Translator: Nox

Chapter 28

“H-how much further do we have to go?”

“We’re almost there.”

Vanessa panted as she took his outstretched hand. The rocks and ground were slick with moisture from the afternoon rain.

She stepped carefully onto a large boulder. From this height, the view stretched far into the distance. Below the gentle ridge, emerald wheat fields rolled on endlessly, and smoke drifted from the chimneys of scattered farmhouses.

She could hardly believe she was sneaking away from Gloucester Castle, heading somewhere unknown. She felt a rush of excitement, a terrifying yet heart-fluttering thrill. She was so preoccupied that she didn’t even notice him smiling at her flushed face.

“I didn’t think those rusted bars would come out so easily.”

“Only a few of them.”

“If I’d known, I would have tried it sooner.”

“Vanessa, look ahead.”

“I am looking.”

“There’s no point trying to memorize the path.”

“Me? No way. I wasn’t doing that.”

Vanessa straightened her head, trying to look serious. He let out a short, dry laugh. He found it both amusing and adorable how she feigned innocence after she’d spent the entire trek blatantly glancing around to pinpoint their location.

“That’s good. The passage will be blocked soon anyway. It looks like the materials for the gate repairs have arrived.”

“…Oh.”

She nodded as if it didn’t matter, but she couldn’t hide her internal disappointment. Swallowing a sigh, she lifted her head again. This was a rare opportunity, after all. She intended to cherish and enjoy every moment of it.

“How did you know there was a farmhouse nearby where we could borrow a carriage?”

“I just happened to find out.”

“Did Mr. Ross tell you that too?”

“Yeah.”

His answer felt like he was brushing off a tedious question, but at the same time, it made sense. Gloucester Castle had originally been built as a hunting lodge, so it was situated far from the city of Bath and the estates of other Southern socialites. Without a means of transport, leaving was nearly impossible, even if one wasn’t confined.

Because of this, the servants usually pooled their money to rent a carriage whenever they had business in the city. And as far as Vanessa knew, River Ross had never once used that carriage—even though he left his shabby storehouse to go out at least once a week.

“Wait here.”

Reaching the farmhouse, he opened a creaking fence gate. A farmer sweeping the inner yard spotted him and bowed deeply in greeting. They exchanged a few words before disappearing together.

Vanessa sat obediently where he told her to wait, squatting down to watch the yard. It was a pastoral scene: chickens, rabbits, and fluffy yellow chicks scurrying after their mothers. Resting her chin on her hand, she watched some ducks catching bugs until a sharp squawking sound made her bolt upright. Behind a thicket, a black cat was pinning down a duckling that had wandered from the flock.

She scrambled over the fence and scooped up the piteously crying duckling. At that moment, the stable door opened. The farmer, wearing a straw hat, led out a sturdy bay horse, hitched it to a carriage, and checked the wheels. River Ross followed behind the farmer and arched an eyebrow slightly when he saw Vanessa holding the dirty duckling.

“…….”

His look seemed to ask if she really couldn’t stay still for even that short a time. She felt wronged, but since she’d been caught red-handed, she couldn’t exactly complain.

“Come here.”

Vanessa set the duckling down in a safe spot and brushed the mud off her skirts. By then, the carriage was ready. Since River Ross climbed onto the driver’s seat without a word, Vanessa hesitated for a moment before sitting down beside him.

“You’re sitting here?”

“Yes. Unless it makes you uncomfortable.”

“I don’t mind, but mud will splash on your clothes.”

“But if I sit in the back alone, you’ll look too much like… my coachman.”

“You’re talking quite cheekily now.”

“Honestly, you’re the cheeky one, River Ross.”

Vanessa spoke with a slight squint of her eyes.

“Even if we’re in an equal contractual relationship right now, there is still a difference in status. How on earth did you grow up to be like this?”

He let out a scoff as if her question wasn’t even worth an answer. He seemed briefly at a loss for words.

“Well? River Ross. Say something.”

As if telling her to shut up, he took her face in his hands and kissed her carelessly. In truth, it was barely a grazing of lips and breath, but it thoroughly achieved the goal of distracting her.

“A-are you crazy?”

Vanessa’s face flushed all the way to the tips of her ears as she scrambled to push against his chest and shoulders.

“What if someone sees?!”

“If you mean the farmer, he went inside a moment ago.”

“Still! This place is… it’s completely wide open.”

“You seemed to like it when we kissed in the garden yesterday. That was wide open too.”

“That was….”

