In my common sense, it was something unimaginable, so I looked at Vermilion for an explanation. Vermilion, drawing his sword, closed his eyes.

“That’s the way the world is.”

“…Sigh.”

I wanted to protest, but as Vermilion said, that’s the way the world is. Speechless, I gazed at Mild Kyeong.

Even though he must be in pain from being beaten, he looked at me with gentle eyes as if nothing had happened.

Without realizing it, I held one of his hands that gripped the bars. At the same time, the original Mild Kyeong came to mind.

In the original story, he followed Ellen’s wicked orders, facing suffering.

Most of the time, he got caught and faced consequences from Philip or Marboro. The usual punishment was humiliation.

Apart from dying, there was hardly any physical confrontation with the protagonists.

Of course, Mild Kyeong sometimes got hit. However, it was at the level of getting slapped by Ellen.

Even if he died in the ending, he confronted his fate, fighting rather than being beaten up like this.
“Now that the original story has been twisted, I thought Mild Kyeong would live more comfortably.”

No, that wasn’t the case. He didn’t die, but he faced different hardships. Rather, it felt like he was enduring even more severe suffering?

Nevertheless, he remained blindly devoted and affectionate to Ellen. Although it was the setting of the novel, watching it made me feel more sorry and pitiful.

“Mild Kyeong, I’m sorry. For trying to protect me.”

Mild Kyeong, who had focused his gaze on my palm that was wrapped around his bruised hand, gave a faint smile at my apology.

“It’s okay. I can endure it.”

Then, he bowed to Vermilion, who was by my side. Instead of asking the unspoken question, Vermilion began speaking first.

“It would be fine if Count Maurice comes. But since he is in seclusion, communication might be difficult until he leaves the seclusion. I will do my best to get in touch, but… it might be challenging while he’s in seclusion.”

Vermilion hesitated before finally saying.

“It might be better not to expect too much from the Count’s influence.”

“I see.”

Unlike the time when Mild Kyeong asked me to visit Philip, his reaction was different this time.

Perhaps he had somewhat expected that Philip might not come.

“Still, I will do my best.”

Vermilion, who explained the time until Mild Kyeong’s release, took out something resembling a patch from his pocket and handed it to Mild Kyeong.

“Use this. It will help with pain relief.”

“Isn’t this a magic patch?”

Magic patches, luxury items used when one cannot endure pain even for a moment. Mild Kyeong widened his eyes in surprise. I was surprised too, as Vermilion giving this was beyond my imagination.

“Are you giving me something this valuable?”

“It’s one of the best I can do.”

He then promised Mild Kyeong that he would do his best to prevent any further cruel acts.

After discussing this much, it turned out that what Mild Kyeong was worried about was my boutique.

At the end of the brief discussion with Mild Kyeong, I decided to return to Maurice’s territory alone.

I needed to check the state of the boutique, and informing Philip about Mild Kyeong’s imprisonment seemed relatively straightforward.

“It might be tough, but hang in there a little longer. I’ll come to pick you up when the imprisonment is lifted.”

“Hah, I only tried to go back as quickly as possible, thinking it’s a three-hour journey.”

I gave some money at the carriage storage and learned how to harness a horse with a bit of coin.

While the instructions on using excitement and eye contact were awkward, the rest was unfamiliar but not as difficult as I thought.

I immediately put Blanck on the carriage and drove the horse.

It felt exhilarating at first to see the horse move as I commanded. The sensation of wind on my shaking hair was also new.

But due to my concern about a traffic accident, I ended up driving the carriage too slowly, which became a bottleneck.

By the time we passed through the bamboo forest, it was becoming a dark night, and because the road was unfamiliar, I started to get confused about the direction.

Uh-oh.
Whenever the wind blew, bamboo leaves rustled and made sounds all around.

Perhaps because of that, even in a season that had become a bit warmer, the bamboo forest at night felt strangely cool.

Fatigue overwhelmed me. It was now unreasonable to continue the journey.

“It’s better to rest and wait for the day to break.”

I set up the carriage in a suitable open space and lit a campfire.

It was good to have a place to set up the fire in front of a rock large enough to sit on.

However, perhaps because it was an action I hadn’t tried before, it took a while to properly light the campfire.

Finally, the dry bamboo ignited, making the distinctive crackling sound like consecutive fireworks.

Feeling the warmth spreading gently, I completely settled into my seat.

“……. ”

It certainly became warmer, but…

Sitting alone, memories of what happened during the day kept coming back one after another.

“I thought everything would be fine if I smoothly divorced according to the original work.”

Right after the divorce, I almost died unexpectedly. Still, I thought it would be okay with Mild Kyeong, but he ended up being imprisoned.

“In the original, even if Mild Kyeong did something wrong, he didn’t end up in prison.”

Twisting the original, Mild Kyeong seemed to have opened up a path of suffering.

A deep sigh escaped. The person I needed to find first when problems arose turned out to be my ex-husband, right after divorcing him.

It was my ex-husband, who had faced me so easily. However, after the divorce, he had become someone too distant.

While looking at the campfire I had laboriously lit, I buried my face in my knees.

Surprisingly, even without Mild Kyeong around, it felt more empty and tiring.

Even if I tried hard to live well, in the world of a romance fantasy novel with a social status issue, it might be challenging.

“Can I live well without Philip’s protection?”

That’s when something pricked my arm.

When I raised my head, Blank, who had disappeared somewhere, was back.

Holding a bird that resembled a quail in its beak, it placed the bird in front of me.

“Woong!”

Having barked once, Blank kept nudging the bird towards me. It seemed like it wanted me to eat it.

At the same time, I realized that I hadn’t eaten anything today because of my restless state of mind.

“Thank you, Blank.”

“Woong!”

In response to my thanks, Blank barked once again while wagging its tail.

However, without Mild Kyeong, I couldn’t prepare it. It felt a bit awkward to cook it myself.

“Even if I starve for a day, I won’t die.”

When I stayed still, Blank barked once more, urging me.

“Sorry, there’s no one to cook that.”

“Woong?”

Blank looked at me with eyes that couldn’t understand. Such a sight made me burst into laughter, finding it adorable.

At that moment, Blank suddenly perked up its ears. Then, it turned its head and stared at the darkness in that direction.

“Blank?”

Its focused gaze seemed uneasy.

‘Given the dense surroundings, there might be a fierce beast.’

I recalled what Philip was worried about.
‘Ah, without Mild Kyeong… Still, with Blank here, wouldn’t it be okay?’

Disappointed, I raised my arm and picked up a burning bamboo twig. Animals dislike fire, so it was an attempt to drive them away.

At the same time, I checked the horse’s condition. Tied tightly to a tree, the horse connected to the carriage was calmly grazing the grass near my feet.

‘I hope the horse doesn’t get startled and go wild.’

Soon, a small light approached from the road on the other side. Regular rustling sounds were heard several times.

Someone on horseback was coming this way.

It wasn’t an animal, but that didn’t mean I could feel relieved. Encountering someone in the middle of the night was unsettling.

I checked Blank’s condition, ready to command it to attack if necessary.

“…?”

However, Blank’s tail wagged left and right. It seemed like an atmosphere of welcoming the approaching person, no matter how I looked at it.