Chapter 218. Locked up (3)

Translator: Atlas / Editor: Regan

Affectionately, Blain tucked her hair behind her ear, and Leah unconsciously held her breath for a moment. For an instant, she saw Cerdina in this man. Fear went through her as if he were not the man she loved, but someone who would hurt her.

“After the wedding you can do whatever you want, so listen to me until then,” Blain whispered, kissing the back of her hand. “I’ll visit you often.”

He pushed her into the carriage. The door closed and the wheels turned immediately. After a long time, the carriage arrived in a peach orchard on the outskirts of the capital. In the middle of the orchard, there was a small, cozy house.

The vast orchard gave the impression of a labyrinth, so someone who didn’t know the way would not be able to easily enter or leave. It looked like the sort of place a nobleman with nothing better to do would build to confine his mistress. Now Leah was locked in this place, like a bird in a cage.

“……”

She couldn’t believe this. Standing alone in the unfamiliar bedroom, Leah smiled dejectedly. Now who would handle all the affairs of state, and the myriad tasks involved with the wedding? Even if she could have worked from this place, it certainly couldn’t compare to the convenience of working from her own office in her own palace.

‘How could anyone behave this way for no reason!’

Pulling off her engagement ring, she tossed it on the bed. Her lips pursed as she paced around the room.

Maybe he had noticed the changes in her. In the past, she had clung to him with all her might. No matter what happened, she had tried to please him, and blamed herself when he got angry. She had laughed and cried at his every word, every gesture, every action. All she had been able to think about was pleasing him.

But not now. Now, there was someone else she thought about more than Blain. As soon as she had been locked in this the first thing she had thought of was that man…

Leah stopped. And then she asked herself a question.

What do I want to do?

Maybe she already knew the answer, but some level of her consciousness avoided it. The elusive truth slipped through her fingers.

At a crossroads, she looked at the engagement ring lying on the bed. After long deliberation, she slipped it back onto her finger.

Once her anger passed, she came back to her senses. Blain was a powder keg right now and might explode at any moment, but that meant she should remain calm and not disobey his orders.

But soon, she came across another big problem. Life in the orchard wasn’t so bad, even though her freedom had been completely taken from her. At least the orchard was filled with fresh vegetation, unlike the palace. Even the air felt cleaner.
The problem was Cerdina’s tea.

After she had eaten the Kurkan food, Leah’s stomach had felt so much better, she didn’t feel much discomfort in eating, if she ate in small amounts. But every time she drank the tea, her stomach ache got worse. With the ladies-in-waiting watching her every move, it was difficult to drink it and then vomit it up, as she had in the palace. So she had no choice but to ingest it every day. But after suffering from severe stomach aches, she had to take some risks.

After a few days of observation, she had learned how a few ladies-in-waiting and fifty knights were guarding the orchard villa. At first glance, their security seemed airtight, but she found several significant flaws.

Blain never paid attention to such matters, so he probably hadn’t noticed. If he had, he would have increased security even if he’d had to hire mercenaries.

After she had a clear understanding of the security measure, Leah plucked up her courage. In the middle of the night, when her ladies were sleeping, she secretly slipped out of bed. Taking out a small piece of paper and quill, she wrote a note by moonlight.

I know you are watching me.

Only a few words should be needed. She only wrote one more sentence.

Please help me.

Placing the note on the windowsill, she weighted it down with one of her jewels to keep the wind from blowing it away. For a long time, she stood and looked up at the glowing moon in the sky, and then finally closed the window.

The next morning, when she looked at the windowsill, the note had disappeared.