Chap 1

Adeline did not want to die. She was merely fleeing, yearning to live.

The rain, which had started falling gently, now poured down heavily, obscuring her vision. It seemed even the weather was against her.

Her shoes were buried in the muddy mire, and her once beautiful dress, now soaked, had long lost its color.

"Heave… heave…"

The rain, clinging to the hem of her lavish dress, seemed to mock her.

The water-soaked fabric grew unbearably heavy.

Knowing her limits but still desperate to survive, Adeline forced herself to take one step after another.

She couldn't stop until she reached the next village.

By now, Duke Torpheo must have realized her disappearance and turned the castle upside down.

His knights would have started searching for her.

'I must get as far away as possible.'

But her body couldn't keep up with her will.

The relentless downpour blurred her sight. Adeline's dress and even her undergarments were completely drenched.

Fearing hypothermia, she hastily scanned her surroundings.

'A cave.'

Seeking temporary shelter from the rain, she moved towards a cave.

As she entered, a loud clap of thunder, accompanied by a streak of lightning, echoed through the cavern.

The terrifying sound made Adeline shudder.

The thunderous noise was followed by a vibration that shook the ground and the entire cave, as if an earthquake had struck.

In the midst of the trembling, Adeline staggered, struggling to keep her balance.

When she finally regained her composure, she couldn't believe the scene before her.

"No… this can't be real, can it?"

It was dreadful. Why did a torrential rain have to fall at the very moment she was fleeing?

And why did the cave entrance she had chosen for refuge collapse in a landslide?

The world seemed mercilessly cruel to her alone.

"Is this how it ends for me?"

Adeline hadn't chosen to be reborn into this life.

Growing up as a young lady of the Credion Duchy in the Soltarius Empire, receiving a proposal from the Crown Prince, none of it was her choice.

She had only wanted to escape the tragic cycle of Adeline's life.

Knowing she was living a life with a predetermined death, wouldn't anyone struggle desperately to live?

She had fled from the Crown Prince to heal Duke Torpheo in Horn, and now, she had decided to abandon everything and flee.

"Why does my life have to be this hard?"

Why was her life so twisted and unbearably cruel?

Exhausted, Adeline collapsed.

What kind of karma had she accumulated in her past life to deserve such a fate?

In the pitch-dark cave, Adeline cried out in despair.

She would die here, unknown and alone. It seemed her life was destined to meet a miserable end.

Breathless with fear, she clutched her heart.

'I want to live.'

In this dire moment, facing death, her thoughts ironically turned to the Duke.

Pathetic. Even as she faced death, the Duke was the one on her mind.

Burying her face in her knees, Adeline whispered,

"It's over."

Just then, footsteps echoed from the far end of the cave, reaching Adeline's ears.

At first, she thought she had heard wrong.

But the faint sound gradually grew closer.

"Who's there? Is someone there?" Adeline called out, her voice quivering.

However, she soon shook her head. She must have heard wrong. Yes, it's impossible for someone to be here in such a place.

"Adeline!"

A familiar voice reached Adeline's ears, a voice that had once caused her turmoil and excitement, the gentle voice of Duke Torpheo.

'Ah…'

Tears welled up and spilled over as soon as she saw the Duke's face.

Duke Torpheo, having found Adeline, rushed to her and enveloped her in a tight embrace.

"I told you I don't need anything else. Just you being by my side is enough," he said, his voice barely contained.

His hand, which had held her, now cradled her head.

Trying to restrain himself, the Duke whispered urgently in her ear.

"Don't run away from me."

Adeline was so overwhelmed with emotion that she couldn't respond.

The Duke, not waiting for her reply, picked up the lantern he had carelessly dropped.

In the darkness, Adeline met his eyes, glowing red in the lantern light.

A self-mocking smile briefly crossed her lips.

Here she was, trapped in a seemingly suicidal cave, rescued from the depths of despair by this man.

'A trap.'

Even though she knew his outstretched hand was not salvation but a snare to entangle her neck.

Even though she knew that once caught, she could never escape.

Yet, she couldn't resist his few words that made her regret every moment she had run away.

It was love, after all.

Adeline closed her eyes. It was time to return.

She was an orphan at birth. By the time she began to understand the world, she was being raised in an orphanage.

Without knowing her parents' surname, she was given the common name Kim Ji-hye.

"Ji-hye, now that you're an adult, it's time to stand on your own feet."