Now that she had the goal of escaping, it was time to start the preparation work.

First, the biggest problem was deciding where to go after leaving this place.

Obviously, she had to avoid the Hilan family’s territory and the territories of families friendly to Hilan.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that those areas were in the palm of Seyerd’s hand, so it was clear that if she tried to hide there, she would be caught in no time.

‘Maybe it’s best to not even set foot in the northern part of the kingdom where the Hilan territory is located.’

Her hometown, the Vanspelt territory, was in the same situation.

Although it was a place familiar to Kisa, since her father, Count Vanspelt, was trying to force her marriage, going back home was also extremely dangerous.

‘If I disappear, he will definitely be desperate to find me.’

Unfortunately, she had to give up on the Vanspelt territory.

The option of pretending to flee far away while actually hiding in the capital city didn’t seem very reliable either.

First of all, Kisa herself wasn’t that bold, and Seyerd, the Duke of Hilan, could exert considerable influence even in the capital.

Additionally, the fact that Daniel had been caught after hiding in the capital made her even more reluctant.

Then where should she go?

Sitting at the desk and looking at the national map she had brought from her father’s study, Kisa let out a deep sigh.

She suddenly realized that she had been a frog in a well for more than twenty years of her life.

She had lived her whole life going back and forth between the capital and her hometown.

Not only foreign countries, but Kisa didn’t know much about other regions within the kingdom either.

‘Then should I go abroad instead? In terms of not knowing, it’s not much different from domestic regions.’

She pondered for a long time, but no clear answer emerged.

Kisa had no choice but to consider other factors first.

Things like how to arrange transportation or how to hide her identity while traveling to the destination.

But each and every one of them hit a snag before she could even think much about it.

‘Just having money doesn’t solve most problems.’

If she used the common routes that everyone knew about, it would be difficult to avoid Seyerd’s eyes.

Wasn’t it just a few months ago that Gabriel, who left the kingdom, barely escaped Princess Arta’s clutches with Seyerd’s help?

Judging by the lack of news, it seemed he was still continuing his seclusion activities.

“Gabriel……”

The words she heard from him the last time they met in the garden of the Hilan mansion seemed to ring in her ears.

“The most important thing is yourself. Never give up on yourself for love.”

Those words, which didn’t resonate much with her at the time, felt more desperate than ever now.

If she stayed with Seyerd like this, Kisa could not be happy.

But recalling his words did not solve the problem at hand.

Kisa, stuck in a swamp of despair, pressed her index finger hard against her aching eyelids.

‘Lacking, still very lacking.’

Information, people to trust. Other than the money she had, she had nothing.

She even had to act against her heart to avoid others noticing something strange.

“Young lady, it’s about time for you to leave. The carriage is waiting outside.”

Just like right now.

“All right. I’m coming out now.”

Kisa hid the map book she had been looking at deep in the drawer and stood up from her seat.

She had already put on her outing clothes, so all she had to do was go out.

A moment later, Kisa, with a natural smile on her face, left the room.

The maid who had been waiting for her outside the door bowed her head politely.

“Have a good time at the gathering.”

“Yes, I’ll be back. Oh, by the way, there’s a small banquet today, so I might be late.”

She said as she went down the stairs, looking exactly like someone looking forward to a banquet.

Since the day Hazel came with the money, Kisa had stopped being cooped up in the house.

She went out alone little by little and also attended Aria’s gatherings.

Of course, she was also more active in dating Seyerd than before.

All for one purpose.

In order to successfully escape, she needed to let her guard down around Seyerd, Count Vanspelt, and others around her.

If she kept looking gloomy, even someone not very perceptive would notice her change, wouldn’t they?

Kisa hoped that people would pay as little attention to her as possible.

To do that, she had no choice but to go back to her old self as if nothing had happened.

Fortunately, Kisa’s acting was quite plausible.

Although he didn’t say it, Count Vanspelt seemed to have shed one of his worries, and Seyerd was also happy with his lover’s change.

He might have been a little suspicious of the reason for the change in his mind, but at least outwardly, he was.

Kisa laughed and chatted a little more on dates with him while maintaining a slight awkwardness, and visited the Hilan mansion first like before.

Although she returned to the Vanspelt residence earlier than before, it would be seen as a sufficiently positive signal in his eyes.

