However, Victoria, standing beside her, was glaring at Ariana with a dark complexion.

“Get in the carriage quickly.”

At Duke Jacob Bronthe’s command, Helena climbed into the carriage with a snort. Victoria also withdrew her gaze from Ariana and boarded the carriage.

Ariana was about to get into the carriage when the coachman closed the door.

“You, Miss, will ride in this carriage.”

A servant guided Ariana to a carriage behind.

It was a bit smaller than the one Helena and Victoria had boarded, but it was a splendid carriage with the duke’s family crest on it.

‘Why are they having me ride this splendid carriage alone? There must be a reason…’

Staring at the carriage, suspecting some trickery, Rachel put a hand on Ariana’s shoulder and spoke.

“Helena’s just frustrated she couldn’t catch you. She doesn’t want to cause trouble now, so stay away. If you’re going to be bored, you can bring a maid along.”

Ariana got into the carriage with Rozalin.

Soon, the carriage set off.

Ariana drew back the curtain hanging at the window and stared out.

The employees who had come to see them off, and Bronthe’s mansion, were gradually getting farther away.

The splendid mansion she had lived in for so long, now a place she would never return to.

She felt no regret.

Like a hook caught in a wing, now removed, she felt liberated.

‘If I ever return to this place, it will be to destroy that mansion.’

With the power she now possessed, she had done all she could at that mansion.

The small stone Ariana had thrown had left only a small bruise, but someday, if needed, that wound would widen into an unhealable scar.

‘Only… it’s a pity I couldn’t get the letter. Even without it, I must find a way for Dong Zehu not to cast me away.’

The sound of several horses’ hooves and the jolting of the carriage made it difficult to concentrate on her thoughts.

She choked up again, recalling Cyrus, who had appeared while she was rummaging through Rachel’s room.

Had he shown up just a little later, she could have had the letter.

Though she knew dwelling on the past was pointless, she couldn’t help but feel frustrated about losing a weapon she had almost had in her hands.

“It’ll take more than a fortnight to get to the capital, even if we hurry.”

Rozalin, who had been sitting quietly across from her, finally spoke, and Ariana lifted her head from her thoughts.

Rozalin’s deep eyes were calmly watching Ariana.

“We have plenty of time, Miss.”

Rozalin’s purple eyes were deep and serene.

For some time now, Ariana had felt that Rozalin was not an ordinary maid. No matter how much she claimed to be helping Ariana for money, Rozalin’s behavior was never crude.

And from the moment she had entered the carriage, even her eyes had changed.

Though she had thought Rozalin was nothing more than a simple, greedy, shrewd maid, she might be hiding a greater secret.

But Ariana didn’t feel the need to be wary of Rozalin.
“The Bronthe family has many enemies. It must be the families or friends of maids or commoners who died because of the Bronthes.”

By now, Rozaline would have known that Ariana harbored no good feelings towards the Bronthe family.

As long as their interests aligned, there was no reason for Rozaline to stab Ariana in the back. After all, Ariana was a good source of money for her.

“There won’t be enough time. Judging by the fact that the Duchess had me ride in a separate carriage, it seems like something has been done to this carriage.”

“There’s nothing wrong with the carriage. I checked it last night.”

“Then they must be planning something with this carriage alone. Rozaline, if something happens, can you fend for yourself?”

Rozaline gave a faint smile.

It seemed amusing to her for some reason.

But the smile soon disappeared, and Rozaline answered with her usual stoic expression.

“I can protect you as well, Miss.”

“No, you don’t need to protect me. I’ll manage somehow, so you just make sure to avoid danger. If we end up parting ways here, I’ll send money to your account.”

Rozaline looked at Ariana with a subtle expression and obediently answered.

“Yes, Miss.”

“If we keep this pace, we’ll arrive at a small town by tonight. We’ll stay there for a day and depart at dawn, then reach the Weipun mountain range by the afternoon.”

The Weipun mountain range stretched horizontally across the western region.

“If anything happens, it will be around the time we reach the Weipun mountains. There’s only one small village nearby, so there won’t be anyone to come to our aid.”

Rachel’s thoughts dwelled on the fact that she wouldn’t simply take Ariana to the Empire without incident.

Ariana thought Rachel must have figured out the whole story of the Pagora murder case. Earlier, Rachel, who had told Ariana to take another carriage, hadn’t hidden her hateful gaze towards Ariana.

“Neither the coachman nor the knights are part of the Bronthe family, so I can’t just turn the carriage as I please. Many watchful eyes mean many scrutinizing ones. I can’t even steal a horse and escape.”

Rachel had trapped Ariana in a situation where escape was impossible. She would not miss this opportunity.

“It must be why she had me take a maid or a servant along, to fabricate an excuse later on. She could say that she attached someone to take care of me and didn’t expect something like this to happen.”

Rozaline looked at Ariana with somewhat surprised eyes.

There was no reason to be surprised if she knew the situation. Ariana knew Rachel very well. Until she met the Third Prince Herald, Ariana had been Rachel’s subordinate, handling all kinds of dirty work.

Predicting what she would plan, and how she would trap her enemy, was not difficult. Finding a way to break through the situation was the only problem.

Ariana reached out to Rozaline.

Her small, thin hand rested on Rozaline’s firm backhand. Blue eyes stared closely into purple ones.

“Rozaline. The Duchess will try to kill me. So, if anything happens, don’t look back and just run away. Don’t think about saving me.”

“What will you do if I run away, Miss? It would be hard to kill a man with the short sword I bought for you.”

“I know. I have a plan. I won’t die here.”