The door clicked open, and Edith cautiously surveyed her surroundings.
She hadn’t anticipated that she would be able to escape so easily. Perhaps it was due to Sophia’s carelessness, as there was no one nearby to witness her departure.
『 I never expected her to be this careless, especially after claiming she would use me to secure the Fortrion’s fortune.』
Although Edith had reasonable suspicions, she had no intention of remaining obediently locked up.
Edith sprinted forward, holding her breath.
The mansion, built during the heyday of the Viscounty of Fortrion, encompassed a ridiculously vast garden and forest.
She ran desperately toward the towering mansion’s wall, her skirt drenched in the morning’s dew-soaked grass.
When her cheek scraped against a randomly growing branch, a thin scratch appeared.
However, Edith tried her best to escape so as not to ruin her own life.
Finally reaching the wall, Edith stretched out her hand, determined to scale it in a single leap.
“…!”
But something invisible blocked her path.
She gazed at what appeared to be a transparent, solid wall.
Her entire body tingled as if electricity tingled with every touch.
It was only at this moment that Edith realized the reason behind the lax surveillance.
⋙“At this point, she should have already regained consciousness, Lady Sophia. I followed your orders well.”⋘
It was said that such magic could often be found in the capital.
Edith remembered the words spoken by the mercenaries she had met in the village and felt disheartened.
『 Could it be that they didn’t need to keep watch because they had cast an imprisonment spell?』
Even when she hit the transparent wall with force, there was no sign of an opportunity to escape outside.
As she despaired, a mocking and childish voice reached her ears.
Suddenly, Sophia appeared, accompanied by sturdy servants, as if she had anticipated this turn of events.
“As expected, you don’t seem willing to cooperate obediently.”
“… Sophia.”
“Take her.”
In the end, Sophia smiled and enjoyed the show as Edith was dragged away by the men.
──────────✿◦•
“There is a woman inside. You can do what you want, but make sure she gets pregnant…”
The chilling words echoed through the confines of the brick building, where Edith was now held prisoner. She bit her lip in fear and anguish, unable to escape the horrible voice coming from the other side of the wall.
Sophia and her servants displayed exceptional efficiency in their tasks.
The urgency with which they acted hinted at the desperate need for an heir to the Viscountcy.
『 How can she go to such lengths to make me have a child?』
The viscount himself was known for his madness, but Sophia’s madness was just as formidable.
Sophia was trying to get several men to force themselves on Edith in less than an hour.
It was an idea that only animals would do.
Edith resolved to prevent these men from laying a hand on her, no matter what it took.
As Edith frantically picked up a sharp piece of brick, the sound of the men’s giggles grew closer and closer, and then, the door swung open, revealing four men who appeared to be in charge of the mansion’s chores.
Their eyes, filled with desire, greedily scanned Edith’s face and body before fixating on her face.
“Wow… She’s an incredible beauty, isn’t she?”
“Can we really do as we please with her?”
Three men closed in on Edith like ravenous wolves, drawn to a piece of meat.
However, another man, observing the scene, decided to intervene.
“If you don’t want to die, then back off, alright? Walter explicitly instructed us not to lay a hand on this woman.”
-Walter.-
The mere mention of his name caused the men to hesitate.
“Well…”
“But come on, Walter, that scoundrel, would have the same thoughts as us when he sees this woman, wouldn’t he?”
“Yeah, that bastard is just a stableman like us anyway, so what!”
One of the men yelled bravely as he reached out to touch Edith’s outstretched leg. But at that moment…
“Didn’t I politely ask you not to touch this woman?”
“Ugh!”
A sharp voice pierced the air. And the man’s hand was trampled.
『 Who is it?』
Edith intended to cut off the man’s hand with a hidden sharp stone, but suddenly, a man who had appeared late was crushing the man’s hand.
“Wal-Walter, please…… Ugh!”
“Hans. Wasn’t it just a few minutes ago that you agreed to my request not to touch this woman?”
Ignoring Hans’ agonizing groans, Walter continued to mercilessly trample on him, as if squashing a blood-sucking insect.
Who could he be to behave this way?
Edith’s gaze, which had been fixed on Hans’s hand while it was being crushed, gradually shifted upward.
The first thing that caught her attention was the well-defined muscles that enveloped his sturdy frame, his solid build far surpassing that of the four men who had entered earlier.
Even the knights or mercenaries she had helped with the treatment did not have such a well-developed bone structure.
