Chapter 1

For five straight days, the rain had refused to stop.

Inside a carriage that had been stranded for over thirty minutes, Eliana Crowde anxiously bit her lip as she watched raindrops stream down the window.

“Damn it. Did the heavens spring a leak or something?”

The coachman, struggling to free the wheel from the deep mud, cursed nonstop.

Eliana wondered if she should get out and help him. But the rain was only growing heavier, and the road had turned into a sea of mud. She couldn’t bring herself to step outside.

Then she suddenly realized how ridiculous she was.

In a situation like this, worrying about dirty clothes was laughable. She felt pathetic for hesitating over something as simple as stepping out of the carriage, yet what truly frightened her was what lay ahead.

With trembling hands, she reached for the carriage door.

Just then, the carriage lurched violently.

“Ah!”

“Finally got it out, damn thing.”

The coachman had managed to free the wheel and climbed back onto the driver’s seat, grumbling as he grabbed the reins. His already rough, bandit-like appearance looked even more intimidating.

“U-um… how much longer will it take?”

Opening the carriage window, Eliana asked in a timid voice.

According to Bron, they should have arrived by now.

“The roads are the problem, but Alderon isn’t much farther.”

“We have to get there before sunset…”

“Well, this rain isn’t exactly helping. I’ll drive as fast as I can, so forgive the rough ride.”

The moment he finished speaking, he cracked his whip, and the carriage surged forward.

Except for visiting the monastery once or twice a month to perform volunteer work, Eliana had rarely ever left the Crowde estate.

She had certainly never ridden in a carriage driven this recklessly.

She had already been so tense that every muscle in her body felt stiff, and now the violently shaking carriage made it impossible to think straight.

To make matters worse, the sky was buried beneath thick black clouds, making it impossible to tell where the sun was.

After what felt like an eternity, the carriage finally stopped shaking and slowly came to a halt.

“We’re here. You can get off.”

The coachman banged on the carriage door.

Suppressing her nausea, Eliana climbed down. After being tossed around for so long, the sensation of standing on solid ground felt strangely unfamiliar.

“Is… is this Alderon?”

The coachman scratched his ear lazily before answering.

“Head toward that windmill over there. Keep going straight and you’ll reach the village square. Looks like the sun’ll be setting soon, so you’d better hurry.”

Eliana nodded hurriedly and rushed off in the direction he had indicated.

The rain had stopped before she realized it, but the air remained heavy with dampness.

When she reached a small square, she paused to catch her breath and recalled Bron’s instructions.

“There’s a flower vendor near the fountain in the square. Buy a single red anemone there, then head to the clock tower. I’ll send someone to meet you.”

Taking a deep breath, Eliana looked around.

The square was far from lively.

Several shops were tightly shuttered, and the few people walking through wore exhausted expressions.

She remembered Bron repeatedly warning her that Alderon’s public safety wasn’t particularly good and that she absolutely had to arrive before dark.

A chill ran down her spine.

After searching for a while, she spotted an old fountain, cracked and weathered beyond repair.

Beside it stood a shabby flower stall.

She hurried over.

But when she met the vendor’s eyes, the words refused to come out.

She had never once bought something herself.

She didn’t know whether she was supposed to ask first or wait until the merchant greeted her.

“Buying flowers?”

The young merchant, who had been staring blankly at her, finally spoke first while absentmindedly twirling a strand of hair around her finger.

“Ah—yes. I’d like to buy… one red anemone.”

Caught off guard, Eliana pretended to look through the flowers.

Yet there wasn’t a single healthy blossom in sight.

Forget red flowers—every bloom was wilted, some with petals already drying and curling at the edges.

But the merchant smiled.

“Oh, a red anemone? Of course. I have one.”

Looking puzzled, Eliana watched as the merchant reached beneath the stall and handed her something.

“One red anemone. That’ll be one Theron.”

Eliana could hardly believe her ears.

The emergency money pouch Cecilia had given her before she left the estate contained only Kron gold coins, which were worth far more than a single Theron.

Caught completely unprepared, she hesitated.

