Chapter 3
Belle flinched, taking a step back before quickly slipping out through the back door. The annex had many doors leading to various exits. Though she’d thought of dying a thousand times, the moment she truly felt she might die, she wanted nothing more than to live.
She didn’t want to die a meaningless death here.
Without looking back, she ran frantically, deciding that she’d rather escape this place where she was treated so poorly. If they wanted her dead anyway, maybe she could survive by faking her own death?
“She’s not here?”
The voices of the two men searching her quarters in the annex echoed loudly. Belle held her breath and hid in the bushes.
How far could she even go on her own? Perhaps it was better to hide…
‘Wait…’
A memory from yesterday flashed in her mind—the place where she had been bleeding, down to the exact location and angle of the bushes. It was identical. Instinctively, she felt she shouldn’t stay here.
The memories she’d seen had been far too vivid to dismiss as mere hallucinations.
But the footsteps were getting closer. The men seemed to have checked inside and were now coming out through the back door.
“Where did she hide?”
“But how did she know we were coming…?”
“…Ah, I feel uneasy about this. Maybe we should just go back…”
“We’ve already been paid. Besides, do you think Cedric would let us live if we returned empty-handed?”
Money. Cedric.
The conversation was almost painfully clumsy.
Belle swallowed dryly, trying to think, but her mind felt empty. No way of escape came to her.
Was she really going to die here? If she had known this was coming, she would have run away from the estate the moment she’d seen Cedric last night.
She didn’t want to die like this.
Just as a tense Belle took another step back—
Crack—
The sound of stepping on leaves gave her away.
“Oh?! There she is!”
The two men finally spotted her.
“Ahhh!”
Belle let out a terrified scream, collapsing on the spot. She felt like prey caught before a predator, her whole body trembling uncontrollably.
Knowing what was to come only made it worse.
Through their conversation, she could tell that the men weren’t professional killers. They had knives, but they hesitated noticeably.
“If you stay still, it’ll be over quickly.”
In the memories from last night, she had fought back and died horrifically.
If they were going to stab her anyway, wouldn’t it be better to get hurt as little as possible? She had a potion, and these men were clearly amateurs—they wouldn’t kill her instantly.
Belle relaxed her body, closed her eyes, and the two men exchanged a look before one stabbed her in the abdomen with a single thrust.
As the knife withdrew, blood poured out, and an unbearable pain surged through her.
Then everything began to unfold exactly as she had seen before. Just as if they’d been watching all along, Cedric and Deloni appeared.
“Haha, finally, I’m rid of this tiresome woman.”
“Sorry, Belle.”
They looked at her with the same expressions and spoke the same words she had seen in her vision.
Belle fought to stay conscious despite the burning pain. Cedric was approaching, checking her breathing.
As she forced herself to hold her breath, Cedric looked pleased and smiled.
“Looks like she’s dead.”
The faint trace of a smile in his voice made it all the more cruel for Belle.
Finally, after making sure, Cedric and Deloni left the scene.
* * *
Where am I? Am I alive?
It seemed she had fainted while waiting for the two men to leave. Fortunately, she hadn’t been discovered to still be breathing. It also felt like not much time had passed. She could see the two men who had stabbed her heading somewhere with her loaded onto a cart.
The two were loudly discussing what they would do with the money they received.
“Let’s just toss her aside. She’s dead anyway, and some wild animal will eat her. If they find her later, they’ll never imagine it’s the Duchess.”
“…But Cedric told us to make sure to handle it properly.”
“It’s fine. As long as we give a good report, that’s all that matters.”
After a moment of hesitation, one of the men agreed and suggested they hurry off for drinks, leaving the cart behind.
Belle held her breath as she waited for the sound of their footsteps to fade. Only then did she slowly begin to rise.
She reached into her pocket and pulled out the potion, drinking it greedily with trembling hands.
“Hah…”
She could feel the gaping wound in her abdomen starting to close. She had bought the cheapest one, but it was still quite effective. As the pain dissipated, she felt a little more hopeful.
