Chapter 2. My Sin
The man who had stolen Razel’s lips in front of the enemy soldiers lifted her into his arms and carried her to where the warhorses were gathered.
A carriage had been prepared there in advance. Razel’s gaze wavered.
‘He came to the Count Ephor estate with this intention from the start.’
Her hand, clenched over her chest, trembled finely.
How long had he been preparing for this?
Razel’s violet eyes, cautiously glancing behind her, drowned in fear.
The soldiers of Crombel, the enemy nation that had brought her homeland of Vertia to ruin, were following this man who held her.
The man she had tossed to the battlefield like discarding trash had unbelievably returned as a commander of the enemy forces.
‘Out of resentment toward me…’
She had no doubt that every one of his actions stemmed from hatred directed at her.
The wounds she had inflicted on him could only lead to such an outcome.
The chilling crunch of boots trampling the thick snow finally ceased. It was before a carriage emblazoned with Crombel’s flag.
“I plan to take you to my castle in Crombel.”
“…”
“The moment you board this carriage, the name Ephor will be discarded. Until you marry me in Crombel, you’ll be a lowly commoner, and even as my wife, you’ll be nothing more than spoils of war.”
Reading the dimness in Razel’s eyes, he let out a scoffing laugh.
The words he uttered next carried a pretense of generosity.
“If you want to escape, I’ll give you the chance now. Just kill me and go.”
Razel, having lost her country, had nowhere else to turn. He said it knowing full well.
No, perhaps it was a warning.
That unless she killed him, she could never escape for the rest of her life.
“You’d better seize the opportunity. If you kill me and end up struck down by my soldiers’ swords, we’ll be together again.”
His cold words clearly aimed to break and crumble her.
Yet Razel’s gaze became clearer than before.
She let words slip from her lips, which moved a few times. Her hazy breath scattered.
“I won’t… run.”
My sin.
The one I clawed and wounded with my own hands, the one I cast away—my person.
From the moment he could no longer appear in my life, perhaps I had been envisioning only this instant all along.
Hoping he would return and give me a punishment worse than death.
‘It’s frightening and terrifying, but it’s okay… Because finally, I can atone for the sin that’s tormented me.’
She felt his gaze lingering over her face, taking it all in. It was then that the man, who had been staring at her silently, began to move again.
At the end of his heavy steps, he placed his foot into the carriage.
Razel had abandoned her country, abandoned the Ephor name, abandoned her family and everything else.
“Razel Windmore.”
“…”
“That’s the new name you’ll soon have.”
As he boarded the carriage and set Razel down on the seat, he said. The chill from the pouring snow had eased somewhat.
“Let’s depart.”
The man before her eyes had returned changed in so many ways, feeling unfamiliar, but Razel calmly steadied her breath.
A wave of exhaustion from the shock came over her belatedly.
‘Kylo…’
His name surfaced in her fading consciousness.
The name of the man she had once desperately craved, loved, and desired—so much that she had no choice but to cast him away.
* * *
It was eleven years ago.
Near the end of the season when winter, swallowing the world’s warmth, was fading faintly.
Around the time a fortnight had passed since the flurrying snow had stopped, Razel emerged from the room where she had been confined all along.
“My lady, what if you catch a cold? You’re so delicate…”
“It’s fine. If I get sick, you can just take extra care to nurse me, right?”
Razel, donning a thick fur bonnet over her cascading golden hair, replied lightly.
Her laughter, assuring not to worry, was clear like fresh white snow.
The second daughter of the Ephor family, frail since childhood and plagued by constant illnesses, was at times sensitive, yet innocent from lack of exposure to the outside world.
‘My being sickly is all in the past now.’
Until a year ago, she had only languished in bed, but lately, she had recovered her health remarkably.
Like spring arriving on parched earth, color now bloomed on her once pale cheeks.
Razel had already set aside worries about her body, but the maid seemed not to have.
Letting out a deep sigh, Nora added in an even more cautious voice.
“The master said he’d soon bring you to the count’s castle. If you catch a cold in the meantime, he’ll be upset…”
“Is that so?”
Razel smiled softly.
Nora noticed the excitement toward her family in that expression.
The second daughter of Count Ephor had spent much of her time only at this villa.
The reasons were varied.
