Chapter 9
The view from her room was breathtaking.
“Miss, your room is on the very top floor.”
Laura said proudly as she led Eila inside the building. It was amusing to see her acting as though she knew the place well, even though this was obviously her first time here too.
After climbing to the third floor by stairs, they still had to climb one more ladder to reach the attic.
When Eila pushed open the old creaking attic door and stepped inside, a familiar sight greeted her.
The scenery through the wide windows on both sides was just as beautiful as she remembered.
Looking east, she could see a broad river flowing endlessly across the vast plains.
Looking west, she could see mountains stretching out like a painting.
It was the perfect place to watch both the sunrise and the sunset.
The problem is… how am I supposed to escape from here?
If Laura locked the attic door from below every night, getting out of this room would be far from easy.
The windows were nice, but since this was the highest floor, climbing down the walls or jumping out would be far too dangerous.
Unlike the forts, whose layouts were almost identical, she couldn’t even tell whether this place had any secret passages.
I’ll look for one… but it might not be easy.
I can’t afford to waste time like this.
She bit her fingernail anxiously.
There were still four years before she would return to the Duke’s family.
Even so, she couldn’t stop herself from feeling impatient.
If only she could find out what Byron was planning, she would finally be able to relax.
“I’ll prepare your bath soon. For now, get some rest. You’ll have to focus on your training again starting tomorrow.”
“Okay. Thanks, Laura.”
After Laura left the room, Eila lay down on the stone bed covered with a soft blanket.
…I remember being so sad when we left this place.
Back then, the young Eila had actually cried when it was time to leave such a beautiful view behind.
They had stayed here for a little over a month before moving somewhere else.
Though I forgot about it pretty quickly because I liked the next place too.
She chuckled at herself.
Thinking about old memories at a time like this…
Come to think of it, where had they moved after this?
She remembered liking that place as well.
Well, she’d be there in about a month anyway, so there was no point trying to remember now.
She frowned, trying to force the memory back, but eventually shook her head.
“Miss, your bath is ready. Please come downstairs.”
Right on cue, Laura called to her from below.
Dragging herself up, Eila opened the attic door and climbed down.
That night, she finally got to sleep indoors again after so long.
Yet she couldn’t sleep well.
Her mind simply wasn’t at ease.
After Laura helped her bathe, Byron summoned her.
Once again, she had to endure the unbearable ritual.
Watching him kiss her hair, as he always did, made her want to cut it off immediately.
Unable to show even the slightest disgust on her face, she returned to her room afterward and immediately began searching for a secret passage.
If she didn’t throw herself into something else, she felt she would go mad.
But the result was disappointing.
No matter how carefully she examined the structure, there didn’t seem to be any space where a hidden passage could exist.
Worried that she might have to waste more than a month here accomplishing nothing, she went to bed feeling uneasy.
And so several more days passed.
Once again, Eila stood in the training ground near the ruins.
Anyone would have grown tired of such a meaningless routine.
But she endured.
Patience was something she knew well.
She had been forced to endure things since childhood.
“Today, we’ll be doing a rather special kind of training, Miss.”
Lost in thought, Eila snapped back to reality at Cloud’s words.
Special training?
Even in her endlessly repetitive life, there were occasional special days.
Under the name of “special training,” she was sometimes allowed to leave the hideout.
It was one of the few opportunities she ever had to go outside.
…Was this Cloud’s way of showing consideration?
Thinking back, Byron would never have willingly allowed her to leave the hideout.
Yet every now and then, he had permitted her to go out with Cloud.
Now she couldn’t help wondering if those outings had been Cloud’s attempt to ease his own guilty conscience.
It almost made her want to laugh.
Did he really think such small acts of kindness could erase the guilt of ruining someone’s entire life?
“Special training?”
“Yes. We’re going to climb that mountain.”
Hiding all those dark thoughts behind an excited expression, she asked the question.
Cloud pointed toward the mountain to the west—the same one visible from her room.
Well… it’s not a bad idea.
