Chapter 98
“Ah, my lady!”
Henri came running toward her, scolding her for being so late—and behind him stood someone wearing a hooded robe.
Before she could even ask who it was, the suspicious figure threw back the hood, and Velia flinched, her eyes widening.
“…Canaria?”
She couldn’t believe that the unexpected person standing before her was real.
“It’s been a while, Velia.”
Canaria smiled gently as she approached the frozen Velia.
Only then did Velia seem to snap out of it, her mouth dropping open.
“Is it really you, Canaria?”
“Yeah.”
Canaria’s face was still bright and cheerful as she faced the shocked Velia, smiling as if something about this situation genuinely pleased her.
Velia finally managed to close her gaping mouth and looked over the girl walking toward her.
Canaria’s beautiful smile was still the same, but her appearance was a complete mess.
Her tattered clothes didn’t belong to a noble lady.
“You… what happened to you?”
Velia’s face stiffened. She couldn’t even bring herself to ask if she’d been well—it was obvious she hadn’t.
“I missed you.”
Canaria’s calm smile remained, as if she had already accepted Velia’s reaction.
Velia stared at her for a moment, then suddenly rushed forward.
“You!!”
Without another word, Velia threw her arms around Canaria.
Startled, Canaria stiffened for a moment, but soon returned the embrace.
The serene smile that had been painted on her face faded away, and she buried her face in Velia’s shoulder, holding back tears that were threatening to spill.
“What happened…?”
“I… left.”
“Huh?”
“I ran away from home.”
“What? Wh–when?!”
Velia quickly pulled back from her.
“Are you all right? When did you leave?”
“You must’ve been worried.”
“Of course! But never mind that—are you really okay? And what about that rumor? The one about you getting engaged!”
Velia’s expression hardened with anger.
She had been horrified when Sonva went through something similar, but Canaria’s situation had gone far beyond that.
The age difference alone was outrageous—and the treatment she’d received was even worse.
“You mean the engagement to the Kingdom of Olta?”
“No.”
At Canaria’s shake of the head, Velia’s face relaxed a little.
“Right? I thought so. What a relief. I thought maybe…”
But as Velia smiled in relief, Canaria gave a sorrowful laugh.
“They told me to get married.”
“What?!”
Seeing her shocked expression, Canaria finally began to explain how she ended up in Velia’s room.
“The ceremony’s in a week. I was supposed to get my wedding dress fitted today, so I ran away while I was at the salon. Remember last time when you snuck into our salon with Henri? I remembered the back alley there and ran through it to the Feltrom Salon. I didn’t have anywhere else to go…”
“That’s right! It’s true!” Henri chimed in anxiously. “I was so shocked! But I thought it’d be best to bring the lady here myself. I had no other way to hide her, so I brought her straight to you.”
Only then did Velia realize that Canaria’s ragged clothes were actually a fitting garment—an unfinished sample for measurements.
“Oh, my lady, I was so scared,” Henri said, trembling. “If today hadn’t been the day of your gown fitting, we’d have been doomed! The designer told everyone to leave so he could ‘pour his soul into the dress,’ so I was alone in the salon. Then suddenly, this figure burst in, white fabric flying everywhere, and I swear—”
“Did I look like a madwoman?”
“Yes! I mean—no! No, my lady! What are you saying! I just thought—thought a bird had flown in!”
“Pfft.”
Canaria let out a soft laugh at Henri’s flustered face.
Her smile looked freer than ever before—but Velia’s heart twisted at the quiet resignation she saw in her friend’s eyes.
“You…”
Velia couldn’t even bring herself to ask if she was okay, so Canaria gently comforted her instead.
“I’m fine. I just… don’t know. I ran away, but… I had nowhere to go. And the only person I could think of was you. You must’ve been shocked. I’m sorry.”
“No! What are you sorry for? You did the right thing. I’d have been hurt if you hadn’t come to me. You did well.”
Velia hugged Canaria tightly.
She was thinner than before—painfully so—and Velia could only imagine what her life had been like lately.
She regretted putting off contact with Canaria because of the Misty Forest investigation.