At least in terms of how others saw Kisa, there were no particular problems. Just that Kisa herself was terribly tired.

‘I want to go back soon……’

Kisa muttered, holding a champagne glass in one hand and looking at people with bored eyes.

Even though people were noisily enjoying the banquet right in front of her, it felt like a completely different world to her.

Well, of course. Even if she acted like she had returned to the past, her mindset couldn’t be the same.

Acting differently from her inner thoughts almost every moment gnawed at Kisa’s mind little by little.

The banquet, which would have been fun in the past, was not appealing to her now.

“Kisa, are you enjoying yourself?”

At that moment, Aria, who was sitting next to Kisa, asked.

Today’s banquet was held by the members of the group she belonged to together with her.

The venue was also the mansion of Ms. Manoa, one of the members.

Kisa quickly changed her expression and replied in a lively voice.

“Of course. It’s really fun. The food is excellent and the art pieces collected by Ms. Manoa are wonderful.”

“I’m glad to hear that. Actually, I was a bit worried because Kisa didn’t attend the last meeting, but it was just my anxiety.”

“Oh my, I made you worry. I just had a bit of a cold then, and I’m fine now.”

“Then shall we have a toast to celebrate Kisa’s recovery?”

“Sounds good.”

The two clinked their champagne glasses with smiling faces, saying cheers.

Aria, who downed the drink in one gulp, sank deep into the sofa.

“Being like this reminds me of when we first met. Back then, while everyone else was enjoying card games, we had a conversation together.”

“…That’s right. Something like that happened.”

It was a past not even a full year ago, but it sounded distant.

That day, Kisa learned through Aria about Daniel’s betrayal and how much he had looked down on her, and she was immersed in deep sadness and futility.

Then, a few days later, she impulsively visited the Royal Library and met Seyerd there.

‘I thought it was just a chance encounter, but now that I think about it, he deliberately approached me.’

A man who had been eagerly waiting to get his hands on Kisa would not have relied on chance.

Just as her heart was about to sink into melancholy again, Aria suddenly grabbed Kisa’s hand.

“Kisa, even though our first meeting wasn’t very pleasant and our friendship hasn’t been that long, I consider you a true friend of mine.”

Kisa, a little surprised by the unexpected words, blinked and answered.

“Oh, me too. Aria, you are a really good person and a kind friend. You’re the one who introduced me to this group, aren’t you?”

Hearing Kisa’s words, Aria grinned.

“Thank you. Hmm, was I a bit abrupt? But it was something I always wanted to say to you.”

Her hand patted Kisa’s shoulder.

“So if you have any worries or anything like that, please tell me. Don’t hide it even if you’re sick, let me know and I’ll come visit you.”

“…Yes, I understand.”

Kisa was somehow choked up and nodded slowly after a brief silence.

The desire to pour out everything to her rose up in her chest for a moment and then burst like a bubble.

As much as the situation was desperate, she desperately wanted to rely on someone, but she couldn’t.

She felt sorry for her friend who called Kisa a true friend, but even if it was Aria, it was hard for Kisa to fully trust her.

‘Even Seyerd, whom I trusted so much, was like that.’

Moreover, Kisa had not known Aria for very long, and in fact, even if she did trust her, she didn’t want to be indebted to her.

‘I’m sorry. It will be a burden to you.’

Helping Kisa meant possibly antagonizing Seyerd.

Aria, a foreigner, was an outsider in this land, and her husband Robin also had to be very careful recently.

Wasn’t Daniel, a friend who had studied together in Zak, arrested on charges of being a spy not long ago?

Fortunately, judging by Aria’s not-so-bad expression, it seemed he was not involved in this matter, but with a little thought, it was easy to guess that his situation would be quite difficult.

‘He’s probably being subjected to suspicious looks right now. Especially since he’s an official working in the royal court.’

No matter how she thought about it, relying on Aria of all people was a selfish choice to shake off her current anxiety.

So Kisa just went along with Aria’s words and lifted the corners of her mouth.

But then, when the atmosphere of the banquet was in full swing, someone approached them.

“Miss Kisa, could I have a word with you for a moment? I have something to say to you.”

Kisa looked up and widened her eyes as she saw an unexpected person in her sight.

Why was this person talking to her?