episode_0140

“Sigh… What should I do.”

From the tilted face, a worried sigh escaped. The platinum hair that hung over the slender arm flowed down softly at the sound of that small breath.

In her room, leaning over the desk, Eleanor stared blankly at the envelope in front of her. It was a familiar yet unfamiliar sight, the envelope with her name written on it.

She wasn’t sure if the contents of the letter were true.

Perhaps the foreigner who was heading towards her western territory had changed his mind and left for a new life somewhere else.

“Really… It’s unbelievable.”

As her thoughts reached that point, a bitter smile crept beyond her pink lips. Was this the time for jokes, as if mocking her, the voice of reason weighed heavily on Eleanor’s mind.

“If I knew this would happen, I shouldn’t have sent him…”

Eleanor bit down hard on her lower lip. Even as the pain approached, her mind was filled with thoughts of the foreigner.

Why did she let that child go from her side out of embarrassment? After all, the foreigner knew everything about her body and her heart…

The constant sound of her breath, tinted with crimson, faded away through the setting sun. Eventually, Eleanor raised her finger from the corner of the rectangular envelope that pierced her fingertips.

The letter envelope fluttered down onto the desk.

Her sky-blue eyes were not fixed on the letter envelope but on what lay above it.

Outside the window, the sky was filled with a red sunset.

If the contents of the letter were true.

To face those who took the foreigner away, it was time to start preparing mentally.

“Should I inform Mother?”

A calm voice settled in the stifling space.

As a noble of Bearen, it was the right thing to do.

She couldn’t risk danger for just one maid. Surely, as a noble of Bearen, it was a reasonable decision.

But it was the foreigner.

The woman with ivory hair.

The woman with violet eyes who smiled at her every day, considering herself the most precious woman.

Would it be better to inform others?

At that thought, the platinum hair swayed gently.

Depending on the situation, it might be better, but not this time.

“The backyard garden…”

The garden connected to the back door of the mansion was not a place where anyone could enter. Unlike the front garden and courtyard that opened up to the entrance, that place was only allowed for Bearen’s people.

Unless they were Bearen’s family or servants, outsiders couldn’t easily enter that place.

Moreover, it was already midnight.

Then, were the ones who kidnapped the foreigner from Bearen’s people?

Should she find that spy and interrogate them from now on?

A deep sigh, not fitting with the tightly clenched fist, piled up on the desk. Through that sigh, Eleanor rose from the overturned desk. Then she approached the bed and threw her slender body onto the soft mattress.

With her face buried in the fluffy blanket, Eleanor hid her trembling heart within the covers.

She had made up her mind, but in reality, she was scared.

She was a woman now. A slender noblewoman with no visible muscles. A woman who could easily have her life taken by a man passing by, not a predator but prey.

But…

It was the foreigner.

If the roles were reversed, Eujeni would have come to save me even at the cost of her own life.

“So, I…”

I have no choice but to go to you.

#.

When Eujeni opened her eyes to the screams, she found herself bound hand and foot in a strange room.

The air was filled with a pungent smell. The screams that were still audible vividly conveyed the smell of blood emanating from a person.

Even in this chilling moment, her violet eyes calmly surveyed the room.

The filled furniture and ornaments were all elegant and luxurious. It was a stark contrast to the screams and the pungent smell of blood.

The neatly arranged room was such that it could accommodate an important guest or her precious friend and lady.

Except for the iron bars on the window, this room was like an ordinary noblewoman’s room.

Creak creak-

As Eujeni scanned the room with her violet eyes, a sound from the closed door caught her attention. She tried to wriggle a little, but with her hands and feet bound, all she could do was squirm on the carpet.

Eventually, the closed door opened, and the sound of footsteps approached her. Soon, the seductive scent of perfume enveloped Eujeni.

“Have you opened your eyes?”

Unforgettable.

No, she must not forget that voice. Eujeni forced herself to raise her head. Though the ropes on her wrists and ankles dug into her delicate white skin, it was not important now.

