“Yes, I did. And I behaved myself. Of course, I did collapse once because of my illness.”
Selena spoke quickly as she looked at Cedric, who didn’t respond.
“I’m sorry for fainting all of a sudden. I had a serious illness when I was a child. So I faint sometimes. The mansion must’ve been noisy because of me, right?”
“So what did you do with Revril?”
“Sorry?”
“I’m asking what you did with Revril while I was away.”
His calm voice was cold, almost icy. Selena felt a chill and rubbed her arm.
“She was fine. I assigned a maid just for her…”
“A maid?”
When Cedric showed interest, Selena gave a bright smile and continued.
“Yes, there was a maid who Revril liked especially. So I had her assigned to Revril.”
“That was you?”
“Sorry?”
“Are you the one who assigned that maid?”
Selena awkwardly nodded with a smile. Cedric let out a short, disbelieving laugh and stepped closer to her. Startled, Selena stepped back, but Cedric didn’t seem to care and looked down at her.
“So that’s why Revril kept talking about a maid.”
Selena panicked and spoke quickly.
“Cedric, I…”
“I even let it slide when you called my name, but now you’re crossing the line.”
Cedric smirked slightly. His eyebrows were stiff, showing an unusually cold expression. Selena stared at him, unable to say anything.
He looked at her dress. It looked very similar to the one Revril had worn at the wedding banquet. Cedric let out a hollow laugh and spoke in a calm voice.
“I always knew you were greedy, but I didn’t expect you to go this far.”
Selena looked at him with wide eyes. Cedric stared straight at her and said,
“Selena, even if you wear that kind of dress, it’s pointless.”
“…”
“I was going to reconcile with Revril today.”
Selena looked at him in shock, but Cedric spoke dryly, unfazed.
“I even pushed up the trial date because I thought you were bothering her too much.”
His sharp eyes were filled with coldness and no mercy. As Selena stood there speechless, Cedric said quietly,
“But now Revril’s gone. Do you think I’ll stay quiet?”
His low voice was so cold it sent chills. Selena stood still in a daze, then quickly dropped to her knees.
“Cedric, I’m sorry. I really didn’t mean to. I tried to get along with Revril, but she…”
“Don’t blame Revril. I know you’re the one who made her that way.”
Selena quickly grabbed his ankle.
“I won’t do that to her again. Please think about it again. Revril isn’t even here right now, so…”
Cedric locked eyes with Selena. As he looked down at her coldly, Selena blinked in confusion.
“…Cedric?”
“Why don’t you leave now?”
“What?”
“I’m disgusted.”
He gestured toward his ankle. When Selena didn’t let go, he brushed her hand away and walked past her. Selena shouted after him in desperation.
“Do you think my father will let this go? Do you know how much I prepared for this day?”
Selena cried as she looked at Cedric. He muttered softly to the aide beside him.
“Take care of it.”
The aide nodded and approached Selena. Soon, the nearby servants grabbed her arms. Selena struggled and shouted at them.
“Get off! Don’t touch me with your filthy hands…”
“Selena, stand up.”
At that voice, Selena immediately looked up.
“Father?”
The old man sighed and said,
“This won’t change anything.”
“But…”
“We got involved with this family for no reason and now it’s only brought us trouble. Let’s leave before they take any further action.”
“This can’t be happening. I’ve prepared everything for this day…”
“Our family is on the brink of ruin!”
Selena stopped crying and stared at her father.
“What do you mean? What do you mean the family is ruined?”
“I’ll explain later. For now, let’s get out of here. That’s the only way to save our reputation.”
As Selena continued to stare blankly, her father signaled to a servant. The servant grabbed her arm. Her eyes stayed fixed on her father, but he looked away coldly.
I got on a carriage heading to the farthest place from Cedric’s territory. Luckily, I was able to get a seat for a very cheap price. Thankfully, I still had 50,000 crocks with me. If I didn’t, I might’ve been forced to watch Cedric and Selena live happily together in his mansion.
Now I was at the point where I wanted to cut off all thoughts about Cedric and everything related to him. Holding back tears, I folded my hands tightly.
The carriage ran for a long time before stopping at a lodging. The coachman opened the middle door and called out,
“This is where we’ll rest for tonight. We leave again early tomorrow morning.”
One by one, the passengers got off the carriage, all holding their own luggage. Some were traveling to sell goods, others were elderly people going to see their children. There was a wide mix of people entering the lodging.
