Chapter 2

But this attic was no different from a prison, and Ricard, who held Renee’s freedom in his grasp, was a man who hid a foul temperament beneath a magnificent exterior.

 

“So, have you come to monitor whether I am eating my breakfast properly?”

 

“Monitor? That’s a hurtful word. I’ve simply come as a husband to offer a morning greeting to my wife.”

 

“…I understand, but why the formal speech? This sudden change is disconcerting.”

 

“My mother earnestly requested that I treat you more warmly. I’ve decided to follow her advice.”

 

Ricard pushed the plate of food toward Renee. She gripped her fork, forcing a smile. It would have been better if he had just stuck to his usual blunt, dismissive tone. This Ricard—consistent with a demeanor found in imperial etiquette manuals—was paradoxically terrifying. He was like a child smiling innocently while concealing a wicked intent.

 

“I came here with that intention, but…”

 

The smile on his lips vanished instantly, like a flame being snuffed out.

 

“You aren’t cooperating with me at all.”

 

“I’m not sure what you mean—”

 

“Hand it over.”

 

The fork dropped feebly from Renee’s hand.

 

“Do you take me for a fool?”

 

“…Of course not.”

 

“It would be better to give it to me freely before I take it by force, wouldn’t it?”

 

Ricard’s gaze moved to Renee’s lap beneath the table. Specifically, to the seat of the chair where she was sitting on the letter. His gaze was so blatant—half-threatening, half-mocking—that she had no choice. Renee lowered her head and handed over the hidden letter. She hadn’t even read it herself yet, but she knew it contained content Ricard must never see.

 

Ricard pulled the paper out and unfolded it with a leisurely touch. He was already angry just from the fact that Renee had hidden something from him, but his eyes sparkled with a dark curiosity. Like a boy who torments a small animal until it finally dies.

 

“‘Dear Miss Mia.’”

 

The moment he read the first line, any trace of amusement left in Ricard’s eyes evaporated.

 

“Mia? What are you plotting that you’ve used a pseudonym?”

 

“It’s not a pseudonym; it’s a nickname my parents used. Plotting? That is a preposterous accusation.”

 

It was a lie, of course. As Ricard suspected, ‘Mia’ was the name she used to hide her identity as his wife. Hearing her excuse, Ricard’s expression became even more lethal.

 

“A person who calls you by a nickname I don’t even know. Then the person who wrote this must be a man.”

 

It sounded as if he meant he would kill both that man and her immediately. Renee couldn’t manage a word. Ricard continued reading.

 

“‘I have much to say to Miss Mia, but first, I will provide a status report. First, I have canceled the ship passage to the Nomadic Kingdom.’”

 

She was ruined. Completely ruined from the very start! The ship passage to the Nomadic Kingdom was something she had prepared while Ricard was away at war so she could flee this place. She had tried to cancel it hurriedly when he returned a month early.

 

“‘Next, the luxury fabrics imported from the Eastern states and the antiques, teapot, and tea sets brought in from various countries are all ready.’”

 

“…”

 

“‘I heard that you are currently unable to leave. As soon as the situation improves, you can come in person to pay the balance and take them. Finally…’”

 

Ricard, looking as if he couldn’t believe his eyes, stopped speaking abruptly. He read the final part of the letter over and over to himself. Grinding his teeth as if he couldn’t bear to read it aloud, he finally looked up. He glared at Renee with eyes burning with rage and crumpled the paper in his hand.

 

He didn’t read it out loud, but Renee could guess the contents at the end of the letter. This time, she truly wouldn’t escape death.

 

‘I’m going to die in a novel like this before even divorcing Gong Jichan… without ever seeing my mother’s face… inside a novel like this!’

 

Finally, he spoke.

 

“It’s fortunate I had an external schedule today. Prepare to head out, Madam.”

 

Ricard stood up, the chair scraping against the floor. Renee’s eyes darted to him in panic.

 

‘Prepare to head out? Is this the “stoned to death in the streets” ending?’

 

“We shall go find the person who sent this letter and have a three-way confrontation.”

 

A three-way confrontation. A truly terrifying choice of words. Renee’s face turned deathly pale. Ricard curled his lip into a smirk.

 

 

***

 

 

A long procession formed, led by a legion of armed guards. These were the people accompanying the Grand Duke on his outing. Bonnie, who had followed her down to the first floor of the annex, stood on her tiptoes to fasten Renee’s cloak tightly.

 

“Have a safe trip, Madam! You must come back and tell me lots of interesting stories!”

 

The beaming Bonnie firmly believed that Ricard had turned over a new leaf overnight and become a devoted husband. The young maid didn’t know that Renee had been exchanging secret letters with someone outside the castle, nor did she know that she had just been caught by Ricard.

 

“Yes, Bonnie.”

 

‘I’m not sure if I’ll be able to return safely, though.’

 

Swallowing the thought, Renee gave a bitter smile. As she exited the annex with a deep breath, the waiting men bowed in unison. The cold winter wind brushed the tip of her nose. Renee took a long breath.

 

‘How long has it been since I breathed outside air…!’

 

She felt as if she were walking to her execution, but the weather was absolutely perfect. From the crowd, an official with thick white hair revealed himself. He walked toward Renee with steady, straight strides.

 

“I am late with my first greeting. I am the Grand Duke’s Chief of Staff, Balma Tenez. Please, board the carriage.”

 

“It is a pleasure to meet you, Sir Tenez.”

 

Balma slowly raised his head. Seeing his eyes, which were stretched long at the corners, Renee felt a strange sense of déjà vu.

 

‘Balma Tenez… I think he had an important role in the original story.’

