Episode 79

Yvonne climbed over the terrace railing and stepped outside. She glanced around, noticing that Yurian hadn’t assigned anyone to watch her, not even a knight in sight.

This place was meant to be a retreat for him after his diplomatic mission, so his entourage had stayed behind at the royal palace instead of here. People from the Leonhardt estate only came to maintain the property once a day, and today wasn’t one of those days.

After all, tonight there was a banquet being held at the royal palace for the emissaries.

“Ugh…”

As Yvonne made her way through the garden, she spotted a snake—a white one, gleaming as though it emitted light even in the dark of night.

White, not even using camouflage. Yvonne paused for a moment, staring at the snake. It flicked its tongue before disappearing into the distance. For some reason, the sight of the snake reminded her of someone.

‘I wish you were dead.’

“Hildebrandt.”

The name left her lips, and immediately, a wave of disgust washed over her. She frowned and ducked behind the garden shrubs, scanning the area. Surprisingly, there wasn’t a single servant in sight. Despite the absence of staff, the garden was immaculately maintained, with neatly pruned shrubs and vines. One odd detail was the abundance of hydrangeas.

They were beautiful in their own way, but Yvonne instinctively disliked hydrangeas. The scent of the flowers made her heart race with anxiety, her palms damp with unease. She felt like a prey animal moments away from being coiled by a snake.

“Enough.”

Shaking her head, Yvonne forced herself to focus on finding a way out. She scanned the far end of the garden, but the gate seemed inaccessible. So she turned her attention to the wall, hoping to find a spot she could climb over.

Her eyes landed on a stone wall near a tree. If she could climb the tree and jump over the wall, she’d be free. Luckily, her shoes had low heels, so she didn’t have to worry about injuring her ankles if she jumped.

With that, Yvonne began her awkward attempt to climb the tree.

“Ugh…”

It was harder than she expected. She had never climbed a tree before, and in her current attire, she kept slipping. Even before losing her memory, this was something she had never done—such unladylike behavior was foreign to her.

After slipping from the same tree five times, she eyed another one nearby. That one seemed easier to climb, but it didn’t connect directly to the wall. She would have to switch trees mid-climb, a more complicated maneuver.

Yvonne hesitated. The other tree would be trickier, but this one kept causing her to slip.

“Sigh.”

Reluctantly, she decided to try the other tree. This time, she managed to avoid slipping, though her dress kept catching on the branches, revealing her legs. But since she was focused on escaping and there was no one around to see her, she pushed the embarrassment aside.

Finally, Yvonne reached a higher point in the tree, but as she prepared to climb over to the next tree, she froze.

“Oh…”

Suddenly, the height of the tree felt as daunting as the three-story fall from the balcony when the Marquess had pushed her. In reality, it wasn’t that high, but her mind was overwhelmed by the memory of the Marquess’s grin as she fell, the terror and cold that had seized her body.

“Yvonne.”

“Kyaah!”

Startled, Yvonne let out a high-pitched scream, instantly feeling foolish.

“Are you trying to climb over the wall?” Yurian’s voice came from behind her, though he was turned away.

She didn’t see it, but he was smiling.

“Why are you turned around?”

“If I look, I’ll see something I shouldn’t.”

“And what would that be?”

Yvonne realized at that moment that her dress had caught on the branches, exposing her thighs.

“So, you’ve already seen my undergarments. Do you like black?”

She deliberately mentioned the wrong color, expecting him to fall for it.

“I wouldn’t know, I didn’t see anything.”

“Didn’t you go to the palace?”

“Didn’t I tell you? I’m returning to my estate soon.”

Yvonne briefly thought it was absurd for Yurian to leave during a royal banquet, but then she remembered that Yurian never seemed entirely rational to begin with.Yvonne climbed over the terrace railing and stepped outside. She glanced around, noticing that Yurian hadn’t assigned anyone to watch her, not even a knight in sight.

This place was meant to be a retreat for him after his diplomatic mission, so his entourage had stayed behind at the royal palace instead of here. People from the Leonhardt estate only came to maintain the property once a day, and today wasn’t one of those days.

After all, tonight there was a banquet being held at the royal palace for the emissaries.

“Ugh…”

As Yvonne made her way through the garden, she spotted a snake—a white one, gleaming as though it emitted light even in the dark of night.

White, not even using camouflage. Yvonne paused for a moment, staring at the snake. It flicked its tongue before disappearing into the distance. For some reason, the sight of the snake reminded her of someone.

‘I wish you were dead.’

“Hildebrandt.”

The name left her lips, and immediately, a wave of disgust washed over her. She frowned and ducked behind the garden shrubs, scanning the area. Surprisingly, there wasn’t a single servant in sight. Despite the absence of staff, the garden was immaculately maintained, with neatly pruned shrubs and vines. One odd detail was the abundance of hydrangeas.

They were beautiful in their own way, but Yvonne instinctively disliked hydrangeas. The scent of the flowers made her heart race with anxiety, her palms damp with unease. She felt like a prey animal moments away from being coiled by a snake.

“Enough.”

Shaking her head, Yvonne forced herself to focus on finding a way out. She scanned the far end of the garden, but the gate seemed inaccessible. So she turned her attention to the wall, hoping to find a spot she could climb over.

Her eyes landed on a stone wall near a tree. If she could climb the tree and jump over the wall, she’d be free. Luckily, her shoes had low heels, so she didn’t have to worry about injuring her ankles if she jumped.

With that, Yvonne began her awkward attempt to climb the tree.

“Ugh…”

It was harder than she expected. She had never climbed a tree before, and in her current attire, she kept slipping. Even before losing her memory, this was something she had never done—such unladylike behavior was foreign to her.

