There Is No Paradise Where I Ran Away To (14 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 16
A large crow soared into the shadowed sky. Today’s hunters had lost interest in anything that flew.
There was better prey right before their eyes.
“On the day the young lady visited your tailor shop—she was indeed in the carriage with you, correct? I’m asking whether the tie she was wearing truly belonged to His Grace.”
Theo’s eyes burned with an unquenchable spark, yet Edwin’s blue eyes remained calm—so ordinary that it almost made one believe Vivian’s letter might hold truth.
But the slight upward curve of Edwin’s lips, the joyous spread of his smile, betrayed the truth of that day.
“Then whose do you think it is? It’s mine, of course.”
His unusually clear voice planted an inexplicable sense of irritation. It felt as though everything had been stolen—though nothing had been taken—and as though everything had been lost completely—though nothing had ever belonged to him.
“I still remember how the young lady looked that day. Or rather, it’s a sight I simply can’t forget. That day… did you lay hands on her?”
“Theo Evans.”
At the calm, lake-like call, Theo’s fiercely glaring eyes narrowed faintly.
“I’ve grown curious myself—why didn’t Ebelline’s friend hear about what happened in the carriage that day? Why didn’t Vivian tell you about it?”
The Duke spoke mockingly yet steadily throughout. An undeniable truth pierced Theo’s chest. The Duke’s leisurely posture—sitting atop a large stone that reached his shins, as if to discuss something utterly irrelevant—reeked of arrogance. Even his breath sank into the forest’s shadows.
“Is it so difficult to say that I strangled her?”
The faint smile in his voice froze Theo’s world. He doubted again and again what his own ears had just heard from Edwin.
Whose neck had been strangled? Who had strangled whom?
Simultaneously, Vivian’s fleeting image gouged his heart. He hadn’t imagined what wounds might lie beneath the Duke’s tie she’d been wearing.
What truly paralyzed Theo’s reason was the sight of the Duke’s flawless smile—smiling without a trace of guilt after so brazenly clutching an innocent woman’s throat. The reason Theo now gripped his rifle with both hands belonged solely to Duke Beitnes.
“Today, I—”
The barrel, now fully resolved, aimed squarely at Edwin.
“—I think I’ll kill you.”
A hair-trigger standoff. A mere tailor from a small town now aimed a gun at the Duke of Newway. He threatened death and glared wildly—an act tantamount to treason, punishable by hanging—but Theo, stripped of reason, gave no thought to consequences.
If he must die this way, he certainly wouldn’t be alone. He had no intention of dying by himself.
He poured that resolve into the barrel pointed at the Duke.
“You really think you can?”
Edwin scoffed calmly. Even as the gun was thrust toward him, he showed no fear. Surely he must know such an attitude would provoke his opponent’s stubbornness—Theo thought exactly that.
“So you bought this estate with intent. I now clearly understand that Your Grace is no different from those despicable men. But I won’t let the young lady become a plaything of your filthy desires.”
“Filthy… desires?”
There was only one reason Edwin would spend such a fortune to purchase the estate—to strangle Vivian. As far as Theo knew, a man’s desire could defile anything of his own, even his honor or reputation.
“Filthy desires, you say.”
Edwin slowly chewed over the words amid the commotion Theo had stirred.
Hmm. Is that so? Had he ever truly desired Vivian Ebelline?
Edwin’s gaze deepened. Had he ever thought, upon seeing that gaunt, pitiful figure, that he must make her his own?
By the time his distant consciousness returned, Theo—still glaring and pressing the gun forward—had grown tiresome. On second thought, there had been no reason to include Theo Evans in the hunt.
Why had I drawn Theo Evans into this hunting ground? If his very existence was bothersome, I could have simply killed him. Realizing how utterly trivial and troublesome this whole affair had been, Edwin couldn’t help but let out a dry laugh.
“I have a duty to protect the young lady, so I must now take her away from this estate—”
“Duty?”
Edwin curled his lips as if the notion were laughable.
“Who gave you that duty? Did Ebelline ask you to do this? Don’t delude yourself, Evans. You have no such obligation. Your duty is to run your tailor shop, take payment, and sew clothes for your customers. And I intend to pay my due—Ebelline’s dress was quite lovely.”
“There’s no reason for me to accept payment for the dress.”
“I bear you no ill will. But if there’s any reason I feel like picking up a gun, it’s probably—”
Edwin slowly rose from his seat. Yet in the blink of an eye, his movement as he shouldered the rifle was too swift for the eye to follow.
