HPBUY Chapter 101

Although there couldn’t possibly be traces of the child there, Sienna’s insistence on heading toward the hill was nothing more than her stubbornness.

She had been walking steadily at a slow pace, but stopped when a certain object entered her field of vision.

On the hill where there should have been nothing, a sturdy tree stood firmly in place. Sienna, who unconsciously stopped in her tracks, stared blankly up at the tree.

It was an orange tree, laden with fresh fruit hanging abundantly.

Sienna blinked slowly as if she had seen an apparition. But the more she did so, the clearer the tree’s existence became.

The lush green leaves swayed in the breeze as if mocking her. Above her head, the sound of leaves rustling against each other could be heard.

At this moment, her heightened senses of sight and hearing seemed to distort time and space.

Perhaps dying while coughing up blood under this tree had been merely a dream. Or perhaps the ground she stood on was actually the afterlife.

Even though she knew these were just baseless thoughts.

Sienna’s gaze trembled unstably.

This might simply be a coincidence. But the same spot as back then. And an orange tree, of all things. Could all of these things be dismissed as mere coincidence?

Her heart began to pound ominously.

…Even though it couldn’t be.

“Your Highness.”

At the deep voice from behind her, her face stiffened.

Declan’s gaze moved toward the tree and then back to her. Even though she must have sensed his approach, Sienna didn’t turn around.

He said it would be good to return now, as the sun would set soon. There was no reply.

The wind blew once more. Sunlight shattered through the swaying leaves.

When Declan’s gaze turned back to the tree again, Sienna turned around.

“Let’s go.”

Her brief utterance sounded coarse. But before he could examine her face, she quickly brushed past him. Her stride was large as she led the way down the hill.

Sienna came down the hill, barely supporting her legs that nearly buckled several times. With each step she took, nausea rose in her throat.

It made no sense. Yet the aspects she had found questionable were now brutally comprehensible all at once.

After reaching the bottom of the hill and coming to level ground, her head began to spin again.

Even though her feet were on solid ground, her vision swam and her stomach turned. She felt there was no way she could mount a horse like this. Turning her body in a direction completely away from the horses, she said:

“Go ahead. I’ll follow later.”

“Are you feeling unwell?”

Declan, who had followed her, asked. Sienna shook her head without looking at him.

“My head is a bit dizzy.”

So she would follow behind alone, she tried to say, but her breath caught, tightening her throat. Instead of her voice, tears flowed from her eyes. It happened in a moment before she could be conscious of it.

“Your Highness.”

“There was a fruit tree planted on the hill.”

The unconscious murmur flowed out. Even that was an unimpressive voice compared to his neat tone. But it seemed her tear ducts had burst as well. No matter how much she wiped them away, her vision grew hazier.

Between her lips that moved silently, a barely audible sound leaked out.

“Did you, perhaps, Soliet……”

The name that had once been her reason for living had now become a name too sinful to even utter. Just saying it made her throat burn as if scalded.

Sienna didn’t finish her sentence and looked up at him.

Declan had a strange expression on his face. His formerly expressionless face had clearly cracked. The slightly parted lips and reddening eyes. That was enough of an answer to the question she had asked.

Her eyes, which had been watching him, sank desolately.

She stepped back hesitantly. As time passed, she could see the emotion draping over Declan’s face growing deeper.

After silently watching him, she took another step. But her body was forcibly turned back by a strong grip holding her arm before she could go far.

His eyes, which met hers at close range, were intensely red.

“Why on earth.”

A sound like nails scratching a blade emanated from his throat. He momentarily gasped for breath.

His handsome face finally collapsed completely.

“Why would you……”

Though the fragmented words were not difficult to understand, Sienna didn’t answer.

It was a situation where neither of them was in their right mind.

Declan couldn’t understand why she, who should have been living soundly in another world, had experienced the same fate as he had.

He had opened his eyes in the middle of a battlefield right after shooting himself in the head with a pistol. So her return here meant…

The hand gripping her arm slowly began to tremble. In his reddened eyes, fear and anger were evident.

“Did he finally kill you?”

Sienna, who had been staring at him quietly, irritably shook off the arm that was being held.

“Don’t misunderstand. It wasn’t Joseph, it was something I did of my own volition.”

