She had reached her limit. 

Being cooped up in that small room all day had sent a flood of restless thoughts through her mind, making her desperate to escape. 

Without hesitation, she pulled a hooded robe over her nightgown and almost sprinted down to the small terrace with its tiny garden. Although it was called a garden, it was barely the size of a fist – tucked away in a secluded corner of the castle. 

Back when the castle still welcomed guests, Rosalyn had only used this terrace for intimate teas with her friends. There was a much larger terrace just a short walk away, overlooking the extensive rear gardens, but she had deliberately chosen this hidden space instead. 

The reason was simple.

She clung to a faint hope – that the patrolling soldiers wouldn’t bother coming all the way to this secluded spot. Beyond the wall, at the foot of the hill, was the lake. 

“If I could just see the lake, I’d feel better.”

Whenever she had been severely scolded by her father, or whenever she had been seized by a fit of madness for no apparent reason, she had always found herself drawn to the lake. This simple act – so small, so seemingly insignificant – had been her only escape. 

Standing at the water’s edge, gazing out at the endless horizon before her, the chaos in her heart would begin to settle, sinking into the depths of the lake until all that remained was silence.

So, after her imprisonment in the castle – when sleepless nights had become the norm – she had taken to conjuring up the image of the dark, still lake in her mind, as if to will herself into a state of calm. 

But now even that had lost its effect. 

All that remained was an overwhelming urge to climb over the castle wall, follow the path down the hill, and once again set her eyes on the lake at its end. 

She was sure that if she could reach the lake, even for a moment, the chaos in her mind would calm down, if only a little.

But for now, she was forbidden to cross the wall alone, and if she asked the soldiers for permission, they would surely mock her. Unable to do anything, she wandered aimlessly around the small garden. Finally, she stopped in front of the wall.

Her violet eyes, fixed on the solid wall, slowly moved upwards. The longing inside her deepened.

‘Just for a moment…’

Would it really be impossible?

She had no intention of escaping – not even the slightest. It was just a short walk, nothing more. 

After all, Delmart Castle wasn’t far. She would return immediately. So it shouldn’t be a problem, should it? 

Little by little, her mind began to form these thoughts into justifications, reinforcing her own reasoning. 

Swallowing dryly, Rosalyn scanned her surroundings. She needed something – anything – to hold onto. But after searching and finding nothing suitable, she had no choice but to step on the marble statue hidden in the corner of the garden. 

Clinging to the castle wall, she steadied herself and prepared to climb.

Up to that point, she had managed somehow, but the real challenge came after that. Having spent so much time trapped inside the castle, her body no longer had the strength to lift itself easily. She struggled for a long time, unable to pull herself up onto the wall.

She kept changing her position, desperately trying to climb up the wall. But with every move she made, the marble statue she was using as a foothold wobbled precariously. When she finally managed to lift her upper body onto the wall, the statue suddenly toppled over and crashed to the ground.

As she felt it slip off the tips of her toes, she froze in shock. Fortunately, the sound of her fall was not as loud as she had feared.

Sitting on the edge of the wall, Rosalyn looked down. The statue had completely shattered on impact. For a moment her vision blurred and she stared blankly at the scattered fragments, momentarily lost in thought.

But it would only be for a moment anyway. The soldiers weren’t patrolling this remote area, so she could just go back and clean it up later.

With that thought, instead of climbing back down into the castle, Rosalyn swung her legs over the other side of the wall.

***

It wasn’t long before Johannes spotted the marble fragments in the garden.

Looking down at the broken statue on the ground, Johannes lifted his head slightly and looked up.

The woman who would normally be staring blankly outside at this hour was nowhere to be seen. He let out a small, bitter chuckle.

Perhaps he would have to retract his earlier assessment – that she was at least more sensible than her older brother.

Johannes lowered his eyes once more and slowly surveyed the length of the castle wall. 

The outer wall surrounding Delmart Castle was remarkably high. It wasn’t as high as the fortifications that marked the borders of Delmart’s territory, but it still towered above most buildings. Even Johannes – who stood well above the average height of a grown man – had to tilt his head back to see the top of it.

It wouldn’t have been easy for a woman – especially one as thin and frail as a withered branch – to climb over.

Did she have help? Johannes considered the possible route the fugitive might have taken. Outside the wall was a small hill surrounded by a large lake. But no matter how he thought about it, it was a completely unsuitable escape route.