“—because you’re annoying.”
In an instant, Edwin’s barrel also aimed at Theo.
Amid the forest’s damp chill, tension thickened the air, carrying the scent of blood. Here, where neither side could retreat, it was a battlefield swept by a storm of violence.
“From today onward, I’ll be taking the young lady with me.”
“Did Ebelline say she wanted that?”
“I’ll make sure she does.”
“Hmm. Do you really think that’s something so simple Evans can accomplish?”
“If it concerns Miss Ebelline, I won’t hesitate—not even for a moment.”
Click. Theo fearlessly chambered a round.
“Will you be any different?”
The metallic sound of reloading echoed through the forest. Both men stood ready to pull the trigger—nothing about this moment felt unnatural. This forest, where each was resolved to kill the other, had become hell itself.
“Kyaaah! Your Grace!”
Charlotte’s scream tore through the woods, dousing the forest’s heat as though with cold water.
Both men’s gazes snapped to the same spot. Charlotte, pale as death, came running breathlessly—and behind her appeared another woman.
A stranger—Vivian Ebelline—dressed in a beautiful sage-green gown.
Vivian’s ash-gray eyes skimmed over Edwin, who held a gun to Theo, and locked onto Theo himself. Her face, drained white with fear, cried out without hesitation.
“Theo!”
Vivian changed direction, heading straight for him. Theo’s concentration broke; his barrel lowered as he readied his arms to catch her as she ran.
“Young lady!”
With tiny, determined steps in her delicate shoes, she raced toward Theo Evans’s embrace.
A foolish woman, leaping into arms she neither trusted nor relied upon.
The sound of her small feet pounding the earth beneath the lavish, ill-fitting dress was deafening.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
It was then that the barrel aimed at Theo shifted toward Vivian.
Vivian. Ebelline. Ebelline. Vivian.
Her name tumbled like dice—Vivian Ebelline—until the dice stopped rolling, and only “Ebelline” was etched upon it.
The time had come to conclude today’s hunt.
He hoped Theo Evans, who’d never experienced war, would learn this lesson: in battle, never let your focus drift to trivial things.
Bang!
With a shot that shook the forest, Vivian’s body flew into the air. Her movement—sacrificing herself to protect a cherished friend—was noble and beautiful. It was a moment when deep, tear-inducing friendship shone brilliantly. Vivian, fearless of death, willingly offered her own body for her friend.
What a stupid, foolish woman—to think she could save someone else when she couldn’t even protect herself.
Vivian soon collapsed into Theo’s arms, while Charlotte, who had been rushing toward Edwin, sank to the ground, hands clamped over her ears.
The Zimmermann brothers and the servants, who had just arrived, ducked low in shock at the gunshot.
A wisp of smoke curled from Edwin’s barrel. Beyond the hazy blue smoke, the two figures clung tightly to each other.
“Miss! Miss, are you alright?”
Desperate, Theo inspected Vivian in his arms. When she fluttered her stiff eyelids, he briefly seemed relieved.
“…I’m fine.”
“What? But you were just shot—”
Wobbling as she straightened her upper body, Vivian looked down at herself with a bewildered expression. Then her eyes landed on the sage-green skirt torn by Edwin’s bullet.
Understanding the situation, Vivian immediately shot Edwin a glare. Calmly smiling, he called over a servant and handed over his rifle.
“I’ll take my leave here. Please, guests, enjoy the rest of the hunt. Seeing blood has left me terribly exhausted.”
Edwin met Vivian’s furious glare with composure. He found the fierce anger in her eyes pleasing. How deeply would Ebelline regret today’s events, blaming him for all her misfortunes when she trusted him not at all?
The thought that her feelings for him would soon become her regret made this moment oddly enjoyable.
“When Mr. Evans departs, give him Miss Ebelline’s dress payment. He provided an entertaining hunt—fair compensation is due.”
After giving his instruction to the servant, Edwin mounted his horse, cast one last glance at Theo and Vivian, and left the scene.
The moment Edwin vanished from sight, Vivian’s tension crumbled instantly. As she tried to rise, her strength deserted her, and she collapsed back onto the ground.
“Are you really alright, miss? Are you hurt anywhere?”
“What on earth is the meaning of this!”
Instead of Vivian’s reply, Charlotte’s furious shriek filled the forest. Her face flushed red with rage, and her shoulders trembled slightly as she panted.
