Chapter 31: 31

It felt like I had a long dream.

The time I spent as Helena felt like a dream to me.

The dream that started with a nightmare where I wanted to wake up quickly, sometimes turned into a peaceful and sweet dream that made me want to stay asleep forever, and other times transformed into a sad dream that brought tears to my eyes.

But dreams are just dreams in the end.

No matter how much I didn’t want to wake up, the time would come when I had to open my eyes and return to reality.

And now was the time.

Poof!

With a loud miraculous sound, the train began to slow down. We had finally arrived at our destination.

Free from contemplation, I shook my head to dispel the haze of drowsiness.

Even the faint drowsiness that remained disappeared. I looked outside the train with clear eyes.

I could see people moving in Busan. It was as if their energy was contagious, I felt a surge of vitality in my tired body.

When the train came to a complete stop, I took out my bag from the luggage compartment. Following the crowd, I got off the train.

‘Phew.’

As soon as I escaped from the enclosed space, I took a deep breath.

But maybe it was because of my mood.

Amidst the acrid smoke, I could faintly smell the sea invading my nostrils. It is said to be a harbor city, and it seemed that the sea breeze reached this far. The pungent smell wasn’t unpleasant.

Leaving the crowded waiting area, I arrived at the entrance of the station after a short walk.

As I emerged onto a quiet street, I turned around and took in Eres Train Station with my eyes.

It was smaller compared to the train stations in the capital, but it wasn’t to be ignored either. The newly built station was grand and impressive, befitting the size of the city.

As I stepped outside, the scent of the sea became even stronger. A smile formed on my lips.

“So, this is Eres.”

The place I never got to visit since my birth.

But from now on it would be the place I live in.

I began to imprint the familiar scenery in my eyes, one by one.

Near the quiet station, there were a few carriages waiting to pick up passengers.

However, it was difficult to find a carriage going all the way to Ellwood since Ellwood was a countryside village where not many people resided.

After much difficulty, I managed to find a carriage. The driver glanced up and down at me and curtly asked about my destination.

“Please take me to Ellwood village.”

“Huh? You’re going to that backwater place?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm… Of all the customers, I get someone like this for the first ride… Tsk!”

Upon hearing the driver’s grumbling voice, my heart sank for a moment, but I remained resolute and asked.

“Don’t you go to Ellwood?”

The driver seemed startled by my determined attitude this time. He cleared his throat and spoke.

“If you insist, I can take you, but you’ll have to pay extra for that.”

“….”

The driver extended two fingers and shook them. I noticed that one of his front teeth was missing as he smirked.

“Okay, I understand.”

I didn’t show any signs of discontent. I didn’t even bother to negotiate. I didn’t want to ruin my mood on such a momentous day.

The carriage rattled along the unpaved road. My buttocks ached, and my brows furrowed involuntarily.

But soon, the pain in my body ceased. As the road narrowed and we got closer to Ellwood, my tension increased.

Would everyone remember me? Did they live well without me?

What if I go there and become a hindrance to them? If they feel uncomfortable seeing me…

Lost in various thoughts, I absentmindedly mumbled to myself, and then the carriage came to a halt.

“Miss, this is Ellwood.”

As I opened the door and got off, I saw the scenery of a small countryside village.

I heard the sound of the carriage swiftly turning around from behind, but I didn’t look back. There was no reason to feel regretful about it since I wouldn’t be using it anymore. It would just go back without me, and I had no reason to feel lonely about it.

Instead…

“Ha…”

Once we arrived, my heart started racing rapidly. My hands were sweaty and moist.

My family’s house was said to be at the edge of the village. I remembered hearing from Aslan that it was a house with a purple roof, located a little away from the other houses in the village.

It wasn’t difficult to find. As I walked, remembering that the house was on the opposite side of the village entrance, the purple roof shimmered brightly in the sunlight, catching my eye.

Was the roof painted so flamboyantly to capture people’s attention and make it easy for anyone to find? To make it recognizable even from afar?

Lost in various thoughts, I walked up the uphill path and finally arrived in front of the house where my family resided.

A decent-sized yard was in front of the two-story house, surrounded by a white fence.

It truly was a picturesque house. In my childhood, I used to wish to live in a house like this.

