Chapter 14
How to Return from the Candy House
“It’s not that there’s a problem…”
“Then I hope you’ll spread the word until no one in the Empire is left unaware—that Damien de Orphey steadfastly found and pulled Ansi de Louvelsa out from beneath the surface.”
So no one would make the same mistake again.
Everyone could understand what lay behind those words. As Damien smiled brightly, the men exaggeratedly nodded and offered their congratulations.
It was no longer the kind of atmosphere where anyone could ask whether he was crazy or why he had made such a decision.
Damien de Orphey knew how to keep the mood light and cheerful—but he was never an easy person.
“Well then, I’d like to spend a bit more time with Miss Ansi. Please go ahead without me.”
Smiling, Damien placed his wine glass on a tray. His more relaxed demeanor and tone allowed the others to let their guard down, teasing him playfully.
“You might end up being completely whipped after marriage.”
“It would be an honor if she would have me.”
“Geez…”
Leaving their laughter behind, Damien walked toward Ansi.
It really did seem like Damien was the one chasing after her. She didn’t seem interested at all, yet he looked desperate to be with her.
As he approached her, he had no idea what she was thinking.
“A tiresome woman.”
The other ladies had gone off somewhere, leaving Ansi de Louvelsa alone. And since she was walking toward the back door, it seemed she was planning to leave the venue altogether.
Being unsociable isn’t necessarily a flaw—but lacking social skills is.
Though discontent swelled within him, he couldn’t just leave her alone. In this little drama, his role was that of the romantic who thought of Ansi de Louvelsa whether standing or sitting.
It would be easy to become her partner through marriage. But the problem was that the choice lay with her. If she didn’t give him her heart, he would never speak of it—even when considering his own future.
So Damien had to win her heart.
From that perspective, her isolation might actually work in his favor.
Quickly spotting the positive in the situation, Damien wiped away his dissatisfaction and followed her. In the dark night, the woman entered a uniquely shaped hedge maze.
Ansi walked aimlessly for quite some time before she finally looked up and surveyed her surroundings. She was surrounded by high walls thickly adorned with greenery.
“This place is…”
The Baylis family’s hedge maze.
Ansi sighed. She had wandered here, walking absentmindedly wherever her feet took her.
She had been here once before with Elise.
They had gotten completely lost and were stuck inside for ages—only being found hours later by adults and finally making their way out.
The Marquis of Baylis, who loved novelty and fun, had poured effort into this maze. It was famous for its complex layout and large scale.
But it wasn’t exactly a popular destination. Word had quickly spread that those who entered seeking amusement soon swore never to return.
Still, she was older now—surely she could manage better than back then. With that hope, Ansi resumed walking.
“….”
It took hitting five dead ends for her to realize her sense of direction hadn’t improved at all with age.
Now what?
The situation was starting to feel truly hopeless.
Darkness had deepened, and she was completely alone. If only she had tied a string behind her like in the old tales she once heard—but it was far too late for that.
Worse still, no one even knew she had entered the maze. A terrifying thought crept in: What if she never made it out?
And then—
She sensed a presence behind her.
In the dark night, a stranger’s approach should have terrified her. But to Ansi, it felt like a ray of hope, a way to escape this situation.
“Is someone there?”
Ansi immediately turned around and strode toward the sound, desperately hoping it wasn’t a bird, mouse, or cat—but a human.
And as she turned a corner—
She nearly collided with someone. As she instinctively stepped back, her feet tangled with her dress hem.
“…!”
Just as she was about to fall backward—
A strong arm caught her and wrapped around her protectively.
Ansi instinctively braced herself against the man’s chest. Even through his frock coat, she could clearly feel the hardness of his muscular frame.
Then, a soft voice whispered close to her ear.
“Are you alright?”
“Sir Damien?”
Startled, Ansi quickly stepped back and looked up at him.
“I was worried because you seemed to be leaving alone.”
“Ah… thank you.”
So he had noticed her leaving while pretending to mingle and network. As if reading her mind, Damien teased her playfully.
“My attention is always on you, Ansi.”
