s face was filled with a multitude of emotions as he looked at me.

“How did this happen?”

He spoke in a low voice.

“Well, I—”

I tried to say something, but as soon as I opened my mouth, I felt a surge of emotion that choked back my words. Roan pulled me out of the sack and used his sword to cut the ropes and handcuffs that bound me. He looked at me silently once more.

“Did you not consider how dangerous it would be for someone like you, who has never lived outside the estate, to leave the dukedom carelessly? Did you plan on becoming a slave? If I had been even a little later!”

At the end, his voice almost sounded like a growl.

It was the first time I had seen him so agitated. His eyes, cold with anger, burned as blue as his eyes. He continued in a voice that seemed to be barely controlled.

“Do you have any idea what could have happened to you?”