Chapter 21. It was time to be happy
***
I stopped thinking about Gran and tried to envision what I would do tomorrow.
I would rise early in the morning and find a carriage to ride to Ezra.
Then I'd find a place to live with Eddie.
Eddie loved flowers, so it would be nice to have a place where we could keep a flower garden.
He didn’t want to be seen, so a little seclusion wouldn’t hurt.
But not too secluded. It might be a target for the wrong people.
That was the end of my thoughts. Before I knew it, I had fallen asleep.
I woke up to a bright light streaming in from the window. I opened my eyes, overcome by the light.
I looked out the window and saw dawn in the blue sky. The long-awaited next day had dawned.
I didn't feel tired, even though this was the longest trip I had ever taken.
I was just excited.
I didn't care or regret what I had left behind in the Lopez Empire.
I had little luggage, so I had nothing to take with me. I slung my small bag over my shoulder and left the inn.
It was only a half-hour's ride from here to Ezra.
So it wasn't hard to find a carriage. In fact, many people traveled to and from Ezra.
Before I got into the carriage, I took a quick look around.
I was looking for naturally blue hair.
As I looked around, I thought I could hear him shouting from somewhere, "Honey, why did you leave me!”
But he was nowhere to be seen.
"Bordeaux................"
I wondered if we'd gotten to know each other in just two days.
Did I really expect him to follow me like a stalker?
‘Stupid.’
I let out an earth-shattering sigh.
"Does anyone else want a ride?"
The coachman, ready to depart, looked at me questioningly.
"Uh, yes."
I climbed into the carriage and closed the door lazily behind me.
It was a gesture of regret I hadn't felt in all my travels to the Remzi Empire.
The carriage that carried me traveled at a steady pace.
Occasionally, we passed through a forest path, which was well-groomed due to the number of people coming and going.
It was soothing to see the green roads surrounded by greenery.
The days of Henderson falling in love with another woman and Eddie's death seemed like a distant memory.
I rubbed my stomach gently, out of habit.
‘Eddie. I hope you like your new home.'
The next half hour passed in the blink of an eye.
As I focused on the view outside, the coachman's voice rang out, announcing our arrival.
"Lady, you've arrived."
I stepped out of the carriage and slowly scanned my surroundings.
Leafy trees lined both sides of a wide boulevard in the center of the city, with low-rise houses clustered behind them.
A light breeze blew through the air, carrying a savory scent. It seemed to come from a nearby bakery.
The faces of the people walking along the boulevard in small groups were very happy.
'Moderate affluence, easy life, plenty of food, but far from the capital.’
Just the kind of place I dreamed of.
I smiled wryly.
I could be just like them, untroubled and smiling.
It was time to be happy.
***
I spent a few days at the inn, searching for a place for Eddie and me to live.
Things went uneasily well.
There were a lot of properties for sale, so it wasn't hard to find the one I wanted.
In the end, I signed a contract on two houses.
One was a single-family home for Eddie and I to live in, and the other was a rental property that I would rent out to others.
After living as a princess and duchess for so long, I wasn't very good at work.
I was not very handy, and I couldn’t run a business.
Now I had the money to live with Eddie, but it wasn't going to last forever.
Even if I lived as frugally as possible, it would run out at some point.
I needed a steady stream of income that would come in periodically.
I planned to tax people and live off of that money.
I didn't need a lot of money, it would be enough.
I still had no luggage, so I was able to move right into the house I was going to share with Eddie.
It was a small, one-story house off the main street, but I liked the location and the garden in front of the house.
I took off my hood for the first time in my new home.
It was a relief after weeks of wearing a hood.
"The living room is about the size of my old room."
I wasn't disappointed that the house was small. A larger house would be unmanageable.
I rolled up my sleeves and started organizing the house.
It was already well organized, but I wanted to dust it off before settling in.
I hummed as I organized the house, enjoying mopping like I'd never done before.
By the time I had put in the new bed, dresser, and furniture for Eddie, it was evening.
I cooked a quick meal of bread from the bakery and then passed out.
And just like that, my new life in Ezra was about to begin.
****
About a month passed.
I spent my free time exploring the town, trying to get used to it.
I learned which bakeries were good, who lived in the neighborhoods, and what the lord of the town was like.................. and so on.
As it turned out, it was a boringly peaceful town.
It didn’t seem dangerous at all.
Even the lord was very nice and trusted by the villagers.
My neighbors were also very nice, and my resolve not to be friendly with others was broken.
As I was thinking about it, I heard a voice outside the house calling for me.
"Renee! Are you inside?"
The voice belonged to my next-door neighbor, Susan. My neighbor, whom I've come to know as Renee.
She was a woman in her late twenties raising a little girl, and she had taken it upon herself to take care of me since I lived alone.
I answered the door familiarly.
Susan's freckled face popped into view.
"Wow, Renee wears her hoodie indoors, too."
A wistful look crossed Susan's face.
I had told her when I first met her that I often wore a hood because I was allergic to sunlight.
"Oh............... I wear it all the time, it's a habit.”
"I'm worried, there's a doctor I go to a lot, next time I go I'll ask her if she has any good medicines for sun allergies."
"Thank you."
Susan had been treating me like a younger sister ever since she knew my age. If I hadn't gone back in time, I would actually be the same age as her................ I asked her why she was visiting.
"What are you doing here, anyway?"
"Well, my damn husband and my lovely child went down to town today, and I'm the usual free lady, Renee, would you like to join me?"
"Damn husband..................."
"I’m on my husband’s side, but someone else's."
I snorted and laughed at Susan's self-help.
Somehow, it resonated with me.
As I recalled the word husband, a word that was now so distant from me, I suddenly thought of Henderson.
I realized that I hadn't thought of Henderson in a long time.
I wondered how he was doing.
Maybe he'd gotten over the fact that I didn’t want to see him, and he had another woman.
Not that Henderson was uninterested in women, but he was the head of a ducal household.
For him, marriage was not a matter of choice, but of necessity.
“Anyway, would you like to hang out with me today?”
Susan asked again, and I finally nodded.
****
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