Chapter 1.3

After I put Lucilleur to sleep with a sleep spell, I released his paralysis and bindings, and left the

bedroom. I then open the parlour door and stepped out. His bodyguard, who was waiting outside

the door, quickly observed the room and then me, and grimaced.

*.His Highness.....?"

‘He's resting in the next room..... Well then, I'll take my......’

“Wait. I tried to leave, but he blocks my way and looks at me sharply.

*..What, happened....?’

‘Don't tell me you......

I anticipated this since I left the room looking a little dishevelled on purpose, so that someone else

would know what had happened between Lucilleur and me. His bodyguard, Dimitrov, seemed to

be convinced when he saw I turned my head away silently. Right at that moment, I deliberately

dropped the handkerchief I was holding in my hand on the floor.

"This .... is ...." Dimitrov paled when he looked at the fallen handkerchief. After making sure, to pick up the handkerchief in panic, turned around and left.

By now, Dimitrov would have found Lucilleur half-naked and asleep. The handkerchief that I

dropped on purpose was the one I used to clean him after the act; it was stained with his sticky

seed and the proof of my defloration. It was a relief to see Dimitrov had realised it immediately, as I

was worried he might fail to notice it with just a glance. I'm not proud of what I did to Lucilleur,

there is still a sense of shame in me, but what’s done is done. However, never in his wildest dreams

would Dimitrov imagine that I was the one who attacked the Crown Prince. That is a matter of fact.

Besides, even if his life depends on it, that prideful Lucilleur would never admit that he was

assaulted by a woman. I've had taken all of this into account. In other words, I wouldn't be accused of lése-majesté. I chuckled at the thought of him being outsmarted and humiliated to such an

extent by me.

A part of me feels sorry for him, but if I don’t do anything, It would've been me that was humiliated

and degraded. Moreover, up until now, he made me went through a lot terrible hardships. It’s only

fair he gets this level of revenge. Even though my body is still stiff from the pain of loss, my heart is

lighter than ever.

‘Father... Everything went according to plan.’ Upon return to the house, I hurriedly report to my

father, the Marquess. For a moment, a complex look appeared on his face at my report, but his

parental sentiments disappeared immediately and replaced by those of the Marquess.

‘Well done...... Then Agnes, depart immediately to the neighbouring country.

“Yes.’ We nod at each other in understanding.

‘Take care of yourself. I'll send for you as soon as things settle down.’

‘You too, father. Take care of your health. I'll pray for your safety......

I felt like crying when my father gave me a hug. I don’t know when I'll be able to see my father

again. My mother and younger siblings have already retreated to our territory. We'd received

prior intelligence that Lucilleur and Count Wilsner’s faction were planning to destroy us and were

able to devise countermeasures against them. Central to the plan against them is me. We will set

up a blockade to our territory, which has a trading port with the neighbouring country. And I, who

might be carrying the Crown Prince’s seed will hide out there. This allows the neighbouring

country the right to interfere with the succession rights in our kingdom by having me as the

bargaining chip. It’s a situation that the kingdom will want to avoid the most, thus, in order to avoid

foreign interference, the royal family will be forced to accept our demands. In short, I hold the key

to the political landscape of this kingdom.

My father gently strokes my hair as he always does and I gently moved away from him so he

wouldn't see my tears.

I was able to reach the neighbouring country safely and is currently laying low by hiding my real

name and origin. It’s been two months since then and of course, I'm not pregnant. It doesn’t matter

whether I'm really pregnant, by hiding out here, I'ma threat as long as there's a possibility. Also,

since my whereabouts are unknown to both Lucilleur and the neighbouring country, they'll never

know the truth about my pregnancy. In any case, everything will be settled within a year.

However, one thing puzzles me deeply. It's been two months since then, but there hadn't been any

movement from Lucilleur. Leaving me aside, there wasn't even any actions taken against my

house. Assuming that he knew I was hiding here as a bargaining chip, it makes even less sense he

didn't tried to make contact with me. It’s just strange.

Furthermore, he didn't dispel the engagement pledge. I would've thought he would break the

pledge as soon as he could since he was infatuated with Lilie Wilsner, but apparently I was wrong.

After what I'd done to him, I was surprised that someone as prideful as he is still retains his

connection to me. It’s a nuisance and it was troubling me. After all, the pledge allows us to know

each other’s whereabouts. It’s not just a pledge, but it also works as a bond between us.

Right now, the pledge’s in an incomplete state because it was only dispelled from my side. The

original effect of the pledge should've been broken, but although it’s faint, the fact that the physical

bond between us is unbroken made me uneasy. Theoretically, with an incomplete pledge, it should

be impossible for him to know where I am, but there’s always a possibility. Just in case, I'd even cast

a blocking spell in advance, but I can’t shake this niggling inside.

seeees

Another month had passed uneventfully. Since there still wasn’t any movement against us, I dared

to venture into the town for the first time in a long time. All this while, I'd been concealing myself

inside the house and it was beginning to make me depressed. This was made even more so by the

fact I'm away from my family, alone in an unfamiliar land and unaccustomed to its language,

climate, and culture. Concerned about my lack of appetite and gloominess, my stewardess and

maid proposed that I should visit the town for a change of scenery.

With the help of a disguising spell, I changed the colour of my eyes and hair. I now looked just your

average daughter of a wealthy merchant out around town. With this, I don’t have to worry about

anyone spotting me. It was a fine day and it had been so long since I was out and about, me and

everyone around were smiling brightly for the first time in a long while.

‘Miss, look at this! Seems like this is a fruit too!’

‘Oh! It’s the first time I've seen something like this! Let’s buy some!’

Actually, since it’s our first time in this country, everything was new to us, and with the market

being so lively, we feel a sense of excitement just by being here. Not only that, knowing that nobody

knew who I was gave me asense of liberation.

‘Oh, are those some sort of sweets?”

‘Looks like it. Seems like some sort of fried pastry.’ The people on the street are eating something

that looks like fried bread that’s coated with sugar. If you observe closely, it looks like they are

selling it at a stall slightly down the road. It seems popular as there’s a long queue snaking around

it.

‘Miss, since we're here, let’s try it!’

‘Let's!’

‘Then I'll go and get some, please wait here.’

After the maid went and joined the queue, I sat down ona bench ina small square. Around me,

there are also people sitting down and enjoying their sugar covered fried bread. A family with a

little girl around four or five years old were eating the fried bread together and I couldn't help but

smile at the sight of them. It’s the kind of happiness that I'll never have. Even if my father were able

to secure the House of Draffel’s position in the kingdom, I, as the source of this conflict, wouldn't

marry anyone. I'll retire to the territory and quietly help my brother with his work. I'm fine with a

future like that because I'd much rather live a quiet and peaceful life with my family than marry

someone I don't love and be at their mercy. I've suffered enough from the pain of being unloved.

Just then, I felt a slight pain on the left side of my chest, as if it was being pricked by a needle. I

grabbed my chest and tilt my head and a large shadow loomed over me while I was still sitting on

the bench. I looked up quizzically and my eyes opened wide in astonishment.

"..Found you, Agnés.’ Right in front of me, a pair of silver-blue eyes were staring down at me

coldly. He wears a cloak with a hood over his head to hide his gleaming silver hair and dressed as a

traveller, but there’s no mistaken his identity. It’s Lucilleur.

Milize.....’ In panic, I shouted the name of my maid and tried to stand up, but there was no escape.

He grabbed my arm and covered my mouth with his hand, and the next moment, my vision

dimmed.