Chapter 6

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The road that Anastasia ran through was not the road normally followed by people, but the one that the animals living in the forest walked. As a result, Anastasia’s clothes were caught with thorns in the bushes that had grown up to her chest.

Riip! There was a sound of a thorn stuck in a thin, worn-out fabric and tearing off the fabric, but I didn’t have the mind to care about it. Throughout the run, it dug into Anastasia’s hands and small wounds on her face, revealing rough leaves and thorns of miscellaneous trees.

After running for a long time, Anastasia found the place she was looking for among the trees. It was a small chapel that had collapsed. When Anastasia first discovered this place, the forest keeper who was working at the time said that it had been in the forest long before the Edenhurst mansion was created.

Anastasia stepped on a pile of bricks covered in wild rose vines and ran into the chapel, which had only half of it remained. And she curled up and hid under a stone chair full of moss.

Because of the hectic run, her breath smelled sweet. Although she had to catch her breath, Anastasia held her breath with her hands covering her mouth. It was the most confident thing she could do. As she forced myself to press down on my fluctuating chest for a bigger breath, She couldn’t breathe and her eyes turned yellow.

Nonetheless, Anastasia did not let go of her hand, covering her mouth.

‘You can’t get caught. You can’t even make a sound. Otherwise, everyone will hate you even more. Then you’ll really get kicked out of here.’

The shaking body swallowed fear. For a very long time. Alone.

Anastasia’s consciousness slowly sank into the darkness.

When Anastasia opened her eyes again, the position of the sun had changed for a long time. The slowly crawling sunlight hit the stained glass of the chapel, which was only half left. The light through the thick glass painted the contents of the Bible blurred on the faded and cracked stone floor.

Anastasia blinked slowly and looked at the dazzling stained glass and remembered what happened. A stream. A strange man.

Shaaa

The leaves swayed in the wind of the setting sun, which quickly lost its warmth. There were no strange sounds between them. Anastasia exhaled slowly and felt the relief of the familiar space. I accepted the feeling. No one followed me. This place was not noticeable either.

This abandoned land was the only space in Edenhurst controlled by Anastasia. There was her room in the basement of the mansion, but it was sometimes filled with items that couldn’t fit in the warehouse, and she was ordered to move to a very different warehouse room, so it was difficult for Anastasia to think that it was her room. She just sits there for a while like all the other burdens.

After confirming that everything was the same as yesterday, Anastasia only thought about the man..

Who was he?

People in nearby villages know well that this is Edenhurst’s territory, so they don’t step in recklessly. So, for five years after Anastasia entered the forest, she did not encounter any people. Obviously not a villager.

Anastasia shook her head as she recalled the blue eyes that looked straight at her. What does he have to do with being here? Who is he? You’ll never meet again anyway.

He may not have been able to see it well because of the forest, but the Edenhurst Mansion was not too far away. So he would have wandered around moderately and found the mansion. Therefore, he could spend a quiet, peaceful, and unchanged daily life here tomorrow as usual.

While she was lost in thought, the sky quickly changed its color. Darkness quickly dwelled in the forest. Anastasia straightened her crumpled hat and clothes. Anastasia felt heavy when she saw the hem of her clothes torn and flapping by a thorn.

I don’t have many pairs of clothes left.

With resentful eyes, she looked at her body in layers of clothes. When she breathed heavily, She felt her chest tightening. I thought my body’s growth had stopped because there have been no special changes over the past few years, but why is it growing this year? If this continues, you won’t be able to wear this outfit any more.

If I’m lucky, I might get a thrown out outfit that Catherine doesn’t want any more . However, we cannot just wait for luck when we don’t know when it will come. Anastasia raised herself, thinking about secretly picking it up at night if she came out of her worn-out maid’s uniform. And the moment I took a step, I felt a throbbing pain on the soles of my feet.

As I lowered my gaze, I could see blood dried up here and there on my white feet. Anastasia bowed her back and looked at her feet. I saw a torn wound under my foot. It looked like this, but I didn’t even feel the pain properly a while ago. As soon as Anastasia was worried about how long it would take for the wound to heal, she realized an important fact.

It’s not here!

Even though they’re loose, if you run with your shoes on, won’t I get more injured like this. Where did my shoes go? Did it come off while running? Then she remembered that she took off her shoes with her hat and put them next to the stream.

Ah, They must still be there!

Anastasia walked with a limp. When it touched the floor, the wound opened and blood began to flow again. Anastasia’s face turned whiter when she saw it.

Since I was wearing several layers of skirts, no one else had to look at my feet. But if there is blood like this, I would leave stains on the floor or carpet of the mansion, the servants will soon notice it. And what if the story is delivered to the countess through the maid’s quarters?

Just imagining it made me feel like my body was bleeding out. Anastasia hurriedly headed to the place where she left her shoes. In the meantime, the wound on the foot had widened. When she heard the sound of a flowing stream, Anastasia stopped walking for a while.

He probably left already, right?

