CH 15.1

No matter what excuse I made, the situation didn’t change. I couldn’t think of a way to overcome this situation.

I lost all sense of reason at that point and had a strong desire to leave.

“Madam Lindel!” 

I ran recklessly out the door, and the people who responded late became frightened and started chasing me. 

The situation was similar to just before I was imprisoned in Lionel’s bedroom. 

I ran across the hall like a madman. People came after me to catch me from behind. 

“Madam Lindel, stop!” 

“Calm down!”

The footsteps of those who chased me were loud, but I didn’t intend to stop at all. 

My legs were shaking because I couldn’t eat properly and I’d barely moved at all recently. Nevertheless, I ran forward with all my might. 

Unlike before, I couldn’t feel the joy of the outside air at all. 

I was just running recklessly thinking that I couldn’t get caught like this. 

It’s been a long time since I was out of breath from moving so vigorously.

I was running frantically past countless people who looked at me and were appalled. 

I did not realize that I was running through the Emperor’s Palace barefoot in my nightgown. 

Thanks to the people who found me in the middle of the run, the number of people chasing me has increased. A horde of people was running after me. 

“Madam Lindel! Stop! If you fall, you’ll be in trouble!” 

“Stop following me!” 

I was out of breath.

My weakened legs caused my running to be unsteady, and the soles of my feet throbbed as I ran across the marble floor.

I realized I couldn’t run anymore, and decided to hide to get rid of my pursuers. 

After getting out of their sight through the bushes, I immediately hid behind a large pillar. 

“Where did she go?” 

“Just run!” 

“Why are you so fast?”

I could see them running past me, not having found me. 

When I exhaled the breath that I had barely held in, a feeling of feebleness flooded my entire body. 

It seemed that I could no longer move because I had exhausted all my stamina. 

I finally realized what I had done because I was holding my trembling knees with both hands and bent down to breathe. 

‘You’re crazy! Why did you do that?’

I must have been really crazy. To run away from the Emperor’s people was the last thing to do if anyone was in their right mind. 

Moreover, this time I did not run away to meet Lionel, so I had no excuse later. 

I sank to the floor in a giddy mood, but there was no more strength in my body. 

I thought about what to do in this situation and thought it would be better to die out of breath like this. 

Even though I regretted it, my breathing showed no signs of slowing down. My heart ached as I breathed in desperately with my chest. 

I was leaning forward with my stuffy chest, and at that moment I heard someone calling me. 

“You.” 

It was a real disaster.

I quickly lifted my head thinking that I had already been caught. 

The moment my eyes met the person who was looking at me, time stopped. 

In front of me was a person I never wanted to meet in this situation. 

“Why are you here?” 

It was Askale Bachne. 

My blood-related brother was in front of me. 

“Young Master?”

Anyone could tell from my voice that I was embarrassed. 

I didn’t know why he was in the Imperial Palace. 

Askale, my half-brother, was a member of the Emperor’s fraction in the Foreign Ministry. 

With less time in the empire due to his work, he was now a person who should be in another country on schedule. 

It was natural to be surprised that such a person was in front of me now. 

But Askale was also looking at me for the first time, perhaps surprised by my presence. 

“…Why are you…”

Askale’s voice trembled. Unlike me, his silver-gray eyes, which resemble his father, looked at me coldly. 

It was only then that I realized what I was like now. 

I was ashamed of my dirty bare feet, which would appear shabby in his eyes. 

“Why, why are you here?”

I wanted to ask him why he was here, but it was not easy to talk because I was still out of breath.

As I was inhaling a large amount of air, my nose, throat and my lungs hurt. 

Askale was also silent as he couldn’t finish his words and was breathing hard. 

An uncomfortable silence settled between us. Among them, only my rough breathing was heard loudly.

Askale had been staring at me for a while, but I was used to this situation. 

He always stood back and looked down at me with an uninterested expression on his face. 

No matter what I said or did, he was not interested. 

Therefore, the reason why this silence is uncomfortable is not that I am not used to it, but because the current situation was a problem. 

When I lowered my head because I was not confident in continuing to face his gaze, Askale’s mouth finally opened. 

“It looks like you’re running away.”

Anyone could see that I was a fugitive. If there was a rat hole around, I wanted to jump in immediately. 

The sudden surge of shame made me unable to answer, so Askale asked again. 

“From what?” 

I was still silent.

Even if my life was on the line, I couldn’t say that I was stressed and ran away because of the crap that the crazy priest said. 

I couldn’t understand what I had done myself so he wouldn’t understand me either. 

My current behaviour was nothing but a disgrace to the family name. 

Even though we have the same last name, we cannot be called family.

By tomorrow, everyone in the palace would know that I was running around like a madman. 

This rumour will be an unpleasant problem for him, who would succeed his father, Count Bachne, in the future. 

I couldn’t bear to raise my head.