Since she was always locked away, even something as ordinary as this felt refreshing.
It was only mountain climbing.
Nothing particularly exciting.
Still, at least it was a change of pace.
“Don’t underestimate it. It’s a rather steep mountain.”
“Okay. I understand, Cloud.”
Now that he mentioned it, she vaguely remembered climbing this mountain before.
The slopes were steep, and there were even sections where they had to climb enormous rocks.
It certainly wasn’t an easy mountain for an ordinary twelve-year-old.
But reaching the summit felt wonderful.
Laura’s mother, Capella, handed Cloud a bag containing their lunch.
Perhaps because she had overheard their conversation a few nights ago, Capella’s gaze somehow felt especially sharp.
It was almost as if she were silently warning him not to let his emotions interfere.
As always whenever they left the hideout, Laura placed a bonnet over Eila’s silver hair.
The area was isolated, but there was always the chance they might run into someone on the mountain.
Cloud carried the picnic bag while Eila wore her hat.
They looked almost as though they were going on a family outing.
If she really were an innocent twelve-year-old, she probably would have been excited.
The lower part of the mountain wasn’t very steep.
It felt more like a gentle hiking trail.
A cool breeze rustled the leaves overhead, carrying the pleasant scent of trees.
The smell of the forest.
She hadn’t expected much.
But once they started walking, the fresh air naturally lightened her mood.
As she happily climbed the mountain, she could feel Cloud’s eyes constantly following her from behind.
He was worried she might disappear from his sight.
If she were truly twelve years old, that concern would have been understandable.
But with her current skills, losing Cloud would have been easy.
Still, there was no reason to run.
She still knew nothing about Byron’s plans.
And even if she escaped now, she had nowhere to go.
The mountain was remote.
There wasn’t a single village nearby.
If she got lost alone, she might not survive.
“Please take my hand. The rocks are slippery. If you lose your footing, you’ll be seriously hurt.”
Cloud held out his large hand toward her with genuine concern.
Eila silently looked down at it.
It was strange.
His face remained expressionless as always, yet somehow there was a trace of kindness in it.
To Cloud, she was the daughter of his enemy.
To her, he was one of the people she would eventually have to take revenge on.
She knew his kindness came from guilt over using a child.
Even so…
Her feelings remained complicated.
She couldn’t forgive him.
But neither could she completely hate him.
“Won’t you take my hand, Miss?”
“Ah… th-thank you.”
Holding Cloud’s hand, she climbed over the rocks.
Before long, the mountain summit came into view.
The weather was hot and humid, and climbing the mountain left her covered in sweat.
Yet she felt strangely refreshed.
She sat down on the blanket Cloud had spread out.
The breeze at the summit cooled the sweat on her skin.
“Please eat, Miss.”
Cloud opened the lunchbox.
It contained nothing more than sandwiches and lukewarm drinks.
But perhaps because she was hungry, it tasted delicious.
The view from up here is wonderful too. I thought only the view from my room was beautiful.
Taking a bite of her sandwich, she looked east while chewing.
The river sparkled brilliantly under the sunlight as it wound through the plains.
So that’s the ruin we’re staying in. You can see it all from here.
From this height, the building that had seemed so enormous looked surprisingly small.
The structure spread out from the tall central tower where her room was located, almost like a bird with its wings spread.
Smiling to herself for getting so absorbed in the scenery, Eila was about to take another bite of her sandwich.
She would have—
If she hadn’t noticed something strange.
Wait… did my room always look like that?
From above, her room beneath the tower looked slightly different from how she remembered it.
As far as she recalled, the attic was slightly longer from east to west, where the windows were.
But from this angle, it looked perfectly square.
Am I imagining it? Or…
There was a hidden space.
Even considering the thickness of the walls, if there really was a concealed room, it should be large enough for at least one person to fit inside.
The possibility of finding a secret passage made her heart pound with excitement.
“…You’re that happy?”
As Eila grinned and took another bite of her sandwich, she heard Cloud mutter quietly.