After slipping from the same tree five times, she eyed another one nearby. That one seemed easier to climb, but it didn’t connect directly to the wall. She would have to switch trees mid-climb, a more complicated maneuver.

Yvonne hesitated. The other tree would be trickier, but this one kept causing her to slip.

“Sigh.”

Reluctantly, she decided to try the other tree. This time, she managed to avoid slipping, though her dress kept catching on the branches, revealing her legs. But since she was focused on escaping and there was no one around to see her, she pushed the embarrassment aside.

Finally, Yvonne reached a higher point in the tree, but as she prepared to climb over to the next tree, she froze.

“Oh…”

Suddenly, the height of the tree felt as daunting as the three-story fall from the balcony when the Marquess had pushed her. In reality, it wasn’t that high, but her mind was overwhelmed by the memory of the Marquess’s grin as she fell, the terror and cold that had seized her body.

“Yvonne.”

“Kyaah!”

Startled, Yvonne let out a high-pitched scream, instantly feeling foolish.

“Are you trying to climb over the wall?” Yurian’s voice came from behind her, though he was turned away.

She didn’t see it, but he was smiling.

“Why are you turned around?”

“If I look, I’ll see something I shouldn’t.”

“And what would that be?”

Yvonne realized at that moment that her dress had caught on the branches, exposing her thighs.

“So, you’ve already seen my undergarments. Do you like black?”

She deliberately mentioned the wrong color, expecting him to fall for it.

“I wouldn’t know, I didn’t see anything.”

“Didn’t you go to the palace?”

“Didn’t I tell you? I’m returning to my estate soon.”

Yvonne briefly thought it was absurd for Yurian to leave during a royal banquet, but then she remembered that Yurian never seemed entirely rational to begin with.

“If you try to climb over the wall, you’ll just end up back here.”

“You’re lying, right?”

“No. There’s a teleportation spell on the wall.”

Yurian wasn’t lying. And the more Yvonne thought about it, the more this place felt like a trap, almost as if it was designed to lure intruders to try and escape over the wall.

“The moment you jump over, you’ll likely end up in the iron cage underground.”

“Let’s see about that.”

“You can try, but there’s really no need.”

Yvonne wanted to believe he was lying, but something told her he wasn’t. Yurian was shameless, but rather than lying, it would be faster for him to simply leap up the tree and stop her.

“Or I could have one of the servants demonstrate for you,” Yurian offered.

“Don’t bother.”

“As you wish.”

Yvonne sighed quietly, disappointed that her escape plan had crumbled so easily. And the way Yurian looked at her with amusement left her feeling oddly unsettled.

Suddenly, a wave of vertigo from her fear of heights returned.

“Yurian, I can’t get down.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t know. I’m scared to climb down.”

It felt strange to Yvonne to admit that she was afraid. It had been so long since she had allowed herself to express fear.

“Do you have a fear of heights?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“Have you always had it?”

“No, I think it’s new.”

“…”

Yurian recalled the incident with the Marquess, when Yvonne had been pushed off the balcony. It made sense that the trauma from that event hadn’t faded, and it was natural for her to feel this way now.

He looked up at her, feeling a mixture of awe and concern. Yvonne, standing above him, looked fragile and divine at the same time, like a sacred figure. The fading sun, twinkling stars, and the gentle breeze rustling the leaves around her only added to the ethereal atmosphere.

“I’ll catch you. Just jump down.”

“I can’t.”

“If you jump, I promise I’ll catch you.”

Yurian could have climbed up and helped her down himself, but he didn’t. He wanted her to trust him. If he made it too easy, he feared it might weaken the fragile bond of trust they were building.

To him, Yvonne looked like a scene from a sacred scripture, pure and beautiful.

Yurian blushed without realizing it, smiling shyly up at her. Yvonne frowned, thinking he was amused by the situation, but then realized that the fear she had felt just moments ago had faded. Instead, she found comfort in the way he stood with his arms outstretched, waiting to catch her.

“What if you drop me?”

“Then you can strangle me afterward.”

“How? Do you know how thick your neck is, Yurian?”

“Ah, so you’ve noticed my neck. I like that.”

“You’re crazy.”

“Yes, I am.”

He extended his arms even wider, ready to catch her.

“If you drop me, let me go,” she said.

“And if I don’t drop you, will you give me a reward?”

“What kind of reward?”

“A kiss.”

“You really are crazy.”

“Yes. Now jump into the arms of a madman. I’ll catch you like a madman.”

Yurian’s face lit up with excitement as he spoke, and Yvonne couldn’t help but laugh. Ignoring the feeling of the ground swaying beneath her, she took a deep breath and tightly shut her eyes.

Then, she jumped.

“Ugh…”

Yvonne landed with a soft thud, feeling the firmness of Yurian’s body beneath her, though it was surprisingly stable. She opened her eyes, feeling embarrassed by the tears that had unexpectedly welled up, only to see Yurian gazing at her, almost entranced.

“What are you staring at?”

“I’m just doing my best to earn my reward.”

“I never said I’d give you one.”

“So you tricked me?”

“Yes. Now put me down.”

Yurian obediently set her down, though the sight of her smiling despite the tears around her eyes made him feel uneasy.

“Now every time you’re in a high place, you’ll think of me.”

“That’s not certain.”

“It is. You’ll remember me now.”

“…Are you the wind?”

“Yes.”

Yurian gently wiped the tears from her eyes with his thumb, locking eyes with her. Yvonne didn’t resist his touch, though she glared at him afterward.

“Stop acting like this. I’m not giving you a kiss.”

“How do you always know what I’m thinking?”

“Who wouldn’t?”

“Ah…”

Yurian wasn’t ashamed of his boldness, nor did he mind her teasing him. On the contrary, he found it surprisingly enjoyable.

“I want a reward from you, Yvonne.”