Even compared to her brother, who was full of weaknesses, this escape was even more reckless. Vincent Delmart may have lacked cunning, but he was quick to act – just one day after being locked in his room for causing trouble in the corridor, he had already climbed over the castle wall.

It seemed that his stamina was weaker than expected. After being unconscious for several hours, the first thing he did when he awoke was to call for help from a group of mercenaries he had secretly hired in advance to help him escape. 

He probably believed that he had carried out his plan in complete secrecy. But for Johannes, uncovering the whole scheme had been effortless. 

The person Vincent implicitly trusted to be his spy was, in fact, nothing more than an ordinary knight – one who remained steadfastly loyal to Johannes. 

As a result, before Vincent’s desperate plea for help could reach the mercenaries, it had already passed through Johannes.

When things happen too easily, it’s natural to be suspicious at least once. However, this arrogant man seemed to think that everything had gone smoothly only because of his own extraordinary abilities.

However, taking mercenaries all the way to the border of the territory was far from a discreet escape – it was reckless and unnecessarily loud. It was almost laughable how he would abandon his only remaining family member without a second thought, yet make sure to take every precious jewel he could.

Now that a pursuit team had been sent to track down the trapped Vincent, his fate was all but sealed. However, with a gag order in place, the young lady probably had no idea that her brother had attempted to escape…

At that moment, he sensed movement from beyond the wall. A few seconds later, a pale hand appeared at the top of the wall.

Johannes’ hand instinctively moved to the dagger at his waist. But the person on the other side still did not appear. Or rather, it seemed more accurate to say that they were struggling to climb up properly.

“Huh? Why can’t I reach it?”

When Johannes heard the confused voice from beyond the wall, he immediately realised who it was. He slowly removed his hand from the weapon.

Just then, a pale face suddenly appeared over the top of the wall.

With the wall between them, neither had a chance to avoid the other’s gaze. The moment Johannes raised an eyebrow, the person in front of him froze.

Her eyes blinked a few times through the dishevelled strands of golden hair before they suddenly widened, and soon a deep sense of distress settled over her. Her gaze, filled with confusion, swept uncertainly in all directions.

Instead of stepping forward to help, Johannes stayed where he was, watching her in silence as if to say, “Let’s see if you can get back in there on your own.”

Though it was obvious that her body was shaking, he merely watched from a distance, like a bystander indifferent to a fire across the river. His attitude could easily have been annoying, but instead of complaining, Rosalyn, like a thief caught in the act, scrambled back over the wall, desperate to get inside as quickly as possible.

Having not used her body like this for a long time, the muscles in her arms began to cramp and ache as she clung to the wall. She tried repeatedly to lift her upper body, but when her body refused to cooperate, she was close to tears of frustration.

Meanwhile, Johannes stayed where he was, watching her in silence. The way Rosalyn moved desperately, as if trying to prove her innocence, seemed somewhat pathetic.

Finally, after much effort, she managed to pull herself up and climb back into the wall. But the moment she saw the courtyard, her face turned pale.

Beneath her lay the shards of the statue she had kicked earlier. If she jumped down carelessly, the sharp fragments would undoubtedly pierce her body.

“Why did you come back?”

Whether or not she fully realised the gravity of her actions was unclear, but the body in his arms trembled slightly. Her lips parted as if in defence, only to close tightly again.

Johannes, showing no urgency, continued to walk quietly, maintaining his silence.

“I don’t know if you’ll believe me, but… I didn’t really run away.”

Rosalyn murmured in a barely audible voice, a feeble attempt at an excuse. She glanced sideways to gauge his reaction, but Johannes remained expressionless, offering no response.

When nothing was said in return, Rosalyn spoke again, this time with more emphasis in her voice.

“If I really wanted to escape, do you really think I would have come back?”

This was by no means a lie.

She hadn’t had the slightest intention of escaping, and in fact she hadn’t even reached the lake – her original destination – before turning back. There was nothing left to explain.

The moment she crossed the wall, all the effort she had put into climbing it seemed meaningless. But once outside, she found herself lost, not knowing where to go, wandering aimlessly. It wasn’t as if she’d forgotten the way to the lake.

Rather, it was the first time in her life that she had acted in open defiance, and for Rosalyn the concept of freedom was something she had never known.