How to Run Away from Obsessed Men

Episode 52

“Brother, are you alright?”

Rosalyn approached him, her eyes red as if she had been crying.

She was putting on a perfect act of mourning for her lost sister, playing the role of the grieving sibling. She loved the sympathetic gazes people cast her way.

At her words, Raysis slowly turned his head toward her.

“I’m really sad… If I had known this would happen to her, I would have treated her better.”

As she said this, Rosalyn smiled—a fresh, almost cheerful smile.

Raysis noticed immediately that Rosalyn seemed to be in high spirits.

In truth, Rosalyn was indeed pleased. Lindsey, the thorn in her side, had disappeared on her own. How could she not be happy about that?

Raysis glared at her with cold, sharp eyes.

It had been Rosalyn who had driven a wedge between him and Lindsey.

Now, seeing her revel in Lindsey’s death filled him with disgust.

“You seem to be in a good mood, Rosalyn,” he said icily.

“Of course not. Lindsey is dead—how could I be happy?”

Despite Raysis’s anger, Rosalyn couldn’t hide her joy.

‘Now, even Raysis won’t be able to treat me so carelessly.’

With Lindsey gone, there was no one left to replace her.

Their father had ultimately chosen her, the one with noble blood.

This gave Rosalyn confidence.

‘Raysis will eventually come to accept this.’

Rosalyn had never understood why Raysis cared so much about someone like Lindsey.

Wasn’t Lindsey’s death a blessing for the Kesion Marquisate?

But Rosalyn wasn’t foolish enough to voice that thought aloud. In time, Raysis would come to acknowledge it.

Lindsey was gone, and Rosalyn was his only true sister.

‘I just need to be patient. Eventually, he’ll return to how he was before.’

She knew Raysis needed time to accept the fact that Lindsey was truly dead.

Raysis’s eyes darkened ominously, like he was looking at a sworn enemy.

Rosalyn grew even angrier at Lindsey.

‘She should’ve just died sooner.’

Why had she waited until the truth came out to disappear? Everything was Lindsey’s fault.

If not for her, Rosalyn could have lived without any obstacles.

She would have always been the most beloved daughter of the Kesion family.

Lindsey was the reason she had become a laughingstock. It was Lindsey who had twisted what should have been her perfect life.

Rosalyn glared at the coffin before her.

“Don’t push me, Rosalyn. If you say anything disrespectful about Lindsey, I won’t let it slide.”

Raysis was already feeling like he wanted to die. At Lindsey’s funeral, there was no one who genuinely mourned her.

Even Mikhail hadn’t shown any sorrow.

It was a clear indication of just how alone Lindsey had been within the Kesion Marquisate.

There wasn’t a single person here who truly cared about her. They all belittled her, mocked her, and tormented her.

Even he had done so.

“Lindsey…”

He couldn’t forgive himself.

Nor did he plan to forgive the rest of his family.

Raysis’s gaze landed on Crain. Despite his daughter’s death, Crain wore a bored expression.

In fact, he looked somewhat relieved.

‘I won’t let anyone involved in your death get away with it.’

He thought back to how Lindsey had always longed to have her name erased from the registry.

Ever since childhood, Lindsey had craved freedom.

“If I could ever leave the marquisate, I’d love to see the ocean.”

Raysis’s face twisted in grief. Tragically, Lindsey had died without ever achieving that dream.

Her coffin would be buried on the marquisate’s private grounds. Even in death, she wouldn’t be able to leave.

‘I’ll fulfill your dream, Lindsey.’

There was no time to waste in despair. He had to make Lindsey’s wish come true.

‘Even if it costs me my life.’

His life was worthless now.

He knew that Lindsey would not have forgiven him, even in death. So, all he had left was to atone.

Raysis glared at Crain, his dead eyes beginning to glimmer with life once more.

⋆★⋆

After Lindsey’s funeral, Bianca took Luke to her family’s estate. No one at the Kesion Marquisate cared about Luke, so it was easy to do.

Bianca gave a bitter smile.

Crain hadn’t mourned Lindsey’s death. He had looked slightly irritated, but that was all.

‘Is he really her father?’

Bianca often wondered about that. As cold-hearted as Crain was, there was something particularly cruel about the way he treated Lindsey.

Even if she was of impure blood, not all noble children with mixed blood lived the way Lindsey had.

