CH 5

Tristan opened the double lattice window by the bed and went out to the balcony. The ivy climbing up the wall wrapped around the balcony pillars. The scenery that spread before his eyes was even more impressive. Neatly trimmed lawn, blooming flowers and high garden trees. On the surface of the river flowing under the hill, the sunlight was shining like gold dust.

"Is that why you don’t want to leave this place?"

He had learned from informants that Ibella had lost her memory. She seemed to have stayed in this beautiful and peaceful place for over three years in order to shake off the frustrating feelings.

Since the situation had become like this, he decided to enjoy a long-awaited rest and took a cigar case out of his pocket.

"…?"

At that moment, his eyes opened wide.

From far away on top of the bridge, a woman carrying parasol was looking in his direction. Although he couldn’t see her face, it was clear that she was looking in the direction of the balcony where he was on the second floor of Rosebell House.

"Who is it?"

A traveler?

As Tristan tilted his head in doubt, the mountain wind blew from the back of the mansion. After becoming a breeze and descending down the hill, it swept over the flowers and sparkling waves on the riverbank and finally reached the woman. 

Her long golden hair fluttered in the wind. While holding the parasol in both hands, she lightly bowed to him. It was not a meaningless gesture, but a polite greeting meant for an acquaintance.

"It can’t be!"

With the cigar case in his hand, he hurriedly gripped the balcony railing and leaned forward. She was undoubtely the woman Humphrey had talked to while they were on their way to the mansion. A tall and slender woman who had turned her back on him and who had screwed him over.

"Ibella Cambell!"

His senses were numb as if he had been hit by a blunt object on the back of the head. He now understood why Humphrey had been so embarrassed, and why he couldn’t look him in the eye after hearing the news that Ibella had left.

"Ha!"

It was the first time that he had been so ridiculously beaten, so he naturally burst into laughter. It meant that she had matched the time of her departure and intentionally passed by him although she knew the purpose of his visit. 

‘I will reject the King’s proposal. So don’t do anything useless and just go back.’

"You can’t do that, Ibella."

Tristan’s lips, who was staring blankly, rose into a crooked shape. As soon as the thought that Ibella would be smiling turned into a certainty, a pleasant tension wriggled in his chest. As if the wind had entered his heart, his insides were filled with a burning yet refreshing desire to win.

With a pleasant smile on his face, he stretched his arms forward and spread his palms wide. 

"Make sure to run away, Ibella Campbell."

Tristan seized Ibella, who was walking the other way, in his hand. No matter how far away she was, she was imprisoned in his grasp, and only her head would sometimes pop out of his fist.

"You are in my hands anyway."

Showing mercy, Tristan opened his fist and let Ibella go. Ibella’s appearance, which now seemed like a small dot, distorted into a faint shape and filled his vision. As if the wind had come all the way here, the palm that held her felt itchy.

*****

Three days later, Emmerville’s Bourbon convent.

It was a simple room with a desk, a wooden chair and a long bench where three people could sit. The rough furniture had worn smooth overtime, creating a humble sense of dignity, similarly to the owner of the room.

"Thank you for lending me the cabin, Sister."

Ibella, who sat opposite Sister Agatha, the director of the convent, smiled and thanked her. The director knew her identity and provided her with a place to say.

"Don't worry about it, my Lady. It cannot be compared to how much you have helped us with the convent and the orphanage. But, aren't you uncomfortable because the cabin is old?"

"It's fine. They cleaned everything and brought in necessary items and food, so there is nothing inconvenient."

Ibella rented an empty cabin on the outskirts of the convent surrounded by a small forest. It had become vacant after the owner, an elderly gardener, died. The large area, including the convent, forest and cabin, was surrounded by high walls, so no one could enter. For outside access, she used the side door on the fence next to the cabin instead of the front door, so she was able to live independently. Although she had come here in order to avoid the King's messenger, she was having a surprisingly good time.

"Will you be fine? Wouldn’t it be better to welcome the person sent by His Highness..."

"Don't worry, Sister. Rumor has it that he is very clever, so he would have understood what I meant."

"But, His Highness must be very angry. I am worried that something bad might happen to my Lady."

Sister Agatha seemed to be bothered that Ibella was mistreating Tristan. Because he would surely report this to the King, and she was afraid that Ibella might become the target of the King's anger.

"His Highness won't do that."

Ibella knew Philip's temperament. Although he was sensitive and irritable, he was not the kind of person to act recklessly. Everyone around them knew that the relationship between the King and her was one-sided. So, he couldn't personally retaliate just because she had rejected him. There is no way that her brother and the other advisors would stand still if that happened. However, she couldn’t exclude the possibility that if she ever found a man she loved, he would become the subject of the King’s hatred.

"Then stay here until your heart desires, my Lady. Ah, that’s right. A few days ago, the construction of the building of the second orphanage was completed. Some of the children were already moved there. It's all thanks to the Lady. I am really grateful."

"Oh my goodness. I couldn’t pay attention as I've been busy with work these days, but it is finally completed. That's great."

Ibella was so happy that she clapped her hands and smiled. She had been sponsoring various underprivileged people until now. Among them, she had paid special attention to the orphanage run by the Bourbon convent. After the Western War and the division of Estonia into the north and the south, the number of orphans increased, but the facilities to accommodate them were already at full capacity. For that reason, the convent had a hard time operating Bourbon orphanage, and Ibella who was aware of this, decided to sponsor the construction of a second building.

