"But..."

It's ridiculous to just throw away such an expensive necklace.

She wasn't sure how much it was worth, but with the size of the jewels, she thought it would sell for enough money to buy a mansion in the countryside, then eat and play for the rest of her life.

How could she throw away such a necklace?

Rachel glanced at Ian as if he was being absurd.

"How could I do that..."

Rachel's gaze was absolutely correct. It was the look you gave someone who's out of their mind.

"It's yours now, so it's your choice."

Ian inhaled as if he was going to sigh.

Rattle

"I'll leave now."

As Ian rose from his seat, Rachel would normally have followed him out, but she was sitting in a daze because she was still in shock, then she followed him a step later.

Rachel returned to her room after Ian left, carefully picked up the box from the tea table, and put it in the bottom drawer of her dressing table.

She carefully put it down in there, and closed the drawer. She didn't know when he would change his mind, and ask for it again.

This necklace must've been something Ian wanted to give her.

"Was this one of the interests that His Majesty mentioned?"

The reason why he brought her here. The reason why they ate together every day. The reason why he gave her such a gift.

"Ha..."

She guessed that it all stemmed from his unknown interest.

"Why are you..."

Six years later, she didn't know why he was interested in her.

"Besides, throwing away such an expensive item is just..."

The current emperor seemed to be out of his mind.

'War trauma.'

She remembered reading a book.

Rachel could read and write, so she'd made money from copying and selling books as a transcriptionist after she fled from Ian six years ago. So, she was forced to read a lot of books about different things.

Yes, she remembered reading about it in a book.

The fact that some people who've experienced war live their whole lives suffering from the trauma of that time. Some of them would never be able to live their daily lives normally ever again.

How could anyone be unaffected by a situation in which both parties were killing each other and dying?

Rachel suspected that Ian was in the same situation.

"Yes, His Majesty is unwell right now."

After he went through a war, the trauma made him crazy.

"Did he forget who I was, right? If that's not the case..."

Otherwise, there was no reason to be nice to the maid who ran away.

"Why did this happen to me out of all those people..."

She didn't know for sure, but Ian seemed to have changed after the war. If something was wrong, it must have been very wrong.

"Ha..."

Rachel sighed a little as she came to that conclusion alone.

When would Ian's interest in her wane?

She felt sorry for Ian, who had lost his mind while he was young, but Rachel felt most sorry for herself, who had been brought to the capital so suddenly.

She didn't want a soft bed, expensive clothes, every meal prepared by a chef, or expensive ornaments. She just wanted to go back to where her house was.

Rachel sighed deeply again at the situation, unable to do anything of her own will.

That night, in a dark dream, Rachel was suffering from an injury induced fever.

***

"Hu..."

A fevered groan leaked out through a narrow gap.

She'd been in a daze for three days, and without anything to eat. Rachel was lying still with her face on the cold stone floor.

She had her eyes open, but her unfocused blue-green eyes looked dull and vacant. They were the kind of eyes that fit this dark and dank dungeon, devoid of hope or motivation.

Creak

The thick door of the dark dungeon opened and a bright light shone through the crack, but Rachel only frowned a little and just lay still.

Thump Thump

Rachel closed her eyes as the sound of footsteps got closer. They seemed to be soldiers, with muted steps and swaying lights.

Even though their visit couldn't have been good for her, Rachel was ridiculously relieved that someone had just entered the basement.

Tap

The soldier tapped Rachel with his foot.

"Tsk, she's completely out of it. Hey, hold this."

The soldier grabbed Rachel by the arm, and quickly lifted her up.

Was it because she hadn't eaten anything, or was it because of her bruised calves? Rachel couldn't walk properly, and had to be dragged by the soldiers.

Rachel closed her eyes to the sunlight she hadn't seen in a long time. In fact, she deliberately closed her eyes so that she wouldn't have to see the people who were whispering around her.

"Thief."

Their eyes were sharp as they bad-mouthed her as a thief. The fact that no one in the residence was on her side made her feel terrified again.

Knock Knock

"My Lady, we've brought the girl."

"Come in."

Diana Avery's voice came from behind the door.

