After My Brother Was Demoted, I Mistakenly Sought Refuge with His Mortal Enemy - Chapter 3

Chapter 3

There had been a few twists and turns, but in the end, I was settled in.

On the way to the side courtyard, the old steward asked me, “Miss… where did you come from?”

I gave him the name of my hometown.

He exclaimed, “That place is nearly a thousand li from the capital. How long did it take you to get here?”

“…Three months.”

I was a little embarrassed.

I had thought the capital was only a few towns farther than our own.

Once I made up my mind, I was prepared to walk for three days and three nights if I had to.

I never imagined it would be farther than the edge of the sky.

It took me three whole months to arrive.

The old steward sighed, and his eyes suddenly filled with admiration and pity.

Warmth spread through my heart, and I didn’t think too much of it.

Until after he left, and I suddenly caught sight of the person in the mirror.

Good heavens, where had this little beggar come from?

I jumped in fright.

Only then did I realize that the little beggar was me.

I had crossed mountains and rivers and traveled a thousand li.

At this point, “travel-worn” no longer even began to describe me.

I finally understood why, all along the way, everyone had looked at me as if they wanted to say something but stopped themselves.

Later, the old steward brought over food and clean clothes.

I finally cleaned myself up properly.

Over the next few days, Cui Mansion treated me with every courtesy due a guest.

The old steward, in particular, was very kind.

He said that if I had any questions, I could go straight to him.

As it happened, I did have something I wanted to ask.

But I had only just arrived, and I wasn’t sure if it would be too presumptuous.

“If you have something to say, miss, please feel free.”

Seeing my hesitation, the old steward smiled kindly.

I mustered my courage. “Sir, may I ask… do you know how to get to the Regent’s Residence?”

“…”

“Miss… why are you asking about that?”

“My brother was demoted. He must have been wronged!”

The one who had demoted him was the Prince Regent.

Naturally, I wanted to seek justice for my brother.

That was also the reason I had insisted on coming to the capital.

It wasn’t as if I truly wanted to impose on my brother’s former classmate and friend.

It was just that the capital was so vast, and he was the only person I knew with ties to the court.

As soon as I cleared my brother’s name, I would leave.

The old steward looked as though he wanted to speak but thought better of it.

He forced out a couple of dry laughs. I had no idea what that meant.

I did not get the answer I wanted.

I couldn’t help feeling disappointed.

But I understood. If he wouldn’t tell me, it was probably because he was afraid I would act rashly and implicate Cui Mansion.

Sure enough, afterward I tried asking around indirectly among the other servants of Cui Mansion.

At the mention of it, every one of them went silent with fear and refused to say a word.

That only made me more certain of my guess.

After imposing on Cui Mansion for several days, I ultimately decided to leave and find another way.