On the 99th day, Knight Arthur Gillen shook off his seat and left for the western forest.
People whispered in curiosity, wondering why the knight had left Princess Edwina’s castle with just one night left, but the princess kept her lips tightly sealed.
It was a week later when Princess Edwina followed Knight Arthur Gillen into the forest.
The history books of Winzerton summarized Princess Edwina’s disappearance in just three sentences.
As if following the knight into the forest was something as simple as shaking off her seat and walking out.
However, the actual process was not so smooth. Just like her entire life, escaping Arly was fraught with countless obstacles.
The biggest hurdle, of course, was Josephine.
“Princess, if you leave like this… what about me?”
Edwina’s heart had softened so much that she couldn’t turn her back on her old friend, who clung to her cloak and shed tears.
“You cry as much as Reiner.”
“What? Prince Reiner? Sniff, yes. The prince cried a lot. Oh, what do I do? Thinking about him makes me really…”
Mentioning Reiner was clearly a mistake. That word became the signal, and Josephine cried and wailed without rest for the entire night. Two days passed like that, and on the dawn of the third day, Edwina could finally calm Josephine down by saying she would go and find Reiner.
“Really? So you’re going to find Prince Reiner and come back? Finally, you’ve fallen in love with him too, haven’t you?”
Disappointing Josephine, lost in her pink fantasies, would only lead to more tears and more trouble for days. But she couldn’t lie to her oldest friend either. So, Edwina said just this much.
“Love, my foot. I’ll try to find him. I’ll ask him why he did something so foolish.”
“Foolish? That was so beautiful and moving…”
“Enough. I’m going to find Reiner, as you wished. So will you let me go?”
With tears welling up in her eyes, Josephine nodded.
Grumbling, ‘Would you even stay if I told you not to go, Princess?’ But seeing her hand over a thick cloak she’d prepared for the princess, Edwina thought it was indeed a good decision not to leave in secret. So, the first hurdle was cleared more easily than expected.
That thought was overturned the next morning. Edwina, having barely slept in two nights while calming Josephine, was fast asleep when, at dawn, Adelaide pounded on the castle door.
“Princess Edwina, you’re leaving!”
Her face, awkwardly addressing her with a formal title instead of the old friend’s name, was as pretty as ever. Brown hair, gentle eyes, delicate and soft features. Edwina gazed at her, then spoke.
“You really do look kind.”
“…Ann.”
“Now you call me that.”
Those kind eyes gazed at Edwina without a word.
“I heard you were leaving and came in a hurry.”
“Even the emperor of Reutlingen didn’t watch over every little move like this. I just packed a cloak. How did you find out?”
“Rumors are everywhere.”
“Where exactly?”
“…Between Josephine and me.”
“I knew I shouldn’t have trusted her.”
Adelaide, about to defend Josephine, opened her mouth, but then closed it, unable to hide her nervousness as she bit her nails.
“Ann, can’t you just not go?”
The fact that the best she could muster after all that hesitation was this feeble plea amused Edwina again.
“And stay for what? Wait for someone to pay the fee to stand outside my castle and marry me?”
“I’ll, I’ll speak to Lord Alfred. You know, Ann. I won’t marry Charles. I won’t become an adopted daughter. I didn’t know becoming an adopted daughter meant pushing you away. I’m sorry, Ann.”
Edwina let out a deep sigh. She already knew that Adelaide’s wishes had no room in how things had turned out.
Just as Edwina was completely unaware until notices of her being married off like a commodity were posted all over Winzerton, her gentle friend also likely had no idea how her fate was sealed when the vile Charles Wellesley staked his claim in front of King Alfred by proposing marriage to Adelaide.
Men of Winzerton always worked that way.
“Ann, you know… I… Sir Charles Wellesley…”
And Adelaide, even if she knew everything, likely had no desire to reverse it. She was probably already too entangled with that wretched Charles Wellesley.
Edwina sighed deeply.
“I don’t know if it’s good or bad that in the end, this has become a decision you’re happy with, Adelaide. Either way, there’s no need to reverse it. Just marry Charles Wellesley.”
“Ann, I really…”
“Enough. Even if it wasn’t you, I had no intention of marrying that scoundrel. Marry him, live happily, have a beautiful daughter, and keep an eye on him. A woman like you deserves better than a man like him, but what can you do? You’re in love with him.”
After Edwina finished speaking, Adelaide bit her lip before releasing it and asked.
“How long have you known?”
“Known what?”
“That I love Charles Wellesley?”
