CH 51

Rose changed into a simple, light outfit and left the manor accompanied by the escorting knight and Anne.

Anne giggled excitedly as she climbed into the carriage.

"Thanks to Lady Rose, I can come and go in a comfortable carriage."

"I told you, you can use the carriage at any time for your needs."

"Oh! That can't be. How can I use my master's carriage?"

Anne busied herself with arranging the items in the bag on her lap.

"But where are you going?"

"I need to go to the post office. It's a bit late, but I'd like to send some New Year's presents to my hometown."

"Ahh! Anne's family, I recall you saying they were in the countryside."

"Yes, the master gives undeserved gifts to servants like us, but it's too much for me to use them all."

Anne's bag looked quite heavy, but it must have been filled with the gifts she wanted to mail. 

Rose moved to the window and looked out.

The capital city was crowded as the crowd embraced the warm weather. Some were already lightly dressed.

Their carriage did not stop, and they headed for the post office, which was on the outskirts of the capital, avoiding the people.

The streets where there were many people became quieter as they approached the outskirts. There were now more carriages than people in the streets when suddenly their carriage, which had been moving forward steadily, jerked and rattled loudly.

It shook so hard that Anne and Rose fell off the seats.

"Lady Rose! Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm okay. Was it an accident?"

"I will go out to check. Please wait for a moment."

With Rose firmly in her seat, Anne set down her bag of mail and left the carriage. 

Rose straightened the disheveled hem of her dress as she patiently waited.

While I wait, I should pick up Anne's mail. It looks like it's about to spill out of the bag.

Busy herself, Rose set out to collect the gifts and put them safely in Anne's bag. 

Rose was holding her bag in place when she heard the surroundings of the carriage begin to get rather noisy.

"Is it really a big accident?"

Rose approached the carriage's window. As soon as she opened the window, she heard Anne screaming.

"Lady Rose!"

It was Anne's voice, who called out to her as she turned blue, that brought her attention elsewhere.

Anne ran towards the door of the carriage but was intercepted by the knight next to her, who tackled her. The knight and Anne tumbled across the floor.

"Anne?!"

Startled, Rose called out to Anne.

Before the two could understand the situation fully, the carriage shook violently again.

"Whaaaa!"

Rose's body staggered and was thrown into the air as she crashed to the floor of the carriage.

"Lady Rose!"

Anne's cry came through the window again. 

Rose didn't even have time to think of tidying up her clothes before she got up and poked her face out the window.

The blue-eyed Anne and the knight were moving away. 

No, it was the carriage that's pulling away.

Did the horse suddenly go mad and run amok? 

Rose opened the window to the driver's seat.

"Coachman?! What happened to the horse?"

"Ah, no, Lady Rose. There is no problem. These are strong fellas who run very well."

"What? What does that mean?"

Rose was about to ask him to explain what she didn't understand when she abruptly stopped and felt something strange.

The coachman's attire was not what she remembered. The coachman was not wearing that drab-colored cloak and hat.

"Who---Who are you?!"

Chew!

The man flicked the reins and urged the horse.

As the carriage sped up, Rose held on to the window frame to avoid falling over.

The man let out a low, unpleasant laugh.

"Rose. Why can't you recognize me right away? I have the confidence to recognize Rose's voice just by hearing it."

Rose watched and trembled as the man took off the hat over his head.

When the hat was completely removed, the wind blew the man's hair away from his face.

The moment she saw his outlined face, Rose's face was filled with fear.

Rose squeezed a word from her quivering lips and called out the man's name.

"Stanley Gardner...!"

"Hahahahaha! You also remembered me, Rose."

"Didn't we kick you out of the mansion back then?"

"You kicked me out of Honeywell Manor, but did you also kick me out of Tristan? Rose. You don't know how long I've been wanting to see you since then. No, I think you have been waiting to see me too."

Rose ran her left hand down with her right arm as she shivered. Goosebumps littered her skin. 

Rose spoke firmly, hoping that her voice wouldn't tremble.

"Stop the carriage right now. Otherwise, my brother won't let you go. Honeywell's knights should be after me by now!"

I deliberately mentioned Wells, but Stanley isn't responding much. 

Rather, isn't he a little too calm?

He pointed with his chin.

"Rose, this is not the capital."

"What?"

Rose went back to the window and looked outside.

Her blonde hair flew in the wind, and despair settled in her red eyes.

It had been a long time since the carriage had left the capital. Looking at the city walls in the distance, Rose couldn't think of anything.

The snowless floor was full of dry soil. The sky was bright.

However, in Rose's eyes, the snow piled up, and her vision looked like a silent night scene.

Rose's hands trembled.

...I have to run away!

Rose dropped her gaze. 

The ground is moving too quickly.

How many times will I flip and roll if I jump at this speed? 

...No, would there be any place for me left unharmed?

Rose's hand holding the carriage handle was hesitant.

Regardless, she gritted her teeth and pushed the door with her foot.

Bang!

The door slammed against the side of the carriage and rattled loudly.

Rose's upper body was hung out halfway, and as she started calculating the best timing, she realized she would be less injured if she jumped.

"If you jump down, you will die, Rose!"

Stanley's cry was heard from the driver's seat.

Rose looked at Stanley.

Stanley had let go of the reins before he knew it and turned to Rose.

"Rose Honeywell! Rose Honeywell! Do you have the courage to jump off this carriage? This carriage won't stop, I won't let you go until you get to a place where no one recognizes you!"

