***
Ian turned on the light in the carriage.
Rachel glanced at Ian, who was not looking at her, and bowed her head again.
He was still very beautiful, even though she hadn’t seen him in a long time.
His small face was more beautiful than most women’s, but with his tall height and broad shoulders, he didn’t look feminine. Ian was a head taller than a man’s, and he had strong shoulders and muscles.
There was nothing that wasn’t beautiful about him, from the corners of his eyes and the curve to the bridge of his nose. His plump red lips and his purple eyes, more beautiful than the night sky.
Having lost his baby fat, he looked even more handsome and Rachel couldn’t take her eyes off him.
But even so, his face was not happy.
It was just that the current situation made it difficult to see him again.
Rachel sighed and bowed her head even more deeply.
So the carriage that ran tirelessly for several days was finally at the destination that Ian mentioned.
They had arrived at the capital.
***
“What is this….?”
Rachel was sitting on a white bed in a luxurious room.
Now she was inside a mansion in the capital.
How big this mansion was, it even had a garden.
A mansion with a garden in Palmarburg, the capital of the Levskaya Empire…
Rachel couldn’t even guess how much money would be needed to buy such a mansion.
The inside of the room was just as gorgeous as the outside of the mansion.
The bed Rachel was sitting on and the fluffy indoor shoes she was wearing. The soft carpet on the floor, the gilded dressing table and even the expensive precious metals hanging in rows on it.
The room was glamorous and luxurious.
“What in the world is going on here?”
If there was only one thing that didn’t fit in this perfect room, it was Rachel, sitting carefully and shuffling her feet.
‘What is he thinking?’
Rachel couldn’t comprehend her situation at all.
About six years ago, Rachel ran away from Ian Dakendov.
She didn’t want to be hurt any more, and she didn’t want to get her hopes up. She left the young man in a hut in Avery territory as she fled.
So the emotions the emperor feels towards her must be anger and betrayal.
So if Ian came to see her, his purpose would be revenge. It was necessary to punish her for daring to abandon him, the prince at the time, and running away.
‘But why? Why am I here?’
Rather, she thought, if the place where she now sat were a dark and dank dungeon, she would not say anything.
It was at that moment, anyway, when she saw Ian’s face again, she had already given up any hope of life.
“You wanted to see me, Miss?”
At that moment, the maid, reacting to the clamor in the room, knocked on the door and entered the room to ask politely.
“Yes? Oh, no! It’s nothing.”
“I’m sorry. Then I’ll leave.”
Rachel, flustered by the maid calling her ‘Miss’, hurriedly got up and waved her hand.
The maid said she was sorry and then left the room again.
‘No, what is this all about?’
Rachel sat down on the carpet like a tired person and lamented what had happened to her.
But she didn’t want to do things to attract the servants again, so she sat there deep in thought.
“I have some business to attend to, so I’ll come back in the evening.”
Ian dropped Rachel off at the house and left, leaving her with these words.
“What should I do?”
She was now left with only two options.
The first was to confess her sins and ask for forgiveness before he questioned her.
The second was to quietly do as he asked.
Actually, there was another way, and that was escaping.
However, Rachel could instinctively tell that this method would bring the worst possible result. That didn’t mean that she expected the other two options to have a good outcome.
“But I guess he’s not that angry…”
At least Ian wasn’t angry during the ride up to the capital in the carriage. Even though she tried to console herself with such anxiety and uneasiness, Rachel couldn’t do so because it reminded her of the grim look on Ian’s face in Ravenna village.
She had seen him for more than ten years, but never before had Ian looked so grim. No matter how angry he was, no matter what kind of harassment he was subjected to by the other Princes, he just wore his characteristic indifferent and expressionless face.
It was just that he didn’t care about all of this. Ian was indifferent to everything, even with the worst situation. Since he showed his mood to that extent, it was clear that he was very angry.
“D*mn it.”
The bad words finally came out of Rachel’s mouth at the current frustrating situation where she had no idea what was going on.
