Chapter 10 - Running Away for Freedom

Fortunately, Theoris’s military haircut didn’t last long. Homel had bought an elixir called Hair Tonic which made his hair grow to a normal length. 

After this brief incident, Jayna’s life continued in peace. Regardless of her preference, she lived a regular and healthy life. She woke up at seven in the morning,  took a walk in the garden and studied during the day. She occasionally drank tea with Theoris and chatted with him, but worked hard the rest of the time, rarely catching a break.

I can’t live like this, Jayna decided.

It was exceptionally sunny that day. Jayna closed her book, unable to focus.

I’m going to run away. 

Jayna was tired of waking up at seven every morning and going out for walks. Her body was getting healthier, but her mind was withering away day by day. She even pleaded with Theoris to loosen up her schedule a little, but every time she asked, the response was the same – ‘It’s Homel’s business, so I can’t interfere with it. I’m sorry, Jayna.’

At this point, it was hard to tell whether she was married to the Archduke family or was placed at the entrance examination academy.

Jayna decided to leave the place. The only catch was that the door was guarded by Homel. Theoris and Ellie were not on her side as they were completely bought out by him. Jayna had to prepare an escape route by herself.

I read all those mystery novels to prepare for situations like these.

Jayna carefully opened the curtains, recalling her memories of reading mystery novels in the past. She tied together her dresses and curtains, making a long rope, and fastened it to the leg of the bed. 

She pulled the other end of the garment as hard as she could. The well-supported bed legