Escape at Dawn
The pale blue fog of dawn lay thick across the mansion corridors. Moonlight spilling through the windows had already faded, yet the crisp air just before sunrise brushed against my skin and cleared my head. I held my breath and slipped into a travel coat of familiar weight. The solid press of the scabbard at my waist felt strangely alien today, and yet welcome. Normally Yua would have appeared without a sound to straighten my clothes and serve fragrant tea. But not this morning. I didn’t want even her gentle care. Lately she had been watching me too closely… that gaze that seemed to catalog every angle of my breathing, every single stride I took. I needed to breathe alone, even for a little while, free of that net of surveillance.
I moved down the hallway on the balls of my feet so my shoes would make no sound. Before the servants woke, while the mansion was still sunk in its deepest sleep—this was my only chance. The path to the stables was utterly quiet. Only the soft thud of my own heartbeat filled my ears.
She must still be asleep. After the wall incident a few days ago, she seemed to trust me again.
I was certain she had gone to bed peacefully, convinced that my act of being fooled by her tears had worked. Like a spy I pressed myself to the wall and rounded the corner. The stable threshold came into view, and beyond it the rough breathing of the horses. Once I opened that door, freedom would be mine.
The moment I turned the final corner my steps turned to stone. A small shadow stood on the stable threshold. Even in the early-morning mist her presence was terrifyingly clear.
It was Yua. She was not wearing her usual maid uniform but dark leather riding boots and a sleek jacket. Every trace of the gentle girl who lived inside the mansion had vanished. Only the razor-sharp focus of a hunter who would never lose her prey remained.
“Yua…? Why are you here?”
My voice was thick with confusion, yet she did not flinch. Instead she stepped closer and draped the travel cloak over my shoulders with practiced ease. When her cold fingertips brushed the nape of my neck, a violent shiver raced down my spine. It was not only the chill of dawn. It was the frighteningly obsessive heat that radiated from those fingers.
Scratch. Scratch.
Young Master Leo. Are your preparations for departure complete? The carriage is already waiting behind the mansion, but if you intend to ride, I will accompany you.
Her handwriting was far neater and firmer than usual. This was not a request. It was a declaration.
“No, Yua. Today I really must go alone. It’s an important inspection of the territory. Stay at the mansion and rest comfortably.”
I tried to sound calm as I reached for the canteen in her hand. But Yua tightened her grip and refused to let go. Her eyes sank into deep shadow, piercing straight through me. Inside them churned emotions too heavy for me to bear.
Leaving the mansion is extremely dangerous for Young Master’s safety. I must accompany you. This is the absolute authority of the Head Maid. Please obey.
Each letter struck like a dagger. Absolute authority. These were words the gentle Yua I knew would never have used. Her breathing was growing faster. My mind had already become hell.
The moment the words “important territory inspection” left Leo’s lips, her reason had already snapped.
Where are you trying to go without me? Who are you meeting? Are you planning to come back covered in blood again? Or… are you going to forget someone like me and meet another woman?
Unease coiled around my heart like a snake. Every time Leo took a step back I took one forward. My nerves were fixed on him alone.
No. You must stay in my hands. I cannot allow you to breathe anywhere I cannot see. Don’t leave. Don’t abandon me…!
The tears gathering in her eyes were no longer an act. They were desperate, close to madness. Still she fought to keep her handwriting steady. With trembling fingers she wrote her final warning.
You cannot advance any further, Young Master. Without me you cannot take a single step. Never.
I will hold on to you by any means necessary.
I knew instinctively that charging through this situation head-on was impossible. Yua’s eyes had already lost all reason. I let out a sigh and lowered my head, pretending to yield so I could loosen her guard.
“Fine… I understand. You win. If you’re going to insist this much, how can I go alone? Let’s go together.”
Her eyes widened. The rigid tension in her shoulders eased a fraction. She smiled faintly in relief and wrote on the board.
Yes… Young Master… I… will accompany you…
The instant she bowed her head to adjust the collar of my cloak, I slipped past her like lightning. I snatched the reins of the horse I had prepared earlier, swung into the saddle, and kicked hard.
“But not today, Yua!”
The horse’s hooves tore at the ground as it burst out of the stable. Behind me I thought I heard the dull thud of her writing board hitting the floor.
“Ah… aaa…! Aaaaaaaa!!!”
A scream that was almost a wail chased after me as I galloped away. It was the most desperate, grotesque sound a girl who had lost her voice could possibly make. I did not look back. I was terrified that if I did, I would never escape those eyes again.
She collapsed to the ground as the sound of hooves faded into the distance. Her nails dug into the dirt.
No no no no no no no no no no…!
The same word spun through her mind ten thousand times. In the place where Leo had stood, only the faint warmth he left behind lingered. She knelt, body trembling violently. Then slowly she rose, letting out a sound that could have been laughter or sobbing.
“Heh… hehehe… uaaaa…!”
Her eyes had lost focus and now glittered with madness.
The horse ran fast. I thought I heard Yua’s scream behind me, but I never looked back. The murderous intensity I had felt in her eyes and on her writing board still crawled down my spine.
Whew… I finally got away. But something feels wrong.
I slowed the horse for a moment and looked down at the capital spread below. I had finally won freedom, yet my heart still hammered violently. The tremor felt less like liberation and more like the terror of having survived.
That look in her eyes. That abnormal obsession.
“When I go back… it might really be disastrous.”
Muttering to myself, I kicked the horse’s flank. Even as I tried to lose myself in the bustling streets of the capital, the cold scent of Yua that lingered in the mansion still haunted a corner of my mind.
The horse’s hooves pounded against the rough dirt road. The screams that had followed me were soon swallowed by the wind. Yet the chill that brushed my back still seemed to cling to the nape of my neck. I tightened my grip on the reins and kicked harder. The mansion’s high walls disappeared from view, replaced by a dew-laden forest path rushing past.
The early-morning air cut coldly into my lungs. This was the real smell of the outside—sharp grass and wet earth—not the suffocating floral scent that filled the mansion.
“Hoo… haa…”
My heart felt ready to burst. It wasn’t simply from riding at full speed. It was the dizzying exhilaration of finally stepping out from under Yua’s enormous shadow.
Only after a long hard ride did I slow the horse. In the distance the massive outer wall and iron gates that marked the capital’s boundary glittered in the morning sun. As I drew closer, signs of people thickened on the road—carts heading to market, merchants chatting energetically with packs on their backs, the cries of livestock.
I raised the collar of my coat and pulled my hat low. It would be troublesome if the face of the Duke’s heir were recognized. Especially today, when the “hero” had sneaked out in secret; being noticed would bring nothing good.
Avoiding the busy central avenue, I guided the horse into narrow, dark back alleys. The clatter of hooves on cobblestone rang sharply between the close walls. Unlike the splendid noble mansions, this place reeked of raw life—ragged laundry hanging on lines, stray cats hunting food scraps, and the sharp smell of cheap liquor drifting from somewhere.
I followed the familiar, weathered signposts as if I had walked this path many times. In the most secluded corner of the capital lay my hideout, a place where I could quietly drink a cup while concealing my identity.
“Let’s see… I wonder if they’ve already arrived…?”
Muttering to myself, I stepped into the tavern.