Chapter 108: The Road Back (2)
No eggs.
She was relieved that she hadn’t yet poured the seasoning packet into the pot and quickly turned off the gas stove.
No matter how hungry she was, ramen without an egg was unacceptable.
Nutritionally, ramen had to have an egg—there was no scientific basis for this, but to her, it was a fact.
And if it was true for her, then it was simply true.
So, she turned off the stove, went back to her room, and grabbed her wallet.
The grocery store was close by, and all she needed was to buy the eggs and return home.
It wasn’t a difficult task.
But even such a simple task wasn’t easy for her.
The moment she stepped outside, the bright sunlight greeted her.
Her apartment was in a semi-basement, so not much sunlight came in. It wasn’t uncomfortable inside, but being outside was a different story.
The season had already transitioned into summer, and the sun was quite harsh. She could feel the heat through her tracksuit.
There was a convenience store right in front of her house.
She stared at it for a moment, then closed her mouth tightly and walked past it.
A little further ahead was a supermarket.
Eggs were much cheaper at the supermarket, where you could buy a whole tray, compared to the convenience store, where only a few eggs cost quite a bit.
Since her financial situation wasn’t great, she had no choice.
Even though she wore a hat low over her face, her silver hair still peeked out, drawing people’s attention.
By now, she should have gotten used to it, but it was still difficult.
She could almost feel the prickly gazes of the people around her.
“C-Checkout, please.”
As soon as she entered the supermarket, she picked up a tray of eggs.
She handed over a crumpled 5,000 won bill from her pocket, received the change, and left.
This series of actions felt so awkward and exhausting.
Interacting with people was hard for her.
She held the eggs close to her chest as if they were precious and carefully walked down the supermarket stairs. She quickened her pace, eager to return home.
Under the blazing midday sun, this was the most challenging time of day for her.
Astie!
‘Huh...?’
A loud voice called out from somewhere.
Astie, Astie?
She looked around, but no one else seemed to notice.
Only she was turning her head, searching for the source of the voice.
Astie, wake up!
‘Again... again...?’
This time, it was clear and distinct.
A voice as clear and pure as a spring without a single ripple of noise.
Even though she heard it so vividly, the people around her paid no attention.
In fact, they only looked at her strangely as she turned her head, searching for the voice.
Startled by their stares, she pulled her hat down low over her face.
Her cheeks burned with embarrassment.
Her pale skin made the redness even more apparent.
Back in school, her nickname had even been Strawberry Shaved Ice... No, no.
‘Stop thinking about useless things...’
She shook her head vigorously.
Holding the expensive eggs tightly, she hurried back home.
Astie! Astie!
The voice called out again, but she decided to ignore it.
***
“Astie, Astie!”
Leopold, half out of his mind, roughly shook Astrid, who lay stretched out on the carriage seat.
“Your Highness, please restrain yourself. You must not shake an injured person so violently.”
“S-Sir Sigmund. What on earth is going on?!”
Even if he asked, Sigmund had no answer.
They were so close to the Miterien Grand Duke’s estate.
Leopold had been smiling to himself, imagining Astrid’s surprised face when they finally met.
But then the carriage had gradually slowed down, and Leopold had turned to the attendant with confusion.
“What’s going on?”
“Well, it seems someone has collapsed just ahead. The guards have gone to check, so if you could wait a moment...”
The attendant hadn’t even finished speaking when the carriage door swung open with a bang.
Sigmund leaned halfway inside with a troubled expression, calling to Leopold.
“Your Highness, you must come see this!”
“What is it?”
Leopold’s mood was anything but calm.
They needed to hurry.
He was eager to see Astrid’s surprised face, but now they were not only wasting time but also being told to come out and look.
Was this not a complete waste of time—
“If my memory serves me right, the person who collapsed is Lady Miterien...!”
At those words, Leopold’s face hardened.
It was indeed Astrid.
He pinched his cheek, and the pain confirmed this was not a dream but reality.
“A-Astie. What on earth...”