 

Perhaps because there were over a hundred characters in <SickDuchKill>, the details were fuzzy even though she had written them herself. Renee lifted her skirt slightly and walked toward the massive golden carriage. Just then, the door swung open.

 

It was Ricard, who was already inside. Thrusting out one of his long legs, he hopped lightly out of the carriage.

 

“I was waiting for you, Madam.”

 

He was wearing a glossy black coat over the navy suit he had worn in the morning. He was impeccably dressed from head to toe. His pitch-black hair gleamed reddish under the natural light. With a soft smile, he suddenly held out his palm.

 

Startled, Renee pulled her neck back like a turtle. Seeing her cower in fear, Ricard let out a small, hollow laugh. He walked right up to her and whispered in a voice only she could hear.

 

“People will think I’ve drawn a sword.”

 

Ricard, his eyes crinkling in a smile, held out his palm again.

 

“Please board the carriage, Madam.”

 

This time, his voice was loud enough for everyone to hear. Honestly, his hypocrisy knew no bounds. Renee forced a smile and placed her hand lightly on his palm.

 

As the carriage of a kingdom’s ruler, it was incredibly ornate and massive. With his help, Renee stepped onto the footstool but struggled to keep her balance. Just as she tripped over the hem of her dress, Ricard’s large hand caught her waist from behind and lifted her body up into the carriage.

 

‘He’s crazy! Touching me without permission!’

 

Renee, having barely boarded with his help, turned her head to hide her flushing face. Ricard hopped into the seat next to her as if to tease her. Balma, who had been standing silently outside, watched them with a strange expression before gripping the handle.

 

“I will close the door and we shall depart.”

 

Once the door closed, the carriage became a private space. Aside from the sunlight and wind filtering through the lattice-work bars and the noise from outside, it was just the two of them. Renee quickly shifted her hips to the very edge of the seat as soon as the door closed. The interior was spacious, but because of Ricard’s massive frame, the distance between them wasn’t great. Seeing Renee struggle not to let her shoulder touch his, Ricard smirked.

 

Renee, meanwhile, was still gripped by that unidentified sense of dissonance. The strange look on Balma’s face just before the door closed added to her suspicion.

 

‘Balma Tenez. Balma Tenez…’

 

Suddenly, something struck her mind with force.

 

‘That’s right. The Banquet Hall Poisoning Incident!’

 

The poisoning incident was a major event in the middle of the novel. At the end of February, at a banquet held in the Great Chamber of Sainer Castle, an official with a grudge against Ricard attempts to poison him using a subordinate. Balma Tenez was a decoy used to hide the true culprit.

 

‘But what is this uneasy feeling…?’

 

Renee shook her head to dismiss the distracting thoughts. Her own head might roll today; an event a month away wasn’t important right now.

 

‘Besides, whether Ricard gets poisoned or not, what do I care? I should be thanking the culprit for doing me the favor.’

 

“You seem busy working your brain.”

 

Renee jumped in shock and looked at Ricard with wide, rabbit-like eyes. Ricard looked at her with an incredulous expression at her extreme reaction.

 

“What on earth were you thinking about to be that startled?”

 

Renee clamped her mouth shut. She couldn’t very well tell him she was thinking about how she’d like him to be poisoned. Ricard glared at her with suspicious eyes.

 

“Our first destination today is the Janox Temple by the Jene River. Priest Bernst personally visited Sainer Castle last week, but I was unable to receive him because I was busy talking at length with my wife.”

 

‘Janox Temple. Priest Bernst!’

 

Renee’s eyes shimmered with unconcealed joy. Janox Temple, located in the southern part of the Hebaron Kingdom, was more commonly called the “Rose Temple.” First, because the building was surrounded by blooming roses, and second, because the altar was always filled with flowers brought by the endless stream of devotees. But the most decisive third reason: it was the temple managed by Theon Del Bernst, a man more beautiful than a rose.

 

‘I finally get to meet the second male lead.’

 

The only reason she was thinking about the second lead was that Theon was Reneezmia’s unconditional ally in the original work. Perhaps Theon could save her from the crisis she faced today.

 

“What is that expression?”

 

Renee snapped back to reality at the voice filled with murderous intent. She hurriedly wiped away the joy, but that only made Ricard’s expression more lethal.

 

“You look as if you’re hearing about a long-lost lover.”

 

“You go too far with your jokes!” Renee added quickly. “Priest Bernst is a man who serves God, not women.”

 

“And who is the one making me imagine foul things about that ‘holy’ man?”

 

‘Who else but yourself? And just pick one—either use honorifics or don’t.’

 

Renee bit her lip. She was becoming afraid she might accidentally blurt out her thoughts.

 

“If the first destination is Janox Temple, where is the second?”

 

“That is something I should be asking the Madam.”

 

“Pardon?”

 

“Surely the Madam knows who sent the letter and where they live.”

 

The time had come. Facing Ricard’s sharp, judge-like eyes, Renee let out a deep sigh.

 

“Grand Duke. I don’t know if you’ll believe me, but I have never once met the person who sent that letter. I don’t know where they live or what their identity is.”

 

“What a pathetic excuse.”

 

“Did you not see the name of the sender this morning? He is someone who only reveals himself by the alias ‘Traveler J’.”

 

This was the truth, without a single lie—though she didn’t know if Ricard would believe it. ‘Traveler J’ never revealed his identity to anyone and only communicated through an agent. The agent stayed in a tiny shop located in a remote alleyway of Pomfritz Square. It had no sign, so only those in the know could find it.

 

The strange thing was that Traveler J didn’t accept all customers. For example, the famous Count Gregor visited to secure funds for a new land business but was flatly rejected. Meanwhile, rumors were rampant that he provided all the funds, land, and goods for a wandering girl who lost her parents to start a general store. And whenever rumors spread too much, he would dismantle the shop without notice and vanish, only to set up shop somewhere else.

