The sunshine was bright, and the warm breeze blew, carrying the fragrance of flowers.

Where is this place? Elaina, who was sitting under a tree, looked around. But she couldn’t find the answer, so she reflexively stood up.

And she realized that her right leg, which had felt as heavy as luggage, was moving freely.

… That’s how Elaina knew this was a dream.

“Elaina.”

At the sudden voice from behind, she slowly turned her head. Then she saw someone’s face that she had long forgotten. No, the face she had tried to forget.

Golden hair that shone dazzlingly in the sunlight, sparkling as if each strand was made from melted gold.

Golden eyes that resembled jewels, the same color as his hair. Fair skin no less than Elaina’s. And exquisite features that filled his small face.

“… Ren.”

Elaina carefully called his name with a blank face.

I never thought the day would come when I would utter your name like this again.

You have no idea. How much I resented, hated, and… longed for your name.

Elaina was lost in thought.

“…”

The boy called Ren slowly reached out his hand. Then he neatly arranged Elaina’s disheveled black hair with a attentive touch.

“You still need a lot of care, Elaina.”

“Still…?”

“Yes. Still.”

Ren smiled.

“See. I came to get you. This time too.”

… Came to get me?

Where are we going?

Elaina looked at Ren with shaking eyes.

“Don’t you remember?”

As if finding Elaina’s reaction cute or amusing, Ren chuckled to himself and continued.

“We promised to leave together.”

“…”

“Far, far away.”

That’s right. There was a time when we made such a promise. Before everything fell apart. Before all dreams shattered like sharp glass shards. When I could move freely like in this dream.

“I will abandon the Aswald family… and you will abandon your family…?”

“Yes.”

Ren answered brightly with a smile.

“Everything is fine now, Elaina.”

Then, stroking Elaina’s hair, he continued.

“If we leave this place. If we just leave Edenbell… there will be nothing that can hurt us.”

“…”

“You don’t have to worry about anything. I will continue to protect you. Just like I have until now.”

At Ren’s words, Elaina made an expression that was neither laughing nor crying.

But you abandoned me. You just watched me fall apart. You left me and never came back. Even though I waited and waited for you here.

Words born from rotten emotions and old feelings struck Elaina’s heart and crawled up her throat.

However, Elaina swallowed the dagger-like words.

And very slowly, she moved her dry lips.

“Okay.”

Still, I wanted to leave with you. Just like we promised.

“Let’s do that. I’ll go with you.”

Even if it’s just in a dream…

Elaina’s blue eyes were soaked with pitiful emotions.

“…”

Ren didn’t say anything in response. He just smiled brightly like the sun and tightly held Elaina’s small hand. As if he would never let go again.

“Let’s go, Elaina.”

“Okay.”

Suddenly, Ren’s kind and warm voice echoed from afar. Elaina gripped his hand tightly, just as he had, but the warmth that had felt vivid just moments ago slipped through her fingers like grains of sand.

No. Don’t leave me again.

Elaina tried her best to hold onto Ren, but her vision began to flicker white.

“Now we will never part.”

Even as everything slowly dispersed, Ren’s whisper could be heard faintly.

“No matter what happens, we will be together. I promise with everything I have.”

You know that… Elaina?

Elaina tried to answer somehow, but all that came out of her mouth was cold breath.

… And that was the end of the dream.

[This is the timeline separator]

Eyes that were tightly closed shot open.

“Ugh…”

Elaina, who had regained consciousness, unconsciously took a deep breath. She still felt like someone was covering her nose and mouth with a handkerchief that smelled of an unknown drug.

After taking a few deep breaths, Elaina quickly came to her senses and looked around.

And she belatedly realized that she was in a place she had never expected.

‘A carriage…?’

Elaina was sitting in a carriage that was splendid just from the inside. To be more precise, she was trapped in it.

‘Where on earth…’

She tried to hastily look outside, but the window wouldn’t open. When she poked her head out to peek, she saw a few nails hammered in. It must have been Melvin’s doing.

Then what about the door?

It won’t continue to run at full speed, so if the speed drops, maybe she can jump out?

Just as Elaina’s thoughts reached that point, she was about to slightly move her body towards the door.

