“Not eating, not getting treatment… It seems your family doesn’t take care of you?”

Although I was slightly irritated by his words, I soon realized my position as an intruder who had trespassed into this man’s cabin and decided to stay quietly in his arms.

The man let out a sigh and carried me towards the cabin.

“Stay still and sit.”

He sat me on the bed, then started a fire and began making something with quick movements.

A moment later, he handed me a bowl full of delicious-looking soup.

I accepted the soup he offered in bewilderment.

“His Highness the Crown Prince took an interest in you. When I went to fetch you, the people of the marquis’s mansion said you were too ill to go out,”

I flinched at his words.

Looking at my reaction, he sighed again and then took out the box containing medical supplies he had used yesterday and began treating the wound on my leg.

“They said the Marquis’s daughter was too ill to answer the imperial summons, yet the Marquis household hadn’t called for a physician. And I hadn’t heard that Miss Masipacius was staying at any other noble house, so I came here just in case.”

Having nothing to say to that, I could only manage an embarrassed smile while quietly eating the soup.

“Did you run away from home? I guess you’re not happy about that Leila becoming the youngest daughter?”

I let out a hollow laugh at his words.

“Of course not. Whether Leila becomes the youngest daughter or the head of the family, it has nothing to do with me.”

“Then why did you run away?”

“I didn’t run away from them. I ran away from myself.”

From myself who had hoped for even a little recognition from Father and my brothers with the Crown Prince’s appearance and spirit power.

……It was a useless hope.

Was I unable to ignore family bonds even after being betrayed like this?

Rather than that, it was probably because I couldn’t let go of my desire to be loved by family from my previous life.

Please let go.

I need to let go now.

They are nothing but poison to me.

Though they say people who liked Leila came to hate me because of those damn gods……

They didn’t like me even before Leila appeared, and now there’s even less chance of improving relationships.

I can’t live the same life as my past one.

I want to live.

Magnificently. Better than anyone else.

So that no one can look down on me.

Thanks to this, I’ve become resolute.

From now on, I have only one goal.

To abandon Masipacius.

Not just abandon it.

I will abandon it thoroughly, and establish my own family.

The man looked at my determined expression and said,

“So what are you planning to do now? The Marquis must have sent people to search for you by now.”

“…Why?”

“After hearing that the Crown Prince is looking for you, do you think the Marquis would leave your disappearance alone? If strange rumors start spreading, it could affect the Marquis’s business.”

I let out a deep sigh at his words.

“Haa…… Why is the Crown Prince suddenly looking for me?”

The man suddenly flinched.

He glanced at me nervously, then avoided my eyes and started fiddling with the weapons lying nearby.

What’s with him, why is he suddenly acting so cautious?

It’s not like he’s the one who called for me.

Does he feel some responsibility as a member of the imperial palace?

“I should go back. Nothing will be solved by staying here…… And in the society of the Gellions Empire, an academy diploma is essential for a woman to survive on her own.”

The man tilted his head at my words.

“What does needing an academy diploma have to do with you returning to the Masipacius household?”

“I can’t afford the academy tuition on my own.”

Hearing my words, the man uncomfortably tilted his head and sighed.

“You said it yourself before. That you couldn’t say your father’s business was clean. Yet…… you’re going to return to the Marquis household to use that money to enter the academy?”

I let out a hollow laugh at his words.

His tone suggested he was disappointed in me.

“Then what should I do? If I leave home now, I’ll be a disowned lady without any inheritance who can’t even find a proper match. It’s not like I want to use dirty money.”

The man flinched.

“In this empire, women still can’t find proper jobs without an academy diploma. Ironically, though I hate my father, I’m a nobly raised lady who can’t do anything without his help.”

The man, seeming to realize his mistake, fidgeted anxiously while watching my reaction.

I smiled at him.

“I also committed the crime of trespassing in this cabin, so I’ll pretend I didn’t hear what you said earlier.”

He stared at me for a while before nodding.

“How long do you plan to stay in this cabin?”

“Father will probably send the mansion’s knights across the country to find me. It’s only a matter of time before this cabin is discovered…. I don’t want Father to find this cabin, so I should leave before then.”

“…Are the mansion’s knights that impressive? Enough to find a cabin deep in these mountains?”

“Many of them have served the Masipacius family for generations and feel indebted to the family. They follow Father’s words like divine commands.”

As I got up from the bed, he hesitated for a moment before lifting me up.

“You might tear your wound again going down.”

At his words, I decided to quietly stay in his arms as we descended the mountain.

After coming down the mountain and setting me down, he kissed my hand saying he looked forward to seeing me again, then quickly left.

The Crown Prince’s knight from before was also incredibly fast at running — it seemed being quick on their feet was a characteristic of people around the imperial family.

At this rate, is it impossible to work at the palace without fast legs?

How can they all disappear from sight in an instant?

While having these useless thoughts, I walked for quite a while and arrived at the Masipacius mansion that I honestly didn’t want to enter again.

Standing at the main gate looking at the mansion and sighing, wondering what kind of words I would hear when I went in, I suddenly heard someone running out from inside.

“Miss!!”

When I looked up, there was Mylene already in tears, along with the head chef and what looked like other kitchen staff running towards me.

What, what’s going on…?

Feeling an inexplicable fear, I stepped back in alarm, but Mylene caught me faster than I could retreat from them.

“Miss……  sob  where have you been……”

Flustered by Mylene hugging me and crying heavily, I earnestly patted her shoulder.

The head chef and others wiped their tears, seemingly moved by the sight of Mylene and me.

I mean, Mylene I understand….

But why suddenly the head chef and other kitchen staff…?

And soon I could understand the reason.

“Sister Rowenloa!!”

Ha, am I hearing things?

Leila is calling me sister.

Not long after Mylene and the kitchen staff ran out to me, the family members came out of the mansion.

People made way so they could approach me.

“Sister, when you suddenly disappeared, you don’t know how worried I was!”

I let out a hollow laugh at her words.

Leila held my hand tightly and looked around at the people standing around me.

“But why is everyone here…? Did you come out to welcome sister back?”

The kitchen staff’s expressions hardened at those words.

The head chef looked between Leila and me before nodding yes.

“Oh my, everyone is so kind!”

While Leila wore a touched expression, people’s expressions didn’t easily brighten.

Um….

Could it be….

“Thank you everyone for coming out like this. Please go back inside now. I should go in quickly too and finish my conversation with Father.”

As they went back into the mansion, my brothers approached me.

“We thought you were at the Posilia duchy, but you weren’t.”

Brother Bershua spoke.

I just shrugged in response to his words.

It seemed they did try to look for me.

When I didn’t speak, my second brother Rembro opened his mouth.

“Do you know how much Father looked for you? How could you disappear like that without saying where you were going!”

I just shrugged again, unconcerned by his words.

I walked past them towards the mansion.

Father was standing there.

I stopped in front of him and gave a slight bow.

“You…!”

Father seemed about to shout something at me but then firmly closed his mouth and just rubbed his face with one hand as if he had a headache.

“Just where have you been all this time?”

“I went for a walk because I felt stifled and got lost.”

Father snorted at my answer.

“For getting lost, you look quite…… presentable.”

“The world is still quite warm. There were people who gave me food and showed me the way when I was lost.”

Hearing my words, Father let out a big sigh and shook his head.

“How is it that Leila, who’s been a noble for less than a week, is more……”

I let out a “ha–” laugh at his words.

“Follow me. I have matters to discuss with you.”