[CHAPTER 130]
Clatter, rustle.
The sound of objects colliding and curtains moving filled the room.
The heavy feeling in my limbs and the scratchy sensation in my throat gradually brought me back from the dream to reality.
Who is it… Vivian?
But the feeling suggested it wasn’t Vivian. If it were her, the movements would be a bit quicker, lighter, and more graceful, probably.
Struggling to lift my eyelids, I saw the ceiling and canopy of the Crown Prince’s palace, now familiar to me.
“Who’s there…?”
Relieved that I could speak, I raised myself up. A maid, cleaning the vanity, turned around in surprise.
“Your Highness, you’re awake!”
“You… Lauren. Where’s Vivian?”
“Vivian and Sir Derick had to step out briefly for an investigation.”
“An investigation? What kind of investigation?”
Frowning at the sudden words, I asked, and Lauren hesitated before replying.
She seemed unsure if she should tell me what she knew, though she clearly did know something.
I softened my voice slightly.
“It’s okay, just tell me. I’ll hear it soon anyway, and I’m too curious.”
“What you drank… it was some kind of magical potion with glass powder in it. Also, some poison for rodents was mixed in, which surprised both the magician and His Highness the Crown Prince.”
Ugh, glass powder.
No wonder it scratched my throat even in the tiny amount I swallowed. And poison for rodents? That was certainly a bizarre combination.
“So how was I treated?”
“At first, the palace teachers and the magician treated you together. Then, once your consciousness returned, they instructed that the ingredients be boiled into a tea for you to drink.”
On the side table Lauren pointed to, there was a glass jar containing something that looked like dried flower petals.
Yes, that’s the treatment.
With the medicine secured and the situation understood, I decided to send Lauren out of the room.
“Lauren, before I see His Highness the Crown Prince, I have a favor.”
“Yes?”
“I want to drink a cup of honey water and take a bath first. My throat is too sore and I haven’t bathed for several days, so it’s a bit embarrassing.”
“Ah…”
In the Crown Prince’s palace, his orders were absolute, but gentle and timid Lauren hesitated, unable to refuse my request.
“Yes, then… I’ll get the honey water first.”
Lauren bowed and left the room, and I hurriedly got up as soon as she was gone.
Ugh.
I barely held onto the bedpost as my vision spun, then moved again.
I have to leave this place.
When no one is watching.
The first reason was that I needed to find something alone. If Derick, Vivian, and Vincent were there, they would never let me go by myself.
The second reason was my resentment toward Vincent.
I still… thought you might make a different choice.
A different intention? Could it mean that your father ordered you to kill me, putting this medicine into my cup?
Even considering that it wasn’t entirely Vincent’s fault, his cold words had pierced my heart like a chisel.
I knew I couldn’t easily forget them.
Drinking the potion before my eyes had cleared some suspicion, but what if it hadn’t? If I couldn’t separate him from Amelia of my past life, I might end up resenting him fiercely in the future.
For now, I need to be out of sight.
I needed to clear my head—for both Vincent and myself. If he were worried… that wouldn’t be so bad either.
I packed various things into a large leather bag: minimal clothes and money, a small dagger, some jewels for emergencies, and the treatment medicine.
I also packed the maid outfit Vivian had given me.
Before leaving, I paused and went to the desk.
I wrote a short letter to clarify that I wasn’t betraying anyone by leaving, and added a few more words.
After folding the paper, I placed it where it could be seen on the desk and sealed it with a stamp so that no one of lower status could see it.
Finally, I checked the room to ensure I hadn’t forgotten anything.
Satisfied, I left quickly before Lauren returned.
Fortunately, no one was in the corridor.
I tried to move as quietly as possible, heading toward the stairs to the first floor.
Palace attendants passed by in the corridor or below the stairs, but they didn’t pay me any attention.
I headed straight for the rear garden instead of the main one.
The rear garden had restricted access, so I was freer from prying eyes.
Calmly but quickly, I crossed the garden and reached the back gate of the Crown Prince’s palace.
Next to the gate was a storage shed for gardeners’ tools. There, I changed from the dress into the maid outfit.
From this point on, it would be easier to move unnoticed. I roughly tied my hair back to keep it out of the way.
I exited the shed and passed through the back gate.
Phew, at least I’m out of the Crown Prince’s palace.
I walked faster from here.
Once outside the palace, no one would recognize or care about me, so I focused on walking.
There’s a public carriage stop outside the palace. I need to take that.
Soon, I safely reached the main gate. The knights controlling the gate only monitored those entering, not leaving.
I immediately went to the carriage stop, paid the driver a little, and got into the waiting carriage.
So leaving can be this easy.
I realized that my hesitation to leave earlier had been my own doing.
Before departure, I looked back at the palace one last time.
The white walls and high spires loomed majestically.
“We’re departing now!”
The driver shouted, and I hugged my bag on my lap.
There were a few others in the carriage, but luckily no one paid attention to each other.
As the driver mounted the carriage and grabbed the reins, a voice called out urgently.
“Wait!”
The driver paused, and the carriage door swung open. A familiar figure slid in beside me. I was startled.
“Lady Sylvia?”
“Hello, Your Highness?”
Sylvia greeted me calmly as the carriage jostled forward.
“How…?”
Seeing my cautious eyes, Sylvia smiled and waved her hand.
“It’s okay. I’m leaving with you now, not to capture you. Is it alright if I ride along?”
With a knowing smile, she met my gaze.
After a moment of consideration, I extended my hand to Sylvia.
“Alright.”
Sylvia grasped my hand and gave it a light shake.
“Thank you. Please take care of me.”