Ansi averted her gaze, unable to come up with a suitable response. Damien gently patted her head like she was endearing, then looked around and said:
“Do you know how to get out of the maze?”
“What about you?”
“So… that’s a no.”
“I’ll find the way.”
Feigning confidence, Ansi moved to stand beside him. She felt much more at ease now, at least knowing she wouldn’t die alone in the maze.
Watching her, Damien chuckled and placed a hand on the hedge wall.
“In a typical maze, if you keep one hand on the wall from the entrance and keep going, you’ll eventually reach the exit. Since all the walls are connected.”
“Then we’ll get out.”
“Nope, not if we’ve already come halfway in. In that case, we do this instead.”
Damien picked up a fallen twig and drew an X on the ground.
“To avoid retracing our steps. Shall we?”
Together, they began walking side by side.
In the quiet garden, only the chirping of insects, their footsteps, and the occasional scratch of a twig on dirt could be heard.
The scent of fresh spring grass mingled with the dry aroma of fading winter leaves.
After the X, Damien drew a cross over it to form a star. They never returned to any path marked with a star.
As he bent to draw another cross, Ansi spoke.
“There’s a fairy tale like that, right? Where children leave breadcrumbs to mark their path to the candy house.”
She had heard it as a child. Damien straightened and responded as they continued walking.
“Not really my favorite story.”
“Why not?”
“Do you like it?”
“I don’t remember it clearly, but I like the message. The witch who tried to eat the children gets punished and dies.”
A rightful ending. That’s why Ansi liked it.
“You must like stories where good triumphs over evil.”
“Doesn’t everyone? Why don’t you like it, Sir Damien?”
“Maybe because, even after taking the candy house from the witch, they don’t stay there. They go back home.”
“Because their family is at home. No matter how sweet the candy house, you can’t live there forever while your family is waiting.”
“Do you remember why the children had to drop breadcrumbs in the first place?”
Ansi thought for a moment. She had heard it so long ago that her memory was fuzzy. Was it to escape the witch’s house?
“Hmm… was that part important?”
“Not really.”
Damien shook his head. His voice had taken on a somber tone for a moment, but then he spoke again.
“I just don’t like stories where children suffer. Though that’s how many fairy tales go.”
“A story needs hardships to be exciting. Especially a hero’s tale. And if the target audience is children, then the protagonist should be a child too. But in the end, they always get rewarded.”
“But maybe the children would’ve preferred a modest happiness over some grand reward at the end.”
Ansi stared at Damien, thoughtful.
In some ways, he had a point.
The catharsis at the end of a struggle is just a form of self-consolation. A better life is one without hardship in the first place.
And Ansi, more than anyone, understood that.
Escaping a near-death situation and earning candy and treasure at the end could never compare to a life where the witch was never encountered to begin with. A life without the trauma.
“Well, no need to take it so seriously. Fairy tales aren’t real.”
Damien’s cheerful voice pulled her out of her deep thoughts.
“And our hardship ends here.”
Ansi looked up at his words. Under the bright moonlight—there it was, the exit.
Finally.
As they hurried out of the maze, a vast garden spread out before them. The electric thrill of escape surged through her body from head to toe.
This small hardship—it wasn’t so bad after all.
“I thought we’d never get out.”
“Well, being stuck with you wouldn’t have been so bad.”
“Let’s hurry back.”
“Before that. Look up, Ansi.”
At Damien’s words, Ansi instinctively looked up. And there it was—a black ocean of sky, studded with shimmering stars.
“…Ah.”
A soft gasp escaped her lips. The glittering lights seemed to flow, as if they might spill over, or swallow the sea itself.
She’d seen the night sky before—but strangely, she just wanted to keep staring. Even blinking felt like a waste.
It was a strange feeling. An emotion hard to describe. It might’ve been joy, or perhaps sadness.
“When I was on the battlefield, I’d lie down on the dirt and just stare at the sky.”
At his quiet voice, Ansi turned her gaze to look at Damien again. He had lowered his head.
Their eyes met.
