‘Something urgent came up, and I must go to the capital.’
Evelina nodded when she saw Usher packing. Somehow he seemed to be in such a hurry that she was unsure, but she knew he would be back soon. The mine on Maineber Island would be handed over to him at 5% a month. He’d have to care about her for at least a year until the baby was born.
It was the next night.
Evelina was about to dream.
“Oh, my god!”
I opened my eyes again to the obvious pain she suddenly felt.
“Sir Hecate?”
“I thought you fell asleep.”
She trembled yesterday as a sharp pain grazed her wrist just above the part where she bled. There was no sound, but she was tied up again.
“How…”
She was frightened and panicked by Hecate, who tied her up without any indication when she only dozed off for a while.
“It’s my specialty, this.”
Hecate thought Evelina didn’t take <Memory of Dreams> even though the red pill was so precious that it was worth ten gold coins per piece.
Of course, what Usher brought and gave Evelina was an antidote to decipher <Memory of Dreams>, prescribed by Kaiden although they didn’t know.
“Are you trying to draw my blood again?”
“…Yes.”
“Isn’t the well purified?”
“Not yet. Every morning, new water rises.”
Evelina sighed and said.
“Don’t tie me. I can give it to you even if you don’t.”
“…I understand.”
Hecate seemed to have to use another method because stupid Usher was away when it was vital.
He had already purified the well and sold clean water to the next village. He poured blood into the well, which at first became dirty again with each new fill. But when the pure water was filled with fresh water, it was no longer contaminated. It was as if the existing water had purified the newly filled water.
‘I-I’ll give you ten silver for each bucket of clean water!’
Hecate couldn’t stand it any longer, thinking that he might be able to raise the price. The security guard’s monthly salary was ten gold coins.
A bucket of water was ten silver. If you dug up all the water in the well and sold it, you’d get 30 gold coins.
Hecate couldn’t leave Evelina alone when he was crazy about the idea.
“This is the last time. I’m sorry, Your Majesty.”
“No, I understand.”
He lied that it was the last time, laughed, and took a lot of her blood.
~~~~
Evelina, who lacked blood, suffered just standing.
It’s been a week since Usher left. Although she was a guest, he was moving to help with work, and she became very close to the village’s wives of other security guards.
“Take this, lady.”
“What is this?”
“Cow heart.”
“What?”
“I brought it because my lady was so pale.”
“But…”
“I got it from selling things in the next village. Just take it.”
Contrary to the seemingly closed appearance, Veronese women were friendly to Evelina.
“Hey, you shouldn’t just be pretty. You have to be healthy.”
“How can the lady be so pretty even when sleeping, right?”
“Thank you.”
Evelina was getting quite used to women who praised her recklessly.
“Thanks to your care, I’ve become very healthy.”
Lady Rendall especially cared a lot for Evelina. And Lady Ross didn’t know what her husband was doing, so she was being truly nice to Evelina.
“Oh, did you hear the news?”
“What news?”
“Well, a water salesman appeared in the next village.”
“Water? If you boil it and drink it…”
Evelina knew he was trying to purify the well with the blood Hecate had received from her. There were already two times blood was drawn like that, and she suffered from anemia.
“Well, what’s the point of selling water you can drink without boiling it?”
“What?”
Evelina frowned at the remark.
“We have to buy and eat now, too. The eastern well is blocked.”
“I know. The water there is too dirty to use as a bath. I wonder if I should come from the western lake.”
Evelina said, recalling that it was the eastern well where she met the village’s woman.
“Why is the eastern well blocked?”
“There, well, there were a lot of poisonous snakes, and they died.”
“Who said that…”
“Lady Ross’ husband.”
Evelina couldn’t believe Hecate had said that, so she kept her mouth shut.
“What’s the matter, lady?”
“No, thanks for letting me know.”
That’s how doubt sprouted in Evelina.
That evening, she didn’t follow Lady Ross to the next village to grocery shop.
It was the eastern well that Evelina headed for.
~~~~
After walking for a long time and arriving at the eastern well, Evelina thought it was strange. He was taking her blood to purify the well.
She held a tightly bound bandage under the sleeve of her dress. Perhaps because she lost so much blood, her head was dizzy and her wrist hurt.
“Ugh…”
Evelina felt dizzy for a moment, so she put her hand on the tree without realizing it and leaned over. The sky seemed to spin.
She thought it would be dangerous if she fell like this. She concentrated on breathing to catch her breath.
“It’s all right.”
That’s how she comforted herself.
After barely reaching the well, Evelina touched a wooden board that blocked the well. Then she opened it.