Partly because a renowned physician resided here, and partly because the quiet, peaceful scenery was believed to aid her recovery.
‘But those are all just excuses put forth outwardly…’
In truth, Count Ephor was ashamed to show his ailing daughter to others.
Publicly, he claimed his daughter was staying at the villa for convalescence, and he never brought her to any social gatherings.
He shuddered at the thought of her withered appearance emerging and encountering guests.
‘Rumor has it that after the count’s mother fell gravely ill, he engaged in all sorts of scandalous affairs…’
For that reason, word spread secretly among the servants that the count foamed at the mouth at the mere sight of the sick.
When he sent Razel to the villa, he instructed the servants to ensure she never returned home if possible.
‘That’s something the lady doesn’t know…’
In any case, around the time her pallor began to fade, the count visited and finally said he would take her home.
He truly welcomed her recovery.
“The sky looks especially clear today. Doesn’t it?”
Stepping outside and breathing in the fresh air, Razel said.
Even Nora, who had been fretting endlessly about her catching a cold, finally smiled at Razel’s bright expression.
No matter the past, what was certain was that only sunny days lay ahead in her life.
The irritable, sensitive, and stubborn lady from her sickbed days was gone.
Now, there was only the lady awaiting her family’s love.
* * *
“Father!”
With her face brighter than usual, Razel dashed into the arms of the count, who had come to fetch her from Pelsio.
“Yes, Razel. Have you been well all this time?”
“Of course.”
Count Ephor, Alexio, greeted Razel with a kind face.
The hand lightly patting Razel fell away after just a couple of times.
Though she was already thirteen, Razel, who had longed for her family’s embrace, clung tightly to her father.
It was a moment when the lady, who sometimes showed a fierce side to the servants due to her illness, became utterly docile.
“Are the preparations all done?”
“No. I heard they’re not yet… but it seems they’ll be finished soon.”
Shaking her head, Razel glanced back at Nora.
Her violet eyes, pertly narrowed, seemed to shoot a demand to hurry and finish the preparations.
Nora bowed her head in a startle and moved to urge those packing the luggage.
Razel once again looked up at her father with an excited smile.
“Father, while we wait for a bit, would you like to…”
“Razel.”
But before she could finish, Alexio placed a hand on Razel’s shoulder.
“While you’re preparing your things, Father has to step out for a moment. Since you’ve stayed here so long, there must be much to pack.”
“Yes? Where? The servants will handle the packing, so I, I can come along…”
“I’ll be back soon.”
With a firm word conveying refusal, he promptly left his seat. Boarding the carriage that had arrived less than thirty minutes ago.
The father she had barely met distanced himself from Razel’s view once more.
Left standing alone, Razel stared blankly at the spot.
‘…What is this.’
It feels distant.
Having lived apart from her family for so long, it could be that way.
She knew it in her head, but Razel couldn’t hide her sorrow.
It wasn’t as if she had chosen to live isolated. She had been pushed to Pelsio by her family in her early childhood, which she barely remembered.
Sent off with blessings to recover her health quickly and return…
‘Blessings… Yes, I stayed here under blessings. If I had remained at Count Ephor’s castle, I might not have miraculously regained my health.’
Razel tried to think positively.
With just a bit more time together, her family would become the harmonious one she so desired.
‘It’s okay. From now on, there will only be miracles.’
White breath faintly escaped along with Razel’s firm resolve.
Hoping the piled snow would melt soon and warm spring would arrive.
“Tch.”
Meanwhile, Alexio Ephor, having left Razel behind and boarded the carriage, clicked his tongue.
Just when he thought his second daughter had finally shed her sickly shadow like a dying chicken. A troublesome matter had come along with it.
It was related to where he was heading now.
‘Why would His Majesty entrust me with such a lowly slave…’
One day, summoned to the capital, Alexio had been bestowed a significant task by the king.
No, ‘significant task’ was the king’s phrasing; to Alexio, it was merely ‘such nonsense.’
“We intend to bestow upon you a grave matter, my lord. Your second daughter is convalescing in Pelsio. Word has it she’s recovered her health and will soon return to Ephor Castle.”
“Yes, it seems the news has reached even here. Haha…”
“When you go to fetch your dear daughter, take in a slave who’s there. Conveniently in the same Pelsio.”
