Chapter 2

“Oh, my gosh…”

In front of the cabin, Elrose took a gasping breath. The smell of blood was mixed with the air she exhaled as she ran crazy fast.

‘You came here to kill me!’

They came here to deal with her.

What the monks have said lingered around Elrose’s ears. The hand that touched the wall of the cabin was strained. At the same time, a crackling sound leaked out.

When she was young, she spent her days in shock when she found out that she was abandoned here. Then, as time went by and she grew older, she slowly accepted her situation. Elrose knew that she was abandoned and she didn’t have anyone by her side. When she realized that, she tried to just live here.

After reading the hunter’s diary, she went around the forest to eat more fruits since she was hungry for food. After finding land that was good for making fields inside the forest, she started farming.

She also learned a lot of things that she needed in order to survive by reading a lot of books that had been thrown away. All the nuts in the forest were planted by Elrose after many failures from reading the books.

At first, she thought of running away from here, but she had nowhere to go. In addition, it has been chaotic outside due to a long war and it had only stabilized last year. So, Elrose lived quietly here. She would feel better whenever she thinks that there was nothing for her outside anyways.

Still, she never gave up the idea of going back to the capital one day.

‘I made a promise with my mother.’

Elrose remembered everything about her mother. She had the biggest room in the mansion, and if she stood at the balcony, she could see the garden where beautiful flowers bloomed throughout the four seasons. It was the pride of her mother’s mansion.

Whenever Elrose could smell the scent of the flowers mixed within the wind, her mother would smile and hug her.

“Elrose, will you promise your mother that you will inherit and protect this beautiful garden?”

At her strong request, Elrose answered strongly that she would. That was the first and last promise she made with her mom, whom she remembered.

Elrose clenched her fist.

A promise that has not been kept for 14 years and the moment has come for her to now protect it.

She didn’t want to die here!

Elrose then ran immediately towards the cabin.

“I don’t have much time.”

She remembered the conversation the monks had in the kitchen before they left.

“Come think of it, I can take care of it tomorrow evening. He said no one should approach the hunt until he gets back.”

Fortunately, he didn’t come to kill her tonight. Well, it seemed like they were having fun eating and drinking anyway.

‘I brought you a meal today.’

Food was given to her once every other day, so no one will be coming tomorrow.

‘In that case, no one will notice me when I leave the cabin before he comes.’

There’s a cliff at the end of the forest. No one would think she’s going to run away.

Elrose smirked.

“I can run away. This is it.”

The hunter wrote down many things in his diary. One of them was that there is a path down the cliff in this forest that no one knows about. On the surface, it was a place where it cannot be seen unless you’re a bird.

It was the way the hunter used to sell the beasts he had caught without the monks knowing.

Elrose turned her head and looked at the books that were piled up in front of the bed and the wall. The monks didn’t know, but the amount has decreased a lot since the beginning.

‘I sold many of them.’

After finding her way down the cliff, Elrose usually went only on the weekends. The monks paid no attention for they greeted the congregation on the weekends. They tried to be more reverent in order to get more donations and didn’t even give Elrose a trashy meal on those days.

‘Thanks to you, I’m happy.’

She took advantage of the darkness of the wall and climbed down the cliff. Each time, before she would take a book from her place, she had to read it over and over again. Then, she would go to the nearby village and sell them.

At the same time, in order for her not to be noticed, she tore off the parts where it had seals and sold the books only to the merchants who were passing by. At first, it was just a bargain price, but as time went by, Elrose became good to the point she was getting paid to sell.

She bought various things with the money she made, from crops to plain clothes.

Elrose opened the drawer and took out the purse she had hidden inside. When she held it, it was heavy in her hand. With this amount of money, she’ll be able to go down to the village and get a horse. Elrose then felt around under her bed with her hand, and soon felt a piece of clothing. It was a normal dress, not a nun’s dress.

While quickly changing into it, she brought her bag and began to collect things. She packed everything in an instant since there weren’t many things she owned anyways.

The only thing she treasured was a necklace left by her mother. When things become difficult, she was told to hang on to that and pray while looking at the garden. Then, she’ll get a lot of help.

It was the only precious thing that Elrose could keep because she was hiding it in her clothes when she was sent to the monastery. When she took her necklace, left the cabin, and tried running towards the cliff, she suddenly stopped walking.

If someone finds this hunt tomorrow evening, he’ll know she’s not there. Although she has about a day, it is clear that she won’t be able to get far and will be caught.

‘Then…”

Elrose ran behind the cabin and took out the things she had hidden between the bushes.

‘You should hold him here as long as you can.’

The man had asked the monks not to let anyone come to the hunt until he comes back.

“I’ll make you regret it.”

There was no mercy for those who came to kill her. Elrose took out the things she has hidden and went back into the cabin.

~*~

After finishing all of her work, Elrose ran down the forest path. It wasn’t easy to move around at night even though the place was so familiar to the point she could navigate with her eyes closed.

As she went through a vine that was set up to prevent the mountain rabbits from aiming at the crops, a field appeared under the moonlight. It was a field that she worked very hard for.

Within a few days, the eggplant will be plump, and the corn will be sweet after being boiled, but…

“I can’t eat it.”

Elrose murmured with a voice full of regret. The memories of coming here over the past years passed through her mind. She searched for a flat land deep in the woods, and she would plow the ground with the shovel that she bought from the village until her hands could no longer work.

As she recalled the past, she waved her hand.

“Bye.”

Elrose then stepped deeper into the forest. After a long walk, her hair began to sway from the wind.

“Here it is.”

As she stood at the end of the forest, she saw a large cliff. Under the moonlight, the wind could be seen blowing around there. Even though she went down at dawn, this was the first time for her to go down there in a dark night.

Whoosh.

Elrose stretched out her arms and hand while swallowing her dry saliva. While she fumbled through the vine that had grown on the cliff, she saw a steel stake that firmly tied the rope down. There wasn’t enough space, so at the end of the rope, she needed to jump.

After that, she’ll need to hold onto the stones that are sticking out. The first time Elrose did this, she was very scared, but it was a routine now for she was used to it.

After a long time, Elrose arrived safely under the cliff while covered with sweat.

“Whoa.”

Her body, which was hardened by the tension, was still shaking. Elrose patted her cheeks with her hands and muttered.

“This is real from now on. Let’s wake up.”

Elrose had learned a good lesson in and out of the town. The moment she loses focus, she’ll end up getting beaten. One of the merchants who talked with a friendly smile sold goods to Elrose for several times the amount from the original.

At then, she was so preoccupied with the food that she didn’t even realize her pocket money had disappeared. That wasn’t the only time, for she was always dragged away once while walking on a side road in order to get back to the cabin faster.

However, what she will be doing from now on is far more dangerous than that.

‘You should not trust anyone.’

While thinking about her past experiences, she reminded herself of that.

‘My father passed away on Saturday.’

Today is Tuesday. According to Imperial Law, it is necessary to go to the capital before this Friday in order to inherit the title and property. In fact, the title was not needed. She didn’t want anything from her father. However, in order to inherit her mother’s property, she was forced to accept her father’s title as well.

‘There is one more thing I need to do.’

Elrose frowned. It was something that she couldn’t get right now and here anyways.

‘I have to go to the capital for now.’

Elrose turned around. The village is in that direction, so if she keeps going further, she’ll spot the capital. After looking at the end of the road for a while, she turned towards the other side.

‘They come and search through this road as soon as they find out I’m gone.’

If that’s the case, she’ll need to move differently from their expectations. Elrose took a deep breath and quickly walked away from the monastery.

~*~

Swoosh.

The man looked at the cabin.

‘You must have fallen asleep already.’

There was no light in the cabin. He then pulled out a sharp dagger from his waist. The last time he came, the woman was staggering and she could barely get a breath out. In addition, the meals given by the monks were something that would make you sick.

‘This will be too easy.’

The frail, aristocratic spirit would be trapped here forever. It’s very simple to get rid of one such woman. The man touched the pocket which contained money inside of his clothes and remembered Camilia’s voice whispering to come back after taking care of things.

‘She’s a scary woman.’

She’s trying to get rid of her late husband’s daughter right after he died.

The man approached the cabin while clicking his tongue.

‘Isn’t it too quiet?’

No matter how sick a woman was, he couldn’t feel any presence. The man, who felt a sense of caution, opened the door of the cabin.

Squeak.

The door was opened with a small noise. Due to the thick clouds, even the moonlight couldn’t get through. Inside the cabin was blinding darkness.

The man then carefully took a step inside.

Snap!

“Argh!”

With the sound, there came a terrible pain in the man’s leg. He threw the dagger out from his hands and fell on his face.

Thump!

This time, he felt a tingling sensation and felt strong pain in his hands. It was as if he’s seeing stars in front of him.

“Ugh!”

While the man was unable to come to his senses due to a series of pain, the clouds parted and the moonlight lit up the place. It was only then that the man could see what was attached to his legs and hands.

“Traps?”

It wasn’t anything big, but it was definitely for catching animals.

“How could this be!”

He was sure the monastery didn’t give her anything besides a meal. So why is this here? While he was still surprised, the sharp part of the trap continued to dig into his flesh.

‘It’s dangerous.’

Whatever happened, he could see that it was set up to catch him. He had to get out of here quickly, but his legs were still attached to the chains. Only then did the man know what she was up to. With no one coming, he was caught in here and couldn’t move.

The man realized the fact and shouted madly.

“Help me!”

However, that cry did not reach the monastery that was far away.