“Ugh…!”

Rowena tried to shake his hands off, struggling against the unexpected surprise. She tried to turn her head and slap his cheek, but her body gradually lost its strength. Killian swallowed every last drop of her saliva, relentlessly as if he were a snake binding its prey. Then he tucked a strand of her messy blonde hair behind her ear.

“Don’t misbehave and keep your mouth shut. Miss Philone.”

It was the last warning. It was a tone that would have horrified other people nearby if they had heard it, but Rowena calmly wiped her lips with the back of her hand.

“If you don’t have anything else to say, may I go to sleep now?”

“…….”

“I was so restless last night I didn’t get any sleep. So I’m very tired.”

She pretended to be indifferent, but her words were trembling. Killian, who laughed as if he were dumbfounded, called the crew to set up the space for the night.

As soon as the spacious seat was turned into a comfortable bed, Rowena pulled the blanket over her head and lay down. Fatigue forced her eyelids down. An approaching dream took her back eight years.

Boo woo woo.

The train arrived at the platform, breaking the heavy morning mist.

The passengers who had been waiting were boarding in lines, like fish swarms traveling. In front of the third class compartments, Rowena hugged her small luggage bag and looked up at the massive engine for a moment. It was even bigger than the ones she had seen in the books, and she felt both frightened and excited.

This was the train she had wanted to ride ever since she was a child. She was thrilled to see what kind of unknown world it would take her to. The wide world that both her mother and father saw.

“…Will be fine. You won’t be alone when you get up there.”

She mumbled as if to reassure herself. Then, a station attendant with a blank face held out his hand to collect the boarding ticket; before she knew it, it was her turn to board.

The moment she took a deep breath and stepped inside, she heard a familiar voice behind her back.

“Rowena!”

“…Uncle…?”

“Rowena! Hold on.”

Rowena’s eyes widened, and she quietly gave way to the next person. A man came running, gasping for breath.

He had beautiful blond hair and dark eyes. The slender man was her only guardian, her uncle, Jeremy Dish.

Before Jeremy could say anything, Rowena started making excuses.

“I’m sorry I left without saying anything… Uncle…”

But really, this was the only way. For several years, whenever she mentioned going to the Capital, her uncle yelled at her that he was absolutely against it. Once she realized that it was impossible to convince him, she concluded that she had no choice but to run away from home.

“Do you really have to…go up there? You don’t even know what’s up there.”

Jeremy asked seriously, stretching out his bent back as he struggled for breath.

“It isn’t a place for a naive and innocent girl like you. You never know what you’re going to encounter. You don’t know anything about real life! You still need a guardian.”

Rowena closed her eyes tightly as she heard the words that made her ears buzz.