Chapter 1
With her long, pale purple hair flowing freely behind her, Beirin hurriedly walked somewhere.
Her face still looked more like that of a young girl than a woman.
The path she walked along was neatly covered with grass, and four roads stretched out straight in every direction from the central fountain.
The entire area was surrounded by a U-shaped building.
The brown exterior gave off an old-fashioned elegance, as if showing the long history of the place.
At the same time, the tower-like structure standing tall in the center displayed both grandeur and magnificence.
After leaving the building, Beirin continued walking while looking straight ahead, but she soon stopped and glanced around with an unreadable expression.
‘So it really is the end.’
Why did her eyes show a mixture of resentment, sadness, and pain?
The silver eyes that had been fixed on the building for one last moment finally turned away, and she left the place behind.
A luggage bag was held tightly in her hand.
Soon, the building disappeared from her sight, and as she passed along a tree-covered path, the surroundings became completely silent.
As if she did not want to spend even a single second more there, Beirin quickened her pace.
At last, a huge iron gate that appeared to be the entrance came into view in the distance.
However, as she approached it, Beirin’s steps gradually slowed until she eventually stopped completely.
At the end of her gaze stood a man.
The moment she saw him, the hand holding her bag naturally tightened.
He looked to be around the same age as Beirin, and he stared only at her with an unreadable expression.
Beirin was the same.
Although she calmly accepted his gaze, she never looked away first.
The one who ended their silent confrontation was Beirin.
She started walking again and passed by him as if she had no interest in him whatsoever.
He did not stop her either.
Or so she thought.
But then, a voice suddenly came from behind her.
“Don’t you feel even a little sorry toward us?”
At those words, Beirin, who had been walking without hesitation, stopped.
‘Sorry…?’
She let out a hollow laugh that he could not see, then turned around to face him.
And for the first time until then, Beirin opened her tightly closed lips.
“What exactly am I supposed to be sorry for?”
Her voice was indifferent, without even the slightest trace of hesitation.
The man’s dark green eyes staring at her grew colder.
As if her answer displeased him.
The man stepped forward and closed the distance between them in an instant.
Even as he approached, Beirin did not take a single step back.
“You deceived us by calling us friends.”
“Pfft.”
Beirin let out a short laugh, as if his words were unbelievably amusing.
But it was not because she found it funny.
‘Friends.’
The man saying that word was nothing but ridiculous to her.
Because that was the one word he had no right to say.
With that thought, her gaze moved to the clothes he was wearing.
The white jacket with the familiar emblem on the left side of his chest was something Beirin herself had been wearing until moments ago.
But not anymore.
She no longer had even the slightest attachment to those clothes.
The small amount of hope she had held when she first came here had disappeared long ago.
When Beirin remained silent, the man’s anger seemed to grow, and intense emotion filled his voice.
“What exactly is so funny?”
“It’s just funny that you’re the one saying that. You never thought of me as a friend from the beginning anyway. Isn’t that right?”
At her question, the man remained silent.
Beirin thought that this truly was the end, and unlike before, she no longer hesitated.
She finally let out the feelings she had been forcing herself to suppress.
“The only thing I did wrong was one thing.”
She looked directly at him.
“I believed that you were my friends.”
“You really are until the very end…”
“Think whatever you want. Because today will be the last time we ever see each other anyway.”
Beirin turned away.
“Oh, and could you tell that girl too?”
Her voice was quiet.
“Let’s never see each other again.”
After leaving her final farewell, Beirin walked away from him.
And the man did not stop her.
Not until she climbed into the carriage that had been waiting for her and disappeared into the distance.
“Beirin, what’s wrong with your face? Did you not sleep well?”
“A little. I had a restless night.”
Last night, Beirin had that dream again after a long time and ended up losing sleep.
Even though several years had passed since that incident, it continued to follow her relentlessly and torment her.
“If it’s difficult, should I tell the butler?”
At her colleague En’s concern, Beirin shook her head.
“I’m fine. It’s not that serious. See you later.”
Soon after parting with En, Beirin picked up the necessary cleaning tools and climbed the stairs.
Once she was alone, darkness returned to her expression.
