The Ephero party arrived at the Grand Palace earlier than expected.
We did not hear a sound even though a huge number of wagons and personnel had arrived right in front of the Grand Duke's residence.
If Jonah hadn't knocked on the door and called us in, we might have greeted them in a way that made it impossible for them to see us with their eyes open.
I briefly recalled Ephero opening the door to my office without permission, and my eyes felt dizzy, so I closed them tightly for a moment and then opened them again.
While they were waiting in the lobby on the first floor, I pushed away the persistent Rhodnes and barely managed to get dressed.
I had no choice but to join in on his doll play because he insisted on helping me get dressed.
Jonah prepared a dress for me, which was covered in colorful flowers all over, that I would wear when going to worship at the main temple.
Even that left such a persistent mark that I couldn't even raise my head during the trip to hide the stained nape of my neck.
Even the carriage that Jonah was supposed to ride in was insisted on by Rhodnes, who insisted on riding in it himself, claiming that he was providing close escort.
“What about Sir Vincenzo?”
“I left the funeral arrangements to him. He is a cousin of Bardenaldo, so he would be the perfect person to leave it in my stead. No one disagrees that the successor to the Marquis of Winston will be the one to finish the funeral of the Crown Prince.”
With that, Rhodnes looked out the window for a moment. Something had clearly happened with Vincenzo. Since he followed him to the office at the funeral, Vincenzo had not shown his face again.
Even though he seemed to have somehow conveyed the order through Neil, whenever he mentioned Vincenzo, he would just look out the window with that subtle expression. He looked a bit lonely.
"Rien, come here.”
After being lost in thought for a while, Rhodnes stared at me intently and said.
Although it was the highest grade carriage as it belonged to the palace, Rhodnes occasionally called me over and tapped his thigh as if she didn't like the carriage shaking.
"Why?"
“Sit here.”
“I think it would be more uncomfortable there.”
“...Sit down for a while and then judge for yourself.”
“The cushions here are firm and nice. My butt doesn’t hurt at all.”
“Your butt doesn’t hurt? That can’t be true.”
Rhodnes raised his chin haughtily and raised the corners of his mouth.
‘...I’m letting you go because you’re handsome.’
I bit my lip, staring at the chiseled nose and the lips that had been busy all night.
Every time the pouring sunlight illuminated the inside of the carriage, he sparkled like a golden statue.
Unlike me, who had dark circles under my eyes despite neither of us having slept a wink all night, he looked lively and sparkly like a newlywed who had gotten a thorough massage before the wedding.
“I stayed up all night...”
“Stop! Okay, I understand! I’ll just sit for 10 seconds. Okay? If you keep talking about this and that all night long in broad daylight, I promise you that I won’t do anything like last night again.”
His mouth, which had been shut tightly as if by magic, slightly opened as if trying to express his dissatisfaction, but that was all.
His eyes, which had briefly flashed with sadness like a child who had a delicious cookie taken away from him, sparkled again when I abruptly sat up and sat on his lap.
“Rien.”
As I naturally put my arms around his thick neck and leaned in, he immediately wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me closer.
The warm lips naturally settled on the tightly wrapped nape of my neck.
"I love you."
The air inside the carriage suddenly became hot.
“If you love me, just be quiet, Roan. I’m getting chills.”
"Yes."
The face that used to torment me all night, always saying 'yes' to the words 'keep it short' suddenly came to mind.
Strangely, rather than getting angry, his hot sighs from last night, his face that had been immersed in me, with red eyes and whispering sweet nothings, disappeared like an afterimage.
“You have to understand this, Rien. I’ve really put up with a lot.”
“...Is that what you endured?”
He began to open his mouth, which he had been holding back, perhaps feeling a little sad at being told to keep quiet.
“Then. How much do I...”
But the mouth that was about to pour out words soon stopped.
After looking at me for a while with an incomprehensible look in her eyes, Rhodnes blushed and snickered before hugging me tightly.
“No. You don’t have to know.”
“What is it?”
That was when.
“Your Highness! Your Highness!!”
Neil, who was in charge of the performance, knocked loudly on the carriage window.
“What's going on?”
“Your Highness! A woman is following our procession closely.”
As Rhodnes stretched out his long arm to open the window, Neil, who had his horse close to him, hurriedly reported.
“Take care of it.”
“I, that... She looks familiar. I think she knows madam.”
Neil added hastily.
“Let me check.”
I freed myself from Rhodnes's embrace and stretched my upper body out the window.
“Rien!”
Rhodnes was startled and grabbed my arm.
The carriage slowed down a little on its own. The hair that was down to cover the back of the neck was blowing fiercely in the wind.
