Aaron shielded Megrie as they navigated the narrow, biting chill of the dark back alleys. Their footsteps echoed with startling clarity in the silence of the night. He watched the figure beside him, head bowed and walking with frantic haste, until he finally couldn't help but ask in a low, strained voice:
"How did you let yourself get... so wretched? Did Nata's people truly strike during the procession?"
Megrie pulled the oversized cloak tighter around her shoulders, her tone as indifferent as if she were telling someone else's story. "Nata made her move. There was a 'secret draught' in that soup; she wanted me to sleep through the entire voyage to Orsenburg. But I didn't drink it. It was Kiki, though... her ambition was far more deranged than I imagined."
She gave a self-deprecating laugh, glancing sideways at Aaron's tense expression. "In the carriage, she shredded my gown. It felt as if she wanted to tear my entire life to pieces. Then, as we passed through the wilderness, she wrapped me in a blanket and shoved me out of the moving carriage with her own hands."
"Shoved you out?" Aaron stopped dead in his tracks, his voice tinged with a raw, suppressed fury and a trace of lingering fear.
He looked down at Megrie's bare feet, stained with mud and dried blood. To be thrown at that speed... if she hadn't been lucky enough to land in the scrub, she would be a cold corpse in the wild right now. He couldn't fathom what kind of willpower it took for this fragile-looking girl to walk all the way back to this man-eating castle, step by step through the freezing wind, draped in nothing but a filthy rag.
The remains of the shredded gown peeked through the gaps in the cloak; the jagged edges of broken pearls stung Aaron's eyes like blades.
"She wants to take my place, to be the City Lord's wife in Orsenburg. I simply granted her wish," Megrie said, looking up. The moonlight illuminated her dirt-streaked yet radiant face. "This is the best liberation for me, isn't it? From this moment on, there is no more Megrie in Tei Castle."
Hearing her recount that harrowing "fall" so calmly made Aaron's chest ache with a suffocating mix of rage and pity. His breathing grew heavy as he stared at her bare, bloodied footprints—stark, painful marks on the cold cobblestones.
"You cannot walk on these feet any longer."
Aaron interrupted her, his tone carrying an uncompromising hardness. He didn't give her a chance to protest. He lowered his massive frame and, though his movements were slightly awkward, he lifted her into a horizontal carry with absolute steadiness.
Megrie gasped at the sudden weightlessness, instinctively clutching his armor. Her fingertips brushed the cold metal, but beneath it, she felt the searing heat of his body.
"Aaron..."
"Don't speak," he said deeply. He reached up and pulled the wide hood of the cloak further down, securely covering Megrie's head, hiding her face entirely within the darkness and the warm fabric.
"From now on, no one will see your face. Until we reach Kai's, all you need to do is rest."
Megrie curled into his embrace, which smelled of leather and a faint scent of salt. Aaron's stride was incredibly steady; every step felt like it was planted on solid ground, blocking out every jolt and danger with his broad chest. Under the shelter of the cloak, a sense of security she had never known began to bloom.
Aaron kept his lips pressed thin, his eyes sharp as he scanned the surroundings like a lone wolf guarding a treasure. He wove through the intricate network of paths, avoiding all possible eyes, steadily carrying the girl abandoned by her family toward her new beginning.
Kai's secret residence was tucked away at the intersection of the wealthy district and the marketplace—modest on the outside, but exquisitely refined within. When the hidden door was pushed open, the warmth of the hearth instantly dispelled the darkness.
"Aaron? Why at this hour—" Kai, who had been discussing shop renovations with Kino over a map, turned at the sound. Both of their expressions froze.
Aaron offered no explanation. He simply placed Megrie gently onto a soft chaise lounge. When he pulled back the cloak to reveal her mud-stained face and her mangled, bleeding feet, the air in the room seemed to turn to ice.
"Megrie?" Kai lunged forward. As he took in the sight of her raw, swollen soles covered in grit, the usually elegant and composed merchant grew pale. "How did you get hurt like this?"
"Those bastards... who did this!" A low growl erupted from Kino's throat. His eyes turned bloodshot, and his knuckles cracked as he balled his hands into fists.
Kai's expression turned cold, but he remained more collected than Kino. He knelt down, his breath hitching slightly as he saw the deep gashes from the gravel.
"Kino, stop fuming and go get the medicine chest and clean hot water! Now!"
Moments later, a basin of warm water was brought to her. Kai personally rolled up his sleeves and knelt, his movements as gentle as if he were handling the finest porcelain. He used a warm, damp towel to slowly wipe away the filth. With every flinch at a wound, Aaron and Kino's faces grew darker.
"Bear with it," Kai whispered, applying a cooling salve to her injuries. "These feet are meant to walk toward the future; they shouldn't be suffering in the filth of Tei Castle."
Megrie looked at the three men. Aaron's silent protection, Kai's delicate care, and Kino's hot-blooded fury caused a wave of warmth to surge through her chest. After the wounds were dressed, Kai handed her a set of clothes he had prepared in advance.
"Go take a bath, Megrie," Kai said, standing up and looking at her with profound eyes. "Wash away all the filth Tei Castle left on you. When you come out, you will no longer be the traded daughter of a City Lord."
Inside the bathroom, steam swirled. Megrie stood before the floor-length mirror, peeling away the tattered remnants of the dress Kiki had shredded. The expensive silk and scattered pearls looked so ironic in the hot water of the tub. She scrubbed her skin until her cheeks flushed, until the humiliation, the cold, and the fear drained away with the wastewater.
When she finally pushed the door open and stepped out, all three men held their breath.
Megrie had changed into the practical attire Kai had specially chosen: a crisp white linen undershirt and a sleek, deep blue wool coat paired with form-fitting black trousers and leather boots. She had tied her messy hair into a high, tight ponytail, revealing her refined yet resolute profile.
The helpless "victim" had vanished. In her place stood a clear-eyed strategist ready to stir the winds and rains of the entire city.
"These clothes suit you," Aaron said, a trace of awe appearing in his eyes. The outfit masked her frailty and amplified the inner sharpness of her soul.
"The old Megrie died in that 'accident' on the wedding road." Megrie walked to the table and picked up the map Kai had found. Her gaze was bright and edged like a blade. "The person standing before you now is the owner of a bakery—the one who intends to seize the stomach of all Tei Castle."
Kai looked at her, the corners of his mouth curling into a playful arc. "Welcome back, Boss."