The sense of admiration didn’t last long. Instead, the tension grew stronger.

“….”

I stared at the old door, my dry lips trembling. It was just a matter of opening it and turning the doorknob… Why did such a simple task feel so difficult?

I stood in front of the house, hesitating for what felt like an eternity, oblivious to the passing of time.

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Then, suddenly, the door opened from the inside.

Frozen like ice, I watched as someone emerged from within.

The person, who had been looking down at the floor, sensed my presence blocking their way and raised their head.

“….!”

“….”

It was the weary face of a middle-aged woman, marked with traces of time, staring directly at me.

It was a face that felt familiar yet unfamiliar.

At first, the expression on her face was filled with wariness and surprise towards the stranger, but gradually it changed as she looked at me.

Finally, she cautiously asked in a hesitant voice.

“Lyla…?”

Her long-awaited call made my eyes well up with tears. Overwhelmed by the surging emotions, my trembling lips opened.

“….Mom.”

Even my voice, moist with tears, quivered. But in the close distance where we could hear each other’s breathing, it was easy for her to hear my small answer.

Her face underwent a sudden transformation.

“Lyla!”

Mom stretched her arms wide towards me. As I embraced her outstretched arms, a complex feeling overwhelmed me. But I didn’t want to let go of the warm embrace.

“That’s strange.”

Aslan frowned. Something from earlier kept making him nervous.

Was it for the fact that he’d narrowly missed catching him?

“I apologize, sir. I was told he was staying here, but he must have gotten away.”

Aslan couldn’t fully concentrate on his subordinate’s report as he glanced around the cluttered, narrow inn room.

“Start tracking him immediately. He couldn’t have gone far, so search the vicinity first. Also, keep a close eye on Rosalyn Peridot in case he tries to approach her.”

“Yes.”

“And…”

After a moment of contemplation, Aslan issued another order.

“Assign all the personnel I separated for the tracking to accompany my wife.”

“All of them? Are you sure?”

“Yes. No one should be able to approach her surroundings.”

“Understood.”

As Aslan tried to calm his restlessness by absentmindedly touching the wedding ring on his fourth finger, the sense of unease continued to disturb him.

“We’ll discuss the rest of the matter in the report tomorrow. For now, focus on chasing him.”

“Yes, Sir.”

Although there were still tasks to be done, Aslan, unable to bear the impatience, immediately boarded a carriage without stopping elsewhere and headed straight home.

Home.

To him, it used to be a meaningless space, but now it had become a place he could dare to call a sanctuary.

However, recently, he couldn’t simply find solace there anymore.

There was one puzzle that Aslan, who effortlessly solved any problem that came his way, couldn’t solve.

‘Lyla.’

Lyla, his wife.

On paper and in people’s perception, his wife was called “Helena Tordell.”

He knew her real name, but he couldn’t call her by it because she hadn’t revealed it with her own lips.

Although she poured out her entire story in great detail, she never uttered her own name until the end.

That bothered him, but he still held back. Rather than him forcing her to say it reluctantly, he hoped Lyla would confess when her heart allowed.

At first, he was patient and willing to wait.

But as the three years of their contract drew closer to an end, his patience wore thin.

His obsession with his wife’s real name stemmed from its symbolic significance.

By not disclosing her true name, she kept her distance from him. She drew a line in their relationship, saying, “Only this far.” She herself didn’t cross that line, and she sent him an unspoken message not to cross it either.

She was still Helena Tordell, and they occasionally shared the same bed, as they had agreed during their early days of marriage.

“It would be best to use the couple’s bedroom, but that might be uncomfortable for you.”

Aslan said as he gave Lyla the best bedroom previously used by the Duchess.

It was a thoughtful gesture for his young wife, who had just reached adulthood.

However, his wife’s reaction was beyond his expectations.

“Yes, thank you for considering me.”

The wife, who had been nervous about sharing a bedroom with Aslan or even sharing a room with him, quickly brightened up.

Lyla, who had been gloomy and had a dark expression all along, suddenly brightened her face, which pleased Aslan. However, the reason behind her sudden change irritated him.

‘Does she dislike sleeping with me so much?’

Aslan observed his wife with narrowed eyes, feeling a slight annoyance.

“We should still sleep together in the same bed a couple of times.”

“Gasp!”