Chapter 99

Julia, who was listening to the words of the Crown Prince clearly, clenched the hem of her dress.

At this moment, based on the words of the Crown Prince, her fragmented memories were being put together one by one. Julia realized it now. The fact that she had run away from Fernan.  Tired of being treated coldly by him, because her life was too much.

The cliff and the river flowing beneath it, which she once saw in her dream, were not just a dream.

The feeling of jumping there without hesitation was clearly etched in her mind.

"Where have you been since you were dragged back? Oh, there was a time when the Grand Duke was away for months from his castle. Was it then?”

“….”

Julia, who was silent, lowered her gaze.  Perhaps he was referring to a time when she and Fernan stayed in a villa for quite some time.

It was a villa overlooking the lake. She remembered vividly riding through the plains on a white horse with Fernan.

She felt quite happy at that time.

Her memories were coming back. Now with a sense of reality.

But before she could delve a little deeper, the Crown Prince mumbled shocking words.

"If the Grand Duke bets on you, he will surely fall. If that happens, I will take everything he has, and I’ll make sure he’ll never be able to raise his head arrogantly in front of me again."

He felt good just imagining it. 

Julia clenched her hand tightly and bit her lips.  Fernan would have foreseen this situation already.

So that was why he told her not to leave the castle. Julia frowned as if in pain.  So, all of this happened because she didn't listen to him.

"Looking at that expression, you seem quite favorable to him, contrary to what I thought."

Lowering his eyes, he spoke with a soft voice.

"Hmmm…. What does he look like when that wooden man cries?” 

Once again, the Crown Prince reached out and grabbed a strand of her hair and began to stroke it. Julia endured the throbbing headache and reflexively hit his hand.

Then the Crown Prince, who laughed as if it was fun, got up from his seat.

"Okay, let's stop talking. It must have been hard for you, so you should rest.”

The Crown Prince, murmuring as if he were a friendly man, stared down at her. Julia, who lowered her head while turning away from him, agonized and anguished inside.

From here, she had to somehow escape.  She couldn't let Fernan get into trouble because of herself.

****

A day passed.

The Crown Prince has not visited her room again since yesterday, and only the maid visited and brought meals several times.

In the end, she had only one chance to leave, when the maid opened the door and entered.

But seizing the opportunity was never easy.  The maid only pushed her meal in and left immediately, and there were guards outside.

Even if she was lucky enough to get out of here, she would be caught quickly.

‘Did His Highness know that I'm gone by now….'

As she leaned against the wall, Julia sighed deeply. Fernan had an important job he had to attend to, and he was worried that things might have gone wrong because of her.

And, as the Crown Prince said, they would use her to threaten Fernan. That was the most disturbing. Julia was frustrated.

She couldn't figure out what to do, no matter how much she thought about it. In the beginning it was impossible to recognize the unidentified letters if they were fake. 

By giving her mother's name and the name of her hometown, she was helplessly deceived.

‘I shouldn't have left the castle.'

Unable to overcome the rising guilt, Julia slowly sat down on the spot.  Julia, who had her head bowed for a long time, pressed her reddened eyes tightly together.

Crying wouldn’t fix the situation now.  She, somehow, had to find a solution.

Julia looked around the room without a single window.

This was a solitary room with only the bathroom as an adjoining room. It was decorated with expensive furniture, but it was like a prison.

She needed something useful, something that could be used as a weapon…

Julia searched through the side table, chest of drawers, and under the table in the center.

But what she found was only a small vase.  Julia looked at the door while holding the vase tightly in her hand.

‘…  Should I break this and make a fuss, and use the opportunity to escape?'

At that moment, there was a creaking sound and the sound of someone unlocking the door.

Julia, who hastily put the vase back on the table, looked at the door with a nervous expression.

Soon the door opened, and people who she had not expected at all appeared.

It was the Marchioness and her son, Grayson.

“The Crown Prince is so merciful that he gives you a nice room.”