“Adelaide, even when you were little, you always chose the prettiest and cutest cat. As a child, you’d cry if an ugly man tried to pick you up. I knew from the start you’d be bewitched by that face and unable to escape. I’ve known since the days when I was much shorter than you and followed you everywhere.”
“…You’re still much shorter than me now.”
“Quiet. If you have a daughter who takes after Wellesley, at least raise her with a personality like yours.”
“How are you so sure it’ll be a daughter?”
“It’ll be a daughter.”
At Edwina’s confident remark, Adelaide couldn’t help but smile. Thus, the second hurdle was also easily cleared.
Adelaide, worried Edwina would have no place to go, gave her directions to a cottage in a rural village beyond the western side of Winzerton. She even tied a green ribbon to the key to the cottage, which only she owned.
Even after that, Adelaide couldn’t stop worrying. Several hugs, renewed apologies, and tears followed, only ending when Edwina sternly told her to stop.
Once all this commotion ended, Edwina took a full day to rest. A deep sleep was essential before embarking on such a long journey. Four days passed like that.
Now, only one person remained. Of course, that wasn’t Edwina’s father, Alfred… He was too busy running around trying to sell his daughter to anyone who could offer more than 2 million crowns.
The final visitor was Charles Wellesley. It wasn’t surprising at all that he somehow heard about his former fiancée’s plan to escape Arly.
“Adelaide told you.”
Striding in without a word, his height wasn’t as impressive as Prince Reiner’s, but he was quite tall. His physique had improved as well, making him look more refined.
His golden hair gleamed brightly, even in the meager sunlight of winter, and his slightly drooping eyes had the well-polished look of a precious gem. His beautiful eyes narrowed into a frown.
“It’s him, isn’t it?”
“Yes, it’s been a while. Thank you for the polite greeting, Charles Wellesley.”
“Is it him, Ann Edwina?”
“Thank you so much for still not addressing me by name and speaking politely to a princess.”
“Shut up, Ann. Just tell me. Is it him?”
No matter how sarcastic Edwina got, Charles Wellesley acted as if he didn’t hear her, focusing only on his own words. Edwina glared at him with all her might, growling in a low voice, determined not to lose.
“Who is ‘him’? Why did you suddenly show up, talking about ‘him’ this and ‘him’ that?”
“I heard that the second prince of Reutlingen had a major hand in getting you sent back to Winzerton.”
“Who told you that?”
“Who else but Beder?”
“That old man sure knows how to wag his tongue.”
“That’s true. No, that’s not the issue. It’s him, isn’t it? I saw him. His hair was shining brilliantly when he took off his helmet….”
As usual, Charles Wellesley described Prince Reiner’s appearance with extravagant flourishes. Edwina hated that she felt a strange sense of familiarity with that tone, like he was still an old friend. So she shook her head once and cut him off.
“Stop with the descriptions. Even a passing dog would think you’re saying he’s pretty by now. And how do you know it was the second prince just by looking at him?”
“He looks like he’s from Reutlingen, and out of all the Reutlingen men I’ve seen, he’s the best-looking. No one else comes to mind but the infamous second prince.”
“Your brain sure works fast.”
Charles Wellesley shrugged, as if to say he wouldn’t deny it. Even with that annoying expression, he was handsome enough not to be detestable.
Edwina took her time scrutinizing the face of her former fiancé. His sky-blue eyes carried the arrogance fitting for someone about to ascend to the throne. People found his brazen attitude charming, not obnoxious.
Edwina had too, once. She’d grumbled outwardly but had been completely taken by him at one point. It used to bother her, watching him treat her like a child and only cast flirtatious glances at Adelaide, a few years older than her. But something had changed.
Even after staring at that proud face for so long, Edwina now felt nothing.
Whether he knew what she was thinking or not, Charles Wellesley spoke again.
“I knew it was him even before I asked you. What I’m curious about is why the second prince of Reutlingen came all the way here, paid all that money, and waited in front of you.”
“What, do you think I’m plotting treason by joining hands with a prince from Reutlingen? Actually, since I’m still a princess, I guess it wouldn’t be treason just yet?”
Charles Wellesley smirked at her playful words. Though his expression was relaxed, Edwina noticed his thumb pressing hard against the nail of his other hand, a nervous gesture that told her she had struck a nerve.
His left hand kept pressing his thumb, causing his loosely worn sleeve to ride up, revealing his wrist. It was covered in bruises, cuts from blades, and burn scars. Edwina knew these were not from war. He wasn’t the kind to stand on a battlefield—he was more of a strategist. These marks were all from the former Duke Wellesley.
