10

I was taken aback when I recognized the woman who had asked the question. Why is Irene here?

"Duchess Veronica Audovera?!" she exclaimed. I quickly pulled her down into the empty seat beside me. "Ssshh!"

"I'm sorry, but why are you alone, Duchess? Is the Duke not with you?" she whispered, her eyes wide with curiosity.

"I kind of ran away, so you'd better lower your voice," I whispered back, my tone soft but firm.She seemed taken aback at first, but then her face lit up with a small, excited smile. "What a coincidence. I also ran away from the temple!" she said, practically glowing with giddiness. What's going on with the heroine? This side of her was so unexpected. I always remembered Irene as the delicate, docile type, the one described in the novel as incapable of breaking even a single plate... or was I remembering that wrong?

"But why did you run away, Your Grace?" she asked, her voice filled with genuine concern. I found myself gazing out the window, lost in thought, as I struggled to find an answer.

"I feel suffocated," I admitted softly, the weight of my emotions pressing down on me. Confusion, frustration... everything was a tangled mess in my mind. The real reason, though? The bed-sharing situation. That's what really drove me to this point. "And please, just call me Veronica," I added, wanting to shed the formalities for a moment of clarity.

"Really? Then, please call me Irene," she replied, her voice warm and cheerful.

I smiled faintly, but my thoughts still lingered on the storm that was brewing inside me. "What about you? What made you run away from the temple?" I asked, genuinely curious about her reasons.

She sighed deeply. "The temple has been making me do all kinds of work. I haven't had a proper rest since coming back from the war," she explained, and I couldn't help but notice the dark circles under her eyes. She looked utterly exhausted. I thought I was the only one feeling this worn out.

"This may be a bit sudden, but I'd really like to become close to you, Duchess Veronica," she added with a hopeful smile. I frowned at her words.

"Close to me? Aren't you aware of the rumors about me? The crazy lady of high society?" I couldn't help but ask.

"I've heard those rumors, but aren't they from the past? What matters now is who Duchess Veronica is today. I really admire you, especially for what you did during the war. Did you know I coined the name Angel of War for you?" she said, and I couldn't help but gape at her."Angel of War?" I asked, bewildered. "I didn't even participate in the war," I added, feeling a bit confused.

Irene smiled brightly.

An hour passed as she explained to me how I came to be known as the Angel of War. It all stemmed from the secret shipments of war supplies I sent over the course of three years. I had done it because of the knowledge I had gained from reading the novel. I remembered that the enemy always targeted supply depots with bombs, and that left the soldiers without food and medical supplies. The result? Countless casualties.

"We were in despair when they destroyed the fort. So many knights were injured, and there were only nine priests, including myself, left to help. Healing the injured was draining. I honestly thought I was going to collapse from exhaustion. Supplies would take weeks to arrive. But then, a miracle happened. War supplies arrived the very next day. You may not realize it, but those supplies saved countless lives, Duchess. Because of that, we were able to keep going, and not a single life was lost. We are all incredibly grateful to you."

I felt a rush of emotions as her words sank in. I had never imagined that something I did, something so small and secretive, had such a profound impact. I was silent for a moment, the weight of it all pressing down on me.

I scratched my head in confusion. That was supposed to be a secret! How did they figure out it was me? I was so careful to make sure it came from the palace! Wait, does that mean the Duke knows about this too?!

Irene continued telling her story, and I was getting embarrassed because it was all about me. Shouldn't this be about the Duke? I mean, they're the protagonists. "How about the Duke?" I asked, frowning when she paused.

"What about him?" she replied, as though my question was strange. Something felt off.

"What do you think of the Duke?" I pressed, and she seemed to think for a moment.

"Truthfully, I find Duke Henrick... scary," she said. Huh? In the novel, he was described as a sweet, caring person. What is this "scary" stuff she's talking about? "Wherever the Duke is, there's a bloodbath. Literally. I saw him fight once, and I nearly fainted. That's why I only spoke to him when there was a meeting during the war," she added, hugging herself as if she was shivering from the memory.

Seriously, something's not right here!

I didn't expect to get along with her this well. It felt like I was just chatting with a friend. We talked for hours—well, mostly Irene did the talking. She even mentioned that every day she prays for there to never be another war. If there were, she'd leave the temple for good.

Why is she considering rebelling against the temple? Was the war that traumatic for them? Maybe it was the exhaustion catching up with her because Irene eventually fell asleep. I glanced out the window, watching the scenery pass by. It had been hours since I ran away from the Audovera estate. They must have noticed by now.

