Lisette felt deeply uncomfortable in the carriage. Two attendants sat pressed against her on either side, clearly positioned to prevent any escape attempts.

This made her even more frightened. What kind of man was this Baron Jerzy they were taking her to marry, that would make them act this way?

“Can you tell me anything about Baron Jerzy?” 

After watching their reactions carefully, Lisette finally broke the silence.

“He’s had three wives already.”

“What?”

“They all died of incurable illnesses.”

They didn’t seem to be trying to frighten her; their eyes held genuine concern for her. Though they were following orders, they clearly pitied her situation.

They’re determined to kill me now. Could His Majesty have ordered this himself?

She had thought it was Natalie’s doing, but as fear of death washed over her, Lisette realized it might not be her half-sister’s scheme after all. Natalie wouldn’t be bold enough to arrange something like this on her own.

Though nothing was certain yet, the possibility that the Emperor might be involved made her heart sink.

‘Why is this happening to me when I’m so close to clearing my name?’

All her evidence was packed in her luggage. Even if she died, she needed to pass it to someone trustworthy—someone who could present the facts to the Emperor on her behalf.

But Lisette had no one she trusted enough. The temple devotee Zela was perhaps the most reliable, but she hadn’t even had time to meet with her. The crucial evidence was at risk of becoming worthless.

‘Should I jump out of the carriage?’

She desperately wanted to, but that wasn’t feasible in her current situation. Two strong men were firmly planted beside her, and they would catch her immediately if she tried to jump.

‘Should I use the tool Celia gave me?’

Lisette had a self-defense tool from Celia. With it, she could evade her captors momentarily.

The problem was what would happen after jumping from the carriage. If she injured herself in the process, they would catch her anyway.

After much deliberation, Lisette decided to wait until the carriage stopped. There would be one moment when the carriage would stop before reaching the mansion—right before entering the Baron’s estate.

If she missed that opportunity, she would be dragged into the Baron’s residence. She had to seize that chance to escape, though she wasn’t sure where to run.

No. This isn’t the time to worry about that.

After a brief consideration, Lisette concluded that being executed for disobeying imperial orders would be better than going to the Baron’s mansion.

As expected, the carriage began to slow down as they approached the Baron’s estate, and Lisette took out one of her tools.

It was a sphere that would block vision and temporarily knock people unconscious. Being an experimental item, she didn’t know exactly how long the effect would last, but it should buy her enough time to escape.

With her head lowered and eyes tightly shut, she raised the sphere high. A flash of light filled the carriage, and without even a scream, the men lost consciousness.

After poking them to confirm they were truly unconscious, Lisette hurriedly opened the carriage door and stepped out.

The coachman, not noticing her escape, drove the carriage through the open gates of Baron Jerzy’s estate, and soon the gates closed behind it.

Hoping the men would remain unconscious a little longer, Lisette began running in the opposite direction of the mansion. Her mind was filled with the thought of reaching the nearest village to hire a carriage.

Fortunately, she had enough money to hire a carriage and go straight to the Imperial Palace. She needed to meet the Emperor and beg him to cancel the marriage.

Though there was a possibility that he and the Empress were conspiring to kill her, Lisette wanted to believe in her father. Either way, she risked losing her life, so she preferred to think in the direction that gave her peace of mind.

Fearing discovery, Lisette walked through the forest path. Thankfully, signposts kept her from getting too lost.

After walking for what felt like a long time, she finally spotted the village entrance in the distance.

Thank goodness.

Lisette sighed with relief as she neared her destination. Just as she was about to leave the forest and head toward the village—

Suddenly, the sound of powerful hoofbeats approached, growing louder by the moment.

Could they be… looking for her?

Lisette turned away from the village and headed back toward the forest. She couldn’t risk being taken to the Baron’s mansion, so she needed to hide among the dense undergrowth.

The chances of being discovered were fifty-fifty. She had to trust her luck.

Fortunately, Lisette’s slender frame allowed her to hide completely in the bushes.

She covered her mouth with both hands and held her breath, fearing discovery, but her pounding heart betrayed her fear.

