Chapter 2 - Why Are You Leaving?

Chapter 2 – Why Are You Leaving?

The carriage, which was full of quality mana, ran at a terrific speed as soon as it left the capital.

Ashia looked around in the carriage and soon fixed her eyes on the man sitting in front of her.

The man seemed to be busy as he was handling important documents even inside the carriage.

‘Given the quality and quantity of the mana stone, I am certain that this man is very rich…..’

Who the hell sent this man here?

No symbols were engraved on this carriage. It meant that there was no way for one to know who the owner of the carriage is. Moreover, he probably did this as he didn’t want to draw the attention of anyone.

I am curious about who the master is of that man, but it seems like he wouldn’t let me know any detail about him even if I asked.

‘Well, I’ll see him soon anyway.’

I decided to stop worrying about such meaningless things.

I moved closer to where the window of the carriage was located and looked out the window.

Ashia, who hasn’t left the capital for a long time, was a little excited.

The man, who was looking at the documents, lifted his head slightly. He stared at Ashia, who was busy looking out of the window.

‘Ashia Bliss…..’

The investigation into that witch has been blocked off. It was not easy to know whether it was because the tower did something about it, or there was really no information to dig out.

In the past, she recklessly used her magic, which caused both big and small accidents. But, one day, she just quietly started to make potions.

Due to her glamorous and beautiful appearance, there were many scandalous rumors tying her to the opposite gender, but it is said that such rumors were quickly disbanded after she had strictly discredited everything.

“But what kind of disease does your master have to the point that he even had to find me?”

Ashia asked him, still looking out of the window. She didn’t expect him to answer, but she couldn’t resist asking him because she was curious.

The man looked down at the documents, then answered her question.

“You’ll see him soon. You can know it by then.”

“Ah, of course.”

He didn’t seem to have any intention of spilling a grain of information as expected. At this point, I wondered if this could be any different from kidnapping, but Ashia decided to still follow.

‘Come to think of it, we’ve been in the carriage for quite a while….’

Having a trade with many secrets is always dangerous. The bigger the risk, the shorter the gold earned from the request, but this seems to be the way out of the capital.

Ashia didn’t like to get out of the capital. No, to be exact, it was dangerous for her to get out of the capital.

It was deeply related to the main characters of the original work.

When the original characters, which had been forgotten for quite some time, suddenly came to mind, a fever of anxiety began to rise in her heart.

‘Oh, I don’t think I’ll be ever run into them in this vast piece of land.’

TL/N: You really think so?

She shook her head to shake off the worries she had.

Not long after, the carriage’s speed dropped noticeably. Only then did the territorial landscape come into sight.

‘Wow…..’

At first glance, it was a vast land.

With its white houses and vibrant shops, it seemed as good as the capital, Carmian.

‘Wait, a territory that has a similar territory as the capital?’

Realizing that, deeper anxiety began to settle in Ashia’s head, which was full of thoughts that scare her the most.

As the carriage slowed down, it finally stopped in front of a large mansion.

‘Oh my…..’

Ashia, who got off the carriage, was speechless for a while. Her eyes shook in disarray as she gazed at the picture-like mansion in front of her as though she was hypnotized.

[The size of the territory of Etous was comparable to that of Carmian, the capital of the Karhan Empire. The magnificent and enormous mansion, comparable to the Imperial Palace, contained the greatness of defending the Karhan Empire for many years.]

A place often described in the novel, even rumored to be located in the capital.

‘….It’s the Grand Duke’s residence!’

Obviously, this land and mansion were places she had never gone to before, but Ashia could tell at once what this place was.

Grand Duke Etous’s territory Etous Boer is where Ashia had just stepped foot in.

‘There’s a lot of families I can run into. Yet…..it had to still be the Grand Duke.’

Not a Count, not a Duke. It’s the one and only Grand Duke of this Empire.

Ashia frowned and sighed. The man, who was looking at her expression, took a step closer and leaned over her.

“I’ll introduce myself formally. My name is Redin Karantes. You can call me Redin.”

Ashia’s gaze, which was fixed on the mansion, turned to Redin. I was annoyed at this man. However, I had no choice but to hide my anger.

“…..Ah. I see.”

Seeing her expression and tone was as cold as ice, Redin added.

“No need to be nervous. He’s not as scary as what the rumors say.”

“He better not be.”

Ashia’s attitude towards the Grand Duke will depend on how he was going to act. If he behaved kindly, then she would be kind. If he behaved overbearingly, then she would be overbearing too.

Of course, she has the power and the ability to do that.

“…….”

Because of her blunt tone, the butler, Redin, was a little curious about her.

Most people usually only looked at the main gate of the Grand Duke’s mansion before being stricken by fear, running away as though they had seen a monster. Some would abandon their carriages and just run around empty-handed, scaping their knees on the dirty road.

However, she wasn’t like most people. Instead, Ashia sank into a deep and cold atmosphere.

‘Is she not scared because of the current rumors? That’s impossible.’