I shielded my eyes with my hand to avoid the overly bright sun and tried to see the shadow following me from afar.
And the moment I saw that scene, with her curly brown hair blowing around much more wildly than mine, my breath almost stopped.
“Adrienne!”
I turned pale as if I had seen a ghost. As I was about to slump down with my hands on my chest, Rhodnes immediately hugged me and examined my complexion.
“Who is it? I’m going out...”
“No! No, just... just go.”
I managed to get it out as if my throat was choking.
My nose was sore as if tears were about to fall.
“Let’s just, just go.”
Not yet ready to face Bianca, I just closed my eyes tightly and buried my face in Rhodnes's arms.
He didn't say anything else, just grabbed my shoulders tightly and hugged me.
Clearly, the carriage had picked up speed, but the disparate sound of horse hooves had gotten closer.
“...Rien!”
“!”
I flinched as Bianca's new voice pierced my ears.
“Adrienne! Please! Please stop!”
The sound of horse hooves came closer, closer, and eventually slowly faded away.
But the farther away the sound grew, the more the desperate clatter of hooves and desperate cries seemed to crush my heart.
Bang bang-!
“Stop the carriage!”
I finally jumped up and hit the carriage wall.
Heheheeheung-!
With the sound of the carriage being stopped in a hurry, I opened the carriage door before Rhodnes could catch me.
A few wagons behind, in the distance, Bianca was seen falling from a foaming horse.
She staggered dangerously as if she were about to fall or fall, but as soon as she saw me, her eyes turned bloodshot and she ran towards me.
I also made my way through the escorts who were confused about whether or not to stop her and walked toward her.
And soon.
Bianca, who came close to me, burst into tears and hugged me tightly.
Eventually, Rhodnes was thrown out of the carriage.
I put Bianca in the carriage without saying a word and called Jonah, who was following me in another carriage with several servants.
Bianca never once mentioned the name 'Blie' to me.
She just kept on crying and staring at me with determined eyes as if she had no other choice but to remember that I was Adrienne, no matter who I was with or where I came from.
I barely managed to calm her down as she refused to let go of my embrace, and I sat Bianca and Jonah down next to each other and started the carriage.
As soon as we closed and locked the half-open windows and drew the curtains, the carriage was plunged into darkness.
Jonah blinked his eyes for a moment as if he was taken aback by Bianca's sudden change in attitude, as well as my calm expression. He then folded his hands neatly and waited for me to speak.
I, too, burst into tears as soon as I hugged Bianca, so I quickly wiped my face with a handkerchief.
“Madam, where does it hurt?”
“Jonah and Bianca. From now on, will you believe whatever I say?”
In a rocking carriage.
Bianca's trembling eyes and Jonah's bewildered expression turned to me.
“I am not Blie Acacia right now.”
Screams and sighs could be faintly heard from inside the slowing carriage.
Rhodnes rode his horse, increasing the distance between himself and the wagons that followed and the procession of Ephero ahead.
The woman's loud curses and cries pierced through the soundproof carriage and rang in his ears.
Rhodnes shook his head at Neil, who was staring at him with anxious eyes from afar, and motioned for him to go ahead.
He had earlier heard that Adrienne's father, the Duke of Piretta, had also contributed to this tragedy.
So I guessed that the commotion in the carriage had something to do with it.
I explained very briefly what had happened from the point where I first thought I had lost my breath until now, but it did not stop Bianca from getting angry.
Bianca, who had been struggling from the middle, saying that it would be better to just cover her ears and pass out, finally managed to regain her senses when Jonah caught her.
“Rien, Rien. How did you endure this ridiculous farce alone? A weak child who would collapse at any moment, you saw all that!”
Eventually, she jumped up, hugged me, and cried for a long time before finally calming down and repeating, "I'm glad you're alive."
I looked at Jonah, who was frozen stiff, while I held her close to me.
Jonah just smiled with trembling lips, then slowly looked at my face and his eyes turned red.
“Ahhh-. I can’t believe I didn’t recognize you, Blie!”
“It’s not your fault, Jonah. I’m sorry. If I had known you were so close to Blie, I might have told you sooner.”
Jonah, who was confused, dabbed the area under her eyes with a handkerchief when I apologized.
“At first, I was... so confused. I couldn’t tell anyone about this. Who would believe this? You won’t find anything as shocking as this in any novel. I even thought it would be easier to think that I was crazy.”
“...There’s no need to make excuses, ma’am.”
Jonah answered in a deep, sunken voice.
I have finished preparing myself mentally.
Since Jonah was originally from Blie, I was planning to let her go even if she didn't follow me, who was still acting like Blie, by pushing Blie into the coffin.
Because the one Jonah follows is not me, but her benefactor, Blie.