The Marchioness mumbled as she stepped inside.

Julia, who had hardened, stepped back as she saw them approaching.

Turning her gaze from the surroundings and looking at Julia, the Marchioness narrowed her eyes.

“You’re standing there better than I think.”

Perhaps she had hoped that Julia would have been groaning from her torture, and the Marchioness clicked her tongue in regret.

Then she kept muttering that this room was terribly overdone for Julia.

Yulia was trying to figure out why they came here alone, but she soon changed her mind and uttered a subdued voice.

“…  You tricked me and kidnapped me, what else did you come here to do?”

Julia was habitually intimidated by the Marchioness, but at the same time she felt a distinct anger.

From a long time ago until now, the Marchioness was always bent on insulting and hurting her. In addition, now, she was trying to bring down Fernan through her.

Julia held her trembling hands tightly.  Then the Marchioness approached with her eyes wide open.

“How dare the cheeky one talk back?”

The Marchioness glared at her threateningly and raised her hand.

While Julia was unwaveringly facing her, Grayson blocked his mother.

“Keep your dignity, mother. There are maids and knights outside.”

At his reasonable remark, the Marchioness nodded her head and tried to calm down her anger.

“Really, that’s right.  It’s hard for me to control my anger these days.”

Julia bit her lips as she watched the Marchioness change the tone of her voice in an instant.

Then she looked up at Grayson who was standing in front of her.

Many years had passed since she met him, but Julia recognized at once that this man was her half-brother.

He had brown hair a little lighter than hers and blue eyes.

His face resembled both the Marquis and the Marchioness.

Soon, Grayson explained the purpose of them coming here on behalf of his mother.

“I came to you at the order of the Crown Prince. He said you would be lonely here by yourself, so we came to spend time together.”

“…ha."

Julia let out a laugh and bit her lips again.

The Crown Prince's impudent attitude and the presence of these two, at this moment, began to mash Julia's head to pieces.

Julia touched her forehead and spoke.

“As you can see, I am well locked up.  Now that you have checked it, are you satisfied?”

As she muttered in an unusually cold voice, the Marchioness retorted sharply.

“You seem to be very dissatisfied with being locked up. Is that why you ran away and made things big to this point?”

“… ”

“If you had kept your original position quietly from the beginning, our family would not have been inclined this way.”

Julia, who was listening to the Marchioness’ words, clenched her hands tightly with her dimly set eyes.

When things go wrong, the force of blaming everything on her has not changed at all.

Whether she ran away or not, she was always ungrateful, arrogant, and useless to them. Julia looked at the two with clear contempt.

"Don't ever think about using me to get you something again. Never, I won't let you do that."

Julia spoke in a firm voice.  Her clenched hands were trembling with anger leaking out.

“You’re talking back to me? Should I beat you to get your senses back like when you were young?”

The Marchioness mumbled bitterly and raised her hand again.

At that moment, Grayson suddenly grabbed her arm.

“Stop it. Let’s leave.”

“Wait. How can that rude thing block the path of our family’s future?”

Grayson forcibly led the shouting Marchioness to the doorstep.

The Marquis, who was about to shake off his hand, made eye contact with the maid who stood outside, flinched and straightened her body.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Grayson sent the Marchioness outside.

Julia looked at them coldly as they left, and then she turned around slowly.  As she struggled to calm her pounding heart, the key on the table caught her eyes.  And next to the key, there was a small dagger.

“… !”

Julia, who opened her eyes wide, quickly looked at the door.  At that moment, Grayson, who was closing the door, met her eyes.

With an unwavering look, he just closed his eyes slowly and opened them. But in the eyes she encountered, Julia could feel his sincerity.

Grayson had come to give her this key.  Even a dagger that could be used as a weapon just in case.

Then the door was completely closed.  Julia hid the dagger in her arms while clenching her lips tightly.

And holding the key in her hand, she continued to stare at the doorway where Grayson had disappeared.