71. The Second Escape
Count Locania sighed in relief when he heard that Daphne had escaped. It was a success. It was fortunate that Daphne believed the knight he had suddenly dispatched and followed him.
“Is it lucky that I didn’t wake up?”
Count Locania gnashed his teeth. To have taken poison in place of Daphne? This was truly a pitiful death.
The Count was troubled by what to do. If Asherad were dead, his revenge would be meaningless. He did not want revenge on the royal family, but wanted to kill Asherad, who had driven Fabian to death.
If Daphne was the cause of his death, he was more than willing to help her. She was pitiful, too. The Count clicked his tongue.
“Please support me until I settle down.”
The Count of Locania said. He smiled with satisfaction. It was a bit awkward, but thrilling, to take revenge without having to take responsibility for it.
“Die, you monster.”
The Count of Locania smiled. He decided to pretend to be a loyal subject and fulfill his duty. After all, the Emperor had been poisoned, and if he acted rashly, there was a risk that those who disliked him would accuse him of being the poisoner.
"Your Excellency!"
One of the family's retainers came running in a hurry. His face was pale.
“What's going on?”
“That is...!”
At the words of the vassal reporting, Count Rocania's face instantly lost its smile.
Daphne was dragged out of the palace by a man she didn't know. Everything was too easy. The palace was a mess, and the people leaving were not properly managed compared to the people coming in.
It was strange.
As she walked through the night streets of the capital outside the palace, Daphne thought to herself, Could freedom have been so easily obtained?
If you make Asherad like that, does that mean you get this kind of freedom? Daphne couldn't even enjoy this fantastic freedom as she walked down the street.
Outside, it was a harvest festival, and lively music was playing, whether or not they knew the Emperor was in danger. Someone tapped her on the shoulder.
“Oh, I’m sorry!”
A young man smiled broadly. After that, Daphne bumped into people a few more times, but they all smiled and apologized to her. A strange feeling of swell ran through her body. Tears flowed from Daphne's eyes.
What they showed Daphne was not the kind of deep emotion that could be called goodwill.
It was just a courtesy shown to strangers.
No one here recognizes Daphne.
Here, Daphne is not the daughter of a sinner. She is just someone who happened to pass by.
She is now nothing.
Finally free from the contemptuous gaze that used to call her dirty if she accidentally bumped into something.
Daphne didn't know what that world was yet. But now she would. When she realized that, she began to sob.
The vassal of the Count of Locania said.
“We need to get out of the capital quickly.”
"I know."
“...”
“But there is just one place I want to stop by.”
“...”
“Can't I?”
The man looked at Daphne's face and nodded. He also knew Daphne's situation well from his time in the palace.
Anyway, the Emperor couldn't track her down, and her escape was quite successful. It wasn't easy to find a carriage to escape in because of the crowd.
“You have to come out quickly.”
Daphne nodded.
The place she entered was the exhibition hall where the Raphael Art Festival was being held. She was issued a ticket for the first time and went in. Daphne looked at it with joy for the first time.
The paintings were colorful and beautiful.
A painting with beautiful colors of a lavender field at sunset, a painting depicting the night sky with impressive rough brushstrokes, a magnificent holy fire, and a heroic painting depicting the stories of heroes.
“Wahahaha!”
There was also a story that described the contents of a fairy tale with a clear feeling that she had only heard of in words. Daphne looked at that dream place as if possessed.
She wanted to stay longer, but there was no time. She walked very carefully to where her painting was. Her heartbeat increased. Daphne headed to where the paintings of new artists were drawn.
There hung his own painting, which he had submitted with great difficulty.
Unlike the paintings of the masters, the paintings of the new artists filled the walls like wallpaper. As soon as she turned to the next wall, Daphne froze. A loud noise rang in her ears.
It was truly an abnormally fast heartbeat. No, Daphne's heart stopped for a moment.
Her own picture was on the wall. Not in the center. Daphne was not a newcomer in the spotlight, just one of those people whose name was unknown.
Although the painting was hanging on the upper right end, Daphne could see her own painting very well.
A painting of a nymph captured by the sun god and turned into a laurel tree.
"Daphne."