The chirping of insects and birdsong masked the sound of her heartbeat. If she remained still, there seemed to be no risk of discovery.

“Have you seen a noble lady with blonde hair walking alone on this path?”

Soon, the sound of hoofbeats stopped nearby, and a man dismounted to ask passersby if they had seen her.

“No, I haven’t.”

Hearing that she hadn’t been seen, they mounted their horses again and began moving toward the village. However, some remained behind to search the forest.

Please. Don’t let them find her.

Lisette squeezed her eyes shut, hoping they wouldn’t notice her and would simply pass by.

“Nothing on this side. What about over there?”

“Nothing here either. Should we check that direction?”

The voices that had been approaching gradually began to fade.

Did they fail to find her?

As even the footsteps grew distant, Lisette’s tense body began to relax. She was carefully opening her eyes to check if the men had gone when—

“Finally found you.”

Someone suddenly grabbed her hand, and a familiar voice penetrated her ears.

“!”

Lisette’s eyes widened in shock when she saw the face of the man who had caught her. It was none other than Claude.

She nearly screamed from the surprise of his appearance without any warning, but before she could, he covered her mouth.

“It would be better to stay quiet unless you want to be discovered immediately.”

Has he been searching for her all this time? Why can’t he just forget about her! He was truly persistent.

She tried to think about why Claude had suddenly appeared before her, but she couldn’t figure it out. Giving up on thinking, she nodded, and only then did he release her.

“H-how did you… f-find me here…?”

Lisette asked in a small voice once her mouth was free. She tried to speak calmly, but she was too shocked for the words to come out properly.

“Did you think I wouldn’t find you if you ran away like that? You’re quite good at hide and seek. I didn’t expect it would take me this long to find you.”

Claude’s smiling face looked so eerie that Lisette’s body froze.

“Ran away?”

“Yes. Why do you look so surprised after running away?”

Does he think she fled to the temple to avoid him?

It wasn’t running away—she was hiding—but she could see how it might look like running from his perspective.

Could he be here to kill her?

“Why are you looking at me with such an innocent face, like you know nothing? After taking my virginity and running off?”

When she looked at him fearfully, his eyes narrowed. His mouth twisted into a smile that looked both cruelly vicious and oddly sensual.

“Taking and running? Who? Me? I never did that.”

What nonsense. What was this man talking about?

She was so bewildered that she felt more indignant than afraid.

“That doesn’t sound right coming from the person who took my virginity.”

“…”

But since his words weren’t exactly wrong, she couldn’t think of a retort.

“Not even an apology? What, are you acting so brazenly because you’re an Imperial Princess?”

So he did know her identity and came looking for her.

She considered switching to a haughty attitude now that he knew her identity, but decided against it. She had indeed done something wrong, so she had no defense whether he grabbed her by the collar or the nape.

“Not at all. I’ll apologize for my wrongdoing. If you met Celia, you would know from her that I didn’t do it intentionally. Honestly, I never expected things to unfold that way.”

It happened because of Celia’s mistake, so Lisette felt wronged too. Still, she needed to apologize, so she did while expressing her grievance.

Of course, Lisette had also asked Celia to help break off Claude’s marriage with the Princess, but that might have been better for his future, so she considered that irrelevant.

“You make a mistake and say you couldn’t help it? You need to take responsibility.”

“How?”

Is he really going to wring her neck? Remembering Claude’s previous words to her, she began to feel like a deer caught in a trap.

His deep brown eyes, looking like he might devour her, made her feel like he was strangling her. But instead of grabbing her neck, he pulled her body against his.

“Eek—mmph!”

“Do you want to get caught by screaming here?”

When his firm lower body pressed against her, Claude instantly covered Lisette’s mouth as she cried out in surprise. Her scream disappeared into his palm.

“Can you feel how my body has changed? It’s been like this ever since that day. Do you understand?”

“I-I’m sorry.”

With dilated pupils, Lisette apologized to Claude again. It wasn’t a sincere apology—she was too shocked and simply blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

“I know. I’ll accept your apology, so just answer my questions.”

“W-what do you want to ask?”