 

These were things Renee had found out after searching high and low while preparing for her exile over the past month. In other words, Traveler J was a character who was *not* in the original work. So it was only natural she didn’t know his identity.

 

After a long silence, Ricard spoke.

 

“If you conspired with someone you don’t even know, your crime is even greater.”

 

His tone was as firm as a judge passing a sentence.

 

“How does it work out that way?” Renee asked, feeling utterly wronged.

 

“You’re asking because you don’t know? What you requested from that person was ship passage to the Nomadic Kingdom, luxury fabrics, tableware, and a tea set.”

 

“Yes. And?”

 

“What do you mean, ‘and’? Isn’t it obvious what you were going to use those for?”

 

“Obvious? What on earth are you thinking, Grand Duke?”

 

Ricard scowled as if the thought were too foul to voice. Again, it was a long silence before he spoke.

 

“First: you take advantage of my absence to flee to the Nomadic Kingdom.” He lowered his voice to the extreme so it wouldn’t leak outside the carriage. “Second: you start a new life there with that traveler, or philanderer, or whatever that son of a bitch is.”

 

“Grand Duke!”

 

A pale Renee cut him off in horror. She was so flustered by the succession of words like ‘philanderer’ and ‘new life’—things she hadn’t even imagined—that she couldn’t even think of a proper rebuttal.

 

“Try telling me it’s not true this time. You were probably going to use the luxury fabrics for bedding and clothes, and the tableware and tea sets speak for themselves. Isn’t that exactly what a newlywed couple needs?”

 

“It’s not!”

 

In the end, Renee shouted. Newlywed household goods! She had never given Ricard Sainer such a vivid imagination. Ricard scowled so fiercely he looked ready to curse. Facing him, her shoulders slumped reflexively.

 

“I… I…”

 

“Don’t think about working your brain and just tell the truth.”

 

Ricard ground out every syllable and raised his large hand. He cupped Renee’s chin and pulled her face close to his. Renee squeezed her eyes shut. Even his breath against her lips felt like a threat.

 

The carriage must have entered a forest path, as the smell of grass and earth was strong. The carriage shook violently because of the rough road.

 

‘I have to use my brain! I have to say something to get out of this!’

 

Suddenly, a thought flashed through her mind. Opening her eyes wide, Renee shouted.

 

“I was just going to start a business to contribute to the household finances!”

 

This was also true, but only half-true.

 

“Hah.”

 

A burst of air escaped Ricard’s lips. He clearly didn’t believe her, but the things Renee had purchased from Traveler J were actually her startup capital. Her backup plan, in case her stay in the novel world grew long, was to live in hiding in the Nomadic Kingdom and earn a living selling coffee, snacks, and plush toys made from luxury fabrics.

 

Of course, there were three prerequisites. First: escape Sainer Castle safely. Second: arrive in the Nomadic Kingdom. And finally, third: live there under a disguise other than Reneezmia Dainis. And exactly ten days ago, the moment she jumped out the window and met Ricard in the most pathetic state, the first condition had already failed. And the other two had collapsed like dominoes!

 

“You looked into ship passage to leave me, but you were going to start a business to contribute to the household? Haha. Do you really expect me to believe that?”

 

“T-that’s—!”

 

“Were you planning to ship the profits back to Sainer Castle? Huh?”

 

This was bad. In her rush to make an excuse, she had blurted out something nonsensical. Her legs shaking, Renee found a loophole.

 

“You saw for yourself when you read the letter. I clearly asked to cancel the ship passage. Cancel.”

 

“What does that matter?”

 

“It’s true I tried to flee to a distant land across the sea, but it means I changed my mind and planned to stay by the Grand Duke’s side and open a shop.”

 

As soon as she finished, Ricard snorted and crossed his arms. “How remarkably noble of you. Even though after that, you tried to escape again by jumping out a window.”

 

“…That’s—!”

 

“Did you keep changing your mind about fleeing twelve times a day?”

 

Damn it. The logic! It didn’t add up! Ricard’s chest began to heave heavily. He seemed to have reached his limit. Renee knew Ricard was technically right about everything. Yet, a sense of being wronged surged within her.

 

‘Of course I wasn’t going to start a business as a noblewoman. I was going to live as if I were a commoner woman who had lost her husband!’

 

Anger she couldn’t voice grew like a snowball inside her.

 

‘Everything would have been fine if the escape had been successful. Who told you to come back a whole month early anyway!’

 

She had a mountain of things to say, but she couldn’t say a single one. She felt as if she would explode.

 

“Haaa…”

 

With a long sigh, Renee gripped her chest and then let go. For a second, Ricard’s eyes wavered.

 

“…It’s no use pretending to be in pain.”

 

“…Pardon?”

 

Pretending to be in pain? What nonsensical talk was that? Then, a realization flashed across Renee’s face.

 

‘That’s right. I was a sickly patient…?’

 

She had forgotten because she hadn’t had any symptoms since the transmigration. In the original work, Reneezmia Dainis was a frail woman suffering from a lung disease. Ricard, who had been pushing her so harshly just a moment ago, looked visibly flustered.

 

“Don’t just blink your eyes and answer. Are you in pain?”

 

“I…”

 

“You test my patience in many ways. You were talking back so well, so why have you suddenly become a mute?”

 

Ricard slammed his hand against the carriage wall and checked Renee’s complexion. His expression was complicated, more than just anger.

 

‘What? Is he actually worried about me?’

 

A cold-blooded man whose heart and veins were made of ice. The probability of him worrying about her was slim.