The Grand Duke was notorious for being a tyrant and a rascal. He can’t sleep without a woman, and he even thinks that human life is equivalent to that of a bug.

But he changed a few years ago after having a near-death experience.

Not only did he stop whatever evil deeds he had been doing, but he also began collecting and giving money instead of wasting away his fortune. It was as though he had become someone else.

But…

Can a person really change so easily?

Right? How would you know if he’s just faking it or not?

The fact that he has changed wasn’t probably important among the people of his country.

Over the years, there have been countless good deeds he has done himself, yet his reputation still hasn’t changed for the better.

The doctor of the Grand Duke also ran away. Neither the commissioned members nor the temple’s monks could withstand the pressure of communicating with the Grand Duke. Moreover, they also fear that they may lose their voice anytime whenever they’re with him.

That’s why Redin thought that the reason why Ashia’s complexion suddenly changed was not much different from them either.

But, the reason for that was different.

‘Sigh….’

I held back the sigh that was about to leak out of my mouth. If that man’s words were true, this place is definitely the Grand Duke’s residence.

That would mean it was the Grand Duke who ordered this butler to bring her in.

The problem is that the hero of this novel is the Grand Duke.

‘Of all people…..’

Ashia, who sighed, slowly scratched her forehead. The current situation was both annoying and embarrassing.

If I run away now, there will be a penalty. Furthermore, the amount of gold that I have to pay is twenty times more than the gold I received.

‘Never.’

Which part did she get wrong exactly? She bit her lower lip tightly in agony.

In the meantime, Ashia was already on her way to the entrance of the mansion, passing through its splendid garden.

‘Oh my…..How can I avoid meeting him?’

‘A stomachache?’

‘No, a headache?’

‘No, I’d rather fall down the stairs.’

I could go up the stairs quietly, and fall down, making it seem like an accident.

At that moment, when she was agonizing over what she should do to avoid meeting him, Redin stopped walking when they arrived in front of a room.

“This is the Grand Duke’s Office.”

“Oh, I see.”

“The details will be told directly by my master.”

“Yes, sir.”

As soon as she finished with her reply, the door of the office opened right away.

‘Wow…..’

It felt like I was looking at a cave without any light.

After taking a deep breath, I took a step inside. The door of the Grand Duke’s office closed right away.

Even in broad daylight, the Grand Duke’s office was pitch-dark. A faint ray of light leaked through the opened curtains, but that did not help much.

Ashia tried to locate the position of the Grand Duke with her eyes inside the darkness. She couldn’t see his face but she could feel the presence of a dark shadow standing beside the desk.

He did not talk, greet, or move. He just stood there.

An awkward and uncomfortable silence continued.

‘…..I wonder what his personality is.’

Proud and arrogant, or mean and ferocious? I heard you’ve been quiet lately, so I thought it was weird.

Ashia kept pondering about what personality the Grand Duke has.

However, that rude man in the dark is a client who paid a lot of gold.

‘Let’s just think about the gold I received. Just make the potion and leave. He’s a total stranger…..That’s right, he’s just like any other client I had received.’

Even if the person, who was in front of her, has a rotten personality and is the novel’s male lead, he is just another client who gave her gold.

A smile graced her face out of habit, though nothing could be seen in this dark office.

“Nice to meet you, Grand Duke.”

Wearing a hood indoors, such a mannerless thing to do!

She raised her hand so that she could take off her stuffy hood. Then, she carried on in a gentle voice, as always, towards her customers.

“I’m Ashia Bliss. I run a potion store in the capital, Carmian.”

At that moment, the man, who stood in the dark without moving, took a step forward.

Then, the light, through the small gap between the curtains, crept over his face, illuminating it.

“Thanks to your help, I can arrive here safely and comfortably….”

His sudden movements caused Ashia’s voice to diminish and her hand, which was about to take off the hood, also quickly stopped moving.

Looking at him, Ashia’s blue eyes shook as she could not hide the shock she felt. The air in front of her seemed to have gotten heavier.

Under the thin stream of light, the face of the Grand Duke was fully revealed.

“Likewise.”

A quiet, deep voice pierced her ears. Ashia’s lips opened a little after seeing his face.

“…………”

Ashia looked at him without giving a reply. It was a familiar face. He looked so familiar, even if she only met him today.

“Kal…..go?”

When I realized that this place was in a novel, I failed to control my mana and blew up a mountain in the Empire. I even destroyed a small island nearby.

When I found out that this was the male lead’s house, I lamented, but I wasn’t as surprised as I am now.

After living as Ashia Bliss for 10 years, she thought that she had already forgotten everything.

As I stood in front of him, this man forced me to recall the memory of “Renna Cornelli”, something that I had forgotten for a long time.

‘How can….this man be here?’

Ashia was so surprised that she forgot to even breathe; her lips were the only ones that moved ever so slightly.

‘No……no.’

The man facing Renna right now was her ex-husband, who lost his life in the same place and on the same day as she did.