The person found collapsed on the road leading to the Miterien Grand Duke’s estate, where Leopold was headed, was none other than Astrid.
No one knew what had happened, but it seemed a fierce battle had taken place. Her beloved sword was nowhere to be found, and she lay unconscious, barehanded, with her Miterien family battle uniform severely damaged.
As soon as they gathered her up, Leopold vacated his seat in the carriage, laying Astrid down in his place.
Though tall for a woman, she was still just a woman, and the seat had enough space to lay her down properly.
“Astie, Astie! Wake up! Astie!”
“Your Highness, please calm yourself!”
“Let me go! How can I be calm right now?!”
Leopold didn’t care that his glorious golden hair had become a disheveled mess.
What mattered more than his appearance was Astrid, who lay unconscious before him.
Her pale face still had its natural color, but she remained unresponsive, eyes tightly shut.
“Quickly, to the Miterien Grand Duke’s estate. Now!”
Judging that Leopold was not in the state to lead, Sigmund gave hurried instructions to the attendant. The carriage jolted as it set off at full speed.
Astrid, who was lying on the seat, lost her balance and began to slide down. Leopold quickly caught her in his arms.
She was light.
So light.
Had she always been this light?
He had held her before, but he had never imagined she would feel so fragile.
“Astie...!”
Holding her close, with her face against his chest, Leopold cried out.
He wept silently.
Though he had rushed to get here, he had no idea what had happened.
He should have come sooner.
He should have disregarded any need for permission and come with her when Astrid said she was going.
Had he done that, his beloved Astrid wouldn’t be lying there like this.
Regret washed over him too late, and he could only cry without a sound.
That day, the Miterien Grand Duke’s estate was thrown into chaos.
Though they had been expecting the Crown Prince, his sudden arrival, with Astrid unconscious in his arms, left the entire estate in an uproar.
“I do not understand what has happened, Your Highness.”
In a room where a few ministers, including Baizik, had gathered, Wolfgang couldn’t treat Leopold as his nephew.
“Explain everything, Grand Duke. What exactly happened?”
In the sitting room, with the crackling fireplace between them, the lavish table was set with refreshments and tea, long since gone cold.
No one had touched their teacups.
Tea was the least of their concerns.
“—and so, Astie disappeared. We continued searching and also instructed a sorcerer aligned with our family to investigate the talisman fragment.”
“Have the results come in? And how is it that Astie, who vanished, was found on the road to the estate?”
“That... I do not know, Your Highness. Even we could never have imagined this.”
“Haa...”
When he closed his eyes, all he saw was Astie’s sleeping face.
When he sighed, he felt her soft breathing.
When he opened his mouth, it seemed like only her name would come out.
“I... I should have come with her. If I had been with her, she would not have been so helpless...”
“Please do not say that, Your Highness. Even if you had come, this could not have been prevented.”
“Grand Duke, she is your daughter. How can you speak of Astie’s situation so lightly...”
Leopold stopped mid-sentence.
His gaze had fallen upon Wolfgang’s clenched fists.
The veteran warrior, who had crossed countless battlefields without a single defeat, Wolfgang von Miterien, had his scarred hands tightly balled into fists, trembling.
Leopold swallowed his remaining words.
Though Astrid was his fiancée and the woman he loved, to Wolfgang, she was his own daughter.
No one could feel more frustration and heartbreak than Wolfgang.
There was no need to blame him further.
Nor should he.
Leopold closed his mouth.
The bitter taste of blood filled his mouth as he bit down on his lip.
‘Astie...!’
***
“Seriously, what the hell... Who is Astie anyway...”
Staring at her smartphone’s cracked screen, she snapped in irritation at the persistent male voice calling "Astie."
At least in this small studio apartment, she could express her emotions freely.
It was her space—just hers, with no one else around.
‘...But still, it does feel like a familiar name... How strange.’
Astie. Astie.
She muttered it under her breath, and oddly enough, the name fit her mouth comfortably, as if she had always known it.