Meanwhile, what caught Ines’s eye at the stall was a ripe red apple. Its round, beautiful shape suggested that one bite would release a flood of sweet juice.

Ines pointed at the apple and asked the vendor.

“How much are these apples?”

“Yes! Ten shillings for five!”

Ines flinched in surprise at hearing the price. Unlike the friendly voice, the price was anything but. Two shillings for one apple. That was about the price of two bottles of medicine she made staying up all night, as one bottle sold for about one shilling.

Ines hesitated for a moment at the unexpectedly high price. In her village, apples were hard to come by, only available when merchants brought them back from city trips. She clearly remembered Greta enjoying the apple she had received as a gift from a village elder around last year.

‘Greta really likes apples…’

Moreover, thinking of Greta lying in their lodgings looking exhausted, she couldn’t just walk away. The deliberation was brief. Finally deciding to buy them, Ines answered the merchant.

“Then I’ll take five. May I choose them?”

“Of course! Just tell me which ones, and I’ll pack them for you!”

“Then…”

Ines picked out several apples that looked the sweetest and most delicious and handed them to the vendor.

“I’ll take these.”

“Here you go!”

The vendor handed Ines a paper bag containing the apples with a bright face. Ines took the apples and rummaged through her pockets to pay. But then.

“Huh? My wallet…”

The wallet she was sure she had was missing. A panicked Ines quickly searched her entire body, but unfortunately, the wallet was nowhere to be found. The vendor’s eyes narrowed, noticing something was wrong.

“What, you don’t have money, miss?”

At the vendor’s sharp tone, Ines looked up with an embarrassed expression.

“I’m sorry, I left my wallet…”

That’s when it happened. A shadow fell over her from behind.

Before she could sense someone approaching, suddenly a hand reached out from behind.

“I’ll pay for it.”

A low baritone voice fell over Ines’s head.

‘Who is it?’

Before Ines could turn around at the familiar voice, the vendor had already taken the money from the man. The vendor’s attitude flipped completely, from being irritated about money to being accommodating.

“Oh my, if you had company, you should have said so. Please enjoy!”

Ines, who had unexpectedly gotten the apples for free, blinked in confusion. Though she didn’t know whose kindness it was, she had no intention of troubling a stranger. She planned to either return the apples or go back to the lodgings to repay the money.

Just then, as Ines quickly turned around to see the man.

Thud, roll roll.

Her hands went limp, and the apples she was holding fell to the ground. At the same time, her heart plummeted to the floor.

Her blue eyes trembled violently from side to side. The person who absolutely should not be there was right in front of her.

Ines barely parted her lips, uttering the man’s name like a sigh.

“Ca-Carlos…?”

It was none other than Carlos. Upon realizing this, Ines’s body began to tremble like an aspen leaf. But Carlos calmly picked up the fallen apples and put them back in the bag.

He handed the paper bag full of apples to Ines and spoke.

“It’s been a while… Ines.”

His voice was thick with emotion as he murmured Ines’s name.

“How did you, why are you here…”

Contrary to her will, her voice came out in broken fragments.

She couldn’t think at all right now. Her mind had turned completely blank, as if white paint had been spilled all over it.

Why was Carlos here? Did he come knowing she was here? Or was it truly just a coincidence? While all sorts of confused thoughts were jumbling up in Ines’s mind, her legs moved first by instinct.

Ines pushed Carlos away and hurriedly fled. Due to the sudden push, the apples Carlos was holding rolled on the ground once again.

People stared strangely at Ines as she ran with difficulty, leaning on her walking stick, but she had no energy to care about such things. She had no destination. Her mind was filled only with the thought that she needed to escape to somewhere without Carlos.

How long had she run like that? Having reached a narrow alley where there were no people, Ines caught her breath. Her shoulders heaved strongly, showing how out of breath she was.

Ines suppressed the nausea rising in her stomach. The quiet alley, empty of people, helped calm her racing heart.

“Haa, haa…”

Having finally caught her breath, Ines exhaled deeply and leaned against the wall. Even standing with the walking stick was difficult. As her breathing settled, she went over what had just happened.

“How on earth is Carlos here?”

She hadn’t heard any news about the king coming here. If she had heard such news, she wouldn’t have come with Greta. That meant he had visited Mareina unofficially, and yet…

“Why is Carlos in Mareina…”

Just as she was muttering to herself in confusion, an answer to her question echoed through the narrow alley.

“I came to find you, Ines.”

Startled, Ines whirled around. The figure slowly walking through the light was a man she knew well.

“…Carlos.”

The black darkness against the light created an illusion that he was approaching her. Sure enough, she hadn’t managed to shake him off. Thinking about it, it was obvious. How could a limping woman possibly evade a healthy adult man?

Moreover, unlike her, he didn’t seem tired from coming this far, as his breathing wasn’t disturbed at all. This made Ines feel an inexplicable sense of helplessness.

The helplessness of knowing that no matter how much she struggled, she couldn’t escape from this man’s grasp.

Ines bit her lip hard enough to draw blood.

“Did you… know I was alive? Did Herman tell you?”

He answered with silence. Though she didn’t know the details, it seemed he had indeed found out through Herman.

Ines’s clenched fists tightened.

‘I should have left Tezever after all.’

No, even if she had left Tezever, he might have found her anyway because of the identity card Herman had forged for her.

‘What should I do now? What should I…’

As Ines was in confusion, Carlos, who had approached close enough to reach her, embraced her.

Then his yearning voice tickled Ines’s ear.

“Thank you, Ines…”

His arms tightened around her as if trying to confirm her warmth.

“For being alive like this.”

How much had he trembled in fear until just moments ago, thinking Ines might be dead? He was simply grateful for the fact that Ines was breathing and alive before him.

But unlike Carlos who was overcome with emotion, Ines’s entire body became stiff and frozen. And soon after coming to her senses, she pushed Carlos away.

Carlos’s body separated from Ines without resistance at her struggle. And then…

Slap!

With a sharp sound, Carlos’s face turned to the side. Ines had struck his cheek.

“Don’t… touch my body.”

Carlos, who had brushed his reddened cheek once with his hand, raised his head. Despite being suddenly slapped, he showed no sign of displeasure. Rather, as if even this was welcome, he murmured Ines’s name in a gentle voice.

“Ines.”

But Ines shouted as if disgusted by Carlos’s behavior.

“If you were at least human! Even if you knew I was alive, you shouldn’t have looked for me.”

Ines’s body trembled as she bit her lip.

“If you heard from Herman, you should know. What kind of determination it took for me to run away…”

She had been prepared to bear Hailey’s scars. Yet Carlos had found her so easily, making her resolution seem laughable.

Soon, unfiltered words poured from her mouth.

“I even pretended to be dead. I quietly watched my own funeral being held before I left! After I went that far, you shouldn’t have looked for me. Even if you knew I was alive, you should have let me go, thinking I must be living well somewhere!”

“…”

“If you had even a shred of affection left for me… that would have been the right thing to do.”

He, who had been quietly listening to her words, grabbed Ines’s wrist as if trying to make some excuse.

“Ines, I…”

But Ines harshly shook off his hand and said.

“So even now… just pretend you don’t know me.”

With those words, Ines hurriedly left the place.

Carlos remained standing there like a statue, unable to either stop or follow Ines as she left.

Soon after, he murmured in a low voice.

“I’m sorry, Ines.”

I can’t do that.

The soft muttering echoed quietly through the narrow alley.