‘There must be something Crain is hiding.’

It made her wonder if Crain’s harsh treatment of Lindsey was intentional, perhaps due to something more personal.

Look at Rosalyn, for example.

If Lindsey had acted the way Rosalyn did, she would have been discarded long ago.

Crain was unusually strict with Lindsey and overly indulgent with Rosalyn. It made Bianca’s heart ache.

At the funeral, Raysis seemed to be the only one genuinely mourning Lindsey’s death.

Bianca’s thoughts were interrupted by Luke’s voice.

“Is she really dead?”

Luke’s face looked even more worn out than it had a few days ago.

Bianca felt a pang of sympathy. At least there was someone who mourned Lindsey’s death, and for that, she was grateful.

She nodded silently.

But even Luke couldn’t be told the truth about Lindsey’s fate.

Bianca handed Luke a sword, quietly preparing him for what was to come.

“Lady Lindsey wanted you to live the life you desire. I heard you want to learn the sword, is that true?”

“Yes,” Luke replied firmly.

“Then learn it. Become stronger.”

Bianca knelt down as she spoke. Her tall frame, imposing even by ordinary standards, exuded an intense aura. Tears dripped from Luke’s eyes.

“If you want to protect, you have to become strong. The weak are always the ones who lose everything. Only by being strong can you stand proudly before her. Don’t you think?”

Though Bianca didn’t mention a name, Luke knew exactly whom she was talking about. He gripped the sword tightly in his hands.

He thought about it.

If he had been strong, perhaps he wouldn’t have been so helpless against Count Luan.

And maybe, just maybe, he could have protected Lindsey, the person who had saved him from that hell.

He hadn’t been able to go to the hunting competition with her. All because he was too weak.

“I want to become strong.”

He wanted to become strong enough to avenge Lindsey, the person who had saved his life.

Bianca gently patted Luke’s head.

⋆★⋆

Lindsey had arrived in the Asen Empire.

The journey had not been easy. Monsters roamed the roads, and bandits lurked in the wilderness.

Had she not traveled with the Rosset family’s merchant convoy, she would have never made it to her destination.

‘What did Mikhail mean by all this?’

Thanks to the identity Bianca had prepared for her, Lindsey was able to enter the Asen Empire.

Her new identity: Roana, a cleric.

Lindsey looked at the identification medallion in her hand. Clerics were always in demand. Unless it was a strange case like Count Luan’s territory, clerics were welcomed almost everywhere.

For now, she intended to visit the Riken Duchy.

‘Mikhail wouldn’t say something meaningless.’

If Mikhail had told her to go to the Riken Duchy, there had to be a reason.

‘It’s worth investigating.’

Fortunately, a knight from the Rosset family had agreed to accompany her to the duchy.

‘Felia Roven, one of Bianca’s trusted knights.’

She had been sent because of her knowledge of the Asen Empire and her considerable skill.

Felia seemed disgruntled, though. Lindsey understood why—being assigned a mission of unknown length and difficulty would put anyone in a bad mood.

‘But she’s not a bad person.’

Despite her grumbling, Felia had been accommodating Lindsey’s every request.

“If we’re going to make it to the Riken Duchy, you should rest now. You’ll collapse halfway with your current stamina,” Felia said, her tone gruff but caring.

She had been a long-time retainer of Bianca’s household, one of Bianca’s most loyal followers.

Though her words were blunt, Felia had been doing her best to make sure Lindsey was comfortable throughout the journey.

“She’s a trustworthy person. If she ever disrespects you, just mention my name,” Bianca had said.

“And if anything makes you uncomfortable, make sure to let me know when you send your next letter. I’ll always be by your side.”

Lindsey held Bianca’s letter tightly in her hand, smiling faintly.

‘I’ve received so much from Bianca.’

Bianca had prepared everything for Lindsey’s escape.

She had disguised Lindsey with illusion magic, found a substitute corpse to take her place, and even used large-scale illusion magic to fool the other transcendents.

Bianca had gone so far as to risk backlash from using such potent magic, knowing it would take a toll on her.

She had endured all of that just to help Lindsey.

“But why are you going to the Riken Duchy?” Felia asked. “The duchy has been closed off for decades, ever since the duke’s daughter disappeared.”

“The duke’s daughter disappeared?”