episode_0072

When Eleonore regained consciousness, she found herself in a dark and stuffy warehouse, her hands bound behind her back.

Pitter-patter rain hitting the wooden ceiling.

On the hard floor, scattered straw was not only uncomfortable but also pricking Eleonore’s pale skin through the torn blouse, emitting tiny shivers.

In her last memory, she had been squeezed behind the shabby carriage with Oujeni. Then a man in a robe approached, making her and Oujeni smell something strange…

“Ugh….”

Unintentional moans escaped from Eleonore’s damp and parched mouth. Writhing in pain that suddenly struck her, she couldn’t help but let out those sounds.

Her whole body ached all over, screaming for mercy as if she couldn’t endure it anywhere on her body.

Despite the intense pain, she wondered how she endured it earlier. Perhaps due to the surreal scene unfolding before her eyes, there was no room to express her agony.

As Eleonore grimaced at the belated pain, a precious voice came from behind at the faint whimper she let out.

“Miss, are you coming to your senses?”

Eleonore and Oujeni, two women, were tied on opposite sides of a pillar.

Oujeni, who had been pondering the events ahead, turned her head slightly at the subtle movement from the lady behind her and moved her lips.

Eleonore’s heart fluttered at the sound.

Though unfamiliar, uncomfortable, and even frightening, Oujeni’s voice remained unchanged.

Whether it was Oujeni’s effort to reassure herself with her unwavering voice or due to her character becoming calmer in crisis, Eleonore couldn’t tell.

Tears welled up in Eleonore’s eyes at the warmth in that voice, uncontrollable.

“O-Oujeni. Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?”

“I’m fine. How about you, Miss?”

Eleonore gently turned her head to look behind. Sadly, tied to the pillar, they could only see each other’s profiles.

Just looking at each other’s faces made Eleonore burst into tears.

Her neat hair was disheveled. Her face bore wounds, lips cracked and oozing blood.

“I-I’m sorry. Oujeni. Because of me.”

Startled by the sudden apology, Oujeni was taken aback by the lady’s muffled voice.

“Lady, what are you talking about?”

“If I hadn’t intervened. If I had just stayed quiet… then you, Violet…”

Struggling to speak, Eleonore’s breath became rough.

In the end, everything was a consequence of her actions.

If only she had quietly accepted her fate.

If she had become Eleonore Galatea, the bride of Yulrian Galatea, as in the novel.

Wouldn’t Shilrove’s Dokdo, Oujeni’s wounds, and the lives of Violet and the knights have turned out differently?

As Eleonore sobbed, a warm, soft sensation enveloped her hand. Over her small, white hand tied behind the pillar, she felt a familiar touch. Unable to resist, Eleonore intertwined her delicate fingers with Oujeni’s.

“Miss, it’s okay.”

Oujeni calmly and warmly continued speaking.

“When you said you had lost your memory and when I saw you again, I was honestly a bit worried. The image of you that I met again was slightly different from the Ellie I knew.”

Between intertwined fingers, Oejeni gently brushed Eleanor’s back of the hand. The usually soft and smooth lady’s hand felt unusually cold and icy.

“I knew Ellie to be a very lively and independent girl. She never cared about others’ opinions, always taking the lead ahead of me.”

With a gentle smile recalling those times, Oejeni continued, “That’s why the current lady is so different from before.”

“Huh, hah. O-Oejeni… that’s not… I’m not Eleanor-”

“But you see, my lady.”

Oejeni interrupted Eleanor. Holding Eleanor’s small, white hand tightly, she wrapped her own hands around it even more firmly.

“However, my lady, this behavior of yours remains unchanged. Always blaming yourself for everything, even when it’s not your fault.”

“T-That’s…”

“When I broke the Countess’s precious vase, you took the blame instead of me. When I visited, you were more concerned about me than yourself.”

Oejeni tightened her grip on their clasped hands.

“So this time, I will truly protect you, my lady.”

Bound from behind, Eleanor couldn’t see Oejeni’s face directly. Yet, just by looking into one of her eyes, Eleanor could sense Oejeni’s determination.

“Oh, no. If you also… if you leave me…”

“Have the ladies been resting well? Seems like they’re chattering away.”

Suddenly, a loud noise interrupted as an unwelcome guest entered through the warehouse door, a meeting neither of them wanted.

A red-haired man followed by others in brown robes approached them.

“Louie Edmund!”

Startled, Oejeni called out loudly as the man approached them.

“Claiming to be his wife! Is it acceptable to treat the lady like this?”

Louie Edmund, brushing off the accusations, stepped closer to Oejeni rather than Eleanor, separated by a pillar. Similar to the forest encounter, he kicked at her bound form.

“And where did this lowly creature come from, bothering us incessantly!”

As Oejeni fell from the impact, Eleanor, with tears in her eyes, glared at him.

“Why torment me alone? Why do this to Oejeni too?”

“Torment? No, my lady. I am merely educating a lady lacking in manners.”

Brushing his disheveled bangs back, Louie stared down at the fallen Oejeni.

“She was spared as a maid. Yet, a mere maid makes the lady shed tears. Truly useless, your maid.”

Louie then rose from his seat, tilting his head sideways. A figure in a brown robe beside him drew a sharp dagger from their belt.

The sight reminded Eleanor of Viola’s final moments in his arms. Trembling, she shouted loudly.

“Ah, no. Not the foreigner. Not as much as the foreigner. I will do anything. No, I will do it.”

In the quiet warehouse, Eleanor’s voice echoed loudly. In response to Eleanor’s plea, Louis Edmund chuckled and raised his hand. The brown robe that was approaching Eleanor halted in its tracks at his signal.

Louis Edmund approached Eleanor, who was bound to a pillar, closely. He squatted in front of her, gently lifted her tear-streaked cheek covered in dirt with one hand, turning it this way and that.

“Hmm… Anything… Anything at all.”

With a bitter smile, he gazed into Eleanor’s sky-blue eyes for a while. Whenever Eleanor tried to avert her gaze, he would move her chin forcibly to meet his eyes.

“But you see, my lady. I’ve thought about it. Since you are already mine, I don’t really need to listen to your words, do I?”

“No, not allowed. If the foreigner dies, I will die along with him.”

“Hoho. You probably won’t be able to do that. It’s much harder to take one’s own life than you think.”

Louis Edmund gently showed Eleanor the distinct scar on his wrist. Then, he stood up, nodded towards the brown robe, and said, “I will find a replacement maid for you…”

Bang.

Soon, a loud noise reverberated through the warehouse, capturing the attention of everyone inside. Like an explosion, the resounding sound shattered the warehouse door, creating a deafening noise.

“What, what’s happening! If you’re just here for fun, why disrupt things like this-”

“It’s an attack. Three men are attacking our forces from outside, aaargh!”

Screams echoed. Soldiers splitting into halves instantly. Beyond them, Eleanor faced a man, his silver hair fluttering, staring back at her from the enemy ranks.