So, was his quick recognition of Prince Reiner due to his intellect as a born strategist?
Or was it the keen perception born from a childhood of enduring abuse and surviving on his wits?
Edwina pondered this briefly before asking again.
“Charles Wellesley, why is it that you realized so quickly, but no one else has noticed?”
“Princess Ann Edwina of Winzerton. Because it’s me. I know you so well….”
“Yeah, you knew me so well that you broke off our engagement at your convenience, married my friend, and planned to steal my father’s throne.”
Charles Wellesley shrugged again, picking up where Edwina cut him off.
“…I’m sharp enough to know it was the best path for everyone involved. You know that, Ann. People like us read the situation perfectly.”
The man who once believed their souls were entirely alike smiled as he said that.
A soul that was vile, selfish, and only cared for itself.
In other words, a wounded soul.
He always spoke of himself and Edwina as “we.”
As if they were part of the same elite, he would say, “Royal bloods raised on survival skills—Duke Charles Wellesley and Princess Ann Edwina of Winzerton.”
Even now, he lumped them together as “we” without her consent.
“So, Ann, just stay here. We shouldn’t get involved with someone like him.”
“……”
Edwina silently glared at him.
“Ann, I see you as my little sister. I’ve heard stories about that Reutlingen guy. People said the mad emperor tormented him his whole life. He was so weak he couldn’t even defend himself and got beaten up by his older brother. The rumors are so widespread that even the people of Winzerton know.”
It was all true.
The fact that Reiner had been severely abused by the mad emperor and his eldest brother, and that everyone from Reutlingen’s aristocracy to Winzerton’s beggars knew about it.
Yet, hearing him say that still infuriated Edwina.
“So, Charles Wellesley, do you feel some kind of kinship with him?”
Charles Wellesley smiled bitterly.
“Yeah, I do feel it. And you probably do too. But like I said, Ann. We… people like us shouldn’t be together. We have no love to give to anyone else.”
The blue eyes that once seemed arrogant now looked selfish and presumptuous. Ann remembered when those eyes had once seemed beautiful to her, a long time ago. Back when the former Duke Wellesley was still alive, before Ellington Estate was passed down to Charles. It was the night they had been invited to Wellesley’s castle, and Charles had held her hand for their first dance.
That night, Charles Wellesley had been so kind that even the usually indifferent Edwina had felt her heart race. For a princess who lived outside the palace, ignored by King Alfred, that night had been magical.
But on their way out after the ball, Edwina had seen something. The man, eight years her senior, was collapsed on the floor, sobbing like a child, begging his father. It was before the war, a time when neither blood nor bruises were common. Charles Wellesley’s body, clothed only in a shirt, was covered in marks.
That night, Charles had spoken to Edwina.
“Sweet Ann, you saw me too. And I saw you right away.”
Edwina didn’t know what he meant, so she had just stared at him with wide eyes. Charles had continued.
“That’s why we need to cling to someone else. To someone who’s been loved, someone without a single scar. People like you and me, who’ve never received anything, don’t know how to give anything.”
Charles had then looked toward Adelaide, who was smiling brightly beyond the castle walls. To him, she seemed like exactly the woman he had been looking for—someone who had been loved and appeared to be unscathed.
Edwina hadn’t said anything to Charles that night, not because she didn’t have words, but because she felt that arguing with someone who had been beaten so much wouldn’t accomplish anything.
It wasn’t until days later that Edwina realized how deeply Charles’s words had wounded her. Not because she had been thoroughly rejected. Not because he had poked at her wounds and belittled her as someone “unloved.”
No, those words felt like a curse. A brand, declaring that she would never be able to love anyone.
And that thought had driven Edwina mad with anger.
But now, as she looked into Charles Wellesley’s face, hearing him repeat the same old lines with that indifferent expression, her green eyes held none of the old resentment.
Edwina now knew.
It was all nonsense.
And life was too short to be wounded by someone else’s nonsense.
She simply laughed. Then she said,
“Charles Wellesley, you’re such a fool.”
Resisting the urge to punch his arrogant face, she settled for a swift kick to his shin.
“Ow! What are you doing, Ann? That hurts!”
“Get lost, Charles. Since Adelaide likes your face, I’ll let it go at that.”
“What are you talking about? I’m doing this for you.”
“Shut up. Just take care of the amazing fortune that’s come your way. That girl you’re ‘clinging to’ is way out of your league.”