The person I met in the morning could not have been there until this time when the sun was slowly setting. Nevertheless, Anastasia did not dare to get close to the stream because she was afraid of what she would do if she saw him. In the meantime, darkness slowly began to fall in the forest. In the end, Anastasia had to be courageous.

Anastasia, who approached where supposedly the man was supposed to be at was as silent as possible, was relieved. Naturally, there was no man there.

“Ah.”

The moment she realized that, a long sigh came out of her mouth. Anastasia was surprised at the moment and closed her mouth. This was not a sigh of relief. This is..

Am I sad?

The fact that he’s not here?

The moment the man reached out, She was scared and ran away, but she came back and regretted that he wasn’t there. Despite her contradictory behavior, Anastasia could not understand her actions either.

People are scary. If you’re a man, even more. But why was it disappointing?

Anastasia looked at where the man was standing. He was nowhere to be seen, but the blue eyes that looked at her were clearly memorable. A gaze without hatred. The first gaze she encountered remained vivid in Anastasia’s memory.

It was pretty.

Feeling the joy of having one more beautiful thing to remember, Anastasia looked for her shoes. Fortunately, the shoes remained where she put them down.

Anastasia picked up her shoes in embarrassment.

There was only one shoe when there should have been two.

‘Where did you go without telling me?’

(T/N: She’s saying this in a childish way)

***

As soon as Mikhail entered the inn, a man wearing glasses screamed on the stairs on the second floor. Mikhail climbed the stairs frowning at the loud sound of piercing his ears. If he were to shout even louder, all the villagers would hear him.

Igor, who tried to yell, “Mikhail!” realized that people on the first floor of the inn were paying attention to him and Mikhail, and turned around shaking their heads. In the meantime, Mikhail entered the room where he was staying.

I didn’t expect much because it was a country inn, but it was better than I thought. Wooden decoration on the ceiling elaborately carved and woven. The color faded a little, but it must be luxurious silk wallpaper, delicately embroidered bedding, and even Mahogany furniture that must have been made by a craftsman. This is not far behind the capital city or Sokolov’s hotel. The disadvantage is that all the items are old, but all the items were well managed so that they did not care much about the shortcomings, whether the innkeeper was quite delicate and diligent.

That means it was a pretty popular place in the past.

Perhaps those who were visiting Edenhurst’s mansion stayed here. Although the place is going bankrupt now.

Mikhail sat on the sofa without having to spit out my thoughts and put his long legs on the stool. The leaves that stuck to the mud fell off his shoes.

Igor, who followed Mikhail, called his name only after closing the door.

“Where in the world have you been, Mikhail? I searched all over the village looking for you.”

“I went to the Edenhurst mansion.”

“Why did you have to go to the place you’re going to soon? Why did you go alone? This is not Sokolov! What were you going to do when you met the people who sent you?”

“What do you mean? We can kill him.”

Igor shut up at the sour answer of Mikhail. Because he knew better than anyone else that this was not a joke.

Igor looked at his superior, who leaned deeply on the sofa with a face of annoyance. Mikhail Sokolov.

A man who controls Sokolov, the second richest city in Novgod after the capital Borok.

Sokolov means hawks in Novgod. It was entirely thanks to Mikhail that Sokolov, a small port city where many sea hawks lived, was able to grow into a wealthy port in an instant. Of course, even if someone else laid the foothold first, Sokolov could never have been as big as it is now.

Those who met Mikhail for the first time were embarrassed by the fact that the famous Mikhail Sokolov was a young man who is only 28 years old and was surprised that he looked so much like Count Vorontsov. Secondly, He was a child born to the woman Count Vorontsov slept with under the influence of alcohol.

Although their talents seem completely different.

Igor recalled Count Vorontsov, who was addicted to gambling and drinking, lost all his family’s property and then waited for his death in a small hospital in the capital.

While he was steadily selling off his family’s property, his abandoned son steadily built ports, bought ships, and increased his stake in Novgod’s trade. Then, he grew up to be a giant Novgod, who even gained the authority to freely enter and exit the royal palace.

Then Count Vorontsov constantly contacted Mikhail. Sending a letter stating how proud he was of his son.

Count Vorontsov recognized Mikhail as his son and wanted his money instead of handing over his title.

Upon receiving his father’s letter, Mikhail threw away the letter with no emotion and ordered it.

He needed to kill his father.

That way, my father will not send more annoying letters like this.

The destruction of the count was too easy. He said he would fuel the count’s gambling to pay more enormous debts and if someone else took over the count, he would pay him all the debts.

That alone gave up the right to inherit the title given to him. And he sent a letter to Count Vorontsov.

If you apply for exile from the Imperial Palace yourself, I will send you to a hospital where you will spend the rest of your life.

The former Count Vorontsov, who could not even find bread for the day, accepted his son’s offer. So one of the country’s count’s had disappeared.

“What are you looking at?”

“Nothing.”

Igor, awakened from thoughts at Mikhail’s words, lifted the documents he had left on the table and tried to deliver them to him, but when he saw them in Mikhail’s hand, he asked in a speechless voice.

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