CH 207

Startled, she turned around and caught sight of a woman standing in the dark alleyway behind her. ‘Who?’ The woman’s face wasn’t visible, but she felt strangely familiar. However, what was more eerie was the fact that the woman silhouetted in the darkness was clutching a large doll in her hands. Cecile grew wide-eyed as she muttered, “That’s…” It looked exactly the same as the one taken by the child moments before.

“Oh, there’s a shortcut here!” Out of nowhere, some people who were running by the street spotted the alleyway and made a beeline for it, forcing Cecile to take a step back. By the time the rush of people passed and Cecile glanced back into the alleyway, the shadowy woman was nowhere to be found.

“Cecile? What’s the matter” Estian had crossed the street and came over while Cecile had been searching for the woman.

“Just now… There was a woman standing there a little while ago, and I think she was holding the same doll I gave to that child.” The doll was a difficult prize to win from the tossing game, but not to the point of being impossible. ‘Did that woman win it from the game too?’ Still, for some reason, Cecile had a hunch that the doll in the woman’s hands was the very one she’d given away.

Seeing the dark expression on Cecile’s face, Estian asked worriedly, “Shall we go back now?”

Cecile was silent as she considered the suggestion. Something about that woman made her uncomfortable, so perhaps it’d be best to quickly return to the villa. However, just as she was making up her mind, a distant boom rang out from afar.

“It’s started!”

“Come fast! We have to hurry to get to a better view!”

Festivalgoers around them shouted and ran off toward the source of the sound. The closing event of the festival had begun. The fireworks display not only served to cap off the festival, but also signaled their imminent return to the imperial palace. She knew their long stay in Aluna had been out of Estian’s consideration for her, but that didn’t mean they could remain here forever and the thought dampened her mood.

“Let’s head back after the fireworks are over.” It wouldn’t take long for the fireworks to end, so she wanted to enjoy this moment a little longer with her husband. Taking Estian’s hand, Cecile began guiding them in the direction of the distant explosions in the sky, while she thought to herself, ‘I was going to hug the rabbit to sleep when Estian’s not with me.’ What Estian wouldn’t have known was that Cecile had named the pink rabbit doll Estian too, which is why she’d hugged it with so much love.

* * *

“What a stroke of fortune.” Yuliana stood in a dark alleyway as she eyed the doll in her hand and couldn’t hold back the laughter that erupted from her. It was truly a coincidence that she’d found Cecile.

She had only managed to recognize Cecile thanks to that earring, which had also hung on the empress’s ear on the day she’d lost everything at the casino. When she first spotted a woman on the street with the same earring, she doubted her eyes. Pretending to be a passerby, she moved closer to eavesdrop and at that moment she overheard the man next to her call her Cecile. The former princess realized then that the two had changed their appearances.

Impulse urged her to kill them on the spot, but she suppressed her murderous intent and quickly moved away. ‘The emperor’s sure to notice me if I’m close by,’ she thought warily. Yuliana could barely manage to spy on them from a distance, but an opportunity finally came when she saw a child receive a doll from them and scamper away. She immediately followed after the child and stole it.