You Said You Wanted Us to Break Up - Chapter 69

Apple spoke.

“Last time, you mentioned that you wanted to leave far away.”

“Apple, that was…”

Before I could finish my thought that it was just something I said, she added,

“We can prepare for that to be possible.”

What was Apple saying right now?

Her pronunciation was clear, but it was something I had never imagined could actually happen, so I didn’t fully understand.

While I blinked in confusion, Apple continued speaking.

“The destination will probably be the Kingdom of Emerta. These days, southern nobles are traveling there, and since it’s a foreign country, it should be easier to avoid being tracked.”

“Wait, are you saying we can go to Emerta?”

Emerta was a small kingdom near Rowen. It was also famous as a tourist destination that one could visit easily.

However, I had never been there. My father never allowed me to go to places he couldn’t visit himself, as he tried to avoid traveling by boat due to his heart condition.

I had only gone to Iswen’s a few times under my father’s orders.

It was hard to believe that the name Emerta, which I had only heard about, was coming from Apple.

My heart raced. Without realizing it, I lowered my voice and asked her,

“How?”

“If I go through someone I know, we can take a boat.”

Someone she knows? Did Apple have a contact in the north? Before I could ponder the question, she explained.

“It’s someone I met while staying outside. They travel back and forth between the south for business, and if we negotiate properly, they will take us to a port city in the south.”

Speaking in a calm tone, Apple reached out towards my ear. She gathered the loose strands of hair that had fallen and tucked them behind my ear.

“After we arrive at the port city, we can blend in with the travelers and find a boat to Emerta. Emerta isn’t as strict with class distinctions as the Empire, and since southern people learn Emertan as a matter of culture, it will be easier to settle there.”

“Is that why you went out… to check on that?”

“Yes.”

Until then, her warm brown eyes were fixed on me without a hint of wavering. I looked into those eyes for a moment before hesitantly speaking.

“I… I don’t know.”

In my heart, I wanted to leave just as Apple suggested. But there were too many concerns for me to simply take her hand.

The journey to Emerta that Apple spoke of was not just a trip.

To be precise, it was closer to an escape.

There was a reason Apple was making this suggestion. The only legal way for me to leave Raslet was to annul my marriage and return to Rowen.

Considering that I was in Raslet because I disliked the idea of going back to Rowen, it felt absurd.

However, if I could avoid being caught… there was no better way to escape my current situation.

If I could avoid being caught.

I asked Apple, who was still looking at me with unwavering eyes.

“What if we get caught?”

Even if I could gather the money needed for the escape through jewels or luxury goods, getting out of the castle was the first problem.

Sioden could easily find out whatever I was doing.

Even if I managed to seize an opportunity to escape the castle, the chances of being caught before reaching Emerta were high.

Apple said.

“I’ll do my best not to get caught, but if it happens, I’ll take responsibility.”

“No.”

I shook my head before she could say anything more.

“I don’t want that. It’s too dangerous.”

Unlike me, who would face punishment within my social status regardless of what happened, Apple had too much at stake if things went wrong.

In my confused state, I lowered my gaze.

“Yes, what if you get hurt? Even if you don’t get hurt, if we end up apart again….”

“Miss.”

Apple called out to me. She took my hand and gently insisted.

“Miss, please look at me.”

As I followed her request and raised my gaze, Apple met my eyes once more.

“I’m not saying this lightly.”

I didn’t think she would say something like this lightly. Apple wasn’t one to make empty promises or jokes.

She must have thought it through and found it feasible before bringing it up to me.

Still, I couldn’t readily agree to her wishes. It wasn’t because I was reluctant to accept her proposal, but rather because I was too inclined to agree.

If I accepted Apple’s words out of my own greed, this girl could end up in danger.

After hesitating with my lips trembling for a moment, Apple let out a small sigh. Her thumb brushed over my hand.

“I’ve never mentioned this before, but I’ve thought about it for a long time. Please leave with me. It’s my wish.”

But I know.

The reason Apple calls going to Emerta her wish is that I wanted to leave for anywhere.

So I should say that I can’t grant that wish at this point.