"Then, are you going to move the children there already?"

"Only some of the youngest ones. I am glad we were able to finish it before the opening of Emmerville festival. Although there are still a few things left to do."

"I will help you, Sister."

"How could I possibly ask for the Lady’s help?"

"Sister, I used to work at a field hospital. I am sure that I can easily do better than most men when it comes to using my body and my hands."

When Ibella was a nursing officer, she didn't only take care of the administrative tasks. She actually wanted to be dispatched as a nurse at first, but the position of nursing officer was given to her by the upper ranks of the military. She was in charge of the overall management of the field hospital, provided medical training to nurses, and directly squeezed out the pus and changed the bandages of wounded soldiers. Of course, she also helped with washing, boiling, drying, and folding the laundry that piled up like a mountain every day. For her who used to roll around on the battlefield, it was not a big deal to lend a hand.

"Okay, then. I will be waiting for you, my Lady. The kids will love it."

"I have to go to the hospital tomorrow, so I will drop by the day after tomorrow."

She was not only volunteering at the orphanage, but also at a rehabilitation hospital for disabled veterans. It was a charity hospital set up for those who had received injuries or contracted illnesses in the army, but who could not receive proper treatment. As it was always short of doctors and manpower, she went there once a week to help out.

At first, she started doing this to help the underprivileged, but she eventually received comfort from it. The injuries from the war, her lost memories, and the death of her father. The things that affected her mind were slowly being settled by doing these little daily services.

Soon, the Emmerville festival will begin. The streets will be filled with music and people's faces will regain their liveliness. Since she left the house, she planned to enjoy the festival and spend a lot of time volunteering. The King's aide will wait for her for a couple of days before having to accept reality and go back. There was no need to quarrel, and it will become a clear rejection to the King.

She had no desire for the Queen's seat. She didn't even want to go back to the capital now. Because the father she loved the most in the world was not there anymore.

She will continue living here doing whatever she wants all the while being surrounded by beautiful nature. She didn't forcibly try to bring back her lost memories and accepted her father's death as the natural order of life. She believed that then, the path that she had to walk on would naturally be revealed to her.

*****

"Should I have bought them later?"

Ibella put down the bags that she was holding in both hands, and looked up at the grey sky. After leaving the convent, she stopped downtown and bought a lot of presents. On the occasion of the festival, she ordered items to give to the patients at the hospital, and was currently on her way back with both hands full with presents for the children.

Her footsteps kept slowing down due to the heavy load, but she suddenly felt a sense of urgency as a couple of raindrops fell down from the sky. Ibella, who resumed walking after picking up her bags, halted her steps with a strange feeling and looked back. She saw a short, chubby man quickly hide behind a wall.

'It's that person again.'

He had been following her for about a week now. At first, she thought he was someone who held feelings for her, but little by little she noticed something strange. He didn't really show himself, and when she hid and looked back at him, she could often see him taking out a notebook and writing something down.

Drip-drop. Raindrops hit the ground more and more rapidly.

Ibella turned around and started walking briskly. A little farther, there was a collapsed building on the site of an old chapel. It was quite large, so she was thinking of shaking him off there.

As Ibella's pace quickened, the man followed her closely. As if a little nervous, he was revealing himself more and more often. Ibella was taken aback when the man followed her more tenaciously than expected. She couldn't run because of the bags, her shoulders felt like they were about to fall off, and her neck hurt from constantly looking back.

The heavy rain hit her face and her clothes started to get wet. It was when Ibella, who had finally climbed up the stairs leading to the chapel, turned around the corner while walking alongside the collapsed wall.

Thud. A dizzying shock hit her head with the sound of wet bodies bumping into each other. The other person caught Ibella in surprise, and she collapsed into his arms, dropping her bags.

"Oh. Ouch!"

The two of them fell down the platform, holding onto each other. Although the height was around knee level, the pain of hitting the floor was not small. At least Ibella was on top of the overlapping body, so the shock was not as bad, but the other person, who had fallen backwards, couldn't get up and let out a shriek of pain.

"Ah. Ouch..."

She couldn't properly grasp the situation due to the dizzying shock. She raised her head with difficulty as she touched her forehead, still lying down. When she instinctively looked back, the man who had been following her had already disappeared and was nowhere to be seen. Phew. Barely relieved, Ibella turned her head and, belatedly grasping the situation, opened her eyes wide.

"Oh, my god."

Ibella finally realized that she was lying on top of a man. There was only about an inch of space between both of their faces. The two faced each other while their eyes intertwined and their breaths mixed.

"....."

As if they had promised, neither of them said anything. She couldn’t move as if her body was frozen. The man with the wet golden hair was indescribably beautiful, and his deep, melancholic blue eyes seemed to drag down her mind into the abyss. She wanted to raise her hand and touch his features that were beautiful both together and individually.

Ibella swore that she had never seen such a handsome man. And even more at a distance of about a hand’s span.

"How long are you going to stay like this?"

Finally, a pleasant low voice poured out of the man's mouth. At the same time, he reached out and gently wrapped his arms around her waist.