Wandering Through Vol. 2 Chapter 44 - Escape

 

To put it bluntly, no matter how much Yiseo racked her brain, the only person who could have sent her a letter was her nanny.  

 

From the start, Yiseo had almost no one she could call an acquaintance—her closest people were only Yeongseon and her nanny. 

 

But Yeongseon had already cut ties with her. However, to think the nanny sent it…  

 

How on earth could a mere servant like her manage to slip a letter into the clothing chest of this grand prince’s household?  

 

Did she ask another servant? Does that even make sense?  

 

The servants of the grand prince’s household, strictly managed by Senior Court Lady Shanggung, never dared to touch their master’s belongings. 

 

Anyone who laid a hand on the grand prince’s possessions wouldn’t just be scolded—they could be dragged to the government office and flogged. 

 

Who would take such a risk?  

 

Even during the ten years Yiseo was treated coldly, the servants of this household had only ignored her as if she didn’t exist—never openly insulting her. She didn’t believe they would be foolish enough to do something so reckless.  

 

Then what is this?  

 

Caught off guard by Leegwang’s sudden interrogation, Yiseo blankly stared at the fallen paper among the clothes.  

 

He strode over and picked up the crumpled letter. It had apparently been folded several times, leaving deep creases all over.  

 

“Are you well? If not, I will come to retrieve you. Who is this?”  

 

At a glance, Yiseo recognized the handwriting on the paper he tossed in front of her. It was her nanny’s—there was no mistaking it.  

 

“My nanny, perhaps… worried about my disappearance…”  

 

Under Leegwang’s intimidating presence, Yiseo quickly defended. But before she could even finish, he cut in.  

 

“Since when do servants of any household use paper of such fine quality?”

 

It was less of a question and more of an accusation. 

 

Yiseo truly had no idea, so she didn’t know how to answer.  

 

“That… I don’t know either. Maybe—”  

 

“Maybe?”  

 

“I really… don’t know. But the handwriting is definitely my nanny’s. I’m not sure where she got the paper, though…”  

 

His gaze lingered on her silently. The longer it lasted, the more fearful Yiseo grew.

 

The true nature, quickly revealed as if the peace until now had been mere pretense, was unbearably cold. 

 

The tranquility that had existed only because Yiseo stayed quietly in his embrace was so fragile that it could be shattered by a single letter.  

 

He had never trusted Yiseo from the beginning.  

 

“I’ve never exchanged letters. This is the first time I’m seeing this. Other than asking you, my lord, to write me one letter, I’ve truly never…”  

 

“Ah. That did happen. You once asked me to send you a single letter.”  

 

His voice grew progressively lower. Yiseo deliberately ignored it and tried to explain.  

 

“Yes. So perhaps, after receiving that letter, the nanny grew worried and sent a reply. Or maybe… she asked another servant she knew, and so…”  

 

“I never sent your letter out. What reply are you talking about?”  

 

“…”  

 

Yiseo fell silent. She closed her mouth and quietly looked up at him. In her pitch-black eyes, not a trace of the warmth she thought she had seen before remained.  

 

“…Did I not ask?”  

 

“Must I grant every request of yours?”  

 

Instead, he stared at her as if he couldn’t understand her. 

 

As if, to him, refusing her request was the most natural thing in the world.  

 

“Why should I allow you to interact with others?”  

 

Did that mean she was supposed to live in this room without seeing anyone but Leegwang for the rest of her life?  

 

People cannot live like that.  

 

If that’s how she had to live, she might as well be dead.  

 

He brushed her cheek and whispered, “I had to accept that you don’t love me, that you broke your promise to me. What about you could I possibly believe?”  

 

“…”  

 

“Every word you say, every action you take—it all feels like a lie to me. I can’t trust anything. The only way I can feel like you’re even slightly mine is if I keep you in front of my eyes, in my arms, all day long.”

 

The hand that had been brushing Yiseo’s cheek slid down to her neck. He wrapped his fingers around her throat. 

 

Though no force was applied, the warmth of his hand against her skin sent a chill down her spine.

 

“Your life belongs to me, doesn’t it? So act like it. The way I want you to.”

 

Leegwang released his grip on her nape and pulled her stiffened body into his embrace. 

 

Wrapping both arms tightly around her, he issued a warning.

 

“You won’t meet anyone. You won’t go anywhere. For the rest of your life, this is where you’ll stay.”

 

His arms were large enough to envelop Yiseo’s small frame, yet the thought of living there forever made them feel suffocating. 

 

How could a person spend their entire life confined within someone’s embrace? Trapped in his arms, Yiseo wondered.

 

If he kept her locked in his embrace for the rest of her life, he, too, would have to spend his days watching to ensure she never escaped.

