You Can't Catch the Wind (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 7

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Ael instinctively hunched her body.

Elise had been in a good mood for the past few days. It was only natural—her meetings with the Grand Duke had become increasingly frequent.

The more often the two met, the more carefully Viscountess Aradis and her husband watched Elise’s every mood, granting her every wish without hesitation.

“The Grand Duke must be waiting for my reply—do you really expect me to write it on such cheap, rough paper? What would he possibly think of me then!”

Ael, who had just peeked her head in, saw Elise shouting at her personal maid, Maya. Maya kept her head bowed low, barely managing to speak.

“But… I bought the letter paper exactly as you instructed… for your reply…”

“So you went and bought something only commoners would use?”

From their conversation, Ael immediately understood what had happened. Recently, Elise had been writing letters to the Grand Duke frequently.

Although the Grand Duke replied far less often than Elise wrote—and his letters were always extremely brief—Elise didn’t seem to mind at all.

After all, no matter what anyone else said, she was currently the only woman the Grand Duke met with privately.

“Elise, what’s going on?”

“Mother! This idiot can’t even run a simple errand properly!”

As soon as Viscountess Aradis appeared, Elise shouted again.

“I’m sorry, miss. I’ll go right away and buy proper paper this time.”

Maya kept bowing repeatedly, begging for forgiveness, but Elise couldn’t contain her anger and huffed in frustration. Then her eyes met Ael’s, who stood at the end of the corridor.

“Rida! Come here!”

Elise called out to Ael as if it were perfectly convenient.

“Go buy some proper letter paper for my reply. At least you should be able to tell what kind is worthy of sending to the Grand Duke.”

“Yes. Hurry back quickly. The Grand Duke must be waiting for our Elise’s reply, so we mustn’t delay. Now, Elise, don’t be angry—calm down first. Haven’t you still not decided what hair ornament to wear for this weekend’s banquet? Getting so worked up won’t do your skin any good.”

Viscountess Aradis skillfully soothed Elise as she entered the room. Ael watched them for a moment before heading toward the Viscount’s study. It seemed today would be a long day.

[This is the timeline separator]

“Excuse me, let me through!”

Ael raised her voice as she squeezed between the crowd.

The central square, usually bustling, was unusually packed today.

From snippets of conversation, she gathered that several ships from the Ash Trading Company had arrived early this morning, drawing merchants, cart drivers, and everyone else involved in trade to the area.

After struggling through the throng, Ael finally slipped into a quiet alley and checked the envelope tucked safely in her bosom.

‘It mustn’t get crumpled.’

She recalled Elise’s furious reaction to ordinary paper. Because of that, Ael had to go to the stationery shop and buy the finest quality letter paper—embossed with intricate patterns, even dyed in color and scented.

At least Viscount Aradis had handed over the money without complaint when told it was for Elise’s errand.

But even that amount was barely enough just for the paper.

‘If only I’d had enough left over for a carriage fare back, I wouldn’t be worrying about it getting crumpled like this.’

Carefully holding the envelope, Ael peeked out from the alley. The main road remained packed with people and carts.

‘I’ll have to wait a bit before moving.’

Ael stood still in the alley.

Inside her bag was still the small book that endlessly puzzled and troubled her, but she didn’t feel like taking it out.

For some reason, Elise’s words about her own worth kept echoing in her mind today.

A thousand guilders.

A large sum to some, small to others. For a moment, Ael wondered what would happen if she herself had a thousand guilders. Would her parents give up on marrying her off if she handed them that amount?

‘Of course not.’

After all, they’d still object to her unmarried elder sister remaining at home.

Her imagination continued. What if she asked some man to give her parents a thousand guilders and pretend to marry her?

If they could fake a marriage and escape far away…

Ael turned her head and gazed at the sails of the merchant ship visible beyond the rooftops between the alleyways.

Seagulls darted frantically through the air, and the flag at the mast’s tip fluttered in the wind. Whenever her chest felt tight, Ael habitually watched things swaying in the breeze—it was the only way she could see the wind itself.

Ever since the first time she saw a map.

Ever since she learned there existed a world far larger and wider beyond Denertum.

Ael had always imagined leaving far away.

But it remained nothing more than imagination.

There was no way for her to escape this place.

In Denertum, women were always required to move about accompanied by a husband or male relative. Without such accompaniment—and unless they were very young or elderly—they were often regarded as women of ill repute.

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The restrictions weren’t limited to movement alone.

‘We can’t even own property ourselves.’

At least commoner women could work in places like markets or restaurants where labor was needed. Yet no bank would accept their deposits without a guardian’s signature.

Naturally, that guardian was always their husband or father.

In the case of orphans, Denertum law required even the name of a government-appointed Manager to be listed.

And since those guardians held authority over the accounts, the money could never truly be considered their own.

Noblewomen fared slightly better—at least they could claim ownership over gifts they received.

Everyone was like this—only allowed to possess what someone else gave them.

Conversely, that was precisely why Ael still owned nothing at all. She had never received a single gift in her life.

Gazing at the fluttering Imperial flag, Ael recalled a childhood fantasy she hadn’t thought of in a long time.

‘Under Denertum’s laws, I can never have anything of my own.’

Her eyes slowly drifted downward. Beyond the low rooftops, the newly constructed Ash Trading Company building came into view.

‘But would it be possible under Imperial law?’

Just as Ael’s thoughts continued to wander—

“Catch that thief!”

A shout rang out from the opposite end of the alley.

‘What’s going on?’

Startled by the urgent voice, Ael turned her head. Others who had also sought refuge from the central square’s chaos near the alley entrance turned toward the commotion as well.

Someone was running toward them from the far end of the alley. Even from a distance, it was obvious he was a vagrant.

He charged forward so fiercely that people instinctively pressed themselves flat against the alley walls, fearing he might crash into them.

It wasn’t just his speed that was frightening—his expression was far too grim and cold to belong to an ordinary vagrant, making it hard even to look at him.

“Grab him!”

Another desperate cry came from behind the fleeing vagrant.

Standing there was a middle-aged woman, her face filled with dismay. Ael quickly shifted her gaze back to the vagrant.

He clutched something tightly in his arms—it seemed he’d stolen it from that woman and was now trying to escape.

People, unwilling to get entangled in trouble, pressed as close to the walls as possible to avoid him.

For a brief moment, Ael hesitated.

What should she do?

She didn’t want to get involved in complicated matters herself. She needed to return home quickly. Besides, what if she helped and the thief sought revenge on her later? But still…

“Please, help me!”

The moment the woman’s voice rang out again, Ael found herself moving without thinking.

Someone was in trouble and asking for help. Helping was simply the right thing to do.

Before she could fully process the thought, Ael’s foot shot forward and tripped a passing man.

“Gah!”

The man, who had assumed everyone—including Ael—would move aside like the others, crashed loudly onto the ground, completely caught off guard.

At the same time, Ael tumbled to the ground as well. The man had been running so fast that tripping him sent her sprawling too.

“Grr…!”

After twitching for a moment, the man quickly scrambled up, grabbed what he’d dropped, and tried to flee again.

She couldn’t let him get away.

Ael hurriedly tried to rise and grab him, but pain shot through her ankle—apparently she’d injured it when she’d tripped him just moments before.

In that instant, the man had already gained several steps ahead. At this rate, he’d escape.

Desperately wondering how she could possibly stop him, even just a little, Ael reached into her bag this time.

Her fingers closed around the book she’d brought along to read on her way. With all her strength, she hurled it toward the fleeing man.

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