“Lerry, here’s that new release you mentioned.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Hena.”

“Script books are incredibly hard to get, I tell you. I managed to find one this time, but next time might be difficult.”

“That’s okay. I’m grateful every time.”

When I smiled brightly and bowed my head, Mrs. Hena waved her hand and shooed me away, telling me to hurry up and go read. 

And for good reason—it was a book I’d been counting down the days for. The lady knew that, so instead of embarrassing words, she sent me off in her own way.

Leaving the alley, I hugged the thick book and walked along the roadside. White birds circled overhead, and below, shallow waves announced their presence, rushing in and retreating repeatedly.

I took a deep breath, then exhaled slowly. I only learned after coming here how liberating the sea breeze mixed with that fishy smell could be.

“Lerry! Tomorrow we’ll have rye bread!”

A handsome face around my age smiled widely and shouted.

“Thank you for letting me know, Hamilton!”

I waved enthusiastically at Hamilton, the owner of the bakery I visited every other day, then opened the door and went inside. Sunlight filtering through thin curtains brightly illuminated the round table. I placed the new book there.

A small house with two rooms. Compared to Ernst’s mansion it was nothing, but for me—who only read books and scribbled scripts—it was enough. Cozy and quiet, I couldn’t have liked it more.

I knew Ernst had people watching me. He’d never said so directly, but I could deduce it from clues he’d dropped in passing. 

At the time, I naively thought he did it out of concern for my safety, to prepare for potential threats. Now I knew it was because he worried the merchandise he had to offer Marquis Karli might run away.

I’d dressed as usual and gone down to the village, wandering here and there—the bookstore, the dress shop. 

Then I found an opening, changed clothes, put on a hat to disguise myself, and ran. Going to crowded places to blend in and heading to the train station made shaking them off easy. 

The biggest factor in my success was probably that they’d never imagined I’d do such a thing and had loosened their guard.

Only about two months had passed, but life here was quite satisfying. Ships came and went, but for all that, it was fairly quiet. I could see the ocean, watch plays, and Ernst’s news didn’t reach me well.

At first, I thought a place with high population density would be better for hiding. 

But doubts sprang up about whether I—who’d never even been to a regional hub that was supposedly bustling enough—could live well there. 

Fundamentally, I loathed crowded places to the point of shuddering.

I’d healed the wounds from Huidin with Ernst, but Ernst had inflicted even deeper wounds. Even if they were shallow, I wanted nothing more to do with forming relationships with others. 

So even with the people I met here, I kept an appropriate distance, only exchanging pleasant greetings. Thinking of the future, I had to do even more of that.

“It shouldn’t have been…”

Could it be? Cold sweat flowed from my palms. My voice trembled thinly through my lips. This was already the third time the reader in my hand had shown red. 

Yet I still couldn’t easily believe it and was denying reality. They were readers bought from different places, so they couldn’t be fraudulent or defective.

The moment I realized further stubbornness was useless, I ended up sitting down carelessly on the floor. After staying like that for a while, I lifted my head that had been hanging weakly. I caressed my lower abdomen with both slender hands.

Yes, this child is my child. I’ll raise them without Ernst knowing.

We’d clung together day and night like blind beasts. Acting so voraciously, he couldn’t have failed to consider the possibility of pregnancy. 

Ernst seemed to give no thought to contraception, freely scattering his traces inside me, and while at first my heart just floated in happiness, as time passed, shadows gradually fell over it.

I’d considered taking contraceptive pills. Since Ernst wasn’t being careful, I thought I should at least do so. But somehow sensing it, Ernst firmly blocked that exit, saying it wasn’t good for my body. 

He only asked if I disliked having a child or was scared. When I said I wasn’t, he said that was enough and reassured me not to worry.

That’s how it was then. Because I completely trusted Ernst. I thought he’d take responsibility for me and the child to the end, but at that end was the position of the Marquis’s mistress.

Tears fell. By now they should have dried up. But there was nothing I could do—my grief had pooled and pooled until it filled a deep well.

However, I shook off the sadness faster than expected. There was a baby in my belly, and this baby was now my only family. 

A baby who came when I was exhausted, remaining as one grain of sand among countless others in an empty world. At first, I denied it due to anxiety that kept rippling about whether I could do well, but now I couldn’t deny that it was the only light in my life.

Vowing never to lose the baby, I harshly cut off thoughts about Ernst. Whether they were memories or hatred. And I threw myself into writing scripts like mad. 