Unable to find a retort, Vanessa bit her red lip. No matter how much she tried to act bold, she was a refined lady at her core, and hearing such things seemed to genuinely shock her.

He found it both funny and cute how she expressed her sudden need for distance by scooting her bottom away.

“Sit closer to the inside. Don’t fall off by staying on the edge.”

“It’s not that, it’s just that this spot is particularly comfortable, and, well, it’s a hot day….”

When he reached out and pulled her slender waist toward him, her lips, which had been babbling nonsense excuses, went silent as if by magic. Her body, warmed by the summer night’s heat, and her soft chest pressed heedlessly against his arm.

“…….”

The nape of the woman’s bowed neck was crimson. If he listened closely, he could hear her heart thumping and fluttering loudly. It was absurd and yet amusing. To think she was this nervous just because their bodies were close in a place where people might see—especially after everything they’d done inside that storehouse in the Rose Garden over the past few weeks.

With a faint smile, he flicked the whip against the side of the carriage. Taking the signal, the horse moved, and the carriage began to roll slowly forward.

---

After several attempts to pull away from Theodore, Vanessa scurried to the very edge of the driver’s seat. A strange standoff ensued for a while, with her being intensely conscious of him.

“…….”

Of course, it didn’t last long. Far from being conscious of her, River Ross maintained a long silence while staring straight ahead. His relaxed mouth made him look quite peaceful, as if he were deep in thought. Even his characteristically cold eyes held a trace of warmth, like a lingering summer glow.

For a time, Vanessa traced his profile with her gaze. The peace emanating from River Ross gradually spread to her, and her heart, which had been racing with tension, finally returned to its normal rhythm.

“……. ”

She carefully adjusted her posture and looked away. It was rude to keep staring at someone, and more than anything, she didn’t want to disturb his thoughts.

The sun was setting over the quiet rural landscape. Hanging on the horizon, it radiated an intense crimson light, and in the deepening blue of the village outskirts, lights twinkled like beacons. Fields of ripening wheat and short apple trees lined both sides of the road endlessly.

There was a time when all this vast land belonged to Somerset. It wasn’t even that long ago. Back when her father and mother were alive, one couldn’t reach Sidron, the South’s largest port, without treading on Somerset soil.

‘Of course, that glory is all gone now.’

Now, it was enough just to be able to look after herself. It would be even better if she could earn enough money to move her parents’ graves to Gloucester.

“Vanessa, wake up.”

She must have drifted off into a doze. River Ross was gently holding her elbow.

“We’ll be in Bath in ten minutes.”

“Oh, already?”

Vanessa glanced at the old watch on her wrist.

“The circus starts at nine, so we’ve arrived about an hour early. It would be nice to get something to eat.”

“Are you hungry?”

“Yes. A little.”

He didn’t say anything more, but the carriage picked up speed. They passed under the Bath city sign just as dusk began to fall behind them. Perhaps because of the circus, the streets were more crowded than usual.

River Ross drove the carriage through quieter alleys. He seemed to know the geography of Bath better than she did, as if he had frequented it quite a bit. After turning through a few more alleys, the carriage stopped in front of a fairly respectable-looking shop.

“This place is….”

Vanessa’s eyes widened as she stepped down to the ground. A sophisticated teal sign bore an intricate gold-painted image of scissors and thread. Shelvron Robe.

“It’s a dress shop,” River Ross answered her unspoken question as he climbed down after her. Beyond the large glass window next to the door stood mannequins wearing garments that faithfully followed the capital’s trends she’d seen in magazines.

She hadn’t realized a place like this existed in Bath. Rosalyn would have loved it. That girl was always complaining that there weren’t any decent dress shops in the South.

“Let’s go in.”

When she showed no sign of moving, River Ross placed a hand lightly on her back. She nodded as if entranced, but a moment later, she finally processed his words. She turned to him with a startled face.

“Into the dress shop? Now?”

“You said your clothes weren’t appropriate.”

“Well, that’s true, but….”

Vanessa glanced at the shop hesitantly. Of course, she needed clothes. It was embarrassing to walk around in a dress with a torn button.

However, buying a new dress on a whim was well outside her budget. When Vanessa couldn’t make a quick decision, River Ross walked past her and grabbed the door handle. Before she could stop him, the door opened with a tinkle of a bell.

“Welcome…. Oh my.”

The moment she was led into the shop by River Ross, a young woman who had been fitting a dress with her back to the door turned around and widened her eyes.