 

‘Still, I have nothing to lose.’

 

With no other plan to escape this crisis, Renee decided to take a gamble.

 

“Aaah… Haaa…”

 

Renee clutched her chest with a pained expression. Then she opened one eye slightly to check on Ricard. He had a somewhat ambiguous look.

 

“Aah, my lungs… so suddenly…”

 

Muttering in a dying voice, Renee began to cough. Ricard spoke expressionlessly.

 

“That’s your heart.”

 

Renee’s coughing stopped abruptly. Watching her slide her hand up and down as she tried to feel for the position of her lungs, Ricard slowly shook his head.

 

“Unbelievable. How did I end up with such a lunatic for a wife?”

 

“…”

 

“You’ve been caught anyway, so why don’t you stop groping yourself?”

 

“Yes.”

 

Quickly dropping her hand, Renee straightened her upper body and sat properly. She shouldn’t have tried such pathetic acting, especially when she didn’t even know where her lungs were. She felt like jumping out of the carriage. Ricard, staring at her blankly, clenched and unclenched his fist with a cracking sound.

 

“Of all things… you try to trick me with the illness you’ve had since you were a child?”

 

“…I’m sorry. But no matter how much of the truth I tell, the Grand Duke never believes me…”

 

“So you’re saying you’re never in the wrong.”

 

Renee hunched her shoulders and slowly slid her hips back. Ricard gripped her arm tightly and closed the distance as if he were going to swallow her whole. Finally, Renee’s back hit the carriage wall. The cold wind seeped through her hair.

 

“What should I do with this mouth that spills nothing but lies every time it opens?”

 

Ricard couldn’t bring himself to touch Renee’s face, so he grabbed her nape instead. The overwhelming heat radiating from him was constantly signaling danger.

 

“Since you don’t seem to know, let me tell you. You are someone I can take whenever I choose.”

 

“…”

 

“There’s a limit to how much I’ll indulge you.”

 

Just before his hand, which had slid down like a snake, touched Renee’s chest—

 

Kaboom!

 

With a sudden roar, a massive impact hit both of them. Their bodies, which had been lifted into the air, were thrown forward, and in the next moment, Renee’s vision went dark.

 

“Ah… Aaah…”

 

When Renee groaned and opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was Ricard’s arm wrapped around her. The two yellow horses pulling the carriage stamped their feet and wailed.

 

‘What happened…?’

 

Renee managed to turn her stiff neck to look around. The carriage door had fallen off, leaving a gaping hole in the side. It felt as if the world had tilted, but it turned out the carriage body was half-collapsed and stuck in the ground. At this rate, the wheels must have been completely destroyed.

 

The two of them were lying together on the floor of the tilted carriage. Specifically, Ricard’s left arm was shielding Renee from the carriage wall. If he hadn’t caught her, she would have surely hit her head hard against something. She might have even been thrown out of the carriage and suffered a worse injury.

 

Ricardo let out a low groan and withdrew his arm. His face was contorted in pain, yet even in that moment, he was scanning Renee’s condition.

 

“Grand Duke. Are you hurt?”

 

Renee asked cautiously, looking at his arm with concern. He had absorbed the entirety of the impact meant for her; he had to be injured.

 

“Dammit.”

 

Renee’s eyes widened at the sudden, coarse language. Ricardo reached out with a rough hand, cupping her chin and pulling her sharply toward him.

 

“You’re bleeding.”

 

“I-I am? Where…?”

 

Flustered, Renee began to touch her face frantically. Perhaps due to the shock, she couldn’t even feel the pain properly yet. Ricardo cradled her nape, brushing the hair that had fallen along her face behind her ear, and touched the area near her eye with surprising gentleness.

 

“Ah…”

 

Renee squeezed her eyes shut. Only then did a sharp, stinging pain rush in. It seemed she had hit something inside the carriage, causing a small gash near her eyebrow.

 

“I’m fine. As soon as we arrive at the Janox Temple, I can ask for a simple treatment. I think the Grand Duke is hurt more than—”

 

“Wait.”

 

Ricardo’s gaze shifted instantly. With eyes that had turned cold and sharp like a beast sensing danger, he stared out of the ruined carriage. Feeling an ominous chill, Renee tried to follow his gaze, but all she could see was the distant, dark forest path.

 

“I should go outside and check the situation.”

 

Renee straightened her disheveled clothes and was about to step onto the ground when he spoke.

 

“Don’t move.”

 

Ricardo’s voice was calm but commanding. Just from those words behind her, Renee could sense it. Something was very wrong.

 

A chill crawled up her spine. Suddenly, she realized the surroundings were unnervingly quiet.

 

‘Wait…’

 

The party of nearly twenty people was nowhere to be seen. It was as if they had never existed in the first place. In the middle of the vast forest, there were only the two of them.

 

“H-how is this possible…?”

 

At that moment, as if a dark omen, thunder rumbled and lightning struck. Following closely behind, a heavy downpour began to lash the earth.

 

“Hell,” Ricardo muttered under his breath. “It’s the Forest of Hallucinations.”

 

“…The Forest of Hallucinations.”

 

Renee whispered like someone who had lost her soul.

 

‘So you’re saying I’m in the Forest of Hallucinations right now.’

 

Dizziness washed over her as soon as she grasped the situation. Ricardo caught her swaying body from behind and turned her to face him.

 

“What’s wrong?”

 

The rain fell like a waterfall, blurring her vision. It was as if water had been poured over a painting made only of green pigments. The scent of wet grass, intense as a poisonous herb, filled her nose.

 

“This shouldn’t be happening.”

 

“What are you talking about?”

