There Is No Paradise Where I Ran Away To (14 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 70

The space inside the wall was just wide enough to fit three people. Thus, there remained enough room between Edwin and Vivian for one more person.

Relieved that it wasn’t too cramped, Vivian pressed her back flat against the wall and looked down at the faint moonlight seeping through the small gap beneath her feet—the only light capable of enduring the suffocating silence and persistent gaze.

“…Thank you.”

Though they were locked alone in this sealed space, she felt no worry. Even if someone couldn’t hide their desire for her, she was certain nothing untoward would happen so long as there were people actively searching for her, eyes blazing.

Vivian focused on the sounds coming from beyond the wall, but no one came looking for the guest reception room.

Bored even by the dim moonlight brushing her toes, she glanced up. Her eyes met Edwin’s, who had been silently watching her with lowered lids. Turning her head in such tight quarters would only make the stagnant air even more tense.

“Did Charlotte and Your Grace… participate in this game every year?”

Choosing conversation, Vivian carefully asked in the lowest voice she could manage.

“Charlotte did. I was always busy.”

“Then why join this time? If you’re caught, you’ll suffer public humiliation.”

“Because of someone who’d get caught flailing around like a fool and end up stripped bare before everyone.”

The narrow space quickly filled with their breaths. Heat and humidity built up easily. Feeling stifled, Vivian fanned her face with her hand and wiggled her toes inside her shoes.

“…Thank you. For helping me.”

The trust between them, unbroken, had only grown stronger. Though he was precisely the kind of person she shouldn’t recklessly rely on, unfortunately, right now Edwin was the only one she could trust.

That trust also gave her courage. Perhaps it had even robbed her of sound judgment. But the thick, sticky air blurred her consciousness, and the space—feeling as if trapped in an eon—warped her sense of reality.

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