Chapter 14

“Ah!”

She walked until her legs trembled, then tripped over a stone and fell. Instinctively, her outstretched hand hit the ground.

Her knee was scraped, and her wrist twisted.

A cry burst out from the sharp pain. Tears threatened to spill. She was at her limit.

She had walked too far; she couldn’t go any farther. Each cold gust made her body shake. The snow on the ground was rapidly draining her body heat.

How far had she come?

Where was she now?

At some point, the gunshots she had been hearing stopped. No signs of life could be felt. No one was looking for her. Her blurred vision was now swallowed by a curtain of darkness.

Night had fallen.

Realizing the sun had set filled her with fear. And she was in the forest.

Somewhere, a beast howled. Rabiana flinched and covered her ears. Her shivering body would not calm.

‘I want to go back.’

She shouldn’t have followed Scarlett. She felt foolish for having been happy at Scarlett’s kindness. Of course not—Scarlett would never consider her a friend.

Only after walking a long while did Rabiana realize it had been a trap.

She had no idea what to do now.

Suddenly, Alberto came to mind. What was he doing right now? Had he returned to the estate? If he had, he must have noticed she was gone—what would he be thinking?

All sorts of thoughts came, but none involved Alberto searching for her. He would be annoyed, or assume she would return eventually and not bother worrying.

Loneliness washed over her.

How did she end up alone?

Before the marriage, she had never felt such searing loneliness. Lawrence had always been there. Missing his kindness made her long for him, while an indescribable resentment rose toward the cold Alberto.

If Alberto hadn’t shown up at the wedding, would she still have ended up alone in this strange forest like this?

Maybe it would’ve been better that way…

“My Lady.”

The voice from above made Rabiana freeze in place. For a moment, she wondered if she’d misheard—it sounded both familiar and strange.

The voice that called her was calm, but his breathing was uneven. Slowly, she lifted her head.

She couldn’t see a thing, but she knew. Alberto was close. If this wasn’t a hallucination…

“Al… berto…?”

The name spilled from her lips before she could stop it. Rabiana hadn’t even realized she could say his name. Embarrassed, she shut her mouth—but the word had already left her.

“Yes.”

“You… you’re really there?”

She couldn’t believe it. Was this answer a hallucination too? Rabiana reached out. Her hand fumbled through empty air, grasping nothing.

‘I knew it. I imagined it…’

She was about to pull her hand back—

Then suddenly, warmth touched her.

Her hand was caught in someone else’s. Rabiana couldn’t even pull away, her mouth hanging open.

“Ah…”

It was real.

The heat was vivid, alive. Not a dream, not a trick of her mind.

Alberto had come to find her.

Just knowing that choked her up, her eyes stinging.

The moment it hit her, tears fell freely.

“Why are you here?”

As he tried to pull his hand back, Rabiana gripped him in panic.

She didn’t want him to disappear.

She didn’t even realize how tightly she was holding on.

“I… I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?”

In that moment, she sensed the chill in Alberto’s voice.

He gave a humorless laugh at her vague answer.

When he had returned to the estate and realized Rabiana was missing, he hadn’t thought much of it at first. Maybe she’d stepped out for fresh air. He had been slightly concerned, but that was all.

But as time passed and she didn’t come back, he could no longer ignore it.

‘Where’s your wife? The sun’s about to set—aren’t you going to look for her?’

At that point, Alberto finally began to worry about Rabiana.

He searched every inch of the area and the forest but couldn’t find so much as a strand of her hair. He couldn’t even release the hunting dogs—

Rabiana had none of her belongings with her. Without her scent, tracking was impossible. In the end, Alberto had to run around himself.

When he finally found Rabiana, Alberto’s head went cold.

She’d said she would stay put, yet here she was and offered no excuse.

“You don’t know. Don’t know? You don’t know?“

His anger, long congealed, surged up all at once. Alberto yanked Rabiana’s hand toward him. She couldn’t see the sweat streaming down his face as he stared at her like he might devour her.