Then she quickly decided that none of that mattered.

Whether it was one Theron or something else, what mattered was buying the red anemone and meeting the person Bron had sent.

“Um… I only have Kron coins. Please keep the change. Thank you.”

She hastily handed over the money and immediately headed toward the clock tower without looking back.

Even someone as ignorant of the outside world as she was knew that a woman carrying a large amount of money without an escort would make an easy target.

She climbed the endless stairs without stopping.

By the time she finally reached the clock tower, she collapsed onto a nearby bench, gasping for breath.

Her legs, unused to such exertion, trembled uncontrollably.

“…Ha…”

She let out a long, exhausted sigh.

Darkness was gradually settling over the surroundings.

The sun was truly beginning to set.

By now, her father and everyone back at the estate had surely realized she was gone.

The thought made it suddenly difficult to breathe.

Anxiety slowly crept into her chest, tightening around her heart.

Keeping her head lowered, she absentmindedly stroked the petals of the anemone she had just purchased.

Perhaps because of the cheap wrapping paper, the crimson petals looked even more vivid.

“That’s an anemone, isn’t it?”

A voice suddenly broke the silence.

Startled, Eliana jerked her head up.

A man with dark brown hair tied loosely behind his head smiled warmly at her.

“You took so long to show up that I thought someone had kidnapped you.”

She stared blankly at him for a moment before realizing—

This had to be the person Bron had promised to send.

She hurriedly stood from the bench.

“H-Hello. I am…”

She hesitated.

How should she introduce herself?

She wondered how much Bron had told him.

Reading the uncertainty on her face, the man chuckled casually.

“Golden-blond hair with a hint of silver. Pale violet eyes. A woman carrying a single red anemone.”

“That’s all I was told, so there’s no need for introductions.”

“Come on. We’re already late.”

Without warning, he grabbed her wrist.

Startled, Eliana did her best not to show any discomfort and followed him.

The man, introducing himself as Pito, led her back down the very stairs she had struggled so hard to climb and crossed the square.

The flower merchant who had sold her the anemone had already packed up and disappeared.

“What on earth is this supposed to mean?”

At an hour when he would normally be reviewing documents in his office, Marquis Roger Crowde stood with an icy expression as he questioned his butler.

“The coachman insists he dropped Lady Eliana off at the front gate of Helio Monastery. Several people at the monastery also confirmed seeing her, so that part appears to be true.”

“Then where did she disappear to? Are you saying she was kidnapped from the monastery?”

“No one witnessed the young lady leaving the monastery grounds. We’ve already begun searching both the monastery and the surrounding area…”

The butler hesitated before adding quietly,

“Lady Cecilia’s emergency savings are also missing.”

“And… the marriage contract was left on her bed…”

He held out a badly crumpled document, unable to continue.

Instead, he anxiously rubbed his clasped hands together.

The marquis felt the back of his neck stiffen.

“That makes it sound as though Eliana ran away from home.”

“…My deepest apologies.”

“Search every inch of the monastery and the nearby villages.”

“Interrogate everyone at the monastery thoroughly.”

“If she truly ran away, someone must have helped her.”

“There is absolutely no way she could have accomplished something like this on her own.”

The marquis let out a long sigh and slowly closed his eyes before opening them again.

“It’s already been ten days since Duke Carlisle departed.”

“He’ll arrive here in about two days.”

“You must find her before then.”

“Yes, my lord.”

After the butler left, the marquis leaned against the window and pressed a hand to his forehead.

Eliana…

Running away from home?

He had never even imagined such a thing.

She had spent her entire life confined to the estate, except for visits to the monastery.

How could she possibly have carried out something like this?

And she had even stolen Cecilia’s money.

The marriage announcement had certainly come without warning, but never—not for a moment—had the marquis believed that Eliana would do something so reckless.

With a grim expression, he unfolded the crumpled marriage contract.

Beneath the sharp, decisive signature of Tristan Carlisle, the space where Eliana’s signature should have been remained completely blank.

He pressed hard against his throbbing temple.

At that very moment—

The office door burst open.