And.

Facing the silver-haired man, she calmly uttered his name.

“Yulian… It was you after all.”

The red eyes, like scattered blood on the corridor beyond the open door, turned to the figure lying on the floor. They scanned her disheveled body, face, and clothes, as if she had been trapped in a luggage compartment for days.

“I apologize for the rough handling.”

With an emotionless voice, Yulian brought a chair from the dressing table and placed it in front of her. He looked down at her lying on the floor, lifted her legs extended under the white pants, and sat down, crossing his legs.

“What is happening right now?”

In her sharp voice, Yulian responded with a bitter laugh instead of an answer.

Despite her tied hands and feet and her anger, she looked somewhat cute as she expressed her anger.

Filled with disgust, Yulian spoke in a mocking tone.

“Well, you don’t need to know the details, as a maid like you. Your lady will be treated with respect, so you don’t need to worry.”

“Don’t talk nonsense!”

Eujeni rose to her feet, her eyes fierce at the mention of that name. The violet eyes were glaring at the man in front of her, full of hostility.

“You! What are you babbling about! Elly? How dare you?”

“I dare to say what I want right now.”

His slender fingers brushed over Eujeni’s sharp nose. She turned her head to reject his touch, feeling as if a bug was crawling on her.

“What are you planning to do to Elly?”

In her angry voice, Yulian responded with a sneer.

“So, what I’m saying is, if you had come to me earlier, this wouldn’t have happened.”

Soon, Yulrian, who had risen from his chair, approached Oejeni closely. He placed his hand on her white neck and tightly grasped it with his beautiful hand, similar to that of a lady.

Even in the suffocating pain, Oejeni’s eyes were fixed on Yulrian.

“Treating me politely as Eli’s maid will be the last time. If you look at me the same way next time, whether I’m Eli’s maid or whatever, that’s where-”

However, his anger did not reach its end.

A man, covered in blood-stained armor, approached Yulrian’s side and grabbed the hand that was holding Oejeni’s neck.

“The cleaning up to the front of the study is done, Yulrian.”

At the man’s words, Yulrian’s hand trembled. He then released his grip on Oejeni’s neck. Even as she fell to the ground, her purple eyes were still glaring at him fiercely.

“So, you are preparing to welcome your lady. We will release your hands and feet after the situation is over.”

Yulrian, who had risen from the fallen Oejeni, his red eyes showing interest in her, once again emptily followed the scene in front of him.

“Let’s go, Christian. We need to finish this story.”

—

Before they knew it, it was midnight.

The suffocating silence filled the mansion.

Inside the mansion, Eleanor carefully walked along the long corridor, fearing that someone might hear the sound of her shoes.

She was wearing a white blouse and easy-to-move riding pants, with a beige cape draped over her. The blade of the dagger she had brought for self-defense at her waist reflected the blue moonlight.

It was an excessive outfit for a night walk, and not suitable for an imminent encounter. However, in the noble Marquis’s daughter’s wardrobe, this look was the best option.

Fortunately, the blue moonlight made this night not too dark. It was bright enough to walk without the blue light from the oil lamps.

Eleanor, who had secretly left the mansion without her mother and servants knowing, found in the location written in the letter a breathtakingly beautiful garden that did not match the events to come.

The white flower petals reflecting the blue moonlight exuded mystery. Occasionally, fireflies flying around enhanced its beauty.

Eleanor pulled out the dagger at her waist and held it with both hands.

There was no one in sight. Only the blue half-moon shining over the small flowing pond.

Contrary to the contents of the letter, when Eleanor was turning her head left and right in surprise at the fact that no one had come to meet her.

“You don’t need to be so surprised, my dear.”

A chilling voice brushed against her neck and echoed in her ears. Before Eleanor could even swing the dagger she held in her hand, a damp cloth covered her mouth, and the pungent smell of disinfectant like ethanol stung her nose, becoming Eleanor’s last memory.