episode_0130

[Episode 130] – Escape (2)

Rustle- Rustle-

Slowly, carefully. I walked slowly, one step at a time, being careful not to make the sound of stepping on leaves. I wanted to go to the main castle quickly, but I almost felt like I was going to die after entering the artificial forest barefoot.

It wasn’t visible because it was covered with fallen leaves, but every time I stepped on something like pebbles on the floor, acorns that had fallen on the ground, or sharp tree branches, the soles of my feet hurt to the point where I wondered if it was for no reason.

I wanted to walk on the cleared road, but there were many patrolling guards, so I had no choice but to travel through the artificial forest hidden by trees. We can’t get caught when we haven’t even arrived at the main castle yet.

Even though I didn’t walk very far, I felt like the soles of my feet were swollen. I regretted that I should have at least brought shoes, but it was already too late. I endured the pain and contemplated leaving the annex.

Beyond the bushes, I could see the front door of the annex where I was trapped. Two guards constantly guarded the main gate, and the surrounding area was blocked by a fence, so it was impossible to leave except through the main gate.

‘Is there anything like a dog hole somewhere?’

I looked around the fence and started looking for a hole to escape to. If you worked hard, you could climb over the fence, but it was too high, and the pointed spear on top was scary.

I walked around the fallen leaves around the fence with my feet. Occasionally, I could see small burrows used by animals such as squirrels and rabbits, but I couldn’t see any holes big enough for a person to get out.

However, I did not give up and had to work hard to find a hole. Obviously, it wouldn’t be surprising if Titania, who had confirmed that I wasn’t in the room by now, would release the guards to look for me.

‘When I lived in Bonseong, there was a rumor that young maids secretly went out to meet men who lived in other castles. There are holes in nature, so there must be places like this.’

Pop! Pop!

After roughly combing through the fallen leaves, I was finally able to find a small hole that could barely fit a person through. As expected, thinking that something like this exists in every castle, I bent down in front of the dog hole.

‘I don’t know who made it, but I’ll use it well…!’

I quickly stuck my head into the dog hole and started crawling in a prone position. Fortunately, there didn’t seem to be anyone on the other side of the fence, so I thought I wouldn’t be noticed if I passed quickly.

The moment I passed through the dog hole, I felt like something was stabbing me in the back. Perhaps, as I was crawling, I hit the end of the fence, but it felt like a tingling pain.

By crawling on all fours like a dog and going through the hole, I was finally able to get out of the annex. My face and pajamas were covered in mud from crawling through the dog hole, but I didn’t care at all.

Rather, I smiled involuntarily at the feeling of being free. Escape was so easy that I felt stupid for not having thought of it earlier.

However, the joy of successfully escaping was short-lived.

“Mom, did you enjoy playing in the dirt?”

“Hi…!”

Titania, who didn’t know how long she had been watching, walked out from between the bushes. When I saw Titania’s face, my hair suddenly turned white and I couldn’t say anything. I had to make an excuse…

“Uh, well, that means… Titania…?”

It wasn’t a situation where I could make any excuses.

Titania is leaning against a tree, crossing her arms and looking at me intently. I thought she would get angry and say, ‘You ran away again?’, but Titania just smiled and slowly approached me.

“I won’t be angry, so go back. “When I get back, first of all, I’ll have to get ready to wash up.”

“Yeah, yeah…”

Titania turned her back on me and headed toward the annex, saying nothing more. I wanted to ask her how she found me, but I wasn’t in the mood, so I had no choice but to quietly follow Titania back to the annex.

‘It’s really not easy…’

*

“Now, wait a minute…! I… I can do it alone… I will do it alone…! huh?! Titania!”

“…Stop whining and take it off, quickly. “The wounds on the soles of your feet also need to be treated.”

“If you give me the medicine, I’ll do it alone…! Or to the other maids…!”

“All the maids here were sent back to their hometown. Because I didn’t notice that my mother had run away. So, who told you to run?”

When I returned to the annex, I couldn’t run away from Titania, who was pulling my clothes. My whole body was covered in dirt, so I had to wash it, but no matter what, I couldn’t be served by Titania.