 

“The ones who get lost in the Forest of Hallucinations are supposed to be Ricardo’s party, not Reneezmia!”

 

In a state of extreme confusion, Renee raised her voice and pulled her hand away from Ricardo.

 

“Reneezmia. Your mind is being controlled right now.”

 

Ricardo tried to calm her, believing she had already succumbed to the hallucinations.

 

“No! You don’t know anything! You’re supposed to get trapped here after returning from the expedition, find a collapsed woman, and save her! And then…”

 

Ceciana Maydiland. She was a second heroine who appears in the middle of the original story—the greatest villainess of this world. The daughter of a prestigious Marquis from the Northern Portican Kingdom and an overwhelmingly beautiful woman. In the original, Ricardo saves her, brings her to Sainer Castle, and spends the first night with her as soon as she regains consciousness.

 

In other words, the moment Ceciana appeared, Reneezmia’s true suffering was supposed to begin. According to the plot, Renee would be kicked out to a back room, surviving on stale bread, eventually coughing up blood and rolling on the floor in pain while being utterly neglected.

 

“That’s why I tried to escape the castle early. It’s all ruined. I couldn’t even manage to run away properly.”

 

Renee began to stumble backward. It felt as if a cliff named Despair was opening its black jaws behind her. Was a person who lived a pathetic life with nothing they were good at destined to repeat the same life even inside a novel? Even though she had shed her ugly shell from reality and become a beautiful noblewoman, it was still a failed life.

 

Tears poured down like the rain. Burying her face in her palms, Renee’s shoulders began to heave with sobs.

 

“Ugh… hng…”

 

She felt like she wanted to just stay in this rain until she melted away without a trace.

 

“You told me once,” Ricardo’s voice cut clearly through the sound of the rain. Renee didn’t stop crying. “That you wanted to hold me.”

 

His voice was strangely tinged with a deep sadness. The wet wind blew incessantly, and the sound of rustling fabric drew closer.

 

“It’s a much more painful thing than I thought.”

 

“….!”

 

The dull thud of chests colliding echoed. It was a sudden, forceful embrace. His large, warm body held her tightly, leaving no gap between them.

 

Trapped in Ricardo’s arms, Renee froze. The hands that had been covering her face dropped feebly. His firm, broad chest was right before her. The specific warmth of a human being was transmitted through the rain.

 

She couldn’t believe it. Renee shook her head blankly.

 

‘Ricardo Sainer isn’t this kind of person… There’s no way he would hold me…’

 

The sound of a heartbeat thundered in her ears. She was glad it was raining; if it had been a clear day, he would have discovered her tumultuous heart completely.

 

The endless embrace in the rain ended only when Renee began to cough. A chill seeped into her bones. It was midwinter, and her entire body was soaked.

 

His senses on high alert, Ricardo scanned the surroundings with sharp eyes. He then straightened the broken, tilted carriage as much as possible.

 

“Go inside for a moment.”

 

When Renee didn’t move at his command, Ricardo frowned in frustration. Walking over with long strides, he roughly guided her soaked body and sat her down on the carriage seat.

 

Renee, though staggering, shifted over to make room for him. However, instead of sitting beside her, he pulled a defensive dagger from his coat’s inner pocket.

 

“Why the knife…?”

 

“Shouldn’t I look around to see if the others are nearby? They are veterans who can mostly hold their own, but they might be in danger.”

 

“…”

 

“One person sitting here uselessly out of their mind is enough.”

 

His tone was cold enough to be hurtful. As soon as he finished speaking, he turned around. Without thinking, Renee reached out and grabbed his sleeve. Ricardo looked down at her hand on his arm with surprised eyes.

 

“…As you said, Grand Duke, they are all experienced people. I think they might hold out on their own until the forest exit opens…”

 

Renee mumbled, her voice trailing off. Ricardo scowled as if he couldn’t understand what she was trying to say.

 

“What are you getting at?”

 

“Just what I said… that everyone might hold out until the entrance opens…”

 

“It’s safer to be gathered together.”

 

“But we don’t know where everyone is…”

 

“What kind of stupid things are you saying? More than anything, to escape this forest, we need a mage who can control mana. Seeing as the exit hasn’t opened yet, there’s a high probability something happened to Rob.”

 

Worry appeared on Ricardo’s face. Rob Lugentia. A member of the Hebaron Knights and one of the most talented mages in the Byzantio Empire. He usually stayed at the empire’s top magic academy as a teacher, but was currently residing at Sainer Castle at Ricardo’s request. It was Rob’s choice to join this outing, citing the whimsical reason that he was bored staying inside the castle.

 

He, along with the rest of the party, was somewhere in this forest. And as Ricardo said, the fact that such a talented mage hadn’t appeared meant there was a high likelihood of a problem.

 

“You are right, Grand Duke. Please go.”

 

Renee let go of his arm and lowered her head. At that listless gesture, Ricardo pressed a hand to his forehead in irritation.

 

“Why are you shaking so much?”

 

Renee, who hadn’t even realized she was trembling, looked down at her hands. Grimacing at the sight, Ricardo began to take off his coat. Renee blinked, confused.

 

“Are you… hot?”

 

Ricardo sighed at her incomprehensible question. Bending his knees to lower his height, he leaned his upper body into the carriage. The odd smell of water mixed with his distinct scent wafted in. He practically tossed his coat onto her body as if throwing clothes into a donation bin, then disappeared into the rain.

 

Left alone in the broken carriage, Renee blankly wrapped the coat around her. She whispered the words she couldn’t say to him.

 

“You’ll be able to return safely. Main characters don’t die this early. However…”

 

Her voice trailed off as she lowered her head. Her whole body shook uncontrollably.

