Suddenly, everything seemed utterly pointless.
The moment she took the medicine and endured the terrible pain. The moment she stole money from the cross-dressed woman and begged for her life, waiting for a meteor shower on the mountain ridge that never came. And again, another moment of agonizing pain.
Why did she do all this?
To be caught so meaninglessly in the end.
Liz let out a deep sigh and resigned herself. Soon, it would be her turn…
“Ah! Take a look here.”
“……?”
Liz’s eyes widened at the sudden development.
The guard who had been examining her daughter’s forehead called for his superior.
“Is this the scar here? The one His Majesty mentioned, about three centimeters.”
“It does seem like it…”
The superior narrowed his eyes as he stared at the scar. He wasn’t sure if it was a scar or a mole, but for now, it seemed right to detain anyone suspicious.
“Come with us.”
“No!”
The mother cried out and ran toward them.
“She is my daughter. She is not the person you’re looking for.”
“That’s for us to determine. For now, we will take your daughter into custody.”
“Mother!”
“Luisa—ah!”
Seizing the opportunity amidst the sudden commotion, Liz stealthily backpedaled.
As everyone rushed closer to the castle gates to get a better look at the disturbance, no one paid any attention to Liz.
Miraculously, Liz was able to extricate herself from the scene.
Aware that looking too hurried could arouse suspicion, Liz walked as leisurely and unhurriedly as if she were out for a stroll, rounding the corner. Then, seeing no one watching, she broke into a run.
She ran aimlessly, without a destination or direction in mind. If she encountered a patrol, she slowed her pace to casually enjoy a stroll, and as soon as they were out of sight, she ran again with all her might.
After running for quite some time, Liz reached a secluded area and leaned her back against the wall of a building, taking deep, ragged breaths.
As her tension eased, her energy was also depleted, making it impossible to stand any longer.
Sliding down the wall, Liz sat down, her back still leaning against it.
Hugging her knees to her chest, Liz thought.
‘The flower of Luzencia.’
It was a name she had forgotten for a long time.
A name made forgettable by the illusion of having escaped destiny.
‘Have I truly escaped?’
Liz lamented.
Whether it was the power of fate or the Emperor’s unilateral decision, she couldn’t be sure. But one thing was certain.
The Emperor knew.
Knew that she had tampered with his medicine.
How could he have known? How could he have guessed that I might have changed my appearance?
The medicine was hidden in a place only she knew of, and Liz had restored it perfectly, so that no one could ever know she had touched it.
At the time, he hadn’t seemed to notice. Clearly, he had now thoroughly explored the possibility.
Just how expansive is that man’s spectrum of imagination?
How could he exceed the realm of the ordinary to reach the truth?
Suddenly, Liz felt afraid.
She sensed madness in his relentless, obsessively persistent pursuit.
He seemed to have finally found her to settle the debts of the past.
Wasn’t that exactly her fate in the novel?
“……!”
Startled by the rustling sound, Liz swiftly stood up and looked around.
A man in a white robe was walking towards her.
Liz felt her heart pound, and cold sweat formed on her forehead.
‘Has he come to catch me?’
When the man stopped in front of Liz, she thought her heart would stop.
“May peace be upon your heart.”
“……?”
A man with a hood over his head brought his hands together in a bow and then brushed past Liz.
Confused but relieved, Liz leaned back against the wall again.
She seemed to recall seeing a few people dressed like that, making such gestures in the religious center. No, she had definitely seen them.
Pilgrims. People who embarked on an ascetic journey to gain enlightenment.
‘Some nobles did it occasionally, too.’
How they bragged about walking until their feet blistered, or about staying in the humble abode known as the pilgrim’s house.
Back then, it seemed quite impressive, but thinking about it now, it was utterly ridiculous.
‘Suffering isn’t suffering when you have a place to return to.’
Compared to having nowhere to go, that was certainly true.
Liz chuckled lightly and laboriously detached herself from the wall.
She couldn’t continue like this; she had to go somewhere.
However, as she tried to move her trembling legs, she had no idea where she should go.
The city gates were absolutely not an option, nor were the inns.
Her identical portrait would undoubtedly have been distributed to every inn in the area by now.
Going to a stranger’s house was out of the question…
“Ah!”
Suddenly, something struck Liz’s mind like a bolt of lightning.
‘May peace be upon your soul.’
That man. She had to follow that man.
Watching from a distance as the man in a white robe entered an ivory-colored stone building, Liz nodded.
“That’s the place. The Pilgrim’s House.”
The Pilgrim’s House.
When scheming men desperately battle for her favor in the male harem
This one’s also on my reread list! The rivalry, scheming between the men in the imperial harem are just as intense and thrilling as in classic palace drama novels, where concubines fight to the death. Give it a read, girls! I promise you won’t be disappointed.
Synopsis:
“I am not worthy of her… but I still want to be by her side, even if only as a loyal dog…”
Those were the painful whispers of Yue Guanyi – the proud Crown Prince of the Great Qi, who was torn between deep love and a guilty conscience. Despite holding the supreme power of the Imperial Guard, he still could not forget the dark past when he was sold into a brothel.
Fate played a cruel twist when Qiu Shuzhi – a young female official who had just passed the imperial examinations with top honors – stepped into his life. She did not know that she was the one who had saved him from a tragic fate many years ago. And now, her heart was the target of pursuit for both Yue Guanyi and the powerful Empress Dowager Qin Qing.
While Yue Guanyi only dared to silently care for and protect the one he loved from afar, the Empress Dowager Qin Qing openly expressed his feelings and did not hesitate to take advantage of his power to approach Qiu Shuzhi. The covert struggle between the two most powerful forces in the imperial court began…
Trigger warning: All men in this novel are yandere style.
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