Erina, who always had to lower herself in front of Viana, felt thrillingly exhilarated by the reversed situation, almost to the point of her eyes stinging.

Viana was born as the second child and daughter of her uncle, raised with love and indulgence.

Her thoughtless behavior worsened after her uncle took over the Medelia family.

Even when she acted like a ruffian, her uncle and aunt did not impose any restrictions.

They not only failed to correct Viana’s mistreatment of Erina but even encouraged it.

Viana, who grew up this way, behaved consistently even after directly witnessing how Erina’s position had changed at the founding anniversary banquet.

It seemed she still thought Erina would tremble at her every word, just like before her marriage.

Judging by people’s reactions, amusingly, it appeared that Viana would fall endlessly in social circles without Erina having to take direct action.

She hoped the soul of this woman who had mentally killed her would be completely destroyed.

Erina wished for Viana to crumble and shatter to the bottom, just like her younger self.

Hoping her earnest feelings would reach Viana, Erina approached her and patted her shoulder.

“Oh, and could you pass a message to uncle and aunt? Tell them to stop asking to meet me.”

“Why, you!”

Erina’s expression hardened at Viana’s uncouth action of suddenly grabbing her wrist as she patted her shoulder.

Erina forcefully shook off Viana’s hand that was trying to gain the upper hand in such a petty manner.

“Aah!”

Perhaps due to the forceful shake-off, Viana was pushed back and fell.

Erina looked down at Viana, who was lying on the ground with a stupid expression, and smiled brightly.

“Viana, no matter how stupid you are, you need to come to your senses. I’m not in a position where you can treat me carelessly like when I was young anymore. Right?”

After finishing her words, Erina turned her back on her and left the dress shop.

Heila, who followed her out, hurriedly opened an umbrella and approached Erina.

Noticing that she was walking aimlessly, Heila gently caught up to Erina, who was walking without hesitation.

Although the Ramaton dress shop wasn’t too far, it was still a bit of a distance to walk, so they had to wait for a carriage.

At Heila’s careful touch, Erina, who had snapped back to her senses, relaxed her tense expression.

“Thank you, Heila.”

“No need to thank me. I’m glad I got to see Erina’s wonderful side.”

Erina turned her head away, her cheeks flushing red as if embarrassed.

“Don’t tease me.”

Heila giggled and tilted the umbrella more to shield Erina from the sunlight.

The carriage that had arrived unnoticed departed as soon as the two boarded.

Feeling the slight vibration of the slowly departing carriage, Erina leaned back against the seat.

It seemed the unexpected encounter with Viana had caused some tension.

As Erina sighed, Heila, who was sitting across from her, was about to say something with a smile when suddenly…

“Ugh!”

A very small groan was heard from behind the carriage wall Heila was leaning against.

Followed by the sound of someone falling with a thud.

Detecting something suspicious, Heila moved to Erina’s side in an instant.

Then, the slowly moving carriage began to speed up rapidly.

Due to the sudden increase in speed, people walking around the carriage scattered in panic.

“Kyaa!”

The screams of passersby pierced through the carriage.

Heila embraced Erina’s waist while looking outside through the carriage window.

As the Samuela dress shop was located on the outskirts of the capital, the carriage quickly left the city center.

Erina was so startled by the sudden situation that she found it difficult to gather her thoughts.

The carriage, known for its smooth ride, shook so violently that her whole body trembled, and it was too fast to even confirm the scenery outside the window.

She began to fear the carriage racing so fiercely towards an unknown destination.

In this urgent moment, what suddenly came to mind was the incident from the original story where three small kingdoms formed an alliance to kidnap Rose and threaten the empire.

In the original story, Rose was always with Feyron, so the incident was resolved even before the kidnapping could take place.

Erina had anticipated that such an incident could occur, but when actually faced with it, her mind went blank.

Knowing there was nothing she could do right now, she bit her lip and tried to regain her composure.

If necessary, she would have to open the carriage door and escape, and for that, she had to trust Heila, who was holding her and surveying the surroundings, and the imperial knights who would be chasing after the carriage.

“Stop!”

As Flynn’s voice suddenly approached, Erina looked outside through the carriage window.

On the left, Flynn was riding a horse, pointing his sword at the person sitting in the driver’s seat, confronting them, while on the right, Baroon was riding close by.

After checking inside the carriage and confirming that Erina and Heila were together, Baroon raised his hand.

Heila exchanged brief hand signals with Baroon.

Heila whispered quietly to Erina.

“When Sir Emkil stops the carriage, there might be an impact, so hold on tight, Erina.”