 

‘Even if you run into Ceciana, even if you fall in love with her… please don’t ignore me too much…’

 

If she were treated as a non-entity by Ricardo, just as she was by her real-life husband Gong Jichan, she felt she might actually die of endless sorrow.

 

 

***

 

 

Ricardo leaned against his knees, gasping for breath. He had wandered through the forest until deep into the night, calling out the names of his party, but he found no one. He decided to return to the carriage for the night and resume the search at daybreak.

 

Above all, he was worried about the wife he had left alone. He could somewhat distinguish hallucination from truth due to his experience, but she, who must have grown up like a greenhouse flower, would not be able to.

 

As he was retracing his steps quickly, a familiar scent drifted on the wind. It was unmistakably the smell of alcohol. Ricardo’s eyebrows twitched. Why on earth would that scent be here?

 

‘I don’t think it’s a hallucination.’

 

Ricardo’s pace quickened. Renee’s voice began to drift through the sound of the wind in fragments.

 

“…What is your name? I-I am… Reneez… mia.”

 

Had she run into someone from the party? If so, there was no one she would speak to so informally. No, more than that, her pronunciation was strange.

 

“My husband is… ugh. Aren’t I pathetic? Phew. My clothes are all wet… so cold…”

 

A vein popped on Ricardo’s forehead.

 

‘Her husband is what? And why are her clothes wet? What on earth is that lunatic doing now?’

 

Ricardo began to run, cutting through the brush with thudding sounds as if he were dueling the trees. To put the scene he found into one word: “Ridiculous.”

 

It was ridiculous.

 

Ricardo, leaning against a tree trunk to catch his breath, finally stepped forward. Despite his effort to stuff her into the carriage, Renee was plopped down right in the middle of a grass thicket.

 

“Why do you guys look so sad, hmm?”

 

Her conversation partners were neither the party from Sainer Castle nor a third party.

 

“You must be so, so cold. Your manes are just blowing in the wind…”

 

They were the two horses.

 

In Renee’s hand was a bottle of top-tier wine—one of the gifts meant for the Janox Temple. Ricardo let out a hollow laugh when he realized the carriage’s cargo hold had been completely ransacked. Meanwhile, Renee was finishing her third bottle. Drinking had been her brilliant plan to endure the cold and the fear.

 

It must have been four or five hours ago. As the sun set, the temperature plummeted, and eerie sounds began to emerge. The low growling of beasts, sharp screams of unknown origin, and the incessant rain and thunder. When all those noises blended together, it was no different from a symphony played by madmen. She felt she would lose her mind if she kept listening.

 

After shivering for a long time with her ears covered, she remembered the alcohol in the carriage and searched the hold. Amidst many broken items from the accident, she found high-quality wooden boxes wrapped in red velvet. The moment she found unbroken wine, she started drinking straight from the bottle without hesitation. Drinking high-proof alcohol without any snacks made her stomach burn, but her body slowly warmed up.

 

Her only companions were the two horses. Since her clothes were already wet, she sat down in the rain and began to pour out her heart. Talking to them strangely made her feel better, even if the only responses were neighs and snorts.

 

Ricardo had reached Renee’s side without her noticing. The drunkard was swaying her upper body, unaware that her husband had returned. Ricardo, about to pull her up, hesitated. Unlike her usual self, this relaxed version of her was unfamiliar and a bit…

 

Well, a bit…

 

Ultimately, Ricardo failed to find the right word. He just watched blankly as his wife muttered drunkenly with flushed cheeks. Her messy hair swayed in the night wind. Ricardo fell into the illusion that it was spring. Even the smell of wine in the air seemed like the sweet scent of cherry blossoms.

 

Ricardo’s body, which had repeatedly broken into a sweat and cooled down while wandering the forest, began to heat up. Something boiling from deep within his gut tickled his veins and spread throughout his body. He couldn’t control his fingers and toes from twitching. This feeling was, truly, a first.

 

Ricardo fell into serious thought.

 

‘Am I being possessed by magic and having my mind controlled too?’

 

Since he wasn’t a mage, he couldn’t manipulate mana at will, but he could at least defend himself based on experience. Therefore, his current state was definitely not normal.

 

Whether she knew her husband’s predicament or not, Renee was currently in the middle of a one-sided talk show with her head hanging low. Of course, the audience was still the two horses.

 

“But did you guys know?”

 

Neigghh.

 

“I’m a widow now.”

 

Neeeiggghhh!

 

“Since Ricardo hasn’t come back yet, he must have met Ceciana Maydiland. He left me and escaped the forest with her. I’ve been… abandoned.”

 

Neigh…

 

Ricardo, who had already doubted his ears at the word “widow,” frowned. The tickling curiosity he had felt while watching his drunken wife turned into an unpleasant suspicion. Ceciana Maydiland was the daughter of a Marquis who held a tight grip on the Portican Kingdom’s water utilities. He had met her father once for business, but he had never actually seen her.

 

“What kind of nonsense are you blabbering about?”

 

“Gack!”

 

With a strange noise, Renee snapped her head up. Only then did she discover Ricardo and bit her lip hard. Half of her heart was overjoyed to tears to see him, and the other half was resentful.

 

“Seeing as you came alone, I suppose you didn’t run into Ceciana.” Renee added with slurred speech. “Perhaps the Grand Duke is meant to be trapped in the Forest of Hallucinations one more time. You’ll meet her then…”

 

Already, the third bottle was nearing its end. Instead of asking for the meaning behind her drunken words, Ricardo decided to get her up first. As he bent down to slide his hands under her armpits, she recoiled in shock.

 

“You’re acting like you’ve run into a thug.”