****
Ian did as he said and returned to the mansion where he had dropped Rachel off in the evening.
Rachel was in the dining room, which was as glamorous as her bedroom, and Ian and Rachel sat across from each other.
No. Ian said, “Eat,” and sat Rachel down, but Rachel just sat still and kept her seat.
“Why aren’t you eating?”
“Yes, I will.”
Rachel finally picked up her fork hastily when Ian stopped eating and looked at her. She held her fork tightly and stared at the food in front of her.
She seriously wondered if this food was really poisoned, but it was something that she had to eat. Rachel forcibly shoved the mashed potatoes and meat into her mouth.
Fortunately, the food didn’t seem to be poisoned, and as good as it looked, it must taste wonderful.
“Does it taste okay?”
“Oh, yes.”
Although she couldn’t savor the taste because of her unstable heart, it must have tasted great.
The servants made great dishes with well-seasoned meat. She ate under the lighting of a gorgeous chandelier, but Rachel was not happy in the least.
In fact, she was much happier in those peaceful days when she ate eggs and rye bread. Rachel hurriedly shoved the food into her mouth and chewed frantically.
If she didn’t keep her mouth full of food, the question that had been stuck in her throat was going to pop out.
‘Why are you eating with me?’
She wanted to ask in a situation where she knew she shouldn’t and couldn’t understand. But a mouth full of food prevented her words.
Rachel finished her unpleasant and painful meal, and Ian left the mansion again.
Ian left and Rachel was sure she wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight, but after two days of sleeplessness and tension, her body fell into a deep sleep despite her anxiety.
***
(Dreaming of the past)
It was a winter day, with hills covered in white snow, and even the sky was grayish.
On a hill in the middle of a dense forest was a small, old cabin, and Rachel walked through the ankle-deep snow to get to it.
Her dark brown hair fluttered in the wind and scratched Rachel’s face.
She wanted to bundle her hair into one bun and grab it so it wouldn’t hit her in the face, but with both hands full of potato baskets, that wasn’t easy either.
Hey, it’s freezing cold! Hurry up and walk!”
A girl with blonde hair coming up behind Rachel shouted, her cheeks turning red in the cold wind.
Her voice was as sharp as the cold winter wind, but the girl’s face was lovely.
Unlike Rachel, the girl was clad in a fur hat, a scarf, and mittens. Still, the way she couldn’t stand the slightest bit of cold was truly the daughter of a noble family.
At the urging of the girl, Rachel picked up her frozen feet and hurriedly opened the door of the hut.
The girl walked behind Rachel and when she reached the hut, she quickly pushed Rachel aside and entered the hut.
The hut was a lot older, as in antique, but the inside with the stove burning was warm with the warmed air.
Wobbly, Rachel picked up the fallen potatoes and closed the door tightly as she walked into the cabin.
“Ian!”
The blonde girl who had come inside with Rachel called out in a very different and beautiful voice to Ian Dukendov, who was sitting in a chair reading a book.
“Oh, you’re here.”
Ian raised his head at the voice calling him and smiled at the happy blond girl.
“It’s so cold. Look at this. Your face is red now.”
“Yes.”
Ian put his hands on the girl’s reddened face.
Then the girl’s face became even redder than when she was outside in the cold.
Rachel turned her back on them quickly.
She bit her lips, thinking she was more at ease in the cold.
Rachel deliberately tried not to look at Ian and the blonde girl, but it seemed impossible in this small house.
Ian was looking at the blonde girl with warm eyes, as if he was looking at his loved one.
Rachel thought that this look didn’t match the cold, sharp winter in the least.
It didn’t fit winter at all, and it hurt her heart.
Rachel hid her red, frozen fingers in the hem of her skirt to keep them warm in a corner.
With her back to them, she was quietly going about her business, like someone who couldn’t hear a thing, but she could still hear the girl’s buzzing voice.
“What’s that? I’ve never seen that before.”
Rachel’s heart skipped a beat as she heard the girl’s voice.