AWLC 07

Chapter – 07

The south gate, where the saint was heading in her maid outfit, was the main entrance of the royal palace.

Alesto took the news of the saint’s escape attempt rather nonchalantly.

It wasn’t entirely unexpected.

It was partly why he had deliberately instructed the third-floor staff to leave her free while only assigning an owl to keep watch.

“Just as I thought. Her goal wasn’t here.”

Having confirmed that the saint hadn’t approached him to infiltrate the palace, he now had to calculate when to finally take back the temporarily “loose” saint.

“How long will it take her to get out of the south gate?”

Garnet twitched her lips slightly and offered a cautious estimate.

“Judging by her speed when she departed compared to now… it should take her about sixteen hours.”

Even as Garnet reported this, Alesto continued reviewing documents, only raising his head after a moment.

“Sixteen hours?”

“She ran a little at the start but soon slowed to a walk, and now… it seems she has no stamina left. At this rate, I can’t even guarantee she could make it out of the palace in a full day. Besides, she’s in a Blossom Palace maid outfit, so it would be hard for her to get a carriage anyway.”

In other words, she was in for a grueling ordeal.

Somewhat abruptly, the goals Freedis Herman had when raising Asha were clear.

When she came of age and was married off, he wanted a high bride price.

Asha was beautiful, but simply having a pretty face wasn’t enough to command a high price.

According to Freedis, she had to grow into a perfectly proportioned beauty that would make anyone gasp in admiration at first sight.

The three most important beauty standards of this era were: a slender waist, small stature, and fair skin.

Freedis strictly controlled everything Asha ate and forbade her from going out unless absolutely necessary.

Exposure to sunlight would darken her skin, after all.

So, how did that turn out?

“Huff… huff…”

Asha had grown into a body that couldn’t even walk an hour, let alone run for a few minutes.

In the pitch-dark night, on a road with no visible end, Asha finally crouched down by a roadside flowerbed.

She was hungry and too exhausted to walk any further.

At first, she had felt like she could do anything.

The palace gate was far, but she had thought she could hitch a ride if a carriage passed by.

After all, it often happened in novels.

When a tired heroine walks along a dark path, a carriage appears alongside, a gentlemanly driver, and a little kindness…

“Where are you going?”

And they safely take her to her destination.

Of course, in reality, one would be wary of anyone offering help, but since this was a story, she believed it was possible.

And Asha was the protagonist, after all. A little uncertain, but still…

Ah! A carriage!

Crouching by the flowerbed, she jumped up and waved her arms frantically.

“Here! Wait, just a moment!”

She shouted and waved, trying to get its attention, but the indifferent driver ignored her entirely.

“Gone again!”

By now, more than ten carriages had passed her by without stopping.

Asha didn’t know it, but maids from Blossom Palace were the primary target of suspicion among palace drivers.

Rumors had circulated that any servant or maid associated with Blossom Palace often disappeared under mysterious circumstances.

Still, Asha simply thought life didn’t always go as planned.

How much further until she could get out of the palace?

Would her stamina last until then?

The night air grew colder, her sweat cooled, her stomach growled, and her legs felt like lead…

“If only the crown prince hadn’t seemed so normal earlier, I could have eaten more.”

Even now, she felt so weak she might die before even leaving the palace.

She paused, glancing back along the path she had come.

Despite walking diligently, the grand silhouette of the crown prince’s palace still loomed ahead.

“….”

Escape could wait. Today, she would return.

She already knew how to exit the crown prince’s palace; next time she could try again.

It didn’t seem difficult.

She could eat plenty of meat, build her stamina, find a small carriage, dress warmly, and bring snacks…

With proper preparation, she could succeed next time.

The thought didn’t take long—her body was too tired to think clearly.

Eventually, Asha decided to head back to the crown prince’s palace.

“This body… so weak. How am I even made?”

As she trudged along, lights began to shine behind her, growing brighter.

Asha pressed closer to the flowerbed, not looking back.

Even if she tried desperately to get a ride, the carriages would still pass her by, so there was no point in wasting energy.

By now, she felt it was okay. She could slowly make it back to the palace on foot.

However…

The carriage she thought had long passed was still behind her, its sound gradually slowing.

Uneasy, she turned to look.

The white carriage with gold trim was familiar—it bore the crown prince’s flag.

Startled, Asha froze like a broken puppet as the carriage stopped beside her.

The door opened, letting the warmth inside brush against her cheeks.

“What are you doing here?”

It was Alesto.

Asha swallowed hard, looking into the man’s eyes.

“Just… taking a walk,” she said.

At that moment, his golden eyes seemed to flash.

Suddenly, she understood where Alesto’s chilling aura came from.

It was probably those eyes.

Yellow eyes had long been called the eyes of beasts.

Come to think of it, the eyes of raptors or tigers are yellow too, aren’t they?

“Taking a walk? Going to continue?”

See? Even the leisurely tone, as if in no hurry while facing prey, screamed predator.

Yet now, she was a prey in a very cozy place.

The warmth drifting from the open carriage door was incredibly pleasant.

The seat looked soft, the thick blanket inviting.

She watched the predator’s expression, and their eyes met.

And she blinked.

‘Huh?’

She felt an instinctive, hard-to-describe sensation.

A crucial intuition.

This predator had no intention of harming her.

Maybe that’s why meeting his eyes head-on felt less frightening than looking away.

Less frightening, of course—not completely safe.

Here, Asha realized how fickle the human mind was.

The distance she thought she could walk safely seemed short compared to the crown prince and his carriage—suddenly, she wanted to ride along.

She hesitated slightly, then shook her head.

“No, no more walking… shall I ride with you?”

Taking a small step closer, Alesto’s lips curved into a perfect, graceful smile.

“Please, get in. Let’s go together.”

Asha quickly climbed into the carriage, as if she had been waiting for this moment.

Because she had.

As she lifted her long skirt to get in, she realized something strange.

The texture, weight, shape…

‘I’m still in my maid outfit!’

She had completely forgotten.

What should she say if he asks about her outfit?

Anything she said would look suspicious.

Her body chilled as her mind raced for an answer.

‘Maybe I’ll just say it’s my maid outfit fantasy? Will he think I’m strange?’

But contrary to her worries, the crown prince didn’t question her clothing.

Instead, in a casual, joking tone, he said:

“I’m glad it’s just a walk. For a moment, I thought you were trying to escape.”

Asha swallowed hard.