“I thought I had completely forgotten by now.”
A bitter smile appeared on her lips, filled with a sadness that no one else would notice, but it disappeared almost immediately.
“Get yourself together. There’s still a mountain of work to do.”
When she arrived at the room she needed to clean, Beirin first opened the curtains covering the terrace windows wide.
As the bright sunlight poured down on her, she tried to calm her chaotic thoughts.
That it was nothing more than something from the past.
That the past could no longer hurt who she was now.
Beirin stepped onto the terrace and breathed in the refreshing morning air.
Looking at the scenery stretching all the way to the horizon made her feel refreshed.
The city was far away and looked tiny, while a green forest covered most of the view.
Standing high and alone, this place felt like an island completely separated from reality.
‘That’s why I like this place.’
The sight of people moving busily through the vast garden while doing their tasks, along with the birdsong that sounded like a beautiful melody, created an atmosphere of complete peace.
At that moment, a sudden breeze brushed past her, causing the bangs slightly covering her left eye to flutter.
For a brief moment, the now-faded scar crossing her left eye became visible before being hidden again.
‘It’s nice.’
Beirin neatly tied her pale purple hair together and smiled before returning inside.
Not knowing that this peace was merely the calm before the storm.
“I knew you would be here, Beirin.”
“En.”
When En came looking for her, Beirin hurriedly checked outside the window.
When she first entered this place, the sun had still been up.
But now, the sunset had begun to appear.
As Beirin organized the place where she had been sitting, En looked around the area.
The bookshelves lined up in rows were packed tightly with books that made one’s head spin just by looking at them.
This library was open to everyone with the owner’s permission, but the only person who came here was Beirin.
Unlike Beirin, En and the other servants were usually busy resting or enjoying themselves after work.
But whenever she had free time, Beirin came here and spent hours.
When asked why she came here so often, she simply said that she liked reading.
Nothing more.
‘Come to think of it, quite some time has passed since Beirin came here.’
The owner, who had spent a long time in the capital before returning to his estate, had brought her with him.
From that moment, Beirin began working here as a maid.
But they had not been close from the beginning.
First of all, she did not try to get along with people.
In fact, it was obvious that she avoided them.
Fortunately, as time passed, she slowly opened her heart.
Now, she was comfortable enough to laugh and talk with everyone.
‘Though, things were chaotic because of what happened after Beirin returned.’
“What are you thinking about so deeply? Didn’t you come here to pick me up?”
When Beirin approached, En snapped out of her memories and quickly took her hand.
“Ah, right. It’s almost time for the Duke to return. I came to get you because I thought you’d lose track of time while reading.”
“Yes. Thank you, as always.”
When they arrived at the castle entrance, all the servants were already gathered there.
The two of them stood at the very back, and soon after, a carriage stopped in front of the entrance.
The butler approached and opened the door.
A man stepped out.
At the same time, all the servants bowed respectfully.
“Welcome back, Duke.”
“Good. Did anything happen while I was away?”
“No, there were no particular incidents.”
The middle-aged man who had gone out and returned entered the castle while speaking with the butler.
Soon, his footsteps stopped directly in front of Beirin.
“Looks like Beirin came running from the library again today. I can tell because you’re standing at the very back.”
She knew he was not scolding her.
It was only a joke.
Because kindness was contained within his words.
The others also tried desperately not to laugh.
Just this one scene showed how harmonious the people working here were with one another.
The man with dark blue hair and even darker eyes was Haren Seireld, the Duke who ruled the northern territory.
Despite his status as a Duke, he was a warm and gentle person who treated even the servants kindly.
Even when he first met Beirin in the past.
Beirin smiled and answered his joke.
“I’ll be more careful next time.”
“It’s fine. I was the one who allowed it. Of course, the others may use it whenever they wish as well.”
Even after Haren gave his permission, En shook her head as if it were impossible.
“I’m certain that no one except Beirin will ever visit that place.”
At En’s words, everyone finally burst into laughter.
“She’s right, Duke.”
“Beirin is the strange one for going to the library every single day without fail.”
Haren smiled happily at their words, then walked away with the butler.
And so, another peaceful day at Duke Seireld’s castle came to an end.
