Chapter 6

Chloe ran.

She ran with all her might.

She leaped out of the window of the annex where she had lived for sixteen years, tumbled and rolled, then quickly got up and started running.

The bizarre scream of Isabella, which made her head ring, soon faded away.

Without looking back, she just kept running forward.

Despite the fatigue that should have accumulated from hardly sleeping last night, her whole body was inexplicably full of energy.

She crossed the vast grounds of the Ardenne family, which were surrounded by the flatlands of the countryside, climbed over the wall that had confined her for sixteen years, and scaled it.

She just kept running down the road leading out of the estate.

Bathing in the pleasant morning sun, she moved forward, forward.

The fear that had frozen Chloe moments ago had dissipated, and she was now enveloped by an overwhelming sense of liberation.

"Did it... huff huff... did it... huff... did it!!"

The voice of joy that leaked out with her shallow breaths.

She had escaped from that home on her own will.

She had managed to break the chains that had tightly bound her.

This fact brought Chloe an indescribable joy.

The scenery streaming by on either side was all fresh and beautiful.

The outside world, which she had always found scary, was incredibly bright and sparkling.

Even the sweat that usually made her feel uncomfortable was now pleasant.

She hadn't decided what to do next.

It was the first time in her life that she felt the infinite possibilities of choices.

But soon, a course of action was decided.

After running for a while and confirming that no one was following her, she opened her bag.

She took out the treasure given to her by Shirley—a hand-drawn map—and opened it.

After confirming the path she should take next, she started running again.

Her destination was set.

The capital of the Rose Kingdom, Liberté.