After her stiff response, she suddenly laughed derisively.

“Did you think I would be grateful after you left such a testament and died? Did you think I would thank you and go on living as if nothing had happened!”

Her calm voice gradually became more turbulent. Her effort to maintain composure finally collapsed.

“How could you do such a thing… Did I ever ask you to save me? Did I ever plead that I wanted to live? I never wanted this.”

Sienna trembled all over as she cried. Even uttering a single word was so arduous that she gasped for breath.

“I… I never once wanted this…”

The resentment she had suppressed burst forth without pause.

It hadn’t been this frightening even when she was expelled to Lopwell. But the extreme fear Sienna felt after Declan and Soliet disappeared could not be expressed in any way.

Even in the prison cut off from the world, waking up every morning was terrifyingly frightening. Like living in a nightmare from which she could never wake up. It felt as if shattered fragments of gold dust were stuck to her heart.

Every moment of breathing was hell.

Everything was still vivid to Sienna. Even Soliet’s coldly stiffened body and his motionless figure lying in the coffin.

Sienna stood before him, forgetting even her pride, and cried as if the world was ending.

At the bottom of her resentment, there was clearly also a faint relief. The thought that it was fortunate he hadn’t actually died. Yet she couldn’t bring herself to say it aloud.

Because the scent of oranges carried on the breeze was so vivid. The relief caught in the middle of her throat soon became a thorn.

****

After about two weeks since arriving at the Grand Duke’s residence, Dahlia became able to walk somewhat normally.

Though there was still a slight stagger, the physician explained that it would naturally improve over time.

But she was starting to get tired of lying idle. Having come all the way to the Grand Duke of Monferrato’s residence, it was extremely boring to be confined to her bedroom.

Moreover, having finally freed herself from the Duke and able to breathe, wasting such a precious time felt wasteful.

Gathering her courage to venture into the corridor, Dahlia forgot her dignity and inhaled the scent of cypress wood. As she walked down the corridor taking deep breaths, she caught sight of Sienna just turning the corner.

Startled, she nearly choked. After coughing quietly a few times, Dahlia composed her expression and curtseyed.

“Your Highness.”

Sienna, who had just noticed Dahlia, stopped walking.

Dahlia’s gaze, which had been directed at Sienna, shifted slightly to Theodore standing beside her. When their eyes met, he smiled, narrowing his eyes.

“My Lady, it seems your ankle has improved much. I’m glad.”

Dahlia’s face turned red. She bowed her head deeply, not even noticing Sienna’s intense gaze.

“I’m on my way to see the Grand Duke. If you don’t mind, would you like to come along?”

“Pardon…?”

Wondering if she had misheard, Dahlia quickly raised her head. Seeing Theodore’s rather embarrassed smile, she realized that her understanding was not wrong. Even Sienna, standing beside him, added a word.

“Why don’t you come along if you don’t have any other plans?”

“But I…”

Although she had expressed her intention to participate in their plans, it was nothing more than a threat to make clear what she would give and take. This was because Dahlia had neither outstanding talent nor anything to offer except the ring, making her unsuitable for deep involvement in such plans.

It was a natural thought for someone who had lived her whole life being told to know her place.

“I desperately need your help.”

Not only Dahlia but even Theodore standing nearby looked at Sienna with surprised faces.

But it was exactly as she said.

Even after obtaining the ring, Dahlia’s existence was most important to Sienna. To Sienna, Dahlia was a lethal weapon that could crush the Duke and a dagger that could sever Joseph’s Achilles’ heel.

And Sienna had never been good at empty flattery. But watching Dahlia lower herself wasn’t particularly pleasing either.

“So don’t needlessly feel intimidated.”

At these simple words, Dahlia’s eyes wavered greatly. Strength filled her clasped hands.

Sienna took another step, as if saying the decision was Dahlia’s. As the princess walked away alone, Theodore approached Dahlia.

“My Lady, let me support you.”

At this consideration befitting an excellent knight, Dahlia smiled faintly and shook her head.

“I appreciate your thoughtfulness, but I’m fine, Sir Monches.”

She turned her back to Theodore and proceeded forward with a limping gait.

Though slightly slow and not yet completely healed, there was a firmness in her steps that hadn’t been there before, as she walked with a clear destination in mind.