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Chapter 8 : The First Step to Escape (2)
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It gave her goosebumps, as if she had been splashed with cold water. The hairs all over her body stood up.
They were the only ones alive in this hallway now.
Fear weighed on her. It was an overwhelming fear, bigger than she had felt when she first met Arsene.
Nevertheless, he felt so foreign to her, as he was making eye contact with the same face as usual. Even in this situation, he had the same smile, as if he was far away from her.
He was the same as he had been in the daytime. Neatly trimmed hair and a well-groomed shirt and pants. Except for the dark red bloodstains splattered on it.
She didn't want to see it, but her eyes fell to the floor by itself.
A black-looking lump lay in the middle of a pool of blood, buried in the shadow of the hallway. Regina could tell what that was and where this blood came from without asking.
At first glance, a separate sphere caught my eye.
Surprised, she trembled with fear.
"Regina."
He came one step closer.
Instinctively taking the same step back, Regina's gaze returned to Arsene.
Now she hid herself in the shade between the windows.
Arsene, who was still under the moonlight, stared at her, who step back as if running away.
What happened to her mind? The purple eyes in the distinctly dark shadows looked somehow pitiful.
"He was an assassin. A rude guest who came in the middle of the night. So...."
He drooped his eyebrows and said imploringly.
"Don't avoid me with that face."
Arsene acted as if she could see her expression in darkness. His eyes swept over the pink eyes of fear and the face of a frightened hamster.
His hurtful look was shocking enough that she briefly forgot what he had just done.
But there was an unforgettable smell hovering around the tip of her nose. Regina came to her senses by smelling the blood that followed her inhalation.
She barely opened her lips that didn't fall off and spat out in a subdued voice.
"I didn't avoid...."
Maybe it was because she woke up from sleep, but she swallowed a dry saliva once and continued. Still, the choking sound sounded like begging. The inside of her mouth was stuffy.
He still didn't erase his pitiful expression as if he didn't believe it. She knew that her credibility was low because she lied that she didn't avoid it every time. However, how can anyone not run away in the face of such a ferocious beast?
Regina continued, trying hard not to look at the body lying behind him.
"I was just a little surprised. Really. If you don't kill the assassin, you'll die, and I can understand that much."
It seemed like she was making an excuse, but he smiled a little distorted as if he would trust her.
His distorted yet noble face didn't go with a really bloody look, and she had to take a moment to accept it.
Arsene didn't come any closer as if he knew what she was like, but Regina was still wary of keeping a distance from him.
"I'm going in. You should hurry in, wash up, and sleep, too."
After saying that, she went back the way she came, forgetting her reason why she came out.
Arsene turned right away and just stared at her as she moved away. The moment when there was a clear fear was still full of sight. As expected, she was still afraid of him.
Obviously, he didn't care about other people's feelings at all. For some reason, that face bothered him like a thorn stuck in his fingertip.
It was cute to see her trembling in fear, but he hated that the target was himself. He wanted her to smile a little more.
'I'm going crazy too.'
Arsene, who was trying to sweep his hair, realized the blood on his hands and dropped his arm again.
In the meantime, her back figure disappeared beyond the darkness.
It wasn't until he heard the door closing somewhere far away, and he couldn't feel any movement that his figure moved.
Regina, who entered the room and closed the door, lifted the blanket and buried herself in it. Without realizing it, her hands were shaking.
The first time she witnessed Arsene's murder, she was not as shocked as she is today, because she still only saw a hand sticking out of the corner.
But this time was different.
The scene in the hallway was so blatant that he hadn't expected her to come out.
The body, which had fallen out of will and the death that covered it, made her tremble even though the silhouette alone was not clearly visible.
Yes, Arsene was originally like this. The kind of person who doesn't feel guilty about killing someone.
She knows that, so she's trying to get away before she dies. However, since she kept looking at the friendly Arsene while she was here, it seems that her fears were diluted. Perhaps all of this was his plan.
But the unexpected midnight encounter raised her alarm again. This night reminded her of Arsene's ruthlessness.
Regina lay curled up under the blanket and closed her eyes.
She tried to forget the bloody scene, just as she tried to forget it with sleep because she couldn't endure the shock.
However, rather, the head that was falling to the floor and Arsene's feet were muddy, and the blood that was tangled floated in her head.
To make matters worse, she was confused by what happened in the afternoon.
"Haa......."
She couldn't sleep. Her heart was still beating as if she had taken a stimulant, and her nerves seemed to be on edge.
"I'm going crazy."
She couldn't continue living like this. Tension engulfed her and fed her rest.
'I have to run away.'