However, his attire seemed too worn and shabby to be that of a knight hired by Viscount Fortrion.
After looking at his face curiously, Edith’s eyes widened to the limit.
Dark hair, a straight nose, and piercing, clear eyes. The shape of his jawline and lips felt strangely familiar.
Realization dawned upon her, and she spoke as if possessed.
“… Isaac?”
Isaac had been a mysterious boy who briefly stayed at Edith’s house when she was around eleven years old.
⋙“I decided to host guests for a while to cover our living expenses. The lady mentioned that she needed a place to recover, and, fortunately, you’ve found a friend of the same age.”⋘
When Edith heard her mother, Lady Lowell, say that, she was filled with joy.
Until then, her playmates had always been employees who would come and go, just like her parents.
From what she had gathered, the Lowell family had lived a fairly prosperous life as barons about 50 years ago. However, Edith later discovered that her family lineage also had connections to the baronage.
Despite having to sell their household belongings and titles to make ends meet during her father’s incurable illness, their financial situation remained precarious.
A few days later, a boy and his mother arrived.
-Mrs. Leah and Isaac.-
The presence of the two partially filled the void left by her father’s passing.
Isaac, who was only one year older, provided great help.
Even when her mother worked late at the clinic to earn money, Isaac was there for her. Even during the anniversary of her father’s death and times of sadness, and even when she noticed her overworked mother secretly coughing up blood.
When she first realized her mother was hiding an illness, a young Edith was shocked and unable to say a word.
She wondered if she would lose her mother too, following in her father’s footsteps.
She didn’t know how to calm her heavy and fearful heart.
Afraid that looking at her mother’s face would only intensify her fears, she impulsively dashed out of the house, without thinking.
She realized that she was lost in a dark forest far from home the moment the dark clouds began to rain.
⋙ “No… Mom… huff… she’s… not… sick… she’ll be fine…”⋘
Edith cried her heart out under a big tree.
Lost, frightened, and already filled with sorrow, her tears mingled with the pouring rain.
As she started contemplating the possibility of encountering a wild animal, a rustle in the bushes caught her attention.
⋙“Edith! I’ve been searching everywhere for you.”⋘
Isaac, drenched despite wearing a raincoat, appeared before her eyes.
His white horse, Cream, who was always by his side, accompanied him.
When she faced the twelve-year-old boy she used to smile at as he handed her a raincoat, she felt an indescribable sense of relief.
⋙“If something is bothering you, you should talk to me first. Why did you run off alone like an idiot?”⋘
Isaac had a sullen face and spoke as if he was dying of annoyance, but he spread his arms wide.
He wanted her to hug him.
Already trembling from the cold, Edith, without thinking, buried herself in his embrace.
At that moment, she noticed his soaked, matted black hair and his captivating golden eyes, shaped like half-moons.
As the heat spread from the contact of their bodies, it felt as if their breathing and time had stopped forever.
⋙“Once it stops raining, let’s ride Cream and head home. When we get back, tell me what happened. I will listen to everything.”⋘
⋙“Isaac…..”⋘
⋙“Stupid, tell me what happened. It will be better if we face our fears together.”⋘
Isaac took Edith’s icy hands into his, gently blowing warm air over them.
Then, he tenderly stroked her hair with a loving touch.
Even now, at the age of twenty-three, Edith couldn’t comprehend how that mere twelve-year-old boy had bewitched her back then.
As she looked into his golden eyes, the cold dissipated like an illusion, and her heart was beating rapidly as if it wanted to jump out of her chest.
The sensation of being drawn into an unfamiliar realm, synchronized with the pounding rhythm of her heart.
Even for an eleven-year-old girl with limited life experiences, it was undoubtedly love.
『 I thought Isaac felt the same way.』
However, the boy who used to blush at the sight of her eventually returned to his hometown, the capital, and abruptly cut off all contact with her, in a heartless manner.
In the meantime, Edith, having reached adulthood, had resigned herself to a life without marriage, adapting to her circumstances.
Yet, inexplicably, the boy who had left her with bitter and sorrowful memories seemed to overlap with the man named Walter standing before her.
Though it was highly unlikely that he would be here at this moment.
『 Come to think of it, his eye color is different.』
At this point, she couldn’t help but wonder if her mind was desperately grasping at fragments of pleasant memories to avoid descending into madness.
As Walter posed the question, Edith discreetly suppressed a self-pitying laugh.
“…Did you just say Isaac?”
❀.°• ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ •°.❀
that woman sophia is disgusting