“Say you have sleepwalking. Then I’ll let it go.”

This was the last patience he didn’t voice.

“At least say you wandered here after dozing off.”

“……”

“So I won’t think you’re completely pathetic.”

Alberto’s words flew like daggers. Rabiana had nothing left to say. The feeling of relief that he’d come for her faded, replaced by the familiar weight of disappointment.

She knew. She knew Alberto hadn’t come because he truly cared.

Even knowing that, it hurt. They were married, after all—shouldn’t he worry at least a little?

Rabiana felt keenly that to him she was nothing more than an unwelcome guest. She’d burdened the very person she shouldn’t. Before she could make any excuse, an apology burst out first.

“…I—I’m sorry.”

Rabiana tried not to cry, but heat filled her eyes and tears streamed down. Everything felt wrong. She was cold, hurting, exhausted—and she’d troubled others. It pushed her down into a dark pit.

She struggled to breathe. With trembling hands, she hastily wiped the tears running down her cheeks.

Crying wouldn’t change anything. Alberto would probably hate seeing her cry—

He might find it annoying or, as moments ago, snap at her again.

“F-From now on…”

“Wait.”

Rabiana’s lips shut just as she was about to promise this wouldn’t happen again. It was because of the sudden touch of warmth. The hand covering her forehead was burning hot. It felt like it might scald her.

She didn’t even have the instinctive fear of being touched without permission. Strangely, she felt blank. It was as if her brain was running in slow motion.

“My Lady.”

“Y-Yes…”

Even as she replied, Rabiana felt Alberto’s voice growing distant. He was saying something, she needed to respond, but her eyes gently closed.

Alberto hurriedly caught Rabiana as she collapsed.

Her unconscious body was burning like fire. Alberto let out a shallow breath and tilted his head back.

The stars in the night sky seemed to be mocking him. Asking why he brought home a woman who needed so much care.

The consequences of his own greed were solely his to bear.

“You really do the most.”

Yet he didn’t let go of Rabiana, who felt like a burden.

***

Alberto returned straight to the Roen estate. Leaving a feverish Rabiana at the Robinson residence would not have been proper as a guest. Leaving word through his aide Pell that he would be returning, Alberto climbed the stairs, ignoring the startled expressions of the servants.

The duke and duchess, who had gone to a couple’s hunting event, returned at midnight. The duchess was unconscious, and the duke who carried her had a terrifyingly grim expression.

It was such an unusual sight that the maids whispered among themselves that they had never seen the duke with such a deadly face before.

Everyone merely followed the duke up the stairs with curious eyes, wondering what had happened.

***

‘Rabiana. What am I to you?’

From a young age, Lawrence found his sense of meaning in Rabiana.

Their connection dated back to when they were still in the womb, born of the close friendship between their parents. Lawrence’s parents had a strong marriage, but they were very busy. His mother loved to travel, and his father had devoted his life to her. It would’ve been nice if they took Lawrence with them, but it was hard for the couple to constantly mind a child. Without much shame, they left Lawrence in the care of the Selden estate.

“We’re friends, right?”

“Friends? That guy’s your friend too?”

“Vel is my friend.”

“I don’t want to be treated the same as that guy.”

Lawrence was someone deeply rooted in the aristocratic society with clear social standing. He didn’t approve of Rabiana playing around with the stable boy’s son. But to Rabiana, both were precious friends.

Lawrence was the first person Rabiana had ever formed a bond with, and Vel was someone who had once saved her.

At the time, Rabiana took Lawrence’s feelings lightly.

Her parents dismissed her concerns as nothing more than the typical jealousy that arises when your best friend grows closer to someone else. Rabiana, too, simply resolved to treat Lawrence better so he wouldn’t feel left out.

Then one day, Rabiana made a mistake with Lawrence. Her heart thumped uncontrollably, and she blurted something out without thinking.

“Lawrence, you’re different from Vel.”