And that regret quickly turned to anger—toward one particular person.
The one she had warned before going to the Misty Forest… who had either forgotten her words or ignored them.
Swallowing her fury, Velia held Canaria even tighter.
Leaning into her arms, Canaria closed her eyes.
The storms of the past few days raged inside her.
The truth was, nothing about her situation was fine.
In the past weeks, even breathing had been difficult—she had been unbearably busy.
The moment she escaped the duchess’s slaps, she was surrounded by attendants and decorators fussing over her.
She’d been treated like a doll—silent, unmoving—and if not for her younger sibling’s careless remark that day, she wouldn’t even have known about her own marriage.
The groom was eighty-three years old.
Canaria had already expected to be treated poorly after the engagement with the Imperial Palace fell through.
She had resigned herself to living as a disappointment for the rest of her life.
But in the past few days, she realized even that had been too much of an expectation.
A tool only has value when it serves a purpose.
Once it loses that purpose, it becomes nothing but trash.
She couldn’t stop recalling the sight of a maid burning garbage in the greenhouse before she went to the salon.
That was when she’d acted on impulse—she ran.
With no one by her side, no plan, and no future, Canaria had just wanted to rest for a while in her friend’s arms.
Feeling her tremble, Velia raised a hand and gently stroked her hair.
Henri, seeing her small shaking shoulders, quietly slipped out of the room to give them space.
For a few minutes, the room was filled with the soft sound of stifled sobs.
As the Empire prepared for the princess’s upcoming birthday, excitement filled the air.
The nobles were busy organizing banquets, while the commoners threw themselves into the festival preparations.
Colorful lights decorated the streets, and shops did their best to boost sales through endless promotions.
Whenever people gathered, the conversations inevitably turned to the coming celebrations—and with them came endless rumors.
Among them, two particular rumors dominated every conversation.
The first was about Lady Dalton, who was said to be negotiating a marriage with the Kingdom.
People marveled at how the lady once rejected by the Crown Prince now aimed to become a queen.
After all, everyone knew how old the king of that kingdom was.
Regardless of status, the scandalous engagement had become the talk of society—especially after news spread that Lady Dalton had suddenly disappeared.
The second rumor was about the Misty Forest.
Word spread that the thick fog had lifted and that the demonic beasts had fled.
They said the forest had finally returned to normal—and people whispered how the timing matched the strange incident from the Crown Prince’s previous birthday.
These intriguing stories were gossiped about everywhere, growing wilder with each retelling, until they eventually reached the ears of the very man who had tried to block them out—the Crown Prince himself.
“What the hell is all this?”
Velia stared in disbelief at the mountains of gold and silver treasures filling the central hall.
The Crown Prince’s sudden visit had thrown the marquis’s household into complete chaos.
“Velia, do you know where Canaria is?”
Prince Allendo’s expression was grim as he stood before her, surrounded by the lavish gifts he had brought without even an official notice.
His pale face and the sweat dripping down his forehead told Velia everything.
“So… you did know?”
At her short question, Allendo’s expression twisted.
“You… knew?”
With a sigh, his face contorted with frustration and guilt.
“If you knew about this, you should’ve written to me!”
His sudden shout startled the household staff, who stared at them wide-eyed.
Velia waved them away impatiently, gesturing for Allendo to lower his voice.
“What exactly are you talking about? That Canaria almost married that old man? That she ran away? That the Duke’s household is tearing the city apart looking for her?”
Allendo fell silent.
Velia studied his face closely, then clapped her hands once, bitter amusement flashing in her eyes.
“His Majesty really is something. The whole world’s been buzzing about this, and yet you’re only hearing it now?”
“You could’ve sent one letter,” Allendo muttered. “I just found out—”
“You couldn’t be bothered to check yourself? I warned you, remember? I told you that if your engagement with Canaria fell through because of the Misty Forest investigation, something bad would happen to her. Do you remember what you said to me then?”
“That’s…”
“You told me, with all the confidence in the world, that you’d protect her.”
At that, Allendo was struck silent—his mind flashing back to the last time he had seen Canaria, weeks ago.
