Chapter 07
I need to find a place to stay in Totulo and write letters to my parents. Ah! I should write to Mia too.
I pictured their surprised faces when they read my letters. My chest felt heavy, so I took a deep breath and let it out.
By then, the train slowly began to depart.
As the scenery outside gradually sped up, my eyelids grew heavy.
It was no wonder—I hadn’t slept for two nights straight, thinking about what to do after Kaylen took the written statement stained with my blood.
As the train started and my tension eased, sleep finally claimed me.
The ticket clerk had said it would take at least seven hours, so maybe I should rest.
Perhaps I would arrive without even realizing it. I closed my eyes happily, and seven hours later, I was pulling at my hair at a strange station.
“Ah. This is ruined! It’s all ruined.”
Totulo was a small town, and its train station was tiny too.
I sat on an old-looking bench and tore at my brown hair. People coming in and out of the station glanced at me, but I couldn’t care less about their stares.
“Why is my life like this, seriously?”
Life never goes as planned, but this was too much.
This wasn’t Korea, where leaving your phone on a café table or your bag on the subway wouldn’t make it disappear. I had completely forgotten that.
I woke after a pleasant nap, looking out the window. For a moment, I was captivated by the scenery, different from the Rudd estate or the capital. But soon, the train pulled into Totulo Station.
I stood to take my luggage from the overhead rack—and I couldn’t believe my eyes.
It was gone. It had definitely been there, but now, it wasn’t.
Could I have left it somewhere else by mistake? I searched the entire train car I had been in, but it was nowhere to be found.
“Oh no… I’ve been robbed. First time on second class, huh? You shouldn’t leave your luggage up there like that…”
An elderly woman sitting in front of me clicked her tongue, pitying me with tears in my eyes as I searched for my bag.
In the end, I had to get off the train empty-handed.
The sun was already dipping low. The once-crowded station was gradually emptying.
Thinking I might have to spend the night at the station, I jumped up.
“Excuse me… when is the next train to the capital?”
“The train to the capital is all sold out. Come back tomorrow.”
A middle-aged woman cleaning under her nails looked me over disinterestedly as she spoke.
Nothing was going right.
Swallowing the curse rising in my throat, I decided to step outside. The buildings were small and low, unlike in the capital. The streets were narrow, and few carriages passed by.
Being far north of the capital, the air had grown quite chilly as the sun set.
Rubbing my arms and not knowing where to go, I wandered, staring at a desolate street bathed in the evening glow, then started walking to the right.
After some time, my stomach growled loudly.
I realized I hadn’t eaten a single meal that day.
Patting my hollow stomach as I walked, no good ideas came to mind.
I stopped and kicked a small stone with my foot.
“This is all his fault!”
If I went back to the capital like this, I’d be screaming in front of the palace, throwing Kaylen’s portrait around, shouting, “This man is the arsonist!”
Clenching my fists and muttering about things I couldn’t do, I spotted a small sign in front of me.
[Totulo Pawnshop]
“Oh, God, thank you. Thank you.”
I called upon a god I usually ignored. There was no way I’d just die like this.
‘Ding.’
I opened the low, heavy door and had to resist the urge to run back out when I saw the person behind the counter.
A burly bald man sat on a small chair, reading a tiny book. Accessories hung from his eyebrows, nose, and lips. He only rolled his eyes at me.
He glanced me over and silently tapped a wooden tray on the small table.
I assumed he wanted me to put down the item I was leaving.
Feeling discouraged that I wasn’t a big customer, I placed my hat on the tray. The wide-brimmed hat completely covered it.
Glancing at the tray, the man threw my hat to the corner inside the counter and tossed a single 10-pelio coin onto the wooden tray.
The coin rolled, and I blinked slowly.
“…Is that all?”
The man closed his book with a thunk.
I regretted speaking rudely, but 10-pelio was too little. I had paid 160-pelio for that hat at a department store.
“Th-This hat was handmade… at the department store…”
“Got a problem with that? Then fine.”
The pawnshop owner, fingers covered in tattoos, reached out for the 10-pelio.
“Ah, no! That’s not it.”
I quickly grabbed the coin, clutching it in both hands.
Even 10-pelio wasn’t enough to get back to the capital or find lodging for the night. I carefully put it in my pocket and placed my earrings and hairpins on the tray.
After shaking out my belongings, I had 230-pelio.
“That watch on your wrist… that looks valuable.”
The pawnshop owner gestured at the watch.
That was mine!
I hugged the watch with my right hand and shook my head.
“I can’t sell this.”
“Then be off! Looks like you don’t have more to sell anyway. We’re about to close.”
It was a precious watch. My brother had given it to me while I was struggling to adjust after landing in this world, relying on Eliana’s memories.
“If I bring money, can I get it back?”
The owner chuckled and nodded. Probably many people like me had come.
I slowly placed the watch on the wooden tray. The owner examined it, then handed me 1 tario.
1,000-pelio.
Since I had already run away, I decided to eat my fill, sleep warmly tonight, and return to the capital early tomorrow with money in hand.
I begged the pawnshop owner not to sell the watch and left the building.
“It seems… like a simple runaway,”
Dylan said.
Kaylen nodded silently at Dylan’s words.
Four hours after placing someone on Eliana Rudd, they received word that she had snuck out of the house in the early morning. Kaylen, Dylan, and Caspian rushed after her.
They thought she would meet someone—perhaps someone from the Crown Prince or Empress’s side.
But instead, she boarded a train and got off in a small northern town called Totulo.
A place with no connection to Eliana Rudd. Neither the Crown Prince nor the Empress made a move.
“She left a hat, earrings, hairpins, and a watch at the pawnshop, and took the money.”
Caspian reported from the pawnshop, and Kaylen and Dylan turned to look at Eliana, who was eating in a corner of a restaurant.
She had entered a restaurant near the station, ordering more than one person could normally eat. She sat at a table hidden from view, but no one came.
She ate it all alone.
“If we were wrong… why is she here? Her family is close… there’s no reason to run away.”
Dylan frowned, puzzled by the situation. Eliana’s determined expression while devouring the food looked like a general preparing for battle.
“Hmm. Could it be…”
Caspian tilted his head, gulping beer to quench his thirst. Dylan watched in shock as Caspian wiped foam from his beard.
“Has she run away?”
“From whom?”
“From… Kaylen?”
“Why?”
“Well…”
Caspian trailed off, glancing at Kaylen with his hood pulled low.
“Did you threaten her when taking the statement?”
Kaylen probably frowned violently, even if it wasn’t clearly visible.
“Ah, no… usually, a neutral or furrowed expression is intimidating enough that even passing flies would avoid you… Any ordinary young lady would be scared of a prince who told her to hurt herself.”
Caspian tapped his forehead and trailed off, while Dylan nodded, seeing the sense in his words.
As Kaylen opened his lips to say something to Caspian and Dylan, Dylan cleared his throat and gestured.
Someone was approaching Eliana Rudd.
