Getaway (3)
âIt wonât be dangerous. The knight I came with is a very strong man!â
After receiving a bag of clothes from Anna, Pina immediately entered Annaâs warehouse. She was trying to change clothes with Annaâs help in the warehouse.
Coming out again, Pina held out her bracelet to Lyria. It was a copper bracelet that didnât look very valuable on the outside, but it was a magic tool.
âThis is my ladyâs present. Thereâs a space in here so you can store things!â
This was one of the things Rowena didnât buy but got as an engagement gift. If it was a bracelet made of copper, it was a gift that even pickpockets and thieves would not steal.
Inside, Rowenaâs escape funds were prepared at Lyriaâs request, and some precious metals that Rowena had put in just in case.
Pina quickly explained how to use it and even showed it.
âThank you. Please say thank you to Rowena, too.â
Lyria hugged Pina once and returned to Kianâs side. Kian had prepared a horse for the day.
Kian and Lyria mounted the horse, and the priestess went back to the warehouse. She was to return to the temple using a secret passageway in the warehouse.
Pina entrusted Anna with the bag of her changed clothes and gave her the identification card she had received at the palace. If she gave it to Anna, it would be difficult to get back to the palace, but it didnât matter because Lancelot would guarantee her identity.
âYou take this to the palace. This is a letter of introduction for you.â
Rowena had already used the people of her family as the workers of her palace. Even if an additional maid was added to it, no one would have thought it strange.
âDid you even think about where youâre going? We tried to run away by ourselvesâ¦â
Going to the Imperial Palace was thought to be the last option. Anna gave a wink at her words.
âMy lady told me to, Iâll be fine! Letâs go back to the palace! Weâreâ¦â
âA twin of hearts!â
With a grin, Anna and Pina held each otherâs hands and giggled. The two had similar names, also similar behaviors and thoughts.
âIf you donât like living in the palace, she will give you a job later.â
âNo way! Iâm trembling at the thought of the awful princeâs presence! See you at the Imperial Palace later!â
âHm!â
âYou have to be carefulâ¦!â
Anna, aware of the foul temper of the Marquis of Wenson, added cautiously. Pina nodded gravely. They embraced each other like sisters and then parted ways.
Anna headed to the palace and to the teahouse where Lancelot would be waiting.
* * *
The Marquis of Wenson was rising from his mistressâs bed. He visited the restaurant house from time to time, but it was not common to stay out overnight. When things didnât work out the way he wanted, he would get drunk and go to the restaurant house.
He had no intention of having a wife. He distrusted women and considered them unreliable.
So he chose carefully who would become his mistress.
Vanessa was a woman who was beaten and kicked out by her husband for not having children. She had no children but an ugly sister.
The Marquis of Wenson paid her a living wage and made her his mistress. On the surface, this relationship was mutually beneficial.
The woman was also quick-witted, so she didnât even ask to be Marquis Wensonâs mistress. It may be because she knew that she would immediately leave his house.
ââ¦Shall we prepare breakfast?â
The Marquis waved his hand. It was self-evident that no matter how good the food served here, it would be inferior to that of the Marquis. He also didnât want to buy from a restaurant, saying she made a marquisâ meals.
The rumors would spread.
âIâm going out.â
At the cold Marquisâ words, Vanessa rolled her eyes and came down to the other side of the Marquis. The person who paid for her living expenses was the marquis, so she couldnât do this to his face. Vanessa put on the clothes she had taken off to hide her expression.
The Marquis was accustomed to Vanessaâs dress. When he opened the bedroom door, the marquisâ servant was waiting for him.
âIâm going home.â
At that word, the servant quickly took the lead. The marquis did not do this for a day or two, so the servant had already prepared the coachman.
Leaving the restaurant house, and getting into the carriage, the Marquis of Wenson was wondering what to do about Rowena.
Hiring an assassin came to naught. If she was living in a countâs house like before, he would pay a man and poison her, but Rowena was now in the palace.
âI canât kneel my head down to that girl!â
All nobles had to visit the emperor three times a year to greet him. On the New Yearâs ball, the birth of the Empire, and the emperorâs birthday, all the nobles greeted the emperor and his wife. There wasnât an exception even for local aristocrats.