Nightmare Came to The Place I Escaped

PROLOGUE

An expansive plain and a few houses were seen in the distance. The unpaved road was narrow, as if not many people passed through.

"Hic.."

Rachel grabbed his collar and closed her eyes tightly at the harsh knight.

"Get off."

It was the first place she'd seen in her life.

"Where are His Highness and Lady Avery?"

"Get off."

Rachel did not dismount, so the knight got off the horse and grabbed Rachel's arm and pulled her.

"Ah..."

It was painful as her leg sprained from the sudden fall, but Rachel limped back at the menacing knight.

"Tsk. Don't bother.."

The knight took a cursory look at the cumbersome and frightened Rachel and pulled out a medicine bottle from his pocket.

"What? What are you doing? Why did you bring me here......."

"Ha, are you asking me because you don't know?"

'Where am I?'

Rachel didn't understand why he brought her here, and what he was going to do with that medicine bottle?

"Where is His Highness?"

But the only thing that she felt more keenly than anyone else was that the current situation was wrong. Rachel looked around, as if looking for a place to escape from the threatening knight's behavior.

But there was no place to hide in the vast plain. And she wasn't sure how far she could run with her sprained foot.

"Don't even think about doing anything stupid, because this is the last generosity the Crown Prince gives you."

Rachel frowned at the words that came out of the man's mouth.

"His Highness has ordered me to deal with you. He does not wish to leave anyone who knows of his unfortunate past."

"...."

"He's going to be the emperor now, so you shouldn't be holding him back."

Rachel stood there staring at him blankly as the knight closed the distance without hesitation.

"Did His Highness say that ......?"

The knight did not answer the question. Then he silently opened the lid of the bottle.

Whoosh.

"Hey!"

Rachel turned around and ran away like someone who had finally come to her senses.

Stomping her feet madly, but it only took a moment for the sturdy man to catch her. In the end, it was just a meaningless struggle.

"No!"

Rachel shook her head violently.

Crack!

"Ugh! You crazy b*ch!"

The knight, who had been bitten by Rachel, clicked his tongue and slapped Rachel's face mercilessly.

The strong force made her head spin, and tears quickly flowed out of her eyes.

"Ha, I'm sorry. Please let me live. Please. I'll just live quietly as if I'm dead."

Rachel, who was half lying on the ground, grabbed the man's shoes and begged.

"Please tell them. I won't do anything!"

"Don't waste your time stalling."

"No!"

Rachel's mouth dropped open as the man's grip tightened.

"You're right. You shouldn't have bothered him."

The knight clicked his tongue and whispered.

Rachel couldn't stop the liquid the knight was pouring into her mouth and had no choice but to swallow it.

"Haaa..."

What followed was a time of pain and suffering.

"Ackkk....Ackkk.." (cough)

Her throat was burning hot and her stomach was twisted.

"Oh, .....please help me."

Strangely enough, Rachel asked for help from the man who put the poison in her mouth. But the cold, disinterested look in his eyes frustrated her again.

"Haaa..."

Rachel finally realized why Ian had frowned at her every time he saw her at the Imperial Castle.

He hated her enough to kill her. But she didn't mean to disturb him. How dare she, a servant girl, do such a thing?

Rachel crouched and struggled to the fullest. She wanted to live and grabbed the soil in pain.

But in the end, she knew this was her end. For more than half of her life, she served him right by his side, but eventually, her end was death.

Everything was searing pain.

Rachel chuckled in vain at the fact that this was the last generosity that Ian gave her.

She had no idea why he hated her so much, or why he was being so cruel to her.

She knew it was a vain hope, but if she had another chance, she would choose herself, instead of Ian.

CHAPTER ONE (1)

His hair was raised and revealed a neat forehead, high nose, and firm red lips. It was a familiar face she would never forget.

Rachel slowly stopped in her tracks at the man standing in front of her. Her face slowly stiffened.

Silver hair and purple eyes.

The day she left him. Everything should have ended that day. They shouldn't meet like this. Rachel bit her lips.

Ian. She tried so hard to forget him... The face she was seeing right now was so familiar that all her efforts were overshadowed.

