79. The Shabby Dress

Meeting Deon proved to be no easy feat. The soldier blocked the entrance of the tower, waving his hands dismissively.

“Usually, even a criminal is allowed to have visitors, as far as I know.”

“Family members are permitted, but what is your relationship with the Prince, my lady?”

I stammered, unable to answer easily.

What exactly is my relationship with him? If I were someone like Isella, I could confidently say I was his fiancée.

As I hesitated, the soldier clicked his tongue, giving me a disdainful look.

“Many people take advantage of moments like these to try and see someone of high status. Please leave.”

The guard seemed to think I was just one of those people.

“If you tell the Prince my name, he will recognize it immediately.”

“The Prince knows you, my lady?”

He quickly scanned my appearance. Though it was just a brief glance from head to toe, I felt stripped bare under his gaze.

I had handed over my dress to Phillip and bought a simple outfit in the commoners’ district. It was a plain, straight dress made only of fabric, without any embroidery or brooch.

The dress had large pockets for easily carrying money, and an apron that could be removed for washing, suitable for a working-class woman.

No one would mistake me for a noblewoman in this attire.

I took out some money. Phillip had sold a few of my jewels, and I received gold coins used in the Empire.

The guard’s eyes widened when I pulled out three gold coins.

“Please, at least accept this.”

He cleared his throat and mumbled quietly.

“But by principle, it’s not allowed. Unless you’re closely related… you should at least be a relative.”

Even as he spoke, his eyes remained fixed on the gold coins, filled with greed. I took his hand and forced the coins into it.

“I’m not a complete stranger. I worked as a clerk in the Ducal territory and also in the Prince’s territory.”

Though it was brief and involved mainly drawing blood, I had indeed stayed for his sake.

“Has it been a long time?”

“Not very long.”

I counted the days we spent together. Roughly seven months. We had shared only two seasons.

As I carefully folded his hand around the coins, he reluctantly put them in his pocket.

“Just a moment. You can exchange brief greetings and then you must leave.”

“Of course.”

“If there’s any mention of the crime or any plotting, I’ll take immediate action.”

“Understood.”

“If someone else finds out… say you’re a distant relative from a branch family.”

I nodded. It was fortunate that I had exchanged the money. Gold coins were powerful enough to create even nonexistent family ties.

Reluctantly, the guard opened the door leading to the prison.

After hearing various precautions from the guard, I was finally allowed a brief face-to-face meeting.

Deon was in the same tower of the royal palace where I had been imprisoned.

I hesitated as I stepped into the pitch-black darkness.

Instinctive fear resurfaced just when I thought I had forgotten it. My legs trembled.

Would there be wolves inside?

A shiver ran down my spine. The familiar terror enveloped my body and froze my legs. The echo of a howling beast reverberated through my entire being.

“Aren’t you going in?”

The guard asked curiously as I sweated, unable to lift my foot from the entrance.

I retracted the foot I had tentatively extended towards the prison and planted it back in the sunlight. The darkness creeping at my toes was eerie.

“We don’t have much time. The shift change is approaching. If you’ve changed your mind, I’ll close the door.”

Despite my hesitation, I finally mustered the courage to step forward. I had to do this before the guard changed his mind.

Once I stepped forward, I couldn’t stop. My steps quickened.

I hurriedly found him in one stride. The corridor was unlit. With visibility low, I groped along the wall.

The cold, eerie sensation from the stone crept up. These stones had never seen sunlight since the prison was built. My arm prickled, and my body hair stood on end, but I quickly adjusted to the darkness and found him.

“Deon.”

Having been imprisoned before, I remembered the approximate location. Deon was confined in the exact same spot as I had been.

He was sitting with his head slightly lowered, leaning against the wall.

He looked a bit tired. Nonetheless, he didn’t seem to be physically harmed. As a member of the royal bloodline, he wasn’t bound or tortured.

“You look well.”

He lifted his head. His face was still expressionless. He appeared calm for someone facing a sentence. Given that the trial was two days away, he should have been terrified.

“Leonie? Why are you here… how did you get in?”

“I gave the guard some money.”

He stared at me blankly for a moment before a faint smile crossed his face.

“You must have given him quite a bit. If I’d known this would happen, I would have made sure to give you more money when I sent you away.”

So he already knew that the budget allocated to the villa was meager.

Even in this moment, he was making lighthearted jokes. There were less than two days left before the trial. If it were Azanti, there was enough time to add all sorts of slander and push him toward execution.

“It seems life at the villa wasn’t comfortable.”