However, as she looked at her situation, abandoned in the deep woods with no one around, a sense of despair and helplessness washed over her. After a lifetime of obedience, all she received in return was attempted murder.
Since she could never go back, she had to truly do everything on her own now.
Would she be able to manage? Fear welled up within her, but this was a task she had to undertake. As her first step, she chose to leave the capital.
She intended to move as far away as possible, living like she was dead.
Yet, Belle had nothing with her. She had spent all her money on the potion.
“…What the hell was that all about?”
One question lingered in her mind. The memories she had experienced when Cedric had touched her—if this wasn’t a dream and she wasn’t going crazy, it meant she had seen the future.
Thanks to that, she had managed to save her own life.
“Will I see the future again someday?”
Or perhaps someone had taken pity on her and granted her this ability for a brief moment.
Whatever it was, she was now free.
* * *
With no money, walking was the only way for Belle to leave the capital. Traveling alone as a woman was incredibly dangerous, but everyone assumed she was a crazy person and didn’t approach her carelessly.
After all, she was wandering around in a bloodstained white dress with disheveled hair, looking anything but normal.
Belle was aware of this and intentionally avoided washing or cleaning her clothes. She felt filthy and itchy, but she just kept walking. Eventually, she reached a village far enough from the capital.
Fortunately, there were kind people who took pity on her situation, providing her with a place to stay and a job.
It was difficult as it was her first time working, but she quickly adapted and blended well into the village.
However, Belle was filled with fear. It was not far from the capital.
She worried that if they realized her body was missing from the Rothiers estate, they would come looking for her, so she decided to move even further away.
In fact, she understood that something was not right with her. She felt an overwhelming fear that the kind villagers would suddenly turn on her and try to harm her.
This was not normal.
Most importantly, she didn’t want to get close to people.
She didn’t want to get hurt.
“Thank you for everything, sir.”
“Oh dear. I’m sad to see you leave suddenly after all the help you’ve given us. Why don’t you just settle in our village?”
“Thank you for your kind words. If I get the chance, I’ll visit again.”
“Oh….”
The kind elder had offered to work together with Belle, treating her like a benefactor. She genuinely thought about returning once everything was okay.
But then—
“Hey, owner, did you see this?”
“What is it?”
A villager named Fiona burst in loudly, holding a newspaper in her hand.
“Have you heard? The second wife of the Rothiers Duke has died!”
It had been two months since Belle arrived in this village. The fate of the Duchess, who had been reported missing, had finally been revealed: she was dead.
Hiding her trembling hands behind her, Belle focused on what Fiona was saying. She couldn’t muster the courage to check the article herself.
“How did that happen?”
“They say it was an accident. Apparently, she fell while hiking near the estate.”
Belle’s heart raced. Had they found her body?
“That’s not even the most important part! The heir of the Rothiers family has announced his third marriage!”
“What? How long has it been since the second wife died?”
“Exactly my point!”
Fiona and the innkeeper excitedly chatted about Cedric.
A third marriage—would it be to Deloni?
Maybe that was for the best. Still, Belle couldn’t allow herself to feel relieved. She decided she would leave this place as originally planned, moving far away.
“Oh dear, what’s wrong with me? Hey, Fiona!”
“What?”
“Annie said she’s leaving the village.”
“Annie? Why?”
Fiona’s gaze fell on her. Belle lowered her head slightly.
Since she couldn’t bear to say her real name, she had impulsively chosen the name “Annie.” Here, she had been called Annie the entire time.
It was the most common name she could think of, but it suited her just fine.
Just like the name Annie, she hoped to live on as an ordinary person, no longer Belle.
“Why the sudden change?”
“…She’s going to visit a distant relative’s house.”
It was a lie, but Belle felt that without a reason like that, the villagers would continue to hold her back.
“It’s better to have family, even if they’re distant.”
Eventually, as she received farewells from the villagers she had grown close to, Belle climbed onto the cart. Considering she had walked all the way here, it felt like a significant improvement.
However, Belle would soon regret her choice.