“…”

Flinching and stopping her movement, Elaina looked down at her appearance with a dumbfounded face.

A vulgar dress that could be said to be almost undressed. And dazzling accessories that wrapped around her body like shackles.

But the most absurd thing was something else.

“Shoes…?”

Even Leila, who loved flashy attire, had never worn shoes like this.

Heels so dangerously high that it seemed like her ankles would twist at any moment. Red leather shoes that stood out in contrast to the black dress.

… Elaina could barely walk limping even when wearing comfortable shoes. Melvin’s intentions in putting such shoes on her were all too clear, making her want to laugh.

Just to captivate the dirty gaze of the other person and be subjected to their disgusting desires.

How am I any different from a beast being dragged to the slaughterhouse?

At that moment, a fleeting remark passed through her mind.

[As I said, it is the most suitable place for you. Duke Hank will cherish you very much.]

“Ha…”

[Actually, His Grace has a bit of a unique taste. He was secretly pleased to hear that you can’t move properly.]

Now it seemed she understood. Where she was going now.

No, where she was being sold to…

He must have been worried that I might accept Sinclair’s proposal. He must have been afraid. So he even resorted to this. No matter how much she thought about it, it was absurd.

At this rate, it was clear that she would be offered to Duke Hank like a living sacrifice. If that happened, she wouldn’t even be able to escape from the mansion.

It felt like being completely trapped in a dead end.

“…”

Elaina’s blue eyes, which had been swaying weakly, were covered with a subtle moisture.

She thought she had experienced so many things. So she was confident that she would never feel afraid again…

[You don’t have to worry about anything.]

The kind and gentle whisper of the Ren in her dream kept coming to mind for some reason.

[I will continue to protect you. Just like I have until now.]

But now there is no one to protect me. I can’t wait for someone’s help so easily either. Elaina knew her place all too well, sadly enough.

She bit her lip hard as if to hold back her tears.

‘I have to get out of here somehow.’

She reached out to try to open the door, but like the window, it didn’t budge at all. There were no nails hammered in, but no matter how hard she tried, there was no response, as if it could only be opened from the outside.

‘The coachman…’

Elaina turned her head and looked at the small window connected to the coachman’s side.

The window was not locked.

It seemed that Melvin had not thought that Elaina would escape through here, as it was a window made for communicating with the coachman in the first place.

“Excuse me!”

Elaina shouted in a loud voice on purpose to hide her trembling voice.

“Please stop the carriage for a moment. I feel very sick.”

“What?”

Then the coachman’s voice, clearly dripping with annoyance, was heard.

“Let’s just rest for a bit before continuing! The inside is so sealed, it’s hard to even breathe…”

“Well, I didn’t receive such an order from the Count.”

“…”

“He told me to take you to Duke Hank’s residence regardless of whether you become a corpse or stay alive, and open the door only after arriving there.”

Damn it. A sound of grinding teeth came from between Elaina’s lips.

“He said you’ll feel much better once you get to the Duke’s residence, so don’t worry. Well, to be precise, you won’t even have time to care about feeling sick or being unable to breathe.”

The coachman laughed vulgarly. As if he could clearly see Elaina’s future of being constantly toyed with and violated.

“So just endure it for a bit…”

Suddenly, the coachman’s voice cut off as if a spell had been cast on it.

“Aargh! Wh-what is this…!”

A few seconds later, what was heard was a scream that was as miserable as it could be.

And at the same time, the carriage that had been running like crazy stopped abruptly in the middle of the forest road.

Could it be bandits? What’s going on? She couldn’t understand the reason, but this might be her only chance.

“Help me! Someone is trapped in here!”

Elaina desperately knocked on the carriage door. Without even feeling her fists getting scraped and bleeding.

“Please open the door…!”

It was at that very moment.

The door, which seemed like it would never open, fell off with a loud crash, hinges and all.

“Hello, Elaina Aswald. Good evening.”

Soon, a familiar voice settled in Elaina’s ears.

“But I said I would give you time to think, not time to marry another man.”

Right?

Sinclair, who had approached Elaina at some point, asked with a chuckle.