He scrutinized me carefully and asked. As always, he noticed my shabby attire immediately. Though usually indifferent, he quickly recognized how much I had fallen.

Not only my clothes but my hair was tied back with a plain, colorless ribbon, devoid of any adornment. There were no small ornaments on my ears, hands, or arms where one might usually find some. The only accessory I had left was the necklace he had given me.

But the embarrassment was fleeting.

“Your Highness.”

I spoke cautiously, leaning my head closer to him.

“I want to talk for a moment.”

“Speak.”

“Come a little closer, please.”

He pushed himself away from the wall and moved towards me.

He bowed his head to match my eye level. With a single iron bar between us, we were close enough to feel each other’s breath.

I gripped the bar. The rusty iron scratched roughly against my palm.

Once I confirmed the guard had stepped a little further away, I whispered quietly enough that he couldn’t hear.

“Let’s escape.”

“What?”

I had whispered so softly I thought he wouldn’t hear. Though nervous, he had caught my muttered words.

“Let’s abandon all our titles and run away. Let’s leave the palace and live as commoners somewhere, anywhere, even in the north.”

“Stop talking nonsense.”

“So you’re planning to face execution like this?”

The air in the prison grew cold. After a moment of silence, Deon spoke.

“This has nothing to do with you.”

“Nothing to do with me?”

This wasn’t why I had come. Tears welled up and streamed down my face.

“I know the future looks uncertain and it’s a bit scary. Despite the chaotic situation, you’ve spent more than half your life being treated as royalty, so starting anew would be difficult. But… we can leave.”

Although the guard was a little distance away, he would catch some of the words.

It was hard to clearly articulate the idea of running away. If I spoke too plainly, the guard might hear. If I was too vague, Deon might not understand.

I couldn’t tell if he understood. His expression was unreadable.

“Where did you hear about my situation? I didn’t inform anyone at the villa that I was here. Did you come up today?”

“I arrived a few days ago. I heard about it at the Prince’s territory after coming to the capital.”

“You came to the Prince’s territory? …Leonie.”

He suddenly got angry.

“Do you know how dangerous it is to come to the capital without permission? Acting on your own like that is incredibly risky.”

I was dumbfounded. Despite his own predicament, he was suddenly scolding me.

“You said you didn’t confine me. So, can’t I go anywhere?”

“I didn’t confine you. But that didn’t mean you could come here without permission. There was a reason I sent you to the villa, and you came to the Prince’s territory without even consulting me.”

Was he afraid of running into Isella, whom he had sent me away for? I hated that even here, he was still worried about her.

“You don’t have to worry. Lady Isella wasn’t at the mansion. There was no chance of running into her.”

“What?”

“There was no unpleasant situation. Even though I’m currently at the Prince’s territory, if it displeases you, I’ll stay elsewhere. There are plenty of places in the capital where I can spend the night. If all else fails, I can stay at Philip’s house for a while.”

“Philip? You mean that young, inexperienced boy?”

Deon’s expression hardened as he looked down at me through the bars.

Deon was only a few years older than Philip, three at most.

There was no time to waste on pointless conversations. Sweat beaded on my forehead. I wiped it away with my sleeve and leaned even closer to the bars. I extended my hand towards him.

“Remember, if someone signals you from the prison, don’t be wary. Follow them out. Promise me.”

I whispered urgently. But he shook his head.

“There’s no need for that. You don’t need to trouble yourself for me.”

“No. You have to.”

“Didn’t you hear me? Leonie, I don’t need your help.”

He let out a shallow chuckle.

“Leave together? I’d rather stand on the execution ground with my royal status than live as a commoner.”

“So… you’re really planning to face execution?”

“If that’s what it takes to uphold my honor, then yes.”

Two days from now, he would stand trial. He intended to endure until then.

“I can’t bear it. I can’t watch.”

By now, tears were streaming down my face. I tried to hold them back, but once the dam broke, I couldn’t stop crying.

“In two days, you won’t have any reason to cry like this.”

Deon reached out his hand, but the bars blocked him from touching my face. His hand cut through the empty space between us.

Unwiped, my tears flowed down my cheeks and dripped off my chin.

Did Deon think the Snowa family was taking action? That they would come to rescue him soon? And so, he waited with that hope?

It was a baseless hope. I had to tell him the truth.

“She betrayed you. Do you know that?”

“Who?”

“Lady Snowa. Your fiancée has abandoned you. She has no intention of getting you out.”

His previously calm eyes flickered with uncertainty.