“Ah.”
It opened more quickly than she thought. Everyone said the poison had been released, so it was not for eating. Hence, it didn’t seem like they had tried to block it.
Evelina checked the well water. The water was spotless. It was so pristine that planaria would live in it.
“What is this…”
The water was so clear that she couldn’t understand Lady Rendall’s words.
Hecate lied to her. And the water digger in the next village suddenly appeared.
“Ah, darn it.”
“Sir Hecate?”
“What are you doing here? Alone too.”
“I wanted to drink water on my way home.”
“I see.”
Hecate looked at Evelina, pushing back the bucket he was holding.
“Do you want me to scoop it for you?”
“Then thank you. I hurt my left wrist, and my right hand’s finger hurts.”
When Evelina spoke casually, Hecate laughed and scooped the water from my bucket. Then he handed Evelina a small wooden cup.
Evelina drank water and said,
“Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it.”
So Evelina turned around, thinking something was wrong.
She had to run away. Something is wrong.
Evelina judged that there was no one she could trust in this situation where Hecate deceived her and that there was no one she could trust in this situation without Usher. It was fitting to throw everything away and run away.
But how long could she go even if she ran? Maybe Hecate and Lady Ross were in cahoots?
Evelina shook her head and headed toward the house. Looking back, Hecate was going in the complete opposite direction.
She went home, relieved to see it.
There was the music box. She wanted to take the music box, if not anything else. The music box and some emergency money are to be placed under them. And if she took some of the money that went into Usher’s borrowed-name account at a low price, she could make it.
Let’s instead go somewhere no one knows and live alone.
Evelina thought so and headed home. She had to find a document under the music box. The music box itself was essential. It was necessary to be able to settle down in an unfamiliar place.
She can’t do anything without money.
Evelina knew for herself. Everything she had learned so far was that she could do nothing as a commoner.
Walking home like that, she confirmed that no one was home and headed straight to her room. Then she found the music box.
“Sigh…”
She carried the music box and went out of the room. And then, the moment she stepped out the door.
– Thud!
“Heuck!”
Someone struck her on the back of her neck.
“I’ve got good senses, Your Majesty.”
Evelina fainted with such intense pain.
~~~~
Six months like that. January was passing by, but Veron was excellent all year round, but it wasn’t so cold that the ice froze, so it was just autumn-like weather.
Now that Evelina’s chest and stomach were tight, she was so tired no matter what she did.
– Screech
“When is Usher coming?”
“Usher isn’t coming. He can’t come because he has something to do.”
Evelina has waited for Usher a lot for the past six months. He’d come and save her.
“If you try to run away again, I will tell His Majesty that you are alive.”
Evelina has already tried and failed to escape several times. Under the shackles of her ankles, there was a lot of blood. There was a stab wound on her wrist.
“…”
She couldn’t answer Hecate’s words and bowed her head.
“As expected, doesn’t the seed you have to belong to the Emperor?”
Hecate put down the food that he brought to the side.
“You know what will happen if you don’t eat it again this time, right?”
At Hecate’s words, Evelina looked out the window without expression. The shackles tied to her were only enough to wander around the room.
“I locked Your Majesty in a room because I was generous. If I weren’t, I’d lock you in a barn. Then you would have to live like a beast, you know?”
Evelina did not answer, and Hecate frowned impatiently at Evelina, who was getting thinner.
“Hey, can’t you hear me?”
“Ugh…”
When Hecate pulled her hair up, Evelina’s mouth made a sound without realizing it.
“If you don’t eat, I’m in trouble.”
She kept her eyes down so as not to look into his eyes.
“Let’s listen while I’m nice, huh?”
“…”
“Or I’ll have to do something else.”
Hecate’s vulgar way of speaking disillusioned Evelina.
“Hey, a woman with a child can’t decide what to do. You know that?”
Evelina saw his face for a moment. Even though he had his wife, he looked at Evelina’s body with envy.
“Don’t make me crazy anymore, do as you’re told. It’s a precious body, so don’t treat it harshly, yeah?”
He chuckled and let go of the hand that held Evelina’s hair. Then, stroking her cheek, it soon came down to her neck.
– Slap!
“Don’t touch me.”
“Eat well. Then I’ll let it slide.”
Hecate said so and then glanced at Evelina’s body under the nightgown and said,
“Tell me when your body wears out. I’ll do some free service.”
After saying that, he meticulously checked that Evelina was well-shackled and went out.
~~~~
“It looks like Evelina Logias is in Veron.”
The person listening to the report was Duke Ruskun of Weimar. Kaiden’s right hand.