“Because I really can do this on my own, huh? “Can you please let me go…?”

“No.”

“you really…!”

No matter how much I screamed and got angry, it was no use.

I couldn’t escape Titania’s grasp as she tried to tear off my dirt-stained pajamas. The moment I twisted my body to run away, a boom came from my back! The sound of pajamas being torn was heard.

“Now, wait a minute! “Your clothes are torn!!”

“So, please be quiet. Look at this. There was a wound on my back. “You can’t even touch a place like this, so how can you apply medicine by yourself?”

“Uh, that’s… huh…!”

Titania gently brushed the wound on my wing bone with her fingertips. I guess I got hurt while crawling through the hole earlier, but when Titania’s fingertips brushed against the wound, I let out a moan from the pain.

I looked up at Titania in tears.

Titania looked down at me, holding my wrist tightly, as if she still had no intention of letting me go. When I tried to shake it off, it grabbed my wrist even harder, so I had no choice but to give up.

“…Because I understand. “First of all, I will take off my clothes myself, so please stay out until I call you.”

Titania sighed as if she had no choice, let go of my wrist and walked out of the bathroom. Really, when you grow up, you become stronger. Now I couldn’t defeat Titania with my own strength.

I took a deep breath, took off my torn pajamas and underwear, and headed to the large marble bathtub filled with warm water. I slowly wiped the dirt off my body with water and then soaked in the bathtub.

“Ah, come on…!”

As I soaked in the bathtub, the wounds on my back and soles of my feet became sore from the contact with the water. However, the warmth of the water felt better than the stinging pain, so I soaked my body up to my shoulders in the bathtub.

The moment I close my eyes from fatigue.

“Mom, I’m going in.”

“…okay.”

Suddenly, the bathroom door opened, and Titania, who had brought me a change of clothes and ointment to apply to my wound, smiled and looked down at me in the bathtub. What are you staring at so intently?

Titania came to me, sat next to the bathtub, held a bar of soap, and held out her hand to me. I guess that means you should put your arm out here so I can clean it for you. Now, I didn’t like the way the queen, who was serving me like a maid…

“Ha, really. “There’s no need for you to do this…”

“I do it because I like it. “Don’t feel too pressured.”

“It’s not a burden… It’s done. “No matter what I say, you won’t listen anyway.”

I took my arm out of the bathtub and placed my arm on Titania’s outstretched hand.

Titania soaps every inch of my body, starting from my forearms to my fingers, with rose-scented soap. I was happy to think that I was receiving filial piety from my daughter, but I was confused to hear that a girl called the queen would do this.

“Now stand up. “I’ll clean your back first.”

“…ha.”

With mixed feelings, I got up and sat down in the bathtub, turned my back on Titania and sighed. It felt good to feel Titania’s hand gently rubbing my back with a palm full of soap. Maybe it’s even worse because I haven’t had a bath like this in two years.

“Tsk…”

As the soft touch spread all over my back, a low moan escaped me without my knowledge. As the fatigue from the warm water and my tense body began to relax, I felt like I was falling asleep. Just for a moment, I felt like it would be okay to leave myself in Titania’s care.

“…Well, it’s complicated. “I think your touch feels better than the maid’s…”

“is it so? “That’s… fortunate.”

Titania continued soaping, gently massaging my shoulders. I felt Titania’s breath on my shoulder as she came close to my back. As the slippery feel of my skin rubbed against my bare skin, I felt heat spreading throughout my body.

Honestly, I didn’t hate it. No, it was so good. It had been a long time since I had a bath like this, and I loved the smell of roses that filled the bathroom, irritating my nose. To the point where I want to leave my tired body with this feeling. Feeling tired, I quietly leaned back against Titania.

“after…”

After finishing soaping her back, Titania’s hand slowly moved towards the front. When a hand covered in soapy water ran down my side and touched my chest, I was startled by the strange stimulation and my body shook without realizing it. The tired feeling disappeared in an instant and my eyes opened wide.

No matter what, you can’t get ahead!

