In My Escape, I Found Paradise - Chapter 2
Following the divorce, the Omos family had to pay considerable compensation and wealth as alimony.
All of Cecilia’s property was to be managed by her guardian, Grand Duke Jericho.
Cecilia became the wealthiest noblewoman on the continent.
She had never known material lack.
But it wasn’t to the extent of luxury.
Suddenly, her status rose by several levels.
Everyone around her treated her with reverence.
She ate dishes prepared by the finest chefs every day.
She had new clothes made to the extent that she could change outfits daily.
Jewelry merchants visited the grand duke’s estate so frequently with carefully selected quality items that they wore down the doorstep.
It was the happiest time in Cecilia’s life.
‘Happiness…? Was that really happiness?’
Cecilia looked up at the sky.
It had been a tumultuous life.
The sky she saw at the age of forty for the last time was a beautifully piercing blue.
“Kill her!”
“Kill that wicked woman!”
Angry people shouted and swung their fists in the air.
Cecilia stood on the execution platform and looked down at the black mass of onlookers.
‘A wicked woman…’
She had been married seven times.
Four of her husbands had died.
Including the one who hanged himself after being castrated, that made five.
Her last husband was poisoned.
Cecilia was on the execution platform for the crime of poisoning her husband.
‘I didn’t kill him. I didn’t kill anyone!’
But no one believed her.
A soldier roughly grabbed her bound wrists from behind.
He shook her and threw her roughly despite her lack of resistance.
They placed her neck on the crescent-shaped groove of the execution platform and tied her arms in place.
Slash!
The executioner’s ax made a sound as it cut through the air.
Cecilia closed her eyes.
She only wished for everything to end quickly.
❖ ❖ ❖
Gasp!
Cecilia woke up with a start.
Tears welled up and flowed down her cheeks.
She touched her neck with trembling hands.
‘Alive…?’
She rolled her eyes and looked around. It was dark.
‘Did the execution stop? That can’t be…’
Cecilia was certain she had felt death.
‘What time is it? Evening? Or dawn? More importantly, where am I… ugh!’
Suddenly, a terrible headache began.
It felt as if someone was stabbing her head with an awl.
Vertigo hit, making the sky and earth spin.
Nausea rose, and she couldn’t even scream.
She curled up and clutched her head with both hands.
A groan escaped through her clenched teeth.
Fortunately, it didn’t last long.
As the headache subsided, chills ran through her body, causing her to shiver.
“Miss!”
A sharp cry rang out.
Someone bustled over and lifted the blanket.
When a cool hand touched her forehead, Cecilia exhaled the breath she had been holding.
“Miss, please come to your senses. Oh my, look at this sweat.”
Someone’s hand touched various parts of Cecilia’s forehead and face.
‘Who is it? No way…’
Cecilia was confused.
Her memories were mixed.
She vividly remembered the morning she was dragged to the execution platform, but memories from before she was twenty were also clear.
“It’s dark.”
Cecilia managed to say a word.
Her voice was heavily hoarse.
“I thought you had fainted, and my heart sank. I closed the curtains so you could sleep well. Just a moment, I’ll open them.”
‘That voice…’
Cecilia felt like she knew who the voice belonged to but couldn’t believe it.
The dimly visible woman was stout.
She moved quickly and opened the curtains.
Cecilia sat up and stared blankly at the middle-aged woman.
The room brightened instantly.
When the middle-aged woman’s face was revealed, Cecilia’s heart pounded.
The middle-aged woman hurried to the bed.
She touched Cecilia’s forehead again and examined her face closely.
“Let’s see. Your fever has gone down quite a bit. Your complexion isn’t bad either. You should eat something. You’ve been fasting all day because you’ve been sick.”
Cecilia stared intently at the middle-aged woman.
After a while, the middle-aged woman smiled awkwardly.
“Miss, are you still unwell? Do you want to sleep a bit more?”
“…Nanny?”
“Yes, Miss.”
“Mirror.”
The nanny, Benjamin, didn’t seem puzzled.
She shrugged in her characteristic manner and brought a hand mirror.
The first thing Cecilia checked was her neck.
There was no scar on her intact neck.
T/N: Sorry, I decided to drop this. But good news! Another tl picked it up here: https://peachesatdusk.com/rwp/