Daphne muttered her own name. Daphne, who was loved by the sun god, rejected that love, lost her human self, and became a tree.
It is a tragic love story. For the fairy, Daphne.
Daphne stared at the picture. The woman whose hands and feet were turning into tree branches was screaming in agony. And the sun god was staring at it.
Since God was not human, he could not know why this woman was suffering, why she rejected him, and turned into a tree.
The ignorance of the cruel God and the suffering of women.
The pain of having to give up being human and become a tree. Daphne knew that pain all too well.
And the emotions poured out were captured on canvas and displayed here.
It was such a precious moment. It felt like her life, which had been weak and always looked down upon and dragged around by someone, had finally been proven.
It's okay.
This is enough.
As long as I have this picture, I can be me forever.
Daphne smiled. Memories of staying up all night and drawing pictures without Asherad's knowledge came to mind. She thanked Ioannis.
It was when she looked back.
“...!”
Daphne swallowed back a scream. The man standing behind her was Ioannis. The knight of the Count of Locania had disappeared without a trace. Daphne stared at the knight with her eyes wide open.
“Miss Daphne, I thought you’d be here.”
“...Uh, how?”
“Let’s go back.”
Daphne's expression turned pale. Ioannis stared at her face.
“His Majesty has opened his eyes.”
Daphne's heart sank at the announcement. She looked back and forth between the painting and Ioannis. Ioannis spoke stiffly.
“Do you want to run away? Then I’ll pretend I didn’t see you.”
Pretend not to see? For a moment, Daphne almost thanked Ioannis.
She wanted to shake him off and run outside right away. She wanted to feel that moment of freedom, that sense of liberation, forever.
She didn't want to go into that prison where death lurked and contempt and bondage coexisted.
“But if you go back, I will leave it at that.”
“...”
“Do you not like being by His Majesty’s side?”
Daphne's lips trembled for a moment. Daphne looked at Ioannis.
“Tomorrow is the masquerade ball, right?”
Daphne asked with a trembling voice. Ioannis nodded quietly. Daphne's confused face gradually became calm. She sighed deeply and looked at her painting.
“I actually didn’t want to go there. I didn’t want to choose the Empress Dowager’s clothes or Princess Thalassa’s clothes.”
“...”
“I wanted to wear that poor artist’s clothes and have my paintings shown here.”
“...”
“That’s what I was hoping for.”
A life of doing what you love, not a life of being used as a means of fighting in the palace.
Daphne had hoped for it. But Daphne also knew. It was almost impossible for a newcomer to have a painting hung here. It was thanks to Ioannis's efforts that the painting was hung.
“Let’s go, us.”
Daphne smiled. Asherad had woken up, and Ioannis had come to get her. If she were to run away, how far would she be able to run?
Furthermore...
Daphne narrowed her eyes. It was better to turn back now. Rather than running away clumsily. It was better to run away when things were a little more certain.
Daphne thought so.
No, maybe she was trying to think that way.
Even when looking at the picture, the image of Asherad lying down with blood dripping from his head never left her mind.
Daphne approached Asherad, who was lying down. His face was still pale, and the area under his eyes was dark. As if to show the suffering of the three days he had been sick, the area under his eyes had turned dark, and his lips had turned a bloodless gray.
He looked like a living corpse.
Is it really true that he woke up?
Daphne stared blankly at Asherad, thought, and then chuckled. The fact that she could see Asherad up close here was proof that he had already woken up.
When she went to find Asherad before running away, she was kicked out shortly after.
A cold sweat was forming on Asherad's forehead. She was about to pick up the towel on the table and wipe it away.
Yank!
Her wrist was grabbed. Daphne was startled and dropped the towel. Daphne’s face distorted at the strong grip. Asherad opened his eyes and looked at Daphne. His sharp green eyes were filled with anger.
“Where have you been?”
Ioannis ignored the news that Daphne had gone out. Daphne said, shivering.
“I was in the room. I went to see His Majesty, but I couldn’t go in because you had to rest... I heard late that you had woken up.”
A snicker, a deflated laugh was heard.
“That’s not what I’m saying, Daphne.”
“...”
“Where did you ‘go out’ and come back from?”
