Chapter 12
“Shh. Please.”
Sephine shook her head desperately. As the man stepped forward, his face, previously hidden in the shadow of the door, became faintly visible.
Fortunately, Hiss stopped in his tracks.
His mouth was closed, but the corners curved slightly. Even in the dim light, his smirk—like someone mocking another’s weakness—was unmistakable.
The sharp scent of wine from the oak barrel pricked her nose. She shivered at the dizzying thought that if she lingered too long, she might lose control.
“Who left the door closed like this?”
The sudden slam as someone yanked the door open startled Sephine so much that she froze.
Sunlight poured through the wide opening, but she didn’t even blink, just checked outside. Hanna, wearing an apron stained with grape juice, looked back and forth between the two of them with wide, round eyes.
“Miss… Lord Axen…”
Fortunately, it was only Hanna.
“I… I was about to ride, anyway. So then…”
Sephine bolted out of the barn like someone whose great secret had just been discovered.
Inside the stable, she sought out a horse she had ridden before. The horse at the end seemed to recognize her, snorting and stamping its hooves. Stroking its mane, Sephine prepared to mount.
Though her outfit was hardly suitable, her skill made it entirely feasible. Hanna followed her in just as she climbed onto the horse.
“Miss! How can you ride in such a tight skirt? It’ll tear apart!”
Hanna ran over, eyeing the skirt layered over the riding attire.
“As long as I can ride, that’s enough.”
Sephine gripped the reins and guided the horse.
“Wait for me when I return, Hanna.”
“I’ll fetch something for you to wear, so wait. Your hair will be a mess!”
“My hair doesn’t matter. Outside…”
Glancing out of the stable, Hanna lifted her chin proudly.
“It’s fine. I’ve locked Lord Axen in the stable.”
“Locked… what? Locked in?”
Who?
Calming the snorting horse, Sephine asked in disbelief.
“Capturing a wild horse and keeping it inside is a specialty of the local women.”
A wild horse.
Watching Hanna, cheeks flushed from restraining the excited horse, Sephine couldn’t help but laugh. It seemed the perfect metaphor for that man.
That crazy “wild horse” was now confined in the stable?
Sephine laughed in disbelief and told Hanna:
“I’ll be back soon. By then, everything will be gone—the neighbors suspicious of this situation, and that wild horse too.”
The horse let out a loud neigh and bolted. Even as it disappeared over the fence into the forest path, Hanna watched with concern.
“The forest is no good, Miss! The sun is setting soon, and the forest has many valleys—don’t go there!”
Yet Sephine headed toward the faint shadows in the fields leading into the forest. Over the hill and into the dense dark woods, she became a single point fading from view.
Some neighbors, curious about the sudden commotion, began stepping outside.
“There she is. Looks like someone’s rushing out. Who was that?”
“Since the Count’s daughter isn’t here, it must be her.”
“She went out to ride before dinner.”
Hanna casually shook off the apron she had picked up.
“She didn’t even finish the grapes. The sweetest ones this year, too. Maybe she’s only used to the best and thinks these rural grapes are nothing.”
She glanced toward the quiet barn.
“No matter how delicious other things she’s eaten, she hasn’t seen anything as fine as our palomino. Now, everyone, finish up and go home. I’ll prepare dinner for our miss as soon as she returns.”
“Time flew by so fast. Before the festival, it always passes before you know it.”
“Considering I can barely remember if I locked the fence, it’s true—time has flown.”
“Go on, everyone. I’ll finish up what’s left and prepare for tomorrow.”
Hanna returned to her usual composure and saw off the women. Only after ensuring the villagers had left did she return to the back of the estate and unlock the stable.
Any knocking inside would have been audible, but luckily, the uninvited guest had caused no such commotion.
The man, seemingly understanding Hanna’s position, smiled faintly before speaking.
“I’ll need to borrow a horse.”
“What? Why?”
Sephine asked incredulously as he nodded toward the forest where she had disappeared.
“If she falls into a valley, someone needs to be there to save her, don’t you think?”
“Don’t speak nonsense. What exactly do you think you’re doing with our Miss? Do I have to point out that the two of you must not meet?”
“While I understand how you’ve heard things, I think it’s worth considering whether it’s appropriate for you to speak so harshly, even from your perspective.”
Hanna’s eyes widened, and her mouth fell open at his unexpected arrogance.
Consider what I know?
Sephine and she weren’t merely a noble and a servant. If they had children, it would be someone they loved and cherished.
Was she supposed to watch her family put in danger with her own eyes?
“Miss has a fiancé. She came here to write her thesis from the kingdom’s top academy. Is it acceptable to bother someone like that?”
Hanna offered a proper warning, but he laughed as if he had heard something genuinely amusing.
“I understand a lady’s tearful concern perfectly.”
Tsk, his tone…
Hanna clicked her tongue but felt relieved he was, at least for now, retreating.
That relief was brief. The stable erupted in noise. The horses, startled by the stranger, made a ruckus.
Hanna panicked and rushed inside, but the young man had already mounted the horse.
“My stallion!”
He laughed mockingly and spurred the horse forward.
“I’ll take care of your horse and return it to you later.”
“Goodness gracious!”
Hanna, nearly trampled by the hooves, pressed against the wall, screaming. She was dumbfounded as the man vanished at lightning speed.
What in the world… a wild horse that cannot be tamed. She knew from experience as a former rancher’s wife that trying to provoke such a creature would only make it thrash.
That the man was chasing Sephine was unacceptable. But she could not ride, and Lucas had yet to return from the distillery; with his paralyzed leg, riding was impossible.
Hanna stared blankly at the point where Sephine had disappeared, the young man’s trace already gone.
The dark green leaves brushed past her face. Sephine ducked her head and tugged the reins to dodge branches as she ran.
[This semester there are three exams. At the end, the final year exam waits. How horrible it would be if I fail.]
[It’s the sixteenth anniversary of Mother’s death. She died giving birth to me. I feel as though my existence came at her sacrifice. Can anyone understand this grief that cannot be explained?]
Since her not-quite-exile in Greenwood, whenever she had no one to confide in, she had written letters to Hiss she could never send, like a diary. She repeated this ritual for two years.
At eighteen, she stopped—her memories of the boy had begun to fade.
She no longer indulged in girlish sentimentality, standing at the threshold of becoming a lady.
Since then, she rarely thought of him—but the unchanging fact remained: no one had ever captivated her like Hiss.
“You know me.”
“Then why pretend not to?”
Jumping across the stream, Sephine recalled Hiss’s gaze. Such emotional words met with cold, indifferent eyes.
It was neither resentment nor joy. Resentment is a deep, suppressed emotion; Hiss had shown none of that. He was merely an arrogant man projecting blame and regret onto someone pretending not to notice.
The twisted pillars of the old monastery brushed past her as she raced. Though she often lingered there before, now she focused solely on escaping.
At the forest’s edge, a fierce sea wind hit. Her hair, neatly tied by Hanna in the morning, weighed heavily down her neck—but she did not bother fixing it.