 

Unable to trust her, he wouldn’t be able to look away, wouldn’t be able to leave his spot—stuck like a stone statue, trembling in anxiety for eternity.

 

The true nature of his heart, hidden beneath peaceful days, was now laid bare.

 

Yiseo’s hesitant steps, which had teetered on the edge, finally came to an end.

 

Between her slowly blinking eyelids, a faint blue light flickered before vanishing.

 

💫

 

Late at night, Yiseo opened her eyes and sat up.

 

The arm that had been holding her fell limply to the floor with a soft thud. She pushed him down, laying him flat, and pulled a blanket over him.

 

Every inch of his skin beneath her fingertips was unbearably hot. His fever was terrifyingly high.

Yiseo suddenly pressed a hand to his forehead. 

 

It was burning. 

 

A weak moan escaped his lips—his body, which usually slept as motionless and silent as a corpse, now restless.

 

It was a divine affliction.

The dragon god had emptied his body as Yiseo had wished. 

 

Now, evil spirits swarmed the vacant vessel, tormenting him with pain unbearable enough to drive him mad.

 

Even though this was what she had wanted, seeing him suffer didn’t sit right with her. But a moment of pain was better than a lifetime of suffering.

 

Yiseo tried to rise and leave him, but as she moved her hand from his forehead, his fingers suddenly closed around her wrist.

 

Like being seized by a burning ember, her wrist scalded under his touch.

 

Her eyes met his unfocused gaze. His feverish, clouded eyes stared at her. Though he must have been in too much pain to even move a finger, he still gripped her wrist as if unwilling to let go, watching her through blurred vision in the darkness where nothing was clearly visible.  

 

Yiseo covered his eyes with her free hand.  

 

“Forget it.”  

 

She peeled his fingers off her wrist one by one. It felt like his grip would leave deep marks. Without looking back, she stepped out of the room. 

 

Strangely, her footsteps were slow, as if someone were clutching her ankles. She was outside now.  

 

Yiseo stepped barefoot onto the courtyard of the inner quarters.  

 

There was no way he would have prepared shoes for her in this house. If anything, he would have gotten rid of any that were already there.  

 

Leaving the inner quarters, she carefully knocked on the door of the nearest servants’ quarters, calling out to the person who must have been sleeping inside. She had said she would be here, so she must be.  

 

“Ban. Ban…”  

 

A rustling sound came from inside before the door abruptly swung open. 

 

Ban, her eyes still drowsy from sleep, widened them in surprise upon seeing Yiseo.  

 

“…My lady?!”  

 

Yiseo smiled faintly at Ban’s round, childlike eyes.  

 

“Can I borrow some clothes and shoes? I can’t go out like this.”  

 

Ban glanced at Yiseo’s attire—nothing but an underskirt, inner garment, and bare feet—before hurriedly stepping down and leading her into the servants’ quarters. 

 

Lighting an oil lamp in the dim room, Ban rummaged through her belongings and handed over the cleanest skirt and jacket she owned.  

 

As Yiseo turned her back to change, Ban asked, “Are you running away, my lady?”  

 

“I’m going home.”  

 

“Then take me with you. I want to go with you.”  

 

“I’ll come back for you later. If you still want to go with me, then we’ll go. But right now, I have somewhere far to go, so I can’t.”  

 

“Where are you going? Can’t I come with you?”

 

Yiseo, now fully dressed, turned around and shook her head as if to say no. 

 

Ban pouted and asked, “Where are you going? Is it far? With whom? Are you going with Madam’s nanny?”  

 

“…My nanny?”  

 

“Before, a lady dressed in silk came with her and spoke with Her Ladyship before leaving. When I said I served Madam, she claimed to be Madam’s nanny. She even wrote something for Madam—do all Madam’s nannies have to be as clever as Madam and know how to write?”  

 

“Ban, by any chance, did you put the letter the nanny wrote inside my clothes?”  

 

Ban nodded vigorously.  

 

“I was sure it would disappear if it fell into Madam’s husband’s hands, so I folded it up small and hid it in Madam’s clothes.”  

 

Yiseo felt drained at Ban’s proud expression. She couldn’t even scold her, as Ban had done it, thinking it was for her sake. 

 

Even if it hadn’t been that letter, Yiseo would have eventually learned Leegwang’s true feelings and left his embrace…  

 

But they could have stayed together a little longer.  

 

Yiseo paused at her thought. Why did she regret not being able to stay longer…?  

 

“So, Madam, where are you going? When will you come back to take me with you?”  

 

Ban’s chattering cut off Yiseo’s train of thought. She stepped outside the servants’ quarters and answered quietly,  

 

“It’ll take over half a month. I’m going to visit my hometown.”  

 

To the hometown—and grave—of her first life, which this body had never seen before.  

 

“There’s something I must do.”