Chapter 3
Escape of Love
Morning came.
Larienne pretended to still be asleep, waiting for her father, the Count, to leave the house.
Even though he was her father, she didn’t want to see him. To him, she was nothing more than something useful, and now she also wanted to treat him as less than a stranger.
She only wanted to escape his grasp as soon as possible.
Is there really no way? she thought. She hadn’t wished for his death, not even by accident.
Even if she resented him, she didn’t want him to die in that accident. If that was the reason she had been sent back a year in time, then she had to prevent it.
Larienne had spent the whole night secretly packing her belongings. She hid her bag deep inside her wardrobe.
Now all she had to do was wait for her father to leave.
Her mother was with him… hopefully there wouldn’t be any arguments.
She had told her so many times—no matter what happens, don’t fight with Father.
Spreading a map open, Larienne studied the capital, Isiriel. She carefully traced the streets, landmarks, and most importantly, the location of the Maen Merchant Guild.
For a brief moment, a wave of nostalgia passed through her eyes, but it quickly faded.
Her plan was simple. She and her mother would first hide in an inn nearby, then later create a situation where her father would have no choice but to give up on her.
His business was bound to fail anyway. If only he would return the investment money to the Marquis of Hanes before everything collapsed.
Last time, because he hadn’t, her mother ended up imprisoned, and Larienne herself had to work desperately to pay back both the bail and the lost funds.
Soon, she heard the sound of the Count leaving the house. A maid entered Larienne’s room to confirm it.
“Miss, you’re sleeping in late today. Did something happen?”
It was Jane, one of the few remaining maids. She would soon lose her position too, once the household fell apart.
Larienne looked at her blankly. She had only gotten a little sleep near dawn and still felt dizzy.
“I just couldn’t sleep. By the way, Jane, Father’s gone, right?”
“Yes, he left without even eating breakfast. Said he was going to the capital. I hope this time his business works out.”
Larienne let out a short laugh, then quickly put on a serious face again.
“Right… I hope so too. Where’s Mother? I need to see her.”
She hurried downstairs. As expected, her mother, Countess Hennessy, was sitting in the parlor reading the same old book in her rocking chair.
Larienne remembered that story—it was about a prince rescuing a princess in danger. Her mother had read it to her many times when she was a child.
Looking at her, Larienne thought sadly, Mother, you’re still lost in romance. You loved Father, and this is the price you paid.
She couldn’t say it aloud. Instead, she stared at her mother for a long time before speaking:
“Mother, it’s time to wake up from this dream. It’s time to leave Father behind.”
The Countess gave her daughter a faint, sorrowful smile.
“Yes… I suppose the time has come. I need to truly leave him now. I can endure it myself, but I can’t bear to watch you suffer anymore. You’ve packed, haven’t you, Lari?”
Her mother’s face didn’t look sad—more like resigned.
She had once abandoned her own family for the Count, because he was her first love, a man she had loved enough to give up everything. But now she had to leave him for good. It must have hurt deeply.
“There’s no time left, Mother. Let’s go now. I already told the servants to say we went to Father’s location on urgent business. And I left him a letter. I’ll explain on the way.”
“Alright. I’ll do as you say. Maybe this is our chance to finally break free.”
Without further words, the Countess picked up a small bag and joined her.
“Jane, your master asked us to come to the capital. It might take a few days, so take care of the house until then.”
“Oh, Miss, it sounds like you’re going far away. Enjoy the sights in the capital! I’ve never been there myself, so tell me what it’s like when you return.”
Jane smiled brightly as she saw them off.
The Hennessy estate grew smaller behind them.
Goodbye… I’ll probably never see this place again.
Larienne’s chest tightened, her eyes stinging. No matter how painful this place had been, leaving it forever still made her heart heavy.
They had arranged for a carriage to take them straight to the train station.
“Mother, I’ll earn lots of money. Let’s live happily together, just us. Father will manage on his own. Don’t worry.”
But even as she said it, Larienne felt uneasy. Will Father really believe the letter I left? What if this escape has to last longer than I planned?
The letter said she had fallen in love with a man she recently met and had fled to the southern region to marry him.
It claimed they were already engaged, and that she and her mother had run away because of the Marquis marriage proposal.
At the end, she begged him not to search for her.
Of course, it was all a lie—except that last plea.
She could already picture her father’s furious reaction when he read it.
At the train station, they paid the driver and boarded. She pulled her cloak over her face. Their escape of love had begun.
An escape from her father, an escape to change her fate. She desperately wished that her “fake fiancé” truly existed to help her now.
***
The conductor’s voice echoed through the train.
“This is Isiriel Station. Passengers, please disembark slowly to the right.”
Larienne stepped out, her movements slow and heavy.
So I’ve returned again… Isiriel.
She gazed at the capital with complicated feelings. The wide central square stood before the station, filled with memories—especially of one man.
Sir Verner. She bit her lip and forced herself to look at her mother instead.
“Mother, this is the capital, Isiriel.”
“Yes… it’s been so long. Lari, it must be your first time here.”
The Countess’s eyes softened with old memories.
“Let’s get a carriage right away and go elsewhere,” Larienne urged.
Pulling out her map, she chose a location about five blocks away from the Maen Merchant Guild—not too close, not too far.
It was the place she had stayed the very first time she worked in the capital. It was safe enough.
The autumn wind was chilly, which was good. With their cloaks pulled up, no one would look twice at them.
Larienne flagged down a carriage near the station.
“Please take us to the inn in the Harente District.”
The driver glanced at them briefly, then nodded and started off.
Through the window, familiar streets and shops passed by. Memories of walking there with him returned painfully.
‘I must never see you again. And even if I do, you won’t recognize me. I’ll forget you too, with all my strength. Love is just memory. If I erase it, I won’t feel it anymore. Please… let us be nothing more than strangers who pass by each other.’
Still, one worry lingered—Sir Verner often visited the Maen Guild.
To prevent her death, she would have to uncover his true identity, which meant staying close enough to observe him.
From a distance, as if he were just another stranger.
If he remembered her, he would have sought her already. That alone was proof.
As the carriage rolled toward their destination under the dim evening sky, Larienne turned to her mother.
“Mother, listen carefully. I left a letter behind. It says I fell in love and eloped. That I ran away with a man.”
“What? Lari, do you realize what kind of scandal that will cause? How could you act without even telling me?”
The Countess’s eyes widened in shock.
“I don’t care. I never wanted to marry anyway. At least this way, Father will give up on me. And once the Marquis’s family hears of it, they’ll withdraw the marriage offer too. I even left a short note with the servants to spread the word faster.”
Her mother’s face darkened with deep worry.
“Lari, are you really planning to live alone, unmarried? You know how the world sees a young woman like that.”
Larienne slowly nodded.
Yes, I know. I once loved someone. But he probably doesn’t even remember me now.
To him, I’ll just be someone who passed by. That’s enough. My heart is too wounded to love again.
She couldn’t share these truths with her mother. And yet, she wondered—if she saw him again, what would she feel?
Even knowing he had no memories of her, a tiny part of her still wished he would recognize her.
She shook her head violently.
‘No!’
‘Never! I must never be tied to him again.’