“How dare you aim a gun at His Grace!”
“His Grace shot at the young lady! It was only by chance the bullet tore her dress instead of piercing her body!”
As their voices rose, Vivian clutched Theo’s coat collar. She was angry too—but her anger wasn’t meant for Charlotte.
“Don’t you understand what you’ve done? In the Duke’s own estate, as Miss Ebelline’s guest, you drew a gun on His Grace during a hunt! Do you even grasp what this means? It’s treason! Treason!”
Theo, pushed back, clenched his jaw and said nothing. Charlotte’s scornful gaze passed over him and settled on Vivian.
“Because of you, only Miss Ebelline is left in an awkward position! She’ll have to clean up this mess herself. Let’s wrap this up and return—now! Throw that man out of the estate at once! Who knows—he might try to harm the Duke again!”
With that final sharp glare, Charlotte turned and walked away. As their figures faded into the distance, tears welled up uncontrollably. Her throbbing heart couldn’t pinpoint exactly what it was reacting to.
“Miss.”
Only when Theo’s voice reached her did her eyes—previously fixed on emptiness—turn toward him. His worried, innocent gaze only deepened the ache in Vivian’s heart.
“Are—you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?”
“I’m perfectly fine. Not hurt at all.”
Her sigh of relief trembled faintly. Vivian drooped her head as if collapsing. When Theo gently grasped her frail shoulders to support her, she waved him off, insisting she was alright.
“…How on earth did it come to this?”
Behind Edwin’s indulgence lay hidden bait. It had been the same at the beginning, and little had changed now. Lure you in with sweet words, seat you comfortably, then strangle you.
Fourteen years ago, he’d drawn Theo into the hunt—to keep a promise and to take revenge. If this followed the same pattern, Edwin had struck precisely at his weakness.
“Did His Grace hurt you? Did he say he’d kill you?”
“…Miss.”
“Theo. Don’t come here again. Don’t meet the Duke. I can’t bear to… to lose you too…”
“Miss.”
How could she lose more of the things she loved, right here?
She’d left her beloved hometown. In this place of new beginnings, her beloved father disappeared. Her mother, whom she’d sent away hoping to manage everything, had since cut off contact. Theo had been the only love left in her life. Did Edwin even understand what it meant to nearly lose such a friend?
“Let’s leave the estate. Stay at my place. I can’t leave you here any longer.”
If she followed Theo out of Edwin’s shadow…
Edwin Beitnes would bring upon House Ebelline a disgrace fiercer than death—reporting both her and her mother to the authorities, branding their entire family as frauds. Thus, House Ebelline would be utterly destroyed.
Edwin Beitnes had more than enough justification to do exactly that.
So she couldn’t run. She couldn’t escape the Duke’s side. She couldn’t bury her already ruined family in even greater shame.
Tears welling at the corners of her eyes soaked the dirt beneath her. Theo carefully wiped the tears from her pale cheeks with his sleeve.
“If I keep you here any longer, Miss Ebelline might beat me senseless. So please, miss… come with me…”
“I’m sorry.”
That was all Vivian, who couldn’t follow Theo, could say.
“The dress Theo made for me… it’s ruined.”
I’m sorry—for making you endure things you never should have.
“I’m truly sorry, Theo.”
Half-suppressing her sincerity, Vivian clutched Theo’s coat collar and wept, her tears tangled with complex emotions. The chasm in her heart grew endlessly deeper, and the forest’s shadows stretched crudely toward her.
Male lead reborn without memories — but he still falls for her.
The person he finds displeasing in this life turns out to be his cherished wife-master in previous life…
Xie Zhi and Fang Xianxing who had known each other for less than three days through a blind date sat in the same car in front of the civil affairs bureau. They had a disagreement and failed to get married.
Xie Zhi immediately took out his phone, slid through his contacts, and randomly selected the next marriage candidate.
The woman snatched his phone and hung up. Looking at his phone wallpaper, she awkwardly changed the subject: “An ancient painting, eh? It looks pretty good, it’s just that the person in the painting looks a bit like me.”
When he heard this, he sarcastically mocked her for being so delusional, completely unaware that, the person in front of him was the reincarnation of Wen Ru, the famous prime minister of Yuan Shun whom he most admired…
The female CEO who doesn’t want to get married with a divorce agreement in hand × The male archaeological researcher who will only get married if he’s sure he can get divorced
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