“And never let the guards touch the prisoners’ bodies. If such a thing happens again, I don’t know what I might do.”
Without looking back, Ines left the room.
Sending a direct inspection team from the imperial palace twice a year would significantly improve the situation inside the prison.
It wasn’t about treating criminals like ordinary people. It simply meant making them pay the designated penalty. That alone was enough to alleviate the misery the women here were experiencing.
As she stepped outside, Noah approached.
“Will you stop here?”
“No, I’ll look around a bit more.”
Noah nodded. Even if it weren’t a noblewoman raised in a prestigious family, Noah would have discouraged any woman from touring this prison.
That was how terrible Romfield was. However, he followed what the Empress wanted to do. The Empress he knew meticulously scrutinized every aspect of life, even the bottom rungs.
Although Noah didn’t notice, Ines actually wanted to turn away.
Just looking back at this place was terrifying. But she couldn’t turn away as easily as she wished. In the darkness she descended into, groping for memories, there was the cell where Ines used to live.
The piercing stench, bloodstains clinging everywhere, the dry backs of women cowering, and the constant oppressive aura of impending death.
“Noah, even though it might seem presumptuous, I have something to ask.”
Ines nodded toward the cell, focusing her gaze inside. It seemed as if she was looking at some distant day rather than what was right in front of her. So, Noah couldn’t help but ask.
“What business does Romfield have?”
She could only manage a wry smile. Seeing her like that, Noah adjusted his posture, covering his nose with a handkerchief.
“It’s not that… But still, this is a bit much, isn’t it? Even prisoners are human beings.”
When Ines thoroughly examined the prison and stepped outside, the sun was setting.
The day she received a special pardon and left the prison would forever be a day when sunlight shattered upon the world.
From behind, the iron door made an unpleasant noise as it closed. It was the same as that day. It was a day in the future that would never come.
“Let’s go.”
The knights following Ines’s orders moved with precision.
She headed towards Landhill’s lordship where her father, mother, husband, and son were waiting.
Carson didn’t stop her when she decided to go alone to Romfield.
He was always like that. Whenever Ines requested, he would respect her opinion without much ado. Thinking of Carson, she invariably missed him.
After a considerable distance, darkness gradually descended upon the road. She pulled the carriage curtain and rested her head. Watching the rapidly passing scenery felt both familiar and distant, giving her a sense of returning to her hometown.
Tuk-tuk-tuk-tuk, by the time they arrived at the lordship, rain began to fall with a steady sound. Hearing that sound made her acutely aware of being in the rainy Landhill. When the door opened, the Emperor’s hand greeted her first.
While he respected her wishes and allowed her to go alone, it was evident that she couldn’t rest in her uneasy heart and paced outside.
The usually warm hand felt a bit colder.
“Did you wait long?”
Carson, again today, didn’t wear a coat. It was a dressing style that could elicit some scolding from Noah for not maintaining too much formality. However, having lived in a place other than the palace for many years, it was also an ingrained habit that wasn’t easily corrected.
“A bit.”
“And Mondray?”
Liam von Raymond. On a day when the moon filled the sky without a gap, Ines gave birth to a son. Although the name Liam, meaning a strong warrior from the Sun Emperor, was given to him, the couple affectionately called their son by a nickname as if keeping a promise.
After the child celebrated his second birthday, the imperial couple headed to Landhill to fulfill a postponed promise.
“Already in dreamland.”
He squeezed Ines’s hand firmly for a moment and then gently stroked her, leading her inside.
“Have you been getting wet in the rain?”
“I didn’t even know it was coming.”
He still hadn’t paid much attention to his surroundings.
When the Emperor stood in the rain without using an umbrella, it was as if he completely ignored how much the palace servants were concerned about the drying of his blood. Every time this happened, Ines keenly felt that he was a nobleman to the core.
“But still, make sure to use an umbrella from now on.”
Yeah, I will. He smiled, casually replying as if it didn’t matter.
“Did you achieve what you wanted?”
Even though she was clearly curious, Ines couldn’t help but smile at his overtly nonchalant attitude of not asking.
“Seeing your face, you don’t seem to feel bad.”
Instead of answering, Ines traced between his fingers. Carson, as if waiting for her to speak, wordlessly opened his fingers, allowing her to comfortably hold his hand.
“Something you didn’t want to do…”
Ines, who struggled to open up, paused for a moment, but Carson waited for her to continue in silence.
“It feels like finishing homework.”
“Resolved enough not to fail?”
“Yes, it seems that way. I feel somewhat relieved.”
“Then it’s done.”
He pulled Ines’s arm, hanging it on his arm. And with a forceful pull, he guided her, as if leading her to the second floor.
Why She Is Still Unmoved (Female-dominant)
One-line summary: He uses various methods to seek her affection, but she remains unmoved.
Synopsis:
Si Qingyu is a doctor who has saved countless lives and enjoys tranquility.
Luo Shaoxuan is ruthless, deeply scheming, and the top young master in the capital. He admires Si Qingyu.
Luo Shaoxuan: I want to be the only one in your eyes and heart.
Features a cold and calm female lead vs A noble and scheming male lead.
There will be both sweetness and torture towards the male after their marriage.