Chapter 3
While Asha rode obediently in the carriage like a mouse in front of a cat, Cedric couldn’t take his eyes off the carriage as it shrank into a distant dot.
He had arrived earlier than promised and was leisurely strolling through the lavender garden.
As he enjoyed the calm, he glanced toward the garden entrance and saw a couple chatting as if on a date.
The woman was only visible from behind, but her small, delicate figure fit the image he had vaguely imagined of a typical capital city woman. The man’s face was familiar to Cedric.
‘That’s Crown Prince Alesto? What a coincidence.’
He was the benefactor who had sent considerable funds and troops to help Cedric purge pirates from the Dalbert estate.
Until now, Cedric had never met him in person; he had only seen his portrait. The support had arrived under the Crown Prince’s name, but he hadn’t come in person.
Still, he was a benefactor, someone Cedric was glad to see.
‘I should at least go greet him. But would that be a disturbance? Hmm…’
As he hesitated, the woman’s pale face came into view. Their eyes met, and he froze in place. Time seemed to stop.
‘She’s beautiful…’
And sacred at the same time.
Her hair drifted like soft feathers, her movements were fairy-like. Even the trailing hem of her dress, disappearing into the carriage, seemed endearing.
The moment Cedric had been frozen, time only resumed once the carriage departed completely.
Had he unconsciously been holding his breath?
He let out a long sigh, watching the shrinking carriage.
Were all the women of the capital so lovely?
He had waited with growing anticipation for Miss Asha Herman of the Herman family.
Even after the red sunset faded, she did not appear.
Meanwhile, Asha busied her small mind with thoughts.
How could she get off this carriage?
If she arrived at the palace like this, she might lose any chance of escape.
Then suddenly, a good excuse came to her.
She cautiously spoke.
“Um… I just realized, my family might worry if I go like this.”
Of course, Alesto paid no mind to her concerns.
“Miss Asha, I will make sure they need not worry.”
Asha drew a small breath. Did his “make sure they need not worry” mean he might sweep through her family? They weren’t really blood, but they were her first family, in a sense.
She didn’t dare ask outright and tried to find another escape route.
“I have important things at home.”
“I’ll bring them tomorrow.”
“I’ve hidden the important things in my room.”
“I will make sure to take everything from your room, down to the last sheet of paper. Don’t worry.”
“Hmm… very reliable of you.”
After just two exchanges, Asha ran out of things to say. She wasn’t particularly witty or eloquent.
Meanwhile, Crown Prince Alesto, who had grown up almost entirely among court schemers, found the Saint fascinating.
How could someone be so transparent, with everything visible?
‘She seems to want to escape.’
Of course, he had no intention of letting her go, but he couldn’t let her shiver like a trapped mouse either.
Earlier, she mentioned her family. Could he use that?
He shook his head inwardly. Threats or intimidation weren’t the best approach.
After all, someone who could reverse time could vanish to some remote place if pushed.
For now, the best course was to make the Saint give up her desire to run. Even better if she wanted to remain by his side.
‘Ah, then…’
Rumbling.
He followed the sound and saw the Saint blushing as she coughed awkwardly.
“Ahem! Uh-huh… hmm…”
It seemed she wanted to hide the noise from her stomach, but once it started, it wouldn’t stop.
“Um… I’m hungry…”
She smiled awkwardly, her face red as if about to burst.
Alesto immediately halted the carriage. They still had over thirty minutes to the palace, so it was better to give her something to eat.
They stopped at the edge of the shopping district, and he led the Saint to a restaurant he occasionally visited: The Lion’s Table.
A subtle smile curved his lips.
Asha ignored his smile.
Unfortunately, she hadn’t eaten properly all day.
She was accustomed to hunger. Even in Korea or as Asha, hunger didn’t mean instant access to food.
‘In the orphanage or factory, meals were scheduled strictly. Even if it wasn’t enough, you couldn’t get a proper snack in between. The Count’s household had particularly strict diets.’
She had no time, no money, no freedom.
‘All I ate this morning were a few biscuits.’
By now, it was long past lunch, approaching evening.
The aroma of bread and milk from the charity event earlier lingered in her mind.
The rumbling of her stomach hadn’t meant she expected a meal—it was just that she hoped for some bread and milk before bed.
Yet here Alesto had brought her to a proper restaurant, stopping the carriage and laying out the menu for her.
“What would you like?”
Humans are fickle, and she was especially simple. In her mind, bread and milk vanished instantly.
“Meat.”
While the food arrived, wine was served.
Following Alesto, Asha held the thin stem of the wine glass awkwardly and then spoke.
“Um… I’m curious about something.”
“Yes?”
She cleared her throat.
“Why do you keep speaking politely to me? …Even though you’re someone so important.”
This society had a strict hierarchy, and regardless of age, social rank determined who used honorifics.
He was, after all, only the Crown Prince, the highest-ranking noble besides the Emperor himself. Yet he spoke politely to a mere count’s daughter. Why?
The answer came immediately.
“Because I see you, Miss Asha, as a potential romantic partner.”
Gulp.
Her response was a sudden choke on the wine. She hurriedly grabbed water. Alesto, meanwhile, took a handkerchief from his pocket and finished speaking.
“You said your fantasy was to be taken by a handsome man and loved, right? I also find you agreeable. If this relationship deepens, you will become someone precious to me, and so I must speak politely.”
His answer was flawless. Sweet words from a polite gentleman.
But why did her spine tingle?
Was it the cold air? His voice?
No. The answer was clear: the man saying such sweet things was a potential tyrant.
Among the characters in The Saint’s Confinement, hardly anyone was truly sane. One was the Crown Prince, whose default setting in the original story was confinement.
‘Wait… this isn’t reality, is it?’
Once she realized this was inside the novel, a natural sense of danger arose.
Could it be that simply wishing for a comfortable life now triggered obsessive forces? And now, a tyrant was obsessed with her despite her doing nothing?
‘No way…’
As Asha quietly ate, feeling this unease, Alesto watched her expressions shift moment by moment.
His claim that he viewed her as a romantic interest wasn’t about love—it was his method to keep the Saint by his side.
Whether he could genuinely love her was uncertain, but the goal was to stir her heart.
If necessary, he could take it to real romance or even marriage. Her time-reversal ability was worth it.
