“We just need to get outside the castle.”

A bright ochre-colored gem glittered in Antor’s hand. Thirty minutes earlier, Hari had successfully deceived the soldiers’ eyes, stolen the prison key, and helped Antor escape from his cell.

He asserted that with just the gem embedded in the Central Temple fountain, they could go anywhere. It was a gem very similar to what the goddess Igrito had placed inside Hari’s body.

“Try injecting some divine power to activate it. You can do at least that much, right? If that’s possible, we can escape safely.”

Antor spoke rapidly as they crossed through the dense forest between the double walls. Hari’s movements following behind weren’t swift.

“Stop dawdling and hurry up. We don’t have time!”

Antor urged impatiently, rolling the gem in his palm. He knew her condition wasn’t good, but at this pace they wouldn’t escape in time. By now the prison break would have been discovered. That’s when he sensed something strange.

“Hey, don’t you hear that sound?”

Hari heard it too. The sound of hoofbeats rapidly approaching them.

“D*mn it!”

The moment he saw the torches growing clearer, Antor’s eyes wavered with conflict. He glared at Hari like she was a nuisance, then suddenly hoisted her up. When her belly was pressed, a groan escaped involuntarily. As Hari struggled in pain, Antor scowled fiercely.

“Don’t tell me you deceived me?”

“Deceived you? What do you mean…!”

“You betrayed your former master, so why wouldn’t you do the same to me? Did you pretend to help me while reporting the escape to that bastard Achilleon!”

“No! You know I have nothing to gain from this! No one spotted us on the way here!”

“Then why are pursuers following us! You must have blabbed, so he knows and is already tracking us!”

Antor shouted incoherently, then threw Hari down to the ground roughly. He could find a priest who could use agate outside the castle. He had tried to use Hari, but fleeing with a heavy woman would be s*icide.

Having made his decision quickly, Antor abandoned his initial promise to help her escape and ran off.

What? He’s running away alone?

Abandoning me?

“Antor, wait!”

What am I supposed to do if you leave like that!

“Antor!”

She shouted desperately, but Antor disappeared into the forest without looking back. Meanwhile, the menacing sound of hoofbeats was rapidly approaching. She shouldn’t have trusted that snake-like man. Hari sat down in despair.

The pitch-black night, winter wind lashing her skin, her aching belly, soldiers approaching with frightening momentum, herself left alone. Anger and disappointment burst forth as tears. Antor had said he knew a way to escape without leaving traces. But Hari didn’t.

“……”

She wiped her streaming tears and crawled away. Achilleon wouldn’t forgive her for trying to escape four times. Having helped a death row prisoner escape, she might really face execution this time. Still, she desperately tried to hide herself, wanting to survive.

Thud thud thud—

But the pursuit party passed right by Hari. They briefly shone their torches where Hari was hiding, then shouted “That way!” and disappeared in the direction Antor had gone. Only after the surroundings became quiet did Hari raise her head.

‘Did they pass by…?’

They just left like that?

Her heart pounded violently. She felt like soldiers with spears would come running to grab her neck at the slightest sound. But no matter how long she waited, no soldiers appeared.

After wiping her tears, Hari stared blankly at the forest shrouded in darkness, then felt inside her clothes. After confirming that her Kahilans travel pass and sacred fruit seeds were properly there, she carefully began walking.

The surroundings were quiet like the recent commotion had been a dream. Somewhere, the sound of insects crying could be heard. A single beam of moonlight stretched long over the grass like a signpost. Hari walked and walked.

‘Huh?’

Then something bumped against her foot. The agate Antor had dropped.

Why is this here? Half surprise, half suspicion. Hari picked up the gem.

‘Strange.’

She thought all the coincidences aligned too perfectly. For her to be able to escape, all the situations…

Was it a deliberately set trap?

Though suspicious, she put the gem in her bosom without time to think deeply. This sacred gem was the only way to disappear without a trace, avoiding Achilleon’s eyes.