As Edwina began to walk away, Charles called out behind her.
“Ann, what are you going to do with nothing? At least take this.”
Charles tossed a blue bundle toward her back. Inside were magical potions, basic self-defense tools, and a generous amount of travel money.
Edwina shook her head. It was exhausting being surrounded by people who were too annoyingly kind to completely despise.
The next day, Edwina packed again. Josephine’s red cloak, Adelaide’s key with the green ribbon, and Charles’s blue bundle all found their way into her bag.
Her father, Alfred, never came to see her, even on the final day. But that didn’t hurt her anymore.
On the seventh day after Reiner’s departure, Edwina set off on her own journey.
Just as Josephine had warned, the forest was cold, and the cloak was immediately helpful as soon as she started her journey.
After spending some time in the woods and catching a harsh cold, she was grateful for the key to Adelaide’s cottage, where she rested comfortably.
The most practical help, however, came from the tools Charles had given her—catching wild animals with ease, using the magical potions when she was sick, and the blue bundle that seemed to produce food at every meal. Somehow, that fact annoyed her.
But even though she ground her teeth about it, Edwina found herself thoroughly enjoying the journey on her own. As time passed, she became used to living with the gifts from the three people. Occasionally, Josephine’s words about finding Prince Reiner floated through her mind, but she forgot them as she kept walking through the forest.
On some days, Charles Wellesley’s presumptuous remark—“People like us shouldn’t be together”—would resurface, lingering in her thoughts a few days longer than Josephine’s, but it too eventually faded.
The days passed leisurely and peacefully. And finally, when all thoughts had vanished, Edwina closed her eyes and embraced the full sense of freedom.
Yet, in the darkness behind her closed eyes, a face kept appearing.
That was, of course, Prince Reiner’s face. Edwina was not very surprised. Since he had left such a deep last impression, she thought he would come to mind at least once in her life like this.
But it was strange. No matter how hard she walked, no matter how fiercely she shook her head, that face was not forgotten, unlike Josephine’s questions or Charles Wellesley’s nonsense.
The transparent moonlight reflected off the golden hair,
The faint blue eyes shimmering with teardrops.
And at the end, the large, lonely back as he headed towards the forest.
Edwina returned to the western forest to forget that. And she walked all day and night.
“What’s the use of staying with people who are full of wounds?”
She muttered as if she were Charles Wellesley.
“I’ll be your Arthur Gillen.”
She murmured, recalling Reiner’s low, soft voice.
In that moment, her heart ached.
She almost cried. A lot, a whole lot.
So Edwina carefully looked up at the sky, making sure not to let the tears fall.
Between the thick bushes of the western forest, the dark night sky appeared no bigger than the size of a palm.
The sky was so small, yet it was densely packed with stars, leaving no gaps.
Suddenly, a thought she had never had before came to her.
Under this sky, if Reiner were with me, what would we talk about?
“Edwina, the stars are so beautiful.”
…he would say.
Imitating his habit of drawing out the ends of his words, Edwina smiled faintly to herself.
“You don’t love me at all, do you.”
When she pronounced the words he had said last, she really almost shed a tear.
His voice had been so lonely. Remembering it, Edwina suddenly missed him terribly. Only then did she recall Reiner’s final words.
Lethe Monastery, the book repository, the bracelet.
Yes, I should go to the monastery. There’s a bracelet there, and if I wear that damned bracelet, I might somehow be able to go where Reiner is.
Edwina hastily moved her steps.
She had never thought of herself as impatient, but this time, the path through the forest felt unbearably long, and she even rented a carriage with the travel money Charles Wellesley had given her.
When the carriage got stuck in the mud, she couldn’t wait and got off, trudging through the mire, her feet sinking up to her knees.
By the time she arrived at the monastery, it was as cold as when Edwina had first set out from Arly. Looking up at the cloudy sky that seemed about to snow, Edwina hurried into the scriptorium and immediately asked for Beder.
Beder had carefully placed the bracelet in the book repository, and proudly boasted that the book repository was safely stored in the deepest part of the First Scriptorium.
Edwina told him to fetch it quickly. She should have waited quietly after giving the order, but for some reason, she couldn’t shake off her anxious heart.
Even after waiting for a few minutes in the monastery’s grand hall, there was no sound of the old man’s returning footsteps. Eventually, Edwina hurriedly ran to the entrance of the First Scriptorium.
It was then. From the narrow crack in the flimsy door of the First Scriptorium, she heard an “Ah,” a sound resembling a scream. She also heard a rustling sound, as if something light had fallen in heaps.