Yet, strangely, the words wouldn’t come out.

Apple, who knows me well, understood the meaning of my silence. She moved the small bedside table between us.

When Apple sat closer and pulled me into her embrace, I didn’t resist and nestled into her arms.

As she brushed over the scar on my back, Apple said, “In Emerta, you might not be able to live as leisurely as you do now. Although life won’t be impoverished, there will be limits to the funds we can take with us.”

“It’s okay.”

As long as Apple was by my side, I would be happy even if I had to live without a servant.

Her gentle voice continued, “Unless I strike it rich, it will be difficult to have a new dress made or buy jewelry.”

“What does that matter?”

I had received countless silks and jewels, but none of them had made me as happy as reuniting with Apple.

For her sake, I wouldn’t mind disposing of all my wealth.

Perhaps thinking that was enough of a warning for the future, Apple tightened her embrace around me without saying a word.

Maybe it was because her warmth was so comforting, but my eyes began to well up.

With a slightly trembling voice, I said to her, “Thank you.”

“You don’t need to.”

Apple, who declined my gratitude, calmly added, “It’s only natural.”

* * *

Luke Ilak goes out of the castle once a month.

The place he always visits beyond the castle walls is the same: a small village.

This village, where those who had originally lived in the castle but were expelled due to some incident now mixed with a small military unit and civilians, was where Luke was born and raised.

This meant that there were people who recognized him everywhere.

“Luke?”

A member of the village and owner of the butcher shop, Ten, called his name as he approached.

Luke greeted the middle-aged man he had known since childhood.

“How have you been?”

“I’ve been well. It’s been a while. What have you been up to that you haven’t shown your face?”

“I went to the capital with His Excellency.”

This was a euphemistic way of saying he had been at the site of the rebellion and the overthrow of the imperial authority.

Ten understood this but had more pressing news that resonated with commoners than the royal family’s internal strife.

With an arm draped over Luke’s shoulder, Ten lowered his voice and asked, “Is it true that the value-added tax treaty has been abolished?”

Those trading in the Raslet territory had to pay taxes to the imperial family once every six months. This was a wedding gift received by the former Duke of Raslet when he married the Crown Prince’s fiancée, and it was a shackle that needed to be removed to manage the territory properly.

Luke smiled with a friendly expression and replied, “Yes. His Majesty the newly crowned Emperor has abolished it.”

Ten’s face immediately lit up with joy.

“That’s great. Really great. I thought I was going to break my back because of that tax.”

After this, Ten recounted various incidents that had occurred in the village while Luke was away. Luke listened attentively and chimed in appropriately.

When Ten had finished sharing his stories to some extent, he said, “I heard Merida’s grandma got hurt. Can you go check on her?”

Luke was the only doctor in this village, where the only other medical practitioner was an elderly man, and he provided examinations without charge.

Luke smiled and nodded. “Of course.”

Following Ten’s suggestion, Luke visited Merida’s house.

“Merida, are you there?”

Merida, who had a young child at home and was used to Luke’s visits, greeted him without surprise.

“Is Luke here?”

“Yes.”

After answering, Luke took a look around the house. This was one way to check if there had been significant changes in the household during his absence. Fortunately, it seemed that Merida had not had any major expenses recently.

“I heard Grandma got hurt.”

“You heard that from Ten, huh?”

Merida, who was preparing dinner, gestured toward the stairs.

“Mother is upstairs.”

As Luke climbed the stairs, Merida muttered behind him, “What am I going to do with all this gratitude?”

Without answering, Luke smiled, and as soon as he reached the upstairs, he was welcomed not by Merida’s mother.

“Brother?”

Merida’s son, Nathan, peeked out.

“Netti.”

As Luke opened his arms, Nathan ran over and hugged him, chattering away.

“I saw that sister again today.”

Luke, descending the stairs, paused at the child’s words.

“You’re talking about the one with the red hair, right?”

“Yeah.”

Nathan nodded.

The innocent face of the child held no knowledge, but Luke’s expression became slightly tense upon hearing those words.

The woman Nathan was referring to was Apple Leta.

She was the maid of the duchess, who was currently in seclusion at the castle.