Chapter 165: Chapter 84.1

“thank you very much. thank you.” the carriage was filled with herena’s greetings. yernia was a little dazed when she came down from cassian’s lap. she didn’t think that this would happen but as expected, herena was right there. was it today? she never thought that cassian and herena would meet today.

“first, wipe your hands with this. you look like you’re hurt.

yernia handed her her handkerchief and she looked at yernia with emotion.

“can i use this? it looks so precious———”

“yes, it’s fine! it’s just a handkerchief.”

herena’s unexpected appearance and embarrassment were no joke. she wore no shoes and her hands were scraped. she looked like a bloody mess that she just couldn’t turn a blind eye to. somehow, cassian didn’t tell her to ride their carriage. cassian merely looked at yernia, who was wondering about herena. in the end, yernia invited herena inside the carriage.

“i’m shackled.”

cassian’s gaze fell on herena’s wounded and dirty ankle. he must have known that she was a slave. surprised, herena hid her shackled foot back too late.

“i didn’t do anything bad. i just… i just ran away.”

“that’s a felony.”

herena bit her lip since she couldn’t refute it.  the gaze on the shackles came up and searched herena’s face. their eyes met. tension permeated the air and the conversation stopped. yernia’s heart sank from watching the two. no way! now, both of them——— this must be fate. nothing and no one could stop them from meeting each other again and again.  cassian’s body had yernia’s name on it, but sadly his fated guide was herena and not her.

“it’s a little hot.”

yernia opened the window and watched the snowflakes fall on the ground. the climate was still cold since their carriage was still in the north. herena shrank and hugged herself to ease the chill. fortunately, cassian and herena had stopped checking each other out.

“well, if you don’t mind, may i ask your name?”

“what?”

“i want to know the people who helped me.”

according to the original novel, this discussion would have been carried out without yernia. both of their gazes should burn hotter than now. yernia felt so awful that her cheeks seemed on fire.

“yernia… lecardo.”

“yernia. that’s a pretty name.”

herena’s eyes twinkled when she smiled. it was so pretty that even a woman could fall in love with it.

“it’s not a name that you should mention casually.” cassian’s tone was icy that she might as well pour cold water on herena’s face.

“oh, i’m sorry. can i call you yernia? please feel free to talk to me. you know, i….”

herena faltered but yernia could have guessed what her next word was. breathing deeply, she looked up at cassian’s emotionless countenance.

“as the young master had said, a runaway slave like me dared to commit a felony. i did it so that i could live. “ she began sadly. “ i might be a vulgar slave in your eyes but i did it to live.”

“…….”

“you didn’t know i was a slave when you helped me. if you hated that fact, you can kick me out right now. if my master catches me again, i might as well die.”

silence ensued. no longer a princess, herena was now a slave. her natural grandeur wasn’t made up and it empowered her desperate appeal even more.

“you still think your master will keep you alive after running away?”

“to my horror, my master won’t kill me.”

herena’s owner was just a side character in the novel. yernia didn’t know that at first until she was reminded that herena was a slave. however, herrena’s mind had already gone to cassian at that time.

“even if i ran away, my master would rather punish me than kill me.”

there was tension between cassian and herena. cassian narrowed his eyes as if he didn’t like her, but he couldn’t seem to take his eyes off her. yernia was nervous about that. no way! really? did he fall in love with her at first sight? was what she was worrying about going to happen?

whatever it was, yernia thought that she should end their discussion.

“we will not kick you out. since you got hit by our carriage, it is only right that we take responsibility for it.”

herena’s eyes slowly turned to yernia.

“we——”

should she say this now? would it even make any difference if she didn’t? yernia had no idea. now that she had met herena, yernia’s mood sank to the bottom. she kept wanting to disrupt their relationship contrary to her original plan. she wasn’t that different from the original.

if she were to follow the original novel, she would die at cassian’s hands. due to her selfishness, yernia felt sorry for herena.