CH 2

Esmeralda showed the note through the carriage’s small opening, and the coachman readily prepared to depart. She tore the note into pieces and threw it out the window.

The coachman remained silent, though he knew that the place where the Marquis’ second lady was headed was not one that suited her.

‘I have to keep note.’ There’s a saying that states that a man of many words is a man of many uses; he knew such information might come in handy in the future. The carriage drove on for a long time. It took a long time to get to the outskirts of the capital. 

By the time she reached her destination, Esmeralda’s stomach was telling her that lunchtime had already passed.

“We’ve arrived, milady.” The coachman knocked lightly on the door and opened it.

“Okay.” Esmeralda glanced at him as she stepped out of the carriage. It wasn’t a face she remembered.

“Wait for me here.” 

“Understood.”

On the outskirts of the capital, there was a graveyard at the mouth of the Rippen River, where it met with Rosette Sea. It didn’t even have a proper name; it was mainly where people without connections or name were buried. In the distant past, even before Esmeralda was born, ancient artifacts that caused a stir were found digging in the graveyard, but now it was just a forgotten place.

“The place must be deserted this time of year.”

She walked past a small, ownerless hut and toward a patch of weeds that looked like someone’s feet had recently stepped on it. With her parasol open and one hand clutching the hem of her dress, she looked like a regular noblewoman on a leisurely stroll, but the scenery seemed not to match the image. 

She paced, taking in her surroundings carefully. The owner of this land was Levon Calvester. It was information she hadn’t shared with Kamil or Violet, not since they had ascended to the throne. They didn’t give her a chance anyway. Esmeralda also knew that at this time of year, he always sneaked away from home to visit this cemetery.

‘There must be a stone chamber somewhere.’

The problem was that she knew it was there but didn’t know exactly where. Esmeralda pushed forward, brushing aside the increasingly branched trees with her hands.

She had to find him—she had sworn to dedicate her life to him.

The grass had grown too thick, and the trees darkened her vision but not so much that she couldn’t see, so Esmeralda squinted and continued to move her legs.

‘I should use my power.’ Perhaps using her blood would help reveal his location. Laforge’s blood was drawn to those who possessed the Monarch’s energy. However, she had to refrain from doing so, lest her identity be discovered. She wasn’t even sure if she would be able to pinpoint the exact location.

Esmeralda kept moving inward, uncharacteristically for her, but she had an unfounded conviction that she would find him. The floor was getting steeper and felt like going up a hill. As she looked around—

“Ah—!”

The floor under her sank in an instant. Esmeralda plummeted to the ground, unable to resist the gravitational pull on her body. Reflexively, she reached out to grab onto something, only to find that she had hit a rough patch somewhere.

“Uggh!”

She crouched down, bracing herself for the impact, trying to shield her head from a fatal blow. But what followed was not a jolt to the body but a gentle stability. Esmeralda’s eyes fluttered open at the sensation of the embrace holding her.  

No way,

“Oh…”

The first thing that caught her eye was the navy coat. She knew it was a navy uniform because of the emblem on the shoulder; a wave pattern representing Rosette Sea, finely threaded with silver, surrounded by golden threads symbolizing the Empire. The waist of his long, black coat would be cinched tightly with an unadorned belt. She didn’t need to look to know.

“. . .!”

Esmeralda’s breath got stuck in her throat as she realized that the person she was looking for was right in front of her.

Levon Calvester. 

He held her silently. His wide, red eyes showed that he was very flustered.

Esmeralda stared at him blankly, she knew her face was showing the same expression. Her gaze drifted to his neck unconsciously.

‘Alive.’

The section of the body that had been severed was still intact. Only then did she realize—she was back in the distant past when he was still alive, to a time when nothing had yet begun.

“Are you the one who will be my wife, the shackles sent by the Emperor?”

The jewel-clear eyes of her enemy held unmistakable hostility. The tyrant’s dog had taken the position of his wife to crush the last hope of the people. Facing such an insult would not be enough to tear her apart and kill her.

Esmeralda didn’t like him either. Levon, so needlessly upright and righteous, was the opposite of her, who had grown up seeing only evil. But…

“How long are you going to be their pawn? Live your life.”

“You’re talking about something that was never given to me in the first place, sir.”

“You have it here, now, don’t you? A life with me.”

…He said so while holding her. And then he lost his head to his enemy for her.

For the first time in her life, Esmeralda thought that she might be ordinary. She didn’t know she could be someone who feels love, guilt, or longing for someone. When such a thought finally came to her, he wasn’t by her side anymore. That’s why she chose to take this opportunity to live a new life solely for him. Using the ‘wisdom’ she had gained in the past and the memories she had, this was the only way she knew how to reciprocate.

“I thought cherry blossoms were falling.” 

The striking, low voice brought her wandering mind back to the present. Lowering her gently to the floor, Levon stared at her pale pink dress. As the parasol she’d missed fell to the floor in a haphazard tumbling motion, Levon asked,

“Does it hurt?”

“…Pardon?”

Instead of replying, he lifted his index finger and pointed to her face. Tracing her fingers across her face, Esmeralda was startled by the wetness of her tears.

“Ah…”

She turned away quickly, pressed her fingertips to the corners of her eyes, and blinked several times. A navy blue handkerchief was held in front of her.

“You’re bleeding.”

At his words, she lifted her hand and examined it. Her palm was dotted with blood, probably a cut from the fall.

“Ah… it’s okay.”

“If you return with blood on you, the marquisate will turn upside down. You’re Marquis’ Young Lady, Esmeralda Hestina, right?”

“…Yes, thank you.”

Esmeralda was surprised that he already knew her, but she feigned calm and accepted the handkerchief. The hand reaching out trembled; the emotions she’d tied up in her past life as a stranger became chaotic as soon as she saw him.

‘I shouldn’t be like this.’ 

She had chosen to give up her life as a human for him in this life. Esmeralda gritted her teeth.