Through her blurred vision, Evelyn could make out the contorted, rage-filled face of an elderly woman.

It was the same woman she had met a few days earlier who had told her that her son had died in the war.

She kept screaming at the top of her lungs.

“My boy! Give me back my poor boy! You devil…!”

Under the woman’s merciless *ssault, Evelyn groaned faintly. As though emboldened by the sound, the old woman tightened her grip.

“Every breath you take is a sin! Why are you still alive? Die! Die like your father and go straight to hell! How dare you walk these streets with your head held high? You shameless, brazen little devil!”

Something stretched taut inside Evelyn’s mind and suddenly snapped.

She hated her father more than anyone. Yet this woman was forcing his sins upon her, and no one was helping her. The injustice filled her with an unbearable fury.

She dug her nails into the back of the woman’s hand and raked them down.

“Let……go!”

Their clothes twisted out of place as they struggled. The old woman staggered, and just as Evelyn tried to pull her hand away, the necklace she had tucked deep inside her clothes fell to the ground with a cold metallic clink.

They both looked down.

Then the pain in Evelyn’s scalp eased. The old woman had spotted the fallen necklace and released her hair.

“My son is dead, and you have the nerve to carry something like this?”

Evelyn let out a bitter, furious laugh and started to grind the necklace beneath her worn boot.

Seeing the woman trample so carelessly over her world, Evelyn lunged at her. Drawing on all her strength, she pushed the woman in the chest.

“Aaah!”

Ignoring her scream, Evelyn picked up the necklace and examined it closely. Thankfully, she could see no obvious damage.

She tucked it deep inside her clothes, then approached the fallen woman. Having fallen over the signboard outside a shop, the woman was now lying on the ground, clutching her lower back and unable to get up properly.

“It’s not my fault your son died.”

Evelyn’s cold gaze fell on the old woman.

“Why did he die? Isn’t it obvious? Your son had neither the skill nor the luck to survive! It wasn’t my fault. His time was simply up!”

The old woman’s face grew steadily paler. Everything Evelyn had fought to suppress came surging up inside her.

“On the battlefield, the ones who fall first are the weak. Your son just happened to be one of them……”

Struggling to steady her blurred vision, she raised her voice with all the strength she had left.

“……But if you still need someone to take your anger out on, go to my father! He’s in the ground! Dig up his grave, drag out his corpse—I don’t care! Just leave me alone!”

Having revealed her ugliest side, Evelyn turned away.

The onlookers parted as if on cue, leaving them alone.

She could not tell whether they were satisfied now that they had witnessed her wretched downfall in all its detail, or whether they were frightened by the viciousness of a woman who could wound a grieving mother so cruelly.

***

Evelyn wiped the hot tears from her cheeks and wandered off in search of somewhere to sit. The old woman’s screams echoed in her ears, and she was haunted by the indifference of the passers-by.

What did her pride or her debts matter now? What was left of her life but endless misery and contempt?

All she wanted was to live. But she lacked the courage to die.

She despised her father for ruining her life, yet she could not abandon the stubborn survival instinct he had passed on to her.

‘If only I’d run away sooner, like Damian. Perhaps things would have been a little different.’

She was sinking into bitter self-disgust when a voice reached her.

“Oh, darling, really. You’re starting already? We’re still nowhere near the place.”

A shrill, vulgar laugh cut through the air like shattered glass, stopping her in her tracks. She turned to look down the narrow alleyway, which was lit by red gas lamps.

The cloying scent of face powder mingled with the sour stench of sweat. Eyes roamed openly over bodies, unrestrained by even a hint of shame.

Evelyn had never witnessed anything like it, yet she instinctively knew where she was: the brothel district.

The brothel district.

In the middle of the street, men roughly fondled the hips and backsides of women who draped themselves over their shoulders, laughing and flirting.

Evelyn stiffened. She felt as though she had been splashed with filth. Recoiling in disgust, she hurriedly turned away.

“Well, this is a first.”

A man suddenly stepped into her path and tipped up her chin.

“You must be hard up for money. Coming here yourself—you must be desperate……”

“……”

Evelyn’s entire body went rigid. His revolting voice went on.

“A newcomer like you won’t get what she’s worth from a pimp. Why not try me instead? Just spread your legs nicely, and I’ll make it worth your while.”

His eyes gleamed with l*st, openly tracing her slender waist as he bared his teeth in a grin.

“L-let go…… I only took a wrong turn……”

“Why? Do you need paying up front?”

With a sleazy smile, he pulled a few coins from his pocket. Then he lifted the edge of her clothes and tried to force them inside, against her bare skin.

“Let go! Don’t touch me!”

Evelyn screamed in panic and kicked him in the shin. He lost his balance with a pained curse. Seizing the opening, she immediately ran in the opposite direction.

How long had she been running?

“Ah……!”

Evelyn cried out and fell to the ground. Her toe had caught on a paving slab.

Groaning faintly, she pushed herself up. She feared the man might be following her, but thankfully, she could hear no sign of anyone nearby.

Still unsteady on her feet, Evelyn took another step.

“Aaah!”

A searing pain shot through her ankle, far worse than the initial impact of the fall. It was the same ankle that had been injured at the carriage stop.

She looked down. It was grotesquely swollen — nothing like the occasional ache she had experienced before. Heat pulsed beneath the taut skin, as though it might burst.

Somewhere along the way, she had left the red gas lamps of the brothel district behind. Now, darkness swallowed the streets.

Lost among the twisting lanes, Evelyn finally gave up trying to walk. Her body had reached its limit, as had her resolve.

She dragged her injured leg and crawled into the nearest gap between two buildings. A foul smell rose from the neglected passageway, but she no longer cared.

Morning would come again.

Clinging to that fragile hope, Evelyn squeezed her eyes shut.

“There you are.”

A voice, unbearably tender, drifted down from above.

“You were taking so long to come that I went looking for you myself. And here you are, huddled in a place like this.”

“……”

“Did you find any work? Or perhaps you managed to sell some jewelry?”

“How did you……”

“It can’t have been easy.”

Evelyn’s pupils trembled at the certainty in his voice.

Then everything fell into place.

It wasn’t just bad luck or the lingering consequences of her father’s actions.

“You…… How could you……”

Her brow contorted.

The man who had blocked her every path stood before her now. Humiliation and shame blurred her vision.

“Ah, I’m sorry. I didn’t come here to torment you.”

Noticing the tears brimming in her eyes, he gave her a sweet smile.

“I just……wanted to know if you’d changed your mind.”

“……”

“And I thought you might be glad I came.”

“……Why are you doing this to me?”

Nothing he did made sense.

Not only had he racked up tens of thousands of pounds in debt, he had also gone to great lengths to block her every path.

Was all that effort really worth it just to avenge a childhood grievance or toy with her?

She looked up at him, searching for an answer.

But all her questions deserted her.

He was smiling.

It was as though her refusal had never been an obstacle at all.

The anger knotting her stomach suddenly began to fade.

She wanted to understand his intentions. Why had he gone to such lengths just to leave her with no other option?

She let out a shallow breath and spoke quietly.

“……Then ask me again.”

“……”

“I think my answer will be different this time. So ask me to marry you again.”

As she finished speaking, Killian’s lips curved into a gentle smile. Then he slowly lowered himself onto one knee.

“Evelyn.”

His hand gently closed around hers.

“Please marry me.”

“……Yes.”

After a long pause, Evelyn finally answered quietly.

She felt warm lips settle on the back of her hand.

She closed her eyes.

With all her heart, she prayed that his courtship was not about love.