Chapter 10
“What?”
“She needs to learn how frightening the world outside can be. Only then will she never think of running away again.”
Caesar’s order was clear, but Aden didn’t move immediately.
“Why? Do you have something to say?”
“…No, my lord.”
Bowing his head, Aden clenched his fists tightly.
“Oh, and make sure to throw a sack over Odette’s head when you take her. That way, those filthy vagrants won’t lay a hand on her. Only I should be allowed to touch my wife.”
Caesar’s lips curled into a lazy smile as he spoke, and Aden lowered his head even further.
“So he’s planning to test her… thoroughly.”
Caesar never trusted people easily. He subjected them to rigorous trials, and only those who passed were allowed to stay by his side.
Aden had undergone such trials himself before becoming one of Caesar’s men.
“But Lady Odette is the daughter of Heravrua. What is there to doubt?”
Last night, Caesar had revealed the truth—Odette was the only living bloodline of the High Saintess, the most powerful bearer of divine purification and blessing in the Empire’s history.
With such noble blood running through her veins, Odette would be incapable of lying or betrayal.
“Poor Lady Odette… I just hope she doesn’t panic too much when she’s taken.”
Aden swallowed a sigh.
“I’m starving.”
Now that she saw it up close, the crepe looked exactly like the ones her mother used to make. Some might say all crepes were the same, but her mother’s crepes had been different.
Most crepes were filled with fruit and cream, but her mother made buttercream from eggs and milk, mashed boiled potatoes into a smooth filling, and drizzled honey-soaked walnuts on top. The result was both sweet and rich with a nutty depth.
And now, right in front of her, was a crepe made exactly that way—bursting with buttercream and mashed potatoes, topped with glistening honeyed walnuts.
The familiar taste called to her, making her crave it even more. A lump formed in her throat as memories of her mother flooded back.
“Miss, are you still buying?”
The street vendor asked as he wrapped two crepes in paper, ready to hand them over.
“…I got pickpocketed. I have no money.”
She fought hard to keep from crying, but her voice trembled.
“You must be from the countryside. That’s awful. Reporting it to the guards won’t do much good, though. Pickpockets are rampant around here—no matter how many they arrest, there’s always another to take their place. Where are you headed?”
“Why do you ask?”
“You could hire a private carriage and have someone at your destination pay the fare for you. As long as it’s not too far, it should work out.”
But there was no one waiting for her at the old cottage where her mother had lived.
A single tear rolled down her cheek.
Seeing this, the vendor held out one of the crepes.
“Here, eat this first. You need food to regain your strength.”
“You’re giving it to me for free?”
“A long time ago, I was a beggar, surviving off scraps in front of the Grand Temple. One day, the High Saintess bought me a whole stack of crepes. She told me, ‘If you ever make money, don’t ignore those in need.’ At the time, I laughed at the idea of ever becoming rich… but look at me now.”
The vendor gestured toward a large building behind his stall. The first floor housed a bakery, a florist, and a general store. The bakery workers wore uniforms identical to the one the vendor was wearing.
“That building… is yours?”
“Haha! That’s right. After eating the crepes the Saintess gave me, I found the courage to change my life. I started with manual labor, saved up, and eventually opened a crepe stall to recreate that taste. Business boomed, and before I knew it, I became a wealthy man.”
From a beggar to a property owner—the vendor was a shining example of a self-made success.
But he truly believed that all his fortune came from the High Saintess. Even as he spoke, his lips barely paused from praising her.
“The Saintess must have blessed me with her prayers. Otherwise, I could never have become so wealthy.”
“…I see.”
Odette gave a vague response.
She had prayed every single day, begging for her mother’s life to be spared.
But no miracle ever came.
After that, Odette had stopped believing in God.
“Seeing you reminds me of the Saintess who bought me crepes back then. You look so much like her, truly.”
The street vendor wrapped several crepes in paper and held them out to Odette.
“Would you grant me the opportunity to extend my kindness?”
He looked so eager to do a good deed that refusing would have felt impolite.
“Thank you. You’re truly blessed. Mmm! It’s delicious!”
It tasted exactly like something her mother would have made.
As if trying to devour her longing for her mother, Odette finished the crepe in mere moments.
“I’m glad you like it. But what will you do now?”
“For now… I suppose I’ll sell this.”
Odette lifted her hand. Before heading for the carriage depot, she had slipped her wedding ring onto her finger, just in case.
Traveling alone as an unmarried woman would have likely invited unwanted attention, so she had planned to pose as a married woman for safety.
“A gold ring?”
“A gold ring set with a gemstone.”
To avoid drawing attention from thieves, she had worn the diamond setting turned inward, pressing against her palm. But now, as she turned it outward, the brilliant gemstone caught the sunlight and gleamed dazzlingly.
“Whoa… That looks incredibly expensive. It must be important to you.”
“It is. It’s my wedding ring.”
It was the ring Amelia and Caesar had exchanged when they married seven years ago. She didn’t know its exact value, but it was surely worth a fortune.
“You’re going to sell your wedding ring? No matter how desperate your situation, is that really necessary? I can give you the money you need instead.”
Perhaps because his life had changed after receiving crepes from the Saintess, the vendor seemed determined to live a life of generosity.
“I’m divorced. That’s why… Would you be willing to buy this ring?”
Selling a noble’s belongings could easily be mistaken for theft, which could land her in prison. And something about the ring made her uneasy—she had a nagging suspicion that it was the reason she had slipped into Caesar’s dream.
‘Rather than tossing it into a river, I might as well get some money for it.’
“I’ll sell it at a very low price. Please, buy it from me.”
Odette pleaded earnestly.
“No matter how far you’re traveling, the carriage fare shouldn’t cost more than one gold. Are you really going to sell such a precious ring for that little?”
“It’s not just about the fare. In a city crawling with pickpockets, it’s safer if I don’t have something this valuable on me. Will you take it for one gold?”
“But…”
“Use the extra money for a good cause.”
The vendor hesitated for a moment, then finally accepted the ring from Odette’s hand.
“I’ll give you ten gold. I’ll keep the ring safe—come back for it anytime.”
She had no intention of retrieving it.
But Odette smiled brightly and nodded.
With the transaction complete, she finally asked for directions to the northern-bound carriage depot.
The vendor’s instructions led her clear across town. She would have to cross Raon Town to reach the opposite side.
“Hmm… Just walk straight along the main road, pass the central fountain, and head toward the bell tower. Simple enough.”
As long as she found the bell tower, she’d be fine.
But as she walked, she kept noticing vagrants lingering nearby.
‘Why are there so many vagrants around me?’
Had they seen the vendor hand her gold coins?
A sense of unease settled over her.
‘Why aren’t there any guards in this city?’
“So, my wife tried to sell her wedding ring for just one gold?”
Caesar’s expression was unreadable. He had already been on edge, watching Odette linger far too long in conversation with the crepe vendor.
And now… this?
After she had thanked the vendor profusely and left, Caesar crossed the street and grabbed the vendor by the collar, forcing him to his knees.
Odette had tried to sell her wedding ring… for a single gold coin?
“Hahaha… How adorable of her.”
If Odette had disliked the ring, she should have said something.
He would have bought her one with an even bigger diamond.
A smirk played on Caesar’s lips.
‘You really are testing me, aren’t you, Odette?’
‘Provoking me like this… only makes me want to go rougher on you.’