Because I had 50,000 crocks, I followed them without hesitation. The place seemed poorly maintained. The lights flickered irregularly, the walls were covered in mold, and strange stains were visible everywhere.
“Three crocks.”
I looked up at the sudden voice and saw an old woman staring at me. I quickly pulled out the money and handed it to her. Without even looking at me, she gave me a key.
“Breakfast is included, but you have to carry your own luggage.”
I grabbed the key and lifted my luggage with both hands. As I was about to leave, the owner casually added,
“Watch out for thieves. And make sure to lock your door.”
“Yes, thank you.”
I gripped my bags tightly and walked to the room written on the key. It was at the far end of a hallway. I suddenly thought of the room I stayed in at Cedric’s mansion, and my heart stirred for a moment.
But that was it. Cedric only wanted my body. The one he was going to marry was Selena. It was a relief I managed to escape from him now. If not, I might have ended up living a life where I gave him my body and nothing more.
Even when I tried not to think about him, anything related to him brought him back to my mind, like some switch being flipped.
I forced myself to stop thinking about Cedric and pushed the key into the lock. It didn’t turn well—probably because it was old and worn out. But I’d stayed in places like this before, so I wasn’t surprised.
After tapping and turning it a few times, the door finally creaked open. With a lighter heart, I brought in my bags.
As expected, the room smelled like mold. I opened the window right away and began unpacking. I put my travel money in the pocket of my dress and hid the rest under the pillow, just in case.
Even after washing my face and lying down, sleep wouldn’t come. It all felt like a distant dream, as if yesterday’s events had been imagined. I had thought it was impossible to escape Cedric, but now that I had, it felt strange how calm I was.
Thinking I would never see them again made my heart feel a little lighter. It was better not to see them. Just imagining a wedding ring on Cedric’s finger, meant for Selena, made my chest ache like it was twisting.
I turned and closed my eyes. Maybe only a few minutes passed when I heard a sudden noise—tap tap—and then the door swung open. I shot up from the bed.
“W-Who’s there?”
“If you scream, I’ll slit your throat. Just hand over your money.”
It was a familiar voice.
I tried to turn on the light to see the face, but the person raised a knife. Reflected in the blade was the face of the coachman—the one who had driven us here.
I stared at him in shock, unable to speak. He came closer with the knife pointed at me.
“You got here cheap, so hand over the money, yeah?”
I was speechless. No wonder the fare was too cheap.
“But this is…”
Before I could finish, the knife reached my neck. Trembling, I pointed at the pillow.
“I-It’s there…”
He immediately lifted the pillow and took the money hidden beneath. As soon as he left the room, my strength gave out. Even the 50,000 crocks I had relied on for peace of mind were gone. I sat there blankly until I heard another noise.
Bang bang! Someone knocked on the door loudly.
“Are you alright?”
It was the old woman’s voice. I forced myself up and opened the door. Her hair was graying, but her eyes were clear. I remembered chatting with her briefly on the carriage—her name was Chartine, and she was returning home after visiting her child in the capital.
She looked me over and sighed.
“That coachman stole your money too, didn’t he?”
I nodded weakly.
“Then hurry up, get dressed, pack your things, and come down to the lobby. Everyone’s gathering there.”
I wasn’t planning to sleep in this place after what just happened anyway. Wanting to leave as soon as possible, I quickly changed into my travel dress, packed my bags, and left the room.
When I got to the first floor, it was already full of people. All familiar faces—those who had ridden the same carriage.
From their conversations, I learned that the owner and the coachman were part of a scam gang. They would lure people with cheap fares, drop them off at remote lodgings, and steal their money.
“I only ever read about things like this in the papers. I never thought I’d be a victim myself.”
Someone shouted angrily. I didn’t even have the strength to shout. I sat there, drained and in a daze.
“What do we do now? Even my travel money was stolen.”
Luckily, I had kept my fare in my dress pocket. But without the 50,000 crocks, I still felt hopeless.
“They took everything from me, even the 500,000 crocks that were my entire fortune.”
That person wept in despair. I let out a sigh. I wasn’t much different from them.
“Does anyone have any money left?”
Chartine looked around. No one raised their hand—probably because they were all robbed.
I hesitated, then slowly raised my hand.
Chartine smiled brightly and came over to me.