Stanley's manic voice was blown away by the wind. Rose looked at him, slightly relaxed.

"I will not die in a place like this."

Noticing Stanley's impatient hand reaching out to her, Rose threw herself out without hesitation.

The wind whooshed against her ears as she jumped off the running carriage and was thrown to the ground.

Her body rolled around so much that she was unable to open her eyes. 

The stoney ground clashed ruthlessly against her frail bones as her body slammed across the ground. 

Rose had been rolling around for a while and was only able to stop without hearing the sound of the carriage.

"Ugh---!"

As her body came to a stop, her spirit, which had seemed to have been left behind, returned. 

She groaned, her body aching, and she rose to her feet. 

As I roll on the ground, my spirit, which I had lost for a while, returns. 

Rose groaned and stood up.

"Haa, I'm...  not dead...  wounded...haa..."

Rose brushed her tousled hair, stretched out her arms, and examined them.

I must have fallen and rolled all over the place, but there was no pain anywhere. 

There are traces of blood on my skin, but there are no broken bones.

"How did this happen...?"

Rose jumped up and found that both legs were fine.

Rose, who had been examining her body for open wounds as if she had gone crazy, suddenly came to her senses at the sound of a carriage approaching.

"No... Let's get out of here for now."

First of all, there are no injuries, so there will be no difficulty in escaping.

Rose ran and ran in the opposite direction from the sound of wheels.

"Haa... Haa..."

Rose had been running non-stop; eventually, she stopped running as she gasped for breath.

Her shoulders trembled as she caught her breath, and her eyes searched around after regaining some stability.

I didn't know where I was running, but I ended up at the edge of the cliff before I knew it.

If I kept running, I would have been in big trouble..."

Rose muttered while wiping the sweat from her forehead. She felt as if she'd hit her head.

Her current situation has left her speechless. 

With her heart starting to beat wildly, she knew it wasn't just because of the run.

Rose turned her motionless head and looked around.

"This is---"

Maybe it's just a common-looking cliff.

Or, since I don't come and go outside the capital often, it might be my imagination.

But Rose's intuition dispelled all such hopes. She grabbed the front of her chest.

"Ugh...!"

I thought I was okay, but when I saw it myself, I was wrong.

When she returned to the place where she died, it was difficult for Rose to breathe properly.

Her brain went into shock, her head was dizzy, and it was hard to keep her balance and stand upright.

Rose's knee buckled.

"Huk. Huk huk. No! No---I am---I'm alive!"

Her slender shoulder trembled to the point where they were pitiful to look at.

"I am not dying! Don't die here, Rose! I won't die."

Crouching with her head covered, she muttered as if an incantation would change her fate.

The murmur that she had been reciting as if admonishing herself for her nightmares was absorbed into the sound of footsteps approaching her.

...Who is it? Who's coming? Stanley Gardner? A passing person? The knights?

Rose was afraid to look back. 

What if Stanley Gardner? That's the worst possible outcome!

The tears that were flooding Rose's red eyes eventually flowed down her cheeks.

Rose, who had been silently shedding tears, cast her eyes down the cliff.

The cliff is quite high, and the bottom is not visible even in the morning when the sun is rising.

...If you're really Stanley Gardner, how am I supposed to get away? Can I get rid of him? Can I get away with jumping off the cliff? If that doesn't work, I...

Step. Step. Step. Step.

Rose's frightened face lifted at the sound of footsteps approaching.

She immediately lowered her head and grabbed the hem of her clothes as if it were a rope.

...Brother! Brother! I wish my brother was here!

She searched for Wells anxiously, like on that snowy day.

And the sound of unknown footsteps reached her.

Ilya was overwhelmed by the large mansion in front of her and couldn't move easily.

Honeywell Manor was also luxurious, but if the atmosphere there was warm, the Proud Mansion was somehow cold.

As Ilya hesitated in front of the large iron gate of the mansion, a carriage pulled up in front of her.

The person who got out of the driver's seat happened to be the butler of the Proud family.

"Welcome, Lady Ilya Titonsser. Please get on the carriage, and we will guide you to the mansion."

The butler assisted Ilya as she gathered her skirts and stepped into the carriage.

Holding his hand, Ilya climbed into the carriage and brought up a question that had been on her lips since the moment she saw the butler.

"Is the Duke in the mansion...?"

"Yes, Lady Titonsser, he is waiting for you at the mansion. When we arrive at the mansion, I will guide you to him."

The butler closed the carriage door, and the carriage headed for the main gate of the mansion.

It's quite a distance, but maybe because of the carriage's comfort, they arrive in front of the mansion in an instant.

After Ilya got off, she followed the butler in.

The Honeywell Manor is also spacious. I even thought it was like a maze, but the Proud Mansion is also hard to navigate.

Ilya followed the butler with as much focus as she could muster in case she lost sight of him in this spacious mansion.

"Master, Lady Titonsser is here."

The butler stopped at one of the doors and announced Ilya's arrival with a knock.

Elliot's voice came from inside. After permission was granted, the butler opened the door, and Ilya stepped in with a beating heart.

"Come in, Lady Titonsser."

Elliot was standing by the window. Hearing her arrival, he turned around and greeted the baron's daughter.

Elliot's whole body, which was bathed in the sunlight pouring through the large window, shone brightly.

Though Elliot's unsmiling face was cold like a statue, it was still beautiful.

Looking at his face, Ilya thought that she really wanted that man to be hers.