Bridal Lessons - Chapter 45
It was still early, so the hallway was silent, with everyone presumably asleep. It seemed she was on the first floor of the annex where she had been confined. Rosen’s heart pounded, but fortunately, she managed to navigate the long hallway and exit the annex without encountering anyone.
The sky at dawn was still shrouded in twilight. Rosen didn’t hesitate and headed towards the path leading to the back of the central garden. Despite the strict security of the Grand Duke’s castle, having lived there for over a decade, she knew the layout well.
Rosen planned to leave the castle through the side gate where carriages loaded with food and supplies entered and exited. If she moved quickly, she thought she could time her escape with the changing of the guards.
‘First, I need to get to the main road and catch a carriage for hire.’
Her plan was to head to a convent first. Going to a friend’s house would lead to her being captured quickly. Additionally, while hired carriages typically required payment upfront, the convent was the only destination that allowed for post-payment. Those seeking refuge in the arms of God usually left with nothing but the clothes on their back.
Fortunately, not far from the suburbs was the Sabina Convent, where a nun who had doted on Rosen as a child resided. Rosen planned to stay at the convent temporarily, gather her thoughts, and once things calmed down, move to a distant city and find a job.
As the entrance to the garden came into view, Rosen felt a strange mix of emotions. She never imagined she would leave the Grand Duke’s castle, where she had lived since childhood, in this manner…
The once kind brother, who had suddenly turned into a stranger, scared and frightened her. At one time, Rosen had desperately wished for Iscarion to see her as more than a little sister, but the sudden change in their relationship was hard to accept.
What was even more unbearable was the fact that, despite everything she had gone through, she still had feelings for him. Although she resented him for what he had done to her, the feelings she had nurtured over a long time didn’t disappear easily. The dual nature of a dignified, refined man and his fierce demeanor in bed confused her.
When he looked at her with clear desire in his eyes and aggressively thrust inside her, she mistakenly thought Iscarion desired not just her body but her whole being. But this was likely an illusion brought on by her long-unrequited love for him.
Trying to shake off her gloomy mood, Rosen hurried her steps. Just as she turned the corner covered in pink climbing roses, she spotted a familiar figure near the gate in the distance.
“…Joshua?”
The person she unexpectedly encountered was Joshua, one of her escort knights. The youngest in the Grand Duke’s knighthood, he was tasked with opening the training grounds at dawn, but it was even earlier than that now.
Holding the reins of his brown mare, Joshua seemed to have just come from the stables. As Rosen quickly approached, the young knight with neatly tied straw-colored hair widened his eyes in surprise.
“Oh, Miss Rosen!”
“Joshua! You’re out already at this hour?”
“What about you, Miss? Why are you here at this time… Weren’t you with His Highness?”
Joshua’s cheeks suddenly reddened as he recalled something. After Rosen’s disappearance, he had searched the castle for her, worried. Despite being told by the Grand Duke that she was with him, Joshua couldn’t stop worrying, and Rosen’s maid eventually scolded him for his lack of tact.
Realizing what ‘being together’ implied, the young knight, who knew nothing of women and only cared about his sword, found it difficult to look directly at his lady, who seemed even more beautiful today.
“But Miss, your attire…”
Suddenly recalling what Rosen’s maid had said, Joshua blushed and looked away, his eyes lingering on her clothes. The hastily made outer garment from the bedroom curtains looked decent from afar but was rough up close.
Though it covered her well enough, the hem revealed a glimpse of her delicate nightgown. Her smooth calves, pale ankles, and small bare feet in indoor slippers were exposed beneath the skirt.
The tightly fastened collar of her makeshift garment, meant to hide the traces of their affair, had come loose while navigating the narrow secret passage and storage room, revealing the pale nape of her neck and the reddish marks on her collarbone. Joshua’s green eyes trembled at the sight.
Moreover, the weather had a significant temperature difference between morning and evening. Though it wasn’t quite autumn yet, Rosen, wearing only a thin nightgown and a curtain-made cloak without stockings, shivered slightly in the growing chill. She looked as delicate and pure as a flower kissed by the morning dew.