His indifferent eyes were as uncomprehending as ever, and so were his tightly closed lips.

In the heavy silence, Rachel just trembled with fear in front of the unknowing eyes. Her hands trembled as she squeezed the shoulders of the small child standing beside her, but Ian just stared down at her without saying anything.

No, from the look of his eyebrows, he seemed a little angry.

Rachel took a quick look back at her day, even though she knew it was a useless thought. She got up later than usual, and burned her lunch because she looked away for a while...

Apart from that, it wasn't so bad, just a normal day, same old, same old.

But why did this man suddenly appear out of nowhere and stood in front of her?

Thud.

He took a step closer.

Rachel couldn't avoid his eyes staring at her, even though she knew what she was doing was wrong.

That's right. Maybe it was from the day she ran away from him.

Rachel bit her lip at her dark future.

***

It was an autumn day, the sun was high in the sky.

There was no trace of the unforgettable hot summer air, and now even the wind was as cool as the blue sky.

"Hmmm."

The autumn breeze that came in through the open window seemed to chill Rachel a little, and she squirmed under the covers. Then she raised an eyebrow at the bright sunlight and checked her watch.

"Oh .......... it's late."

She welcomed the morning a little later than usual.

After hurriedly getting out of bed and organizing her bedding, Rachel looked around the cozy room and stepped out of the house with a basket from the table.

Perhaps it was the cool breeze that made her feel good, but her steps through the gravel-covered garden became faster and faster.

"Rachel, you're late today."

When Rachel entered the village market, the lady who was guarding the fruit stand welcomed her.

Her voice was full of love for Rachel.

"Yes, I'm up late today."

"Oh, I guess that's why you haven't even brushed your hair yet."

The woman pointed to Rachel's head with a hand gesture, and Rachel smiled awkwardly and brushed her brown hair with her hand a few times.

"Hmm, is there any newspaper?"

"Sure, here it is."

The woman gave a small smile at Rachel's flushed face and spontaneously pulled out a newspaper from underneath a shelf covered with various kinds of fruit and handed it to her.

"Thank you, Marilla. Apples and pomegranates... hmm, and some blueberries too please. "

"Yes, just a moment. Rachel's going to eat them, so I have to give her the good stuff. "

Marilla said, now with a more cautious eye, she picked out the best colorful fruits and packed them.

"Anything will do. Thank you."

Rachel said, exchanging the money for the fruit.

"I have a lot to be grateful for Rachel, but I have to do all I can. You don't need to pay."

Marilla stared burdenedly at the money Rachel had given her.

"But I will be uncomfortable."

At Rachel's words, Marilla put the money into the money box with another fond smile on her face.

"I'm so grateful for how much smarter Thomas has become lately, and for reading the words properly. "

"Thanks to you, too, Auntie, I can always read the newspaper. "

"Ah, but still, when you read it, the newspaper is already a week old. And it's only a newspaper compared to how grateful I am."

The newspaper was all Marilla could afford to buy when she went to sell fruit in the city.

"It's all thanks to Rachel that I was able to send my son off to war. And because of you, he's very popular with the ladies, too."

"What? It's not even that hard. Besides, I get paid for teaching Thomas. You don't have to thank me."

Marilla looked at Rachel for a moment, a small smile on her face, and then quickly nodded.

"Right. Then I hope you have a good day."

"Yes, I'll be going then."

Rachel smiled and waved at Marilla, then stepped away to fill her shopping basket.

***

At the town square, Rachel checked the time and rushed home. It was time for Thomas to come to her house by now. She was some distance from the village. As soon as she got close enough to see her house, she saw a little boy standing on the side of the road.

"Thomas!"

A small boy with reddish brown hair turned his head along with the voice calling her.

"Rachel!"

Thomas' little face broke into a smile as he spotted Rachel.

Thud. Thud.

The child came running eagerly with small strides and hugged Rachel's legs snuggly.

Rachel, who had stumbled a little to receive the running Thomas, bent her knees to meet the eye level with the child.

"Thomas, have you eaten?"

"Yes, how about you Rachel?"

"Hmmm....do you like some more food Thomas?"

"Yes, that's good."

Rachel could see a glimpse of his mother through the bright smile on the child's face.