Rachel bit her lip at the voice that was as cheerful as ever.

The door opened, and Diana stood there. The room was filled with sunlight, and Diana was wearing a brightly colored dress and a small smile on her face.

The two soldiers knelt Rachel down in front of Diana. Rachel moved under their power like a broken doll.

"Get out."

Diana waved lightly, and sent the soldiers out of the room.

"Pfft, what a nice picture."

Even though she knew Diana was talking right in front of her, Rachel's ear felt like the young lady's voice was far away.

"Why did you put up with it?"

Diana studied Rachel's face carefully and slyly dragged on the conversation without a second thought.

Her bruised and bloody face, and her tangled brown hair. Out of all of them, it was Rachel's unfocused eyes that satisfied Lady Avery's heart the most.

Diana's smile deepened as Rachel didn't even dare to look at her.

"Thief."

Diana mocked Rachel, who kept her arms folded and her knees tucked under her legs.

"Why did you do it? Did you want this so badly?"

Finally Rachel's empty eyes landed on the necklace swinging in Diana's hand.

"This is what happens when someone as vile as you can't even understand your place, and acts greedy."

The young lady hid the necklace in her hand as Rachel stared at it.

"It doesn't suit you at all. How much do you think this is worth?"

Diana seemed to like the current situation very much. The corners of the young lady's mouth rose to the fullest, as she expressed her satisfaction.

"Even if you worked so hard that your bones broke, you wouldn't ever be able to afford this."

"...."

"I was so disappointed. You had to be greedy and unaware of your situation."

Again, the sound of the young lady's voice came from a distant place.

Rachel stared at her hand, not wanting to see any more of the necklace hidden in Diana's hand.

The necklace was what ruined Rachel.

Rachel had never really seen it before. This was the first time she'd even seen the necklace.

***

One day, when the ground was slushy with snow that had gradually melted under the spring sun, the young lady came to the hut.

Diana told Ian that the duchy was short of manpower and asked him to lend her Rachel for a few days. So, as the young lady requested, Rachel went to work for the duchy for a few days.

However, contrary to her claim that she lacked workers, Rachel had little to do.

Rachel was in charge of organizing the young lady's bedroom, but she worked with two other maids, so there was nothing particularly difficult.

She thought it was weird.

She'd expected the young noblewoman to give her hard work when she'd called her to the Duke's household, but surprisingly it wasn't hard at all.

She thought that Diana would go out of her way to torment her and cause trouble.

Rachel waited for a few days to pass, then returned to the cabin. She thought it would be nice if she could buy a little bit of meat with the wages she'd received from the Duke.

But the next day, Rachel was beaten and taken to the dungeon for stealing Miss Avery's necklace.

The missing necklace that was found in Rachel's baggage.

Her jacket was all that was left of her belongings, and from the pocket of that jacket they found the young lady's necklace.

The maids, who'd cleaned up Diana's bedroom with Rachel, testified that they saw her hanging around the jewelry box, and Rachel instantly became the culprit.

No one in the Duke's household had any intention of listening to Rachel.

And it all happened in an instant.

The cold stares, the intense beating, and the confinement in the underground prison happened so quickly that Rachel couldn't even comprehend the situation.

While Rachel was unfairly beaten, she never cried out. She just bit her lip hard enough to make it bleed, and shed tears.

She knew that no one in the Duke's household would pity her, even if she cried out.

She just wanted to hurry back to the cabin.

"Yes, you should've done better. Isn't that right?"

Tak

The young lady got up from her seat, and threw something in front of Rachel's lap.

Rachel's head moved slowly.

As if to see what fell in front of her knees.

It was a torn doll that fell in front of her, and it used to belong to Rachel.

"You're a beggar."

Tap Tap

Rachel's eyes welled up with tears, which soon fell to the ground.

"Why are you making such a big deal out of nothing?"

The young lady looked down at Rachel and said coldly.

"Oh, when I told Ian that you stole my necklace, he told me to take care of it."

Once again, Miss Avery smirked at Rachel.

With one corner of her mouth pulled up, it looked harsh, and didn't match her rounded cheeks.