Erina nodded and grasped the necklace that was bouncing on her neck due to the carriage’s vibration.

It was the artifact necklace containing the shield protection magic that Sandess had gifted her the night before.

She had heard it could be used about three times, so unless the carriage shattered completely, Heila and herself would be safe.

Even if the carriage stopped and some dangerous situation arose, they would have time to escape.

Thinking that she had this safety device that could save their lives in her hands, her trembling subsided a little.

Baroon, who had been visible through the window, suddenly leaped onto the driver’s seat.

‘Thud!’

“Hup!”

As the carriage shook so violently that her whole body jerked, Erina inhaled sharply to avoid making a loud noise.

Screaming and acting frantically would only hinder those who were desperately trying to protect her.

Seeing Erina covering her mouth with both hands and trembling, Heila tightened her arm around her.

“Flynn!”

“Ugh!”

Following Baroon’s voice, an unidentifiable groan was heard.

“Captain, now!”

After several impacts that almost lifted Erina’s body inside the carriage, it finally stopped.

Then the rapidly moving carriage began to slow down.

After hearing the clattering of horse hooves and the horses neighing a few times, suddenly both inside and outside the carriage became quiet.

A chilling silence enveloped Erina.

Due to the tension, Erina struggled to calm her body, which was as uncontrollable as her trembling heart.

Heila, finding the unusually quiet outside suspicious, quietly pulled out a dagger from the belt on her ankle, slightly lifting the hem of her skirt, and pointed it towards the door.

Suddenly, the door flung open.

“Lady Medelia!”

As Flynn suddenly opened the door and stuck his face into the carriage, Heila instantly pointed her dagger at his neck.

“Whoa, whoa.”

At Flynn’s playful voice, Erina felt her strength drain away.

“Tsk.”

Heila clicked her tongue and put away the dagger she had pointed.

“Everything has been taken care of, so you can come out now.”

At Flynn’s words, Heila and Erina got out of the carriage.

After getting out and surveying the surroundings, they could see that they had moved at such a high speed that the eastern gate of the capital was right in front of them.

As Erina looked around, she saw Baroon putting something into a sack and placing it on the back of a horse saddle.

Judging by the slight movement inside the sack, it seemed to be the person who had tried to move the carriage after harming the driver.

As Erina silently stared at the sack, Baroon approached and reported.

“It’s confirmed to be a hired assassin, but the details will be handed over to the imperial palace for investigation.”

“The reason… I don’t need to ask, it’s me, right?”

No one answered Erina’s trembling voice.

Heila, Baroon, and Flynn thought she was shocked because it was too harsh an experience for a woman who had been living peacefully.

However, what shocked Erina was slightly different from what they thought.

Erina had thought that the original story had been greatly twisted.

Unlike Rose in the original story, who only had Feyron as an escort, Erina had both the imperial knights and Heila by her side.

The discovery of the magic stone mine and informing the empire about it had also been done much earlier than in the original story.

All for Erina to have everything.

But even though many things had changed, the important events seen in the original story still occurred without fail.

Even this kidnapping incident, in the original story, it was revealed that they had attacked seeing an opportunity when Rose only had Feyron as an escort.

In contrast, Erina had all the escorts provided by Enzo and all the escorts provided by Sandess by her side.

Yet they still forced the attack, and she couldn’t understand why at all.

Did they underestimate the others, or was it due to the excessive greed of the small kingdom alliance?

Or was it to show that some parts of the original story would not change no matter what happened?

Overwhelmed by these thoughts chasing each other, Erina hugged her arms and shuddered once.

The people quietly watching Erina felt sorry for her.

They felt sad that a woman who had been living peacefully in the peaceful empire now had to live in fear of attacks in the future.

“Erina, let’s go.”

As Heila embraced Erina’s shoulders and spoke, Baroon and Flynn also hurried to move.

“The carriage is intact, so we’re planning to move.”

After thinking for a while, Baroon carefully asked Erina.

“Lady Medelia, would it be alright for you to travel by carriage?”

Erina had just been threatened inside the carriage until moments ago.

Baroon was worried that Erina might fear the carriage that had brought her this far.

Grateful for Baroon’s thoughtful consideration, Erina answered with a faint smile.

“It’s alright.”

With Flynn volunteering as the driver, Erina boarded the carriage with Heila.

As Baroon, carrying the assassin, set off on horseback first, the carriage soon followed.

Erina, feeling mentally and physically exhausted from what felt like an incredibly long day, closed her eyes while leaning on Heila’s shoulder.