Pfft. There's no way they can find me, right? The Duke has no idea where I built my house. It'll be my first time seeing it too, and I'm excited. Especially the pool! Haha! I felt my eyes grow heavier and realized I was starting to doze off. Time for a quick nap.

---

"This is the last stop, ladies," the conductor's voice suddenly jolted me awake. I realized the train had come to a complete stop. My God! What was supposed to be a quick nap turned into a long, deep sleep. Did we really sleep through the entire night?

"T-thank you," I quickly woke Irene, who was still beside me. Wait, where was she going? "Irene?"

"Veronica?" she murmured, then looked around, clearly disoriented. "Where are we?"

"We're at the last stop." We rushed to get off the train. The conductor was clearly annoyed with how slow we were moving. Haha! "By the way, Irene, where were you headed?"

"Well, now that you mention it, I don't really have a specific place to go. I just got on the train," she said, scratching her head. I paused for a moment, thinking.

"Do you want to come with me?" I asked, and her face instantly lit up.

"Can I really?" she asked eagerly.

"Yes."

"Yay! But where do we go? We're in a rural area."

"There's a small, quiet town nearby called Charringtown. It's peaceful and safe there. A perfect place to get away from everything. Shall we head to the market first?" I suggested as we started walking together.

Of course, we first stopped by the market to buy food and even picked up a few clothes. I noticed Irene didn't have any extra clothes with her. She only had a small bag, much like me. We both ran away without thinking to pack properly.

After shopping, we quickly made our way to the house I was talking about. We rented a wagon since we bought a lot, and the house was far from the market. It took us at least two hours to get there.

Irene's jaw dropped when she saw the house. I felt the same way. Were rest houses always this huge around here? It seemed almost too big for something my father had built.

"Was there always a big house in this remote area?" Irene mumbled in disbelief.

"I actually own this place. It's a house I asked my father to build," I replied, and after we got everything inside and settled the rent for the wagon, I grabbed Irene to give her a tour. "Irene, could you keep this house a secret? Only my father and I know about it."

"Of course, Veronica. But this house design is really unique," she said, and I couldn't help but smile. I designed it myself, after all. I felt proud. I then pulled Irene to the back of the house where the pool was.

"Whoa. What's this?" she asked in awe.

"This is a swimming pool. I requested this when they built the house," I explained.

"It's like a giant bathtub. Wait, are you really going to swim in it?"

"Well, of course. By the way, you can use the other room on the second floor," I added, glad I had asked my father to build an extra room. I was surprised when Irene suddenly hugged me, thanking me. I just chuckled. Irene was so cute.

Before we jumped into the pool, we decided to have something to eat first. So here we were now in the kitchen. Luckily, there were already supplies here. "Thank you, Father," I whispered, grateful.

"There's a rice grain here," Irene said, showing me a jar full of rice. Oh my god, rice. Well, eating rice in this world isn't exactly common. I did ask my father for some, but I didn't expect him to actually find rice. People here don't typically eat it.

I made my way to the rice and started cooking it. While waiting for it to cook, I began preparing the dish. Since we were both hungry, I decided to make something easy to cook. Irene helped by peeling the garlic and onion. I then mixed everything in a pot. Luckily, there were condiments here already. Thank you so much, Father.

After about 30 minutes, my stomach started growling. I began serving the food, and Irene helped me with the plates. "I didn't know that the Duchess of Audovera cooks," she said, amazed.

We started eating together. "This is actually the first time I've cooked for others," I said. Actually, it's the first time since I remembered my past life. Plus, this was the first chance I've had to cook. I took a bite of rice with the dish, and suddenly, I felt a lump in my throat. I missed rice so much, and this... it was just perfect.

"Irene? Why are you crying?" I asked, surprised.

"This is so delicious, Veronica. What is this?" she asked, tears in her eyes.

"It's pork adobo," I replied.

We continued eating. I don't know what happened, but the rice was all gone, and we were both full. Irene even asked me how to make adobo. Haha! She kept saying it should be the national dish here. Afterward, we went swimming.

This was the vacation we needed. Two days passed by so quickly. We made all sorts of dishes. I even introduced Irene to chicken tinola and pork sinigang. Haha!

Currently, I was sitting by the pool, enjoying the peaceful atmosphere. These past two days had been perfect. I wished it could stay this way forever. What should I cook next? Do we still have enough food stocked? I was lost in thought about what to cook when Irene rushed toward me, panicked.

"Veronica! Veronica! We have a problem!" she said, breathless as she approached.

"What is it—" I froze, standing up in shock as I saw Duke Henrick standing there.

WHAT IS HE DOING HERE?!