“I want to help you, madam.”
Jonah's small, white hand rose above the fist that was clenched with tension.
The slightly rough-looking palms were so warm that I felt like crying.
“Helping the madam is also helping our Lady Blie, isn’t it?”
“Jonah...”
“Madam, you were always kind to me, even when I was meeting you for the first time. Even though you pretended not to be, you were the same.”
I was speechless for a moment and closed my mouth.
If you asked me how I could act like a benefactor and use myself, I would have been speechless, but Jonah's face was the same as before even if I wasn't Blie.
“It doesn’t change that Blie is my benefactor, but it doesn’t change that the person I serve is you. Madam, I like you.”
A few wagons behind, in the distance, Bianca was seen falling from a foaming horse.
She staggered dangerously as if she were about to fall or fall, but as soon as she saw me, her eyes turned bloodshot and she ran towards me.
I also made my way through the escorts who were confused about whether or not to stop her and walked toward her.
And soon.
Bianca, who came close to me, burst into tears and hugged me tightly.
***
Eventually, Rhodnes was thrown out of the carriage.
I put Bianca in the carriage without saying a word and called Jonah, who was following me in another carriage with several servants.
Bianca never once mentioned the name 'Blie' to me.
She just kept on crying and staring at me with determined eyes as if she had no other choice but to remember that I was Adrienne, no matter who I was with or where I came from.
I barely managed to calm her down as she refused to let go of my embrace, and I sat Bianca and Jonah down next to each other and started the carriage.
As soon as we closed and locked the half-open windows and drew the curtains, the carriage was plunged into darkness.
Jonah blinked his eyes for a moment as if he was taken aback by Bianca's sudden change in attitude, as well as my calm expression. He then folded his hands neatly and waited for me to speak.
I, too, burst into tears as soon as I hugged Bianca, so I quickly wiped my face with a handkerchief.
“Madam, where does it hurt?”
“Jonah and Bianca. From now on, will you believe whatever I say?”
In a rocking carriage.
Bianca's trembling eyes and Jonah's bewildered expression turned to me.
“I am not Blie Acacia right now.”
***
Screams and sighs could be faintly heard from inside the slowing carriage.
Rhodnes rode his horse, increasing the distance between himself and the wagons that followed and the procession of Ephero ahead.
The woman's loud curses and cries pierced through the soundproof carriage and rang in his ears.
Rhodnes shook his head at Neil, who was staring at him with anxious eyes from afar, and motioned for him to go ahead.
He had earlier heard that Adrienne's father, the Duke of Piretta, had also contributed to this tragedy.
So I guessed that the commotion in the carriage had something to do with it.
***
I explained very briefly what had happened from the point where I first thought I had lost my breath until now, but it did not stop Bianca from getting angry.
Bianca, who had been struggling from the middle, saying that it would be better to just cover her ears and pass out, finally managed to regain her senses when Jonah caught her.
“Rien, Rien. How did you endure this ridiculous farce alone? A weak child who would collapse at any moment, you saw all that!”
Eventually, she jumped up, hugged me, and cried for a long time before finally calming down and repeating, "I'm glad you're alive."
I looked at Jonah, who was frozen stiff, while I held her close to me.
Jonah just smiled with trembling lips, then slowly looked at my face and his eyes turned red.
“Ahhh-. I can’t believe I didn’t recognize you, Blie!”
“It’s not your fault, Jonah. I’m sorry. If I had known you were so close to Blie, I might have told you sooner.”
Jonah, who was confused, dabbed the area under her eyes with a handkerchief when I apologized.
“At first, I was... so confused. I couldn’t tell anyone about this. Who would believe this? You won’t find anything as shocking as this in any novel. I even thought it would be easier to think that I was crazy.”
“...There’s no need to make excuses, ma’am.”
Jonah answered in a deep, sunken voice.
I have finished preparing myself mentally.
Since Jonah was originally from Blie, I was planning to let her go even if she didn't follow me, who was still acting like Blie, by pushing Blie into the coffin.
Because the one Jonah follows is not me, but her benefactor, Blie.
“I want to help you, madam.”
Jonah's small, white hand rose above the fist that was clenched with tension.
The slightly rough-looking palms were so warm that I felt like crying.
“Helping the madam is also helping our Lady Blie, isn’t it?”
“Jonah...”
“Madam, you were always kind to me, even when I was meeting you for the first time. Even though you pretended not to be, you were the same.”
I was speechless for a moment and closed my mouth.
If you asked me how I could act like a benefactor and use myself, I would have been speechless, but Jonah's face was the same as before even if I wasn't Blie.
“It doesn’t change that Blie is my benefactor, but it doesn’t change that the person I serve is you. Madam, I like you.”
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