"Rachel, I saw my brother yesterday on my way home."

Thomas began to ramble behind Rachel, who was preparing a meal. Thomas remained seated in his chair, his legs swinging in the air as he continued to speak.

How his parents got mad at his brother Dean for teasing him about what happened on the way home yesterday.

Thomas kept his mouth shut for a while, after telling Rachel what he had for dinner.

About ten seconds passed.

The child opened his mouth again.

"I memorized everything Rachel taught me."

"Really? Good job. Wasn't it hard?"

Rachel replied with sincerity to his words, though she couldn't look at him because she thought she might burn Thomas' fried eggs.

"No! It wasn't difficult at all."

Thomas' voice, which responded loudly, longed for praise from Rachel.

"Really? I know it was a lot of work, but you're amazing! Well, class will be over soon."

"Oh.....? Hmmm...................But, there were a lot of things I didn't know."

Thomas' eyes flashed in panic at Rachel's words, "Class will be over soon," and he hastily added a few more words.

"There's... so much I want to ask you."

Rachel looked at Thomas, who was slurring his words, and handed the child a loaf of browned bread with jam and eggs.

"Really? Do you want some milk?"

"Yes, thank you."

The child waited patiently, not touching the food, until Rachel sat down. Once she was seated, Thomas took a big bite of his bread.

"By the way,ummmm.......outside...hmmm..today."

The boy with the food in his mouth mumbled without swallowing his food.

"Thomas, you must finish eating before you speak."

Rachel warned and the child hastily swallowed the food in his mouth. As he did so, he hurriedly drank the milk as if he was thirsty.

"Let's study outside today. Yes?"

"Should we?"

"Yes! The weather is nice!"

"Okay, let's do that."

Rachel said as she wiped Thomas's white milk on his lips. Thomas smiled brightly again, looking happy.

Seeing the child smile so much brought a smile to Rachel's face as well.

***

Rachel and Thomas went out to the hill behind the village. They laid out a mat and opened a notebook.

"Now, let's memorize up to here first and then take the test."

Thomas laid down on the familiar mat. Rachel gave a small smile at the plump cheeks of the child lying on her arms.

Thomas frowned and stared at the paper quietly as if he was focused. Rachel looked at Thomas for a moment and then opened the newspaper she had brought.

Rachel handed Thomas what he needed before she could unfold the newspaper she had received this morning.

On the front page of the newspaper was a story about the Imperial Knights and the Emperor.

[A victory for the Empire, a debt of gratitude to the Emperor.]

Rachel quickly read the newspaper without saying a word.

[The Levskaya Empire has recently fought a major war.]

Considering the wars of previous empires, it had been a short period of time, less than two years since then, but considering that the upper part of the empire had already been taken, even the territory right above the capital of the empire, it was definitely a big war.

Therefore, victory in the war was almost like a miracle. And it was amazing that the duration of the war was less than two years.

All the people did not doubt that victory in the war was the ability of the current emperor.

It was as if he knew the enemy's strategy and took the appropriate measures each time. The people know that if it were not for the current emperor, they would not have won the war.

Without him, the empire would have been destroyed by the dragons in the first place.

The current emperor, Ian Dakendov, was a war hero and the first dragon slayer to appear in a thousand years.

As such, all the people respected him and swore allegiance to him. Even in this small provincial town, she could hear his name and praises everywhere.

His fame and achievements were easily felt.

"Territorial patrol."

The emperor had announced that in order to honor the victory of the war, he would select a few members of the Imperial Knights and patrol the territories of the empire with them.

The newspaper Rachel was reading, the front page of last week's newspaper, has detailed the future steps of the Emperor and the Imperial Knights. It said that the purpose of the patrol was for the emperor to get a firsthand look at the damage caused by the war and the people who were physically and mentally exhausted from the war.

The emperor was loved by his people, and yet such a great, great emperor would take care of the people's body and soul. It was expected how much the people of the empire would worship him.

'Ha, I have to stop doing this. On the day I go to see Marilla, I must tell her I don't need to get any more newspapers.'

With a small mumble, Rachel's hands flipped through the crumpled newspaper again.