“Thank you. “I’ll take care of the rest now, so stop.”

“…all right. “I’ll do it next time, okay?”

“Is there a next time?”

As I lapped at the water in the bathtub angrily, Titania smiled and answered.

“You don’t know that.”

*

After the bath, I, naked and wearing a bathrobe, sat on the bed as Titania said. Titania brought the ointment, got down on one knee in front of me, and started applying the ointment to the soles of my feet.

“There is no need to do this. “I have the ointment on my own…”

“It’s just that I wanted to do it for you.”

Yeah, you don’t even listen to me. I sighed deeply and lowered my head to look down at Titania. Titania began to gently apply the ointment to the wounds on the soles of my feet with her hands covered in ointment.

Titania, who was applying ointment, suddenly asked me.

“Mother, what were you thinking when you ran away through the terrace? “Have you ever thought that you could fall and die?”

“Ah… well, that is…”

“Even if it’s not that high here, if you make a mistake, you could really die. Does this mean that you hate being here, by my side, more than dying?”

“Well, it’s not like that. I just… felt like you were so excited… that we needed some time apart. So, just… in the capital…”

Titania’s palms were shaking slightly as she applied ointment to the soles of my feet. Was I being too complacent? Even so, I did it because I thought I wouldn’t be imprisoned here.

However, it wasn’t something he did because he didn’t like being around Titania. I just thought that Titania, who was excited, needed some time to think, so I went out on my own. therefore…

“…I never meant that I didn’t want to be around you. I just needed some time to think. You and me too. A little far away…”

“You’ve been away from me for five years, and you’re going to leave me again?”

“Oh, no, that’s not it…”

“…I think I was sufficiently considerate of my mother. Even though my mother couldn’t leave this place, she allowed me to move around freely here. “We have prepared all kinds of entertainment to keep you from getting bored, and we have instructed the maids to prepare any food you want if you ask them to.”

Titania smiled bitterly and gently grabbed my ankle. Titania’s hand holding my ankle began to tremble slightly. Shouldn’t he have run away on his own? Should I have waited a little longer for Titania? Rather, wasn’t it me who was nervous?

I am…

“But, my mother kicked my consideration away and ran away again. Do you remember what I said? “I told you that if you run away from here one more time, I will never forgive you, right?”

Titania’s voice trembled with anger.

The moment I lowered my head to pat Titania’s head, who seemed to be crying, I couldn’t help but be shocked to see ‘something’ she pulled out from under the bed.

“So, this is a punishment. “Punishment for kicking my consideration away.”

“for a moment…!”

Along with the sound of a rattling chain, I heard something wrapped around my ankle and a clanking sound. Surprised by the shackles that instantly wrapped around my ankles, I could only purse my lips and glare at Titania.

“You, you! “What is this…!”

The shackles tied to the ankles were not made of iron, but leather. I couldn’t help but burst into laughter at the shackles that seemed to be out of consideration for the person being tied up.

“Are you crazy?!”

“I told you, right? “Don’t run away from me.”

The long chain of the shackles was connected to the post of my bed. I tried to untie it with my hands, but the shackles were so tightly bound that I had no intention of loosening them, so I turned my head to gauge the length of the chain.

The chain connected to the shackles seemed longer than expected. Probably long enough to freely move around this large room. It was just that long.

I glared at Titania with an angry expression, but she just smiled and swept my face away. I looked at Titania and shouted.

“What on earth are you thinking…?!”

“What are you thinking, mother? I begged him not to go, I asked him not to run away, but less than three days later, he ran away again. “Are my words that funny?”

Titania didn’t pay any attention to my yelling and just touched my face. The hand that was stroking my face slowly moved down, and Titania smiled wryly and tapped the back of my neck with her fingertips.

“Try running away again. Next is the leash.”

The hand that was patting the back of my neck soon wrapped around my neck and held it.

“If you don’t want to be tied up like a dog crawling through a hole…”

Titania, who wrapped my neck with only one hand, glanced at my neck as if imagining me being put on a leash. Then he begged me with tears in his eyes.

“Now please, don’t run away from me.”