When Edwina opened the door, what she saw were white sheets of paper filling the small room.
One sheet, two sheets, three sheets…
Ten sheets, a hundred sheets, perhaps even over a thousand sheets fluttered like butterflies.
Edwina collapsed to the ground and began gathering them one by one. Outside the scriptorium, snow was now quietly falling.
If I had delayed just one more day, I wouldn’t have made it here.
With that thought, Edwina happily gathered the papers.
On more than half of the sheets, Edwina’s name was scrawled in crooked letters.
Edwiny.
Adewina.
Adewina.
Edwinae.
There were dozens of sheets where her name was misspelled in absurd ways, as if someone had been practicing handwriting.
On slightly larger sheets, her name was written densely.
Edwina, Edwina, Edwina, Edwina, Edwina….
Edwina chuckled. Who else but him would write her name so many times?
It felt like there was no need for her name to be written anymore. It had been called out enough inside these sheets to last her a lifetime.
Next, other words appeared.
Potato, grape, peach, plum, apricot—next to each of these were small hearts drawn with her name. He must have been trying to write something like “Edwina’s favorite things.”
Some scribbles were so poorly written that she couldn’t even make out what they said.
These were probably the very first things he had written.
“For someone so smart, why can’t he write properly?”
Perhaps because of her habit of talking to herself ever since she had left on her journey, Edwina clicked her tongue as she said this without realizing.
Some of the sheets contained slightly longer phrases.
Edwina, are you there?
Edwina, are you still alive?
Edwina, I miss you.
Edwina, don’t you miss me?
Even Edwina….
Seeing where he had trailed off mid-sentence, Edwina burst into laughter once again.
At some point, the letters forming “Edwina” became confident, standing out more clearly than any other word.
There were fewer and fewer misspelled words as time went on.
More than half of the letter still remained.
What started as single lines gradually formed into paragraphs.
One paragraph stretched into impossibly long sections.
One letter, when gathered together, totaled eleven pages.
“How could he have so much to say?”
Saying this, Edwina carefully read through the letter, making sure not to lose track of the order by counting them, one, two, three, four, all the way from the first to the last page.
It was a dull letter, full of trivial content that didn’t really matter whether she read it or not, nothing particularly touching.
And the letter ended like this:
Edwina. It’s a night full of stars. Tonight, I thought it would be nice if you were here with me to see this beautiful sight.
That was it. He had written eleven pages of letters for her, up until the stars filled the sky, until it grew so dark.
At that sentence, Edwina finally let a tear fall. Without tilting her head back to look at the sky or pressing her eyes shut, a single tear slipped out.
It was a tear she hadn’t shed during her time as a hostage in Reutlingen, nor when her father sold her off with outrageous words.
But now, for whatever reason—for the starry sky, of all things—Edwina cried because it made her so sad. Once she started, her tears didn’t stop easily.
She cried because the letters, written so clearly without a single mistake, were too beautiful and vivid.
She cried again because those letters, like stars, lodged themselves in her heart and resonated like Reiner’s soft voice.
That sound scattered her emotions, robbing her of any strength to hold back the tears.
Unable to even try swallowing her sobs, Edwina muttered to herself.
“Charles Wellesley, you damned fool. You were wrong, you were wrong. There are people who, no matter how many times they get hurt, can look at the stars without ever feeling wounded.”
That night, the snow fell unusually hard.
By the time she left the scriptorium, the snow had piled up to her knees.
But Edwina couldn’t afford to delay.
Time was running out.
Beder hurried out, unable to even properly put on his shoes, and helped pack her things.
Edwina smiled, her face still stiff with dried tears.
“Take care.”
Because I’ll be fine.
She swallowed those last words out of habit.
Her departing steps were much lighter than before.
Beder, Josephine, Adele…
There weren’t many people who would be sad to see Edwina disappear, but they would all live just fine without her.
Now, Edwina had to go meet the boy with golden hair, who could barely write a proper letter or look at the night sky without shedding tears.
She would hold his round head like a chestnut, wrap herself in his long arms, stroke his golden hair as if he were a puppy, cover him in kisses, and embrace him warmly. Reiner would cling to her, eyes brimming with tears, and cry.
And that would be fine. She could lick away his tears or wipe them with her hands. They would live together for eternity, and one day, they would die, becoming bright stars in the sky. That day, Edwina thought such thoughts.
<End of the main story, to be continued in the side story>
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