In her thoughts filled with the images of the dead, she was dominated by the thought of escaping this place as soon as possible. She escaped from the Duchy of Greroy, left the Yurdenian Empire, and her own image of living peacefully elsewhere was simulated in front of her eyes.
'But how? How do I run away?'
Can she get out of this swamp on her own now that she hasn't even raised her escape funds perfectly?
She wasn't sure.
She needed someone's help. The help of someone who would not betray her and not be on Arsene's side.
Several people's faces flashed by like a projector flickering.
Isota, Kai, and Edwin.
People who always told her affectionately to reach out whenever she needed help. However, those whom she stubbornly rejected because she did not want to burden them came to mind first.
There was no way that asking for help wouldn't hurt them.
Arsene was a madman. The emperor's guard dog, the emperor's mad dog, in any case, he's a crazy guy.
They were not safe to remain here, although she only had to run away and never be seen by him again.
Regina, who had been troubled and conflicted over and over again, greeted the morning with a haggard look. Dark circles came down to the bottom of her chin and her eyes were bloodshot.
She only had one option.
'First of all... let's say something at least once.'
If she had been the woman she used to be, she would not have borrowed someone else's hand even if she died soon, but now she couldn't pass the rope hanging right in front of her.
Maybe it was because she had received help from Arsene before. The first time was hard, the second time was easy, so asking them for help wasn't as difficult as she thought.
Regina arranged what to say to them.
Aside from the fact that Arsene killed people to avoid as much damage as possible, she was just thinking of breaking the engagement and going to another country. Of course, she doesn't know if they will accept such an absurd story.
"Sally, please deliver this letter to Rosé and Bellov."
After a simple breakfast in bed, she immediately sent a letter to Isota and Kai.
She could get help from her older brother or family, but there was a reason why she chose her friends.
At the last party, Edwin congratulated her on their engagement, saying that it is fortunate that he became close with Arsene. On the other hand, Isota and Kai didn't like Arsene very much. In particular, Isota hated him to the point where she stood out, so she might be happy that it turned out as she wished.
Of course, if she escaped successfully and Sally returned to Blois and told them about it, then her family would know....but it was a little uncomfortable to tell them to help her escape.
The reply to the letter came quickly.
Even though she told them to meet her tomorrow, they readily accepted. Isota even expressed the meaning that today is okay.
"All right, then I've made an appointment."
She even prepared to send SOS to her friends, so this time she organized the things she would need to run away.
Money earned from selling simple clothes, capes, and medicines. And... there wasn't. Food and other things can be bought with money, so there is no need to bring them.
Since coming to the Duke of Greroy, she thought she had received many gifts from Arsene, but most of them were not appropriate to take with her when it was time to run away.
'It's hard to run away with a diamond necklace or dress.'
Feeling like she didn't have her own things more than she thought, and looking around her room for a while, Regina realized that lunchtime was soon approaching.
She couldn't even organize her mind on what face she should see Arsene, but she came face to face.
'What do I do?'
Do he wants her to act like nothing happened? Or should she say that she know he killed some people, but it wasn't with bad intentions?
But right now, no matter how she looked at his face, she thought it would remind her of the bloody smell of the hallway at dawn.
In the end, Regina chose to avoid him altogether. She wondered if it would be better not to look at his face than to be unable to control her expression.
"I'll have a simple meal in my room."
She made the excuse that she wasn't feeling very well and asked for the simple table, and she quickly came up with a meal. The maids quietly set the table and retreated one by one.
"What did Arsene say?"
She, rather anxious about the silence, she grabbed the maid who was about to go out and asked.
When asked unexpectedly, she looked puzzled for a moment, but soon lowered her head politely.
“After the owner asked where the lady was, he didn’t say anything.”
"Oh... I see. I understand."
It happened at dawn, and he doesn't say much even though she doesn't go down to the dinning room as if to avoid it.
So, it was this one that made her nervous.
She hurriedly finished her meal, fidgeting as if she were sitting on a cushion of thorns. She thought that just in case she would avoid him and go somewhere other than her room.
After lunch, Regina went straight to the study room and was stuck in an invisible corner. The study room, large enough to resemble a library, was a perfect place to hide.
Regina had nothing to do, so she hid there all day. She had no reason to be bored because the books were piled up.
She read a book eagerly, then went out for a while during tea time and ate a lot of tea food and came back. Then she skipped the meal, saying she had no plans for dinner.
So one day somehow managed to avoid him successfully. Arsene didn't even come to visit her separately.
But there's something she didn't think of.
"I think we need to talk."
It was horseback riding practice scheduled for the next morning.
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