 

Muttering with a half-laugh of disbelief, Ricardo added, “Get up on your own feet. We need to spend the night in the carriage, at least.”

 

“The door is already broken anyway…”

 

“At least you can sit on the seat. Are you going to sleep on the ground like a beggar?”

 

True. Hearing his words, she thought it was better to avoid the rain under a roof. Renee stood up without further argument and staggered into the carriage. As she huddled in a corner, Ricardo sat as far away as possible.

 

“How do you know the Maydiland family? And why do you keep bringing up their daughter, whom I’ve never even met?”

 

“…You heard that?”

 

“‘I’m a widow now.’”

 

“Pardon?”

 

“Everything from that point on.”

 

Renee let out a heavy sigh. Even in her drunken stupor, her chest felt tight and stifled. She couldn’t very well explain that this was a world inside a book and that she was the author.

 

“There’s… something. Just… think of it as me talking nonsense for a moment.”

 

“I thought you were just a liar, but it turns out you’re a drunkard too.”

 

“It was so cold and scary, I couldn’t endure it sober.”

 

Renee mumbled, hanging her head low. To Ricardo, she looked quite pitiful. However, it was too unsettling to dismiss everything she said as mere drunken talk. He was a man who prioritized his intuition over the teachings of sages or even the words of God. Some might call it arrogant, but it was a way of life he had naturally acquired while crawling from the bottom after being cast out of the imperial family.

 

“I won’t ask further about the other lies you’ve told.”

 

“…”

 

“But first: how you know the Marquis of Maydiland. Second: you must explain what that story about Ceciana and me meeting in the forest was about.”

 

Renee slowly raised her head. Was it because of this unrealistic situation—being alone with him in a forest like a secluded island in a city, listening to the heavy rain? Or was it just the alcohol? She felt her mind becoming hazily blurred. While her heavy, tired body sank slowly into hot water, only the thoughts in her head were rising like steam.

 

“If I tell you the truth, will you believe me?”

 

“…”

 

“No matter what kind of story it is.”

 

Ricardo’s jaw tightened.

 

“For instance… that I came from another world.”

 

Renee waited for Ricardo’s answer with an anxious heart. A specific tension, like the moment before a play’s curtain rises, overwhelmed the two. She had already been called a lunatic twice. Now, she might actually be confined to a mental hospital in the city. Or be mocked by him for what he deemed a simple drunken ramble.

 

However, contrary to Renee’s expectation, Ricardo looked extremely confused. His gaze, which was always straight and piercing, was now lost and wandering.

 

“It’s hard to believe, but it’s the truth,” Renee added. Ricardo quickly turned his head as if to hide his expression.

 

“It’s strange.”

 

His tone was almost a whisper to himself. Renee looked at Ricardo’s back blankly.

 

“According to what I heard from Duke and Duchess Dainis, you have never touched a drop of alcohol in your life. Since your health is poor, drinking would be fatal for you.”

 

Renee’s eyes shook. Because his back was turned, she couldn’t see his expression, but his voice was incredibly low. Ricardo turned back to face Renee.

 

“I don’t know. Whether you’re crazy, or I am.”

 

What did that mean? He was looking at her, yet it seemed he was seeing something else. A face that looked as if he were reminiscing about a specific point in the past.

 

Renee’s lips parted. Ricardo smiled with a strange expression and added, “Just get some sleep for now. We might have to move somewhere as soon as it’s light.”

 

Ending the conversation, Ricardo crossed his arms, leaned against the backrest, and closed his eyes. She couldn’t add anything more. She decided to sleep as he said. After trying to find a comfortable position, Renee leaned slightly against the backrest. She felt as if the entire carriage would tilt backward if she put all her weight on it.

 

Looking around the interior, she leaned her head against a pillar supporting the roof. As she lowered her eyelids, the sound of rain faded away.

 

How much time had passed? Renee woke up startled by the sensation of a raindrop splashing on her ankle. As Renee sat up abruptly, Ricardo raised an eyebrow as if asking what was wrong. Renee groaned shortly and squinted. A headache rushed in—perhaps a hangover.

 

“What’s wrong?”

 

“It’s nothing. Did I wake you?”

 

Instead of answering, Ricardo gave a light shrug. His profile was clearly visible under the faint moonlight. He looked pale. Was he tired from wandering the forest looking for the party? It seemed he hadn’t slept at all, perhaps to prepare for any potential danger.

 

Renee narrowed her eyes to check Ricardo’s condition more closely. Cold sweat was beaded on his forehead, visible through his messy hair.

 

“Grand Duke. Are you unwell?”

 

Renee leaned toward him, bracing her hands on the seat. Ricardo, a bit flustered, stiffened his back.

 

“No.”

 

“Then, are you hot?”

 

“…I’m neither hot nor cold.”

 

“But the sweat…”

 

Her voice trailed off, and she shivered. She felt as if she had slept for a long time, but it was still the middle of the night. Meanwhile, the rain seemed to have grown heavier. Looking at the vast forest like the center of a maze with no exit, fear rushed back. When she lowered her gaze to calm her mind, what she saw was the floor of the carriage sloshing with water.

 

‘What is this…?’

 

How could a carriage with broken doors be filling with water? Renee looked around with trembling eyes.

 

“This is impossible.”

 

Renee’s face turned pale. Unbelievably, the entire forest was becoming submerged. It wasn’t that the carriage was leaking; the rainwater had risen to the height of the carriage itself. It had only been raining for half a day at most. How could this happen?

 

“What’s wrong?”

 

Noticing Renee’s strange state, Ricardo asked. Renee stood up, staggering like a sleepwalker.

 

“We have to leave the forest right now.”

 

“What?”

 

“It keeps raining! At this rate, we’ll drown!”

