The next day.
“…Huh?”
I had just arrived at work when I tilted my head in confusion.
For some reason, the barony felt unusually chaotic.
Even the servants in the annex all had troubled, uneasy expressions.
It wasn’t a situation where I could casually ask anyone what was going on.
‘What’s happening? Why is everyone like this?’
Confused, I quietly slipped out of the annex.
Fortunately, Amanda was alone, cleaning a window.
“Amanda.”
At my call, she turned around.
“Milena? What brings you here?”
“Hey… is something going on?”
I lowered my voice carefully.
“It doesn’t feel like a good atmosphere to ask anyone in the annex.”
“Ah.”
Amanda blinked and glanced around.
Then she leaned in close and whispered into my ear.
“Well, last night the House of Lucerte had dinner at the main residence. But apparently the young lady…”
I only listened for a moment—
And my expression hardened instantly.
‘What is this supposed to mean?’
Cecilia was missing…? That made no sense!
“So they’ve sent people out to search for her, but she hasn’t been found yet—Hey, Milena? Milena!!”
My body moved on its own.
Before I knew it, I was running so fast I could barely breathe.
“Where are you going?!!”
Amanda’s voice called after me in panic, but I didn’t even have time to look back.
‘Cecilia.’
I gritted my teeth.
I had to find her immediately.
As far as I remembered, Cecilia had mostly stayed shut inside the Trancier estate.
She probably didn’t know the surrounding area well.
And since she had run out at night, she couldn’t have gone far.
“Lady Cecilia! Lady Cecilia!! Where are you?!”
As I searched around the estate grounds, I found myself asking a question.
‘So what am I going to do if I actually find her?’
Cecilia.
The heroine of the original story.
The very person who would eventually bring down the villainess—me.
Logically, I should probably distance myself from her here.
If I kept getting involved with Cecilia, my future would only become more uncertain.
And yet I was desperately searching for her anyway.
‘Because I want to.’
I clenched my teeth.
I didn’t really have a clear answer.
But I didn’t want to leave her alone.
Because—
“If you go around talking about me carelessly… I won’t forgive you.”
Even though she always wore a cold expression,
her turquoise eyes were filled with fear.
That desperate look, as if she had been pushed to the edge of a cliff.
“I chose her myself. She’s my maid.”
“She’s my person. I’ll decide what happens to her.”
She had stood up against her terrifying nanny, trying to protect me.
I still remembered her trembling shoulders.
And—
“This is good.”
“If you only eat sweets like that, won’t your mouth get tired? Have a sandwich too.”
She had pushed desserts and sandwiches toward me with such gentle care.
Even when she turned her head away shyly,
her cherry-colored lips had hidden a faint, unguarded smile.
Her loneliness, her bright smile, her quiet kindness—
I had already seen all of it.
To me, Cecilia was no longer just a character in a story.
She was a real person.
Someone who lived and felt.
‘So how could I possibly ignore her?’
I bit my lip hard enough to draw blood.
She had never even been outside the estate before.
Was she scared in such an unfamiliar place?
‘She missed her family so much…’
How hurt must she have been to run away from the dinner she had been looking forward to so much?
How much time had passed?
“Haa… haa…”
I gasped for breath, scanning the surroundings anxiously.
‘What if I can’t find her?’
If something had happened to her in the meantime…
And then—
‘Ah.’
My eyes widened.
Across the street, a girl stood unsteadily.
I recognized her immediately.
Messy wheat-colored hair.
A dress ruined with dust and stains.
Even though she looked nothing like her usual neat self—
she was still breathtakingly beautiful.
‘Cecilia!’
But her expression was vacant.
Her usually bright turquoise eyes were dull and empty.
She didn’t even look around—just stumbled forward.
And then I saw it.
“W-What?!”
“Lady, get out of the way!”
“A carriage—!!”
A large cargo wagon was rushing directly toward her.
The driver pulled hard on the reins, but it was too late.
Neighhh!!
The horses screamed loudly.
A massive shadow fell over Cecilia’s fragile body.
Slowly, she lifted her head.
For the first time, light returned to her unfocused eyes—
but they immediately froze.
“Lady Cecilia!”
I shouted desperately.
I reached out toward her.
‘No!’
And then—
Something warm and intense surged out of my body.
A strong gust of wind erupted.
My golden hair whipped violently in the air.
That wind rushed toward Cecilia—
toward the oncoming carriage—
And everything changed in an instant.
Chirp, chirp.
Birds chirped brightly, announcing morning.
Cecilia, who had been crouching beneath a wall, slowly lifted her head in a daze.
When she had run out of the Trancier estate, it had been pitch black night—
but now everything was bright.
“…Where am I?”
She murmured softly.
An unfamiliar street stretched out around her.
She only remembered wandering aimlessly until exhaustion made her collapse somewhere.
It seemed she had fallen asleep without realizing it.
“Haa…”
Looking down at herself, she sighed without thinking.
She looked terrible.
Her dress was covered in dust, and her usually neatly styled hair was a tangled mess.
‘If my family saw me like this, I’d be in trouble.’
She thought that instinctively—
then let out a faint, bitter laugh.
Even now, she was still worrying about her family’s judgment.
Sitting there, she looked up at the sky.
The bright blue sky was almost painfully clear.
‘What am I supposed to do now?’
She felt lost.
There was no way she could return to House Lucerte.
She had run out in anger in front of her family—this time, they would truly abandon her.
But she couldn’t stay here forever.
“Ugh…”
As she stood up, a small groan escaped her lips.
Her legs screamed in pain from walking so long in shoes.
Clenching her teeth, she forced herself upright.
Her vision swayed.
Where should she go now?
No one wants me.
Just then—
“What?!”
“L-Lady, move!”
“A carriage—!!”
Suddenly, chaos erupted around her.
A dark shadow loomed over her head.
Cecilia quickly lifted her head.
Her blurred vision sharpened—
and right in front of her, a massive horse shadow loomed closer and closer…
‘Ah.’
At that moment, what she felt was pure resignation.