Though I still had quite a bit of money left from converting the jewels, no matter how frugally I spent, it was clear I’d be penniless once the baby was born.

“Your expression seems brighter these days. Did something good happen?”

“I guess I’m in a good mood seeing the new release.”

“You seemed down for a while. Keep living so spiritedly.”

“Yes. Thank you for your concern, Mrs. Hena.”

Mrs. Hena put two books in a bag and handed them to me. They were new works by my favorite author after a whole ten years, so as soon as I received them, a grin naturally spread across my face. 

How thrilling the moment of obtaining at the end of despair what I’d given up on, thinking I’d never see it.

My heart floated up for no reason, and somehow an intuition rang that only good things would happen all day. 

Since I’d been like this continuously for the past two weeks after vowing to protect the baby, I thought maybe this baby was a gift heaven gave me out of pity. Even if the father was a demon who’d thrown me into the abyss in an instant.

It was just as I entered the alley, humming while holding a bag with books in one hand and a bag with fruit in the other.

“Liv.”

My name—which I’d only called inwardly since coming here—was called. Thinking it was an auditory hallucination, I hesitated, then looked at the ground and walked again. Because here I was Lerry.

“Liv.”

That name came flying on the wind again. It swept my eardrums more intensely than before. 

The pronunciation was too clear to be a hallucination. The closer I got to home, the clearer that voice became, and I was reluctant to lift my head at the eerie premonition.

“Liv.”

The voice tangled with the sound of my heart beating *thump thump thump* savagely finally lifted my face.

“Ah…”

It wasn’t a hallucination. Ernst was there, eerily expressionless, his face completely wiped clean of any emotion.

In an instant, my body turned around on its own. An instinctive warning alarm beeped in my head. Run, I have to run!

I threw away everything in my hands and ran. The footsteps following me, leisurely at first, gradually became rougher. My pulse raced terrifyingly, and soon a firm forearm wrapped around my waist like a hook and pulled.

I tensed my whole body, but it was useless. I was pulled like a paper doll and ended up in his embrace. I felt like vomiting.

“Let go!”

“Liv. It’s me.”

The whisper melting into my ear was so sweet that goosebumps rose along my spine.

“Let go, let me go. Let go.”

“Why would I?”

Still holding me from behind, he murmured gently. Every time his breath touched me, goosebumps rose and I couldn’t stand it. 

I struggled, forcibly pushed him away, and barely managed to turn around to face him directly. The arms that had been tightly binding my waist and chest, like they’d never let go, obediently released me.

Instead, Ernst’s large hand gently grasped the back of my head. His face, approaching slowly, was disgustingly still beautiful and brilliant.

“Get lost. I have nothing to say to you.”

“Oh dear. That hurts.”

“If you want to play word games, go back and find someone. Don’t come to the wrong place and do this.”

“Liv. I came to talk with you.”

“Well, I didn’t.”

We weren’t communicating. Conversely, he probably thought the same. So all the more reason we had nothing to say.

I shook my head hard and roughly removed the hand clinging to my head. I thought it would stick like a leech, but fortunately it fell away weakly. Completely free from restraint, I stepped back, then glared at him and warned.

“Just get lost. I never want to see you in my life again, so don’t ever appear again.”

I swept past his gaze staring at me blankly with an expressionless face and went straight into the house. He probably still stood there dumbfounded, but that wasn’t something I needed to worry about.

I slammed the door hard. I leaned my back against the door and barely managed to stand, but soon my legs gave out and I slid right down.

Hollow laughter burst out in puffs. I thought I’d escaped perfectly, but I was in the palm of his hand. My mind, which had gone blank like a canvas, made me run away first, but actually, bone-chilling fear was right in front of me.

Did he come to catch me? To offer me to Marquis Karli? Just when I’d decided to live with the baby.

Tears welled up. They fell miserably down my cheeks, eventually leaving a large stain on the carpet. Pressing down on the damp carpet with my hand, I had pointless thoughts. 

What if he breaks down the door tomorrow—no, even now—and takes me away? Should I hang myself?

My head, full of approaching misfortune, refused any further thought. Whatever resolve I made, if I was in the palm of his hand anyway, there was no need to struggle. 

Before I could reconnect my thoughts that had been cut off like a blown fuse, I staggered to bed, collapsed, and closed my eyes.