 

Renee screamed and rushed out of the carriage. The bone-chillingly cold rainwater was already splashing past her shins and reaching her knees. Ricardo quickly pursued her. He grabbed her arm as she ran frantically and turned her toward him.

 

“It’s raining? What nonsense is that?”

 

“You’re the one talking nonsense! It’s been pouring ever since we got trapped in the forest!”

 

Highly agitated, Renee screamed. She was at a loss, like a small animal consumed by terror. Looking at Renee’s eyes gripped by fear, Ricardo let out a short sigh.

 

“Reneezmia. Calm down and look into my eyes.”

 

“This isn’t the time to be leisurely! The rainwater is already up to my knees! Quickly, ah… we have to find the exit quickly…”

 

“Reneezmia!”

 

Ricardo’s large hands grabbed Renee’s shoulders. “It isn’t raining.”

 

Renee’s eyes flickered. “Since we were trapped, there hasn’t been a single drop of rain. It’s the same now.”

 

His tone was gentle but firm. Even at this moment, the rain was pouring down terrifyingly. Renee shook her head in disbelief. She touched her hair and clothes, which had long been soaked.

 

“It will feel wet, but it’s a hallucination.”

 

Was this cold, wet feeling really fake? The sensation of raindrops splashing in the winter wind and the smell of wet soil… it was all too vivid to be an illusion, but…

 

Thanks to Ricardo’s reminder, Renee was able to recall once again that this was a world inside a novel. The Forest of Hallucinations was merely a literary device she had created.

 

‘I’m sure I set a way to escape the forest.’

 

As she searched through her blurred memories, she saw two faint silhouettes in the distant forest. One was a woman of average build. One was a tall man. Of the two, the woman’s silhouette became clear first. An appearance with no sharp features but nothing that stood out either. An incredibly gloomy expression. A woman with nothing special about her, like the countless weeds growing by the road.

 

Renee covered her mouth.

 

‘That’s me.’

 

The real-life Jung Yeonjae was staring blankly at Reneezmia Dainis.

 

“This is… this is inside the novel I wrote… and everything that happens in the Forest of Hallucinations is an illusion… The ‘me’ standing there… no, Jung Yeonjae is also just a ghost…”

 

Renee’s words cut off abruptly. The man standing with Yeonjae—it was Gong Jichan. Jichan, in his usual neat suit, roughly turned Yeonjae’s body toward him. He gripped her arm violently and began to shout something. He looked ready to strike her at any moment.

 

“I have to help her.”

 

Renee stepped toward the two figures as if possessed. Ricardo stood in her way.

 

“Move.”

 

“Reneezmia.”

 

“I said move!”

 

Screaming at the top of her lungs, Renee pushed Ricardo hard with both arms. For some reason, he winced in pain but grabbed Renee’s shoulders again.

 

“Please move! Can’t you see those people? Gong Jichan is going to hit me. I have to help her!”

 

Finally, she burst into tears. Ricardo, standing firm without wavering, met Renee’s gaze.

 

“Reneezmia. Hallucinations are not the truth, so they are flawed somewhere. You have to find that gap.”

 

Amidst the rain pouring so hard she couldn’t see ahead, only his light brown eyes shone softly. Suddenly, a subtle sense of dissonance struck her.

 

“….!”

 

With a thin gasp, Renee covered her mouth. Now that she looked, the raindrops were rising backward from the ground. She began to touch her wet body with trembling hands. Her dress, which had clearly been soaked and damp, was drying in real-time.

 

The hallucinations of Jung Yeonjae and Gong Jichan in the distance also began to scatter.

 

‘It really was a hallucination. The rain, and those two people… all of it…’

 

Ricardo, gripping the shoulders of the staggering Renee who looked ready to collapse, bent his knees to meet her eyes. Realizing that the light had returned to Renee’s eyes, he let out a sigh of relief.

 

“Well done.”

 

His voice was gentle, as if embracing her trembling body. Renee bit her lip.

 

Just then, a presence approached from the dark forest path along with a bright light. Ricardo quickly stepped in front of Renee. Tension filled the air. The one who appeared next was a blood-stained man.

 

“What a relief, Commander.”

 

It was Ricardo’s subordinate who had vanished upon being trapped in the forest—the only key to escaping it. The first-class mage, Rob Lugentia.

 

With a sense of relief, Renee’s vision blurred. Soon after, her consciousness flickered out like a snuffed wick.

 

“Seeing as you’re having a sweet time with the Madam, I feel a bit empty inside.”

 

Rob laughed, wiping his torn lip. That scene was the final blackout.

 

Renee, her body completely limp, was on a horse. Being loaded like cargo would be a more accurate description. Her consciousness flickered like a lantern running out of oil. The man holding her from behind and riding the horse was, of course, Ricardo.

 

Voices of the familiar party, including Rob Lugentia, were heard from all around. As Rob opened the exit of the Forest of Hallucinations, those who had been lost and wandering gathered again. Gray dust rose from the horses galloping. Hearing the horse hooves incessantly hitting the ground, she felt so relieved she could cry.

 

If Ricardo and the party had lost their lives because of the trap she had dug with her own hands, she wouldn’t have been able to bear the guilt. The warmth from Ricardo behind her wrapped around her body like a winter blanket. Every time he pulled the reins tight, his chest muscles bulged heavily. His breath on her nape made somewhere she couldn’t identify feel ticklish.

 

Receiving that vivid sensation, she felt certain she was being protected by Ricardo. It felt like being alone with him in a comfortable fortress.

 

‘No matter what happens, I think I’ll be okay as long as Ricardo is here…’

 

The cold winter wind blew through her hair. Renee closed her eyelids.