Finally, Hari reached the end of the moonlight, the gate of the outer wall shining pure white.

Hari swallowed and pushed the door.

Creak—

The rusty iron gate opened, and bitingly cold wind rushed in, sharp enough to clear her mind.

‘Ah.’

Her heart pounded in a different way than before. Hari took a deep, trembling breath. She looked back one last time at the main castle where brilliant fireworks were bursting. The moonlight quietly illuminated her bare feet, like waiting for her choice.

“……”

For a moment, just a moment, she thought of Achilleon. But that was all. Margharita, clutching the agate tightly, ran without hesitation toward the darkness outside the castle. A glittering blue sacred bird followed behind her.

* * *

“Your Majesty, we’ve captured the Second Prince.”

“Did Margharita safely escape the castle?”

“Yes, she seems to have found the agate we dropped near the wall. We’ve confirmed the location of nearby agate users, so tracking won’t be difficult.”

“Which direction did she go?”

“South.”

The opposite direction from Lagonia.

“We’ll know for sure if we continue tracking the agate, but isn’t Kahilans likely her destination?”

Since it’s a neutral country where even foreign royalty can’t enter freely, that probability was high. He had expected she wouldn’t return directly to Lagonia for fear of being traced, but Kahilans.

“Make sure to watch over her secretly so Margharita never notices. Wherever that person wants to settle, protect her so she can establish herself safely.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Keep watching quietly afterward too. Help her if she lacks anything. It won’t be easy for a woman alone to raise a child in an unfamiliar place.”

“…Yes.”

“She’s a beautiful person, so unsavory types might approach her. She’ll be frightened. I don’t want to see Margharita living in fear and anxiety again.”

“I understand your orders.”

The subordinate who understood the meaning nodded and withdrew. Achilleon, who had stood fixed like a nail at the window overlooking the outer wall for a long time, headed to the underground prison.

“Baby, your father is a very cold-hearted person.”

The whisper that had been heard softly from the room.

“Are you certain that child is Antor’s bloodline?”

“Yes.”

The firm denial.

Achilleon made his decision.

Even if Hari’s child was his own bloodline, if she didn’t want it. If she didn’t want it known until death, if she didn’t want to acknowledge him as the child’s father…

He would not interfere with anything. It was a decision made from the moment he resolved to let her go. Achilleon also didn’t want the small life in her womb to live under threat in the royal castle just because it inherited royal blood.

In Achilleon’s memory, Margharita was always a woman who lived tense, trying not to tremble. A pitiful person who had been manipulated her whole life by greedy bastards including himself, struggling desperately to survive.

He wanted Margharita to be happy. Setting down the feelings born from desire and selfishness, he finally understood what he truly wanted. And what he needed to do.

Achilleon walked again into the dim corridor.

* * *

Julia, who had tidied the empty room, rested her arms sadly on the windowsill.

“Is it because the weather is cold? This winter seems particularly long.”

“It’s natural to be cold in early spring. Did you finish organizing the bedroom?”

“Yes.”

Margharita had disappeared. That was already three months ago. Though they no longer had a master to serve, Julia and Ilisei had left Hari’s room untouched. Until today, when the king’s order came down.

“Since no one’s using it anyway, let’s just leave it.”

“Three months was already a long time to leave it. The ministers complained that Miss Hari’s room was inauspicious and should be cleared immediately. His Majesty had no choice.”

“It wouldn’t look good if rumors spread that someone about to have a royal wedding left his former lover’s room unchanged.”

Though they understood, they couldn’t help feeling bitter. The two maids slowly removed furniture and packed Hari’s personal belongings into sacks.

“Do you think she’s alive?”

“Since there’s been no word of her capture, she must be living well somewhere! Don’t say unlucky things and just clean.”

“But by now her belly would be quite large, and it can’t be easy for a woman alone to be on the run.”

This time Ilisei also fell silent. They both let out heavy sighs simultaneously.

“We have to believe she’s doing well somewhere.”