Count Locania sighed in relief when he heard that Daphne had escaped. It was a success. It was fortunate that Daphne believed the knight he had suddenly dispatched and followed him.
“Is it lucky that I didn’t wake up?”
Count Locania gnashed his teeth. To have taken poison in place of Daphne? This was truly a pitiful death.
The Count was troubled by what to do. If Asherad were dead, his revenge would be meaningless. He did not want revenge on the royal family, but wanted to kill Asherad, who had driven Fabian to death.
If Daphne was the cause of his death, he was more than willing to help her. She was pitiful, too. The Count clicked his tongue.
“Please support me until I settle down.”
The Count of Locania said. He smiled with satisfaction. It was a bit awkward, but thrilling, to take revenge without having to take responsibility for it.
“Die, you monster.”
The Count of Locania smiled. He decided to pretend to be a loyal subject and fulfill his duty. After all, the Emperor had been poisoned, and if he acted rashly, there was a risk that those who disliked him would accuse him of being the poisoner.
"Your Excellency!"
One of the family's retainers came running in a hurry. His face was pale.
“What's going on?”
“That is...!”
At the words of the vassal reporting, Count Rocania's face instantly lost its smile.
***
Daphne was dragged out of the palace by a man she didn't know. Everything was too easy. The palace was a mess, and the people leaving were not properly managed compared to the people coming in.
It was strange.
As she walked through the night streets of the capital outside the palace, Daphne thought to herself, Could freedom have been so easily obtained?
If you make Asherad like that, does that mean you get this kind of freedom? Daphne couldn't even enjoy this fantastic freedom as she walked down the street.
Outside, it was a harvest festival, and lively music was playing, whether or not they knew the Emperor was in danger. Someone tapped her on the shoulder.
“Oh, I’m sorry!”
A young man smiled broadly. After that, Daphne bumped into people a few more times, but they all smiled and apologized to her. A strange feeling of swell ran through her body. Tears flowed from Daphne's eyes.
What they showed Daphne was not the kind of deep emotion that could be called goodwill.
It was just a courtesy shown to strangers.
No one here recognizes Daphne.
Here, Daphne is not the daughter of a sinner. She is just someone who happened to pass by.
She is now nothing.
Finally free from the contemptuous gaze that used to call her dirty if she accidentally bumped into something.
Daphne didn't know what that world was yet. But now she would. When she realized that, she began to sob.
The vassal of the Count of Locania said.
“We need to get out of the capital quickly.”
"I know."
“...”
“But there is just one place I want to stop by.”
“...”
“Can't I?”
The man looked at Daphne's face and nodded. He also knew Daphne's situation well from his time in the palace.
Anyway, the Emperor couldn't track her down, and her escape was quite successful. It wasn't easy to find a carriage to escape in because of the crowd.
“You have to come out quickly.”
Daphne nodded.
The place she entered was the exhibition hall where the Raphael Art Festival was being held. She was issued a ticket for the first time and went in. Daphne looked at it with joy for the first time.
The paintings were colorful and beautiful.
A painting with beautiful colors of a lavender field at sunset, a painting depicting the night sky with impressive rough brushstrokes, a magnificent holy fire, and a heroic painting depicting the stories of heroes.
“Wahahaha!”
There was also a story that described the contents of a fairy tale with a clear feeling that she had only heard of in words. Daphne looked at that dream place as if possessed.
She wanted to stay longer, but there was no time. She walked very carefully to where her painting was. Her heartbeat increased. Daphne headed to where the paintings of new artists were drawn.
There hung his own painting, which he had submitted with great difficulty.
Unlike the paintings of the masters, the paintings of the new artists filled the walls like wallpaper. As soon as she turned to the next wall, Daphne froze. A loud noise rang in her ears.
It was truly an abnormally fast heartbeat. No, Daphne's heart stopped for a moment.
Her own picture was on the wall. Not in the center. Daphne was not a newcomer in the spotlight, just one of those people whose name was unknown.
Although the painting was hanging on the upper right end, Daphne could see her own painting very well.
A painting of a nymph captured by the sun god and turned into a laurel tree.
"Daphne."
Daphne muttered her own name. Daphne, who was loved by the sun god, rejected that love, lost her human self, and became a tree.
It is a tragic love story. For the fairy, Daphne.
Daphne stared at the picture. The woman whose hands and feet were turning into tree branches was screaming in agony. And the sun god was staring at it.
Since God was not human, he could not know why this woman was suffering, why she rejected him, and turned into a tree.
The ignorance of the cruel God and the suffering of women.
The pain of having to give up being human and become a tree. Daphne knew that pain all too well.
And the emotions poured out were captured on canvas and displayed here.
It was such a precious moment. It felt like her life, which had been weak and always looked down upon and dragged around by someone, had finally been proven.
It's okay.
This is enough.
As long as I have this picture, I can be me forever.
Daphne smiled. Memories of staying up all night and drawing pictures without Asherad's knowledge came to mind. She thanked Ioannis.
It was when she looked back.
“...!”
Daphne swallowed back a scream. The man standing behind her was Ioannis. The knight of the Count of Locania had disappeared without a trace. Daphne stared at the knight with her eyes wide open.
“Miss Daphne, I thought you’d be here.”
“...Uh, how?”
“Let’s go back.”
Daphne's expression turned pale. Ioannis stared at her face.
“His Majesty has opened his eyes.”
Daphne's heart sank at the announcement. She looked back and forth between the painting and Ioannis. Ioannis spoke stiffly.
“Do you want to run away? Then I’ll pretend I didn’t see you.”
Pretend not to see? For a moment, Daphne almost thanked Ioannis.
She wanted to shake him off and run outside right away. She wanted to feel that moment of freedom, that sense of liberation, forever.
She didn't want to go into that prison where death lurked and contempt and bondage coexisted.
“But if you go back, I will leave it at that.”
“...”
“Do you not like being by His Majesty’s side?”
Daphne's lips trembled for a moment. Daphne looked at Ioannis.
“Tomorrow is the masquerade ball, right?”
Daphne asked with a trembling voice. Ioannis nodded quietly. Daphne's confused face gradually became calm. She sighed deeply and looked at her painting.
“I actually didn’t want to go there. I didn’t want to choose the Empress Dowager’s clothes or Princess Thalassa’s clothes.”
“...”
“I wanted to wear that poor artist’s clothes and have my paintings shown here.”
“...”
“That’s what I was hoping for.”
A life of doing what you love, not a life of being used as a means of fighting in the palace.
Daphne had hoped for it. But Daphne also knew. It was almost impossible for a newcomer to have a painting hung here. It was thanks to Ioannis's efforts that the painting was hung.
“Let’s go, us.”
Daphne smiled. Asherad had woken up, and Ioannis had come to get her. If she were to run away, how far would she be able to run?
Furthermore...
Daphne narrowed her eyes. It was better to turn back now. Rather than running away clumsily. It was better to run away when things were a little more certain.
Daphne thought so.
No, maybe she was trying to think that way.
Even when looking at the picture, the image of Asherad lying down with blood dripping from his head never left her mind.
***
Daphne approached Asherad, who was lying down. His face was still pale, and the area under his eyes was dark. As if to show the suffering of the three days he had been sick, the area under his eyes had turned dark, and his lips had turned a bloodless gray.
He looked like a living corpse.
Is it really true that he woke up?
Daphne stared blankly at Asherad, thought, and then chuckled. The fact that she could see Asherad up close here was proof that he had already woken up.
When she went to find Asherad before running away, she was kicked out shortly after.
A cold sweat was forming on Asherad's forehead. She was about to pick up the towel on the table and wipe it away.
Yank!
Her wrist was grabbed. Daphne was startled and dropped the towel. Daphne’s face distorted at the strong grip. Asherad opened his eyes and looked at Daphne. His sharp green eyes were filled with anger.
“Where have you been?”
Ioannis ignored the news that Daphne had gone out. Daphne said, shivering.
“I was in the room. I went to see His Majesty, but I couldn’t go in because you had to rest... I heard late that you had woken up.”
A snicker, a deflated laugh was heard.
“That’s not what I’m saying, Daphne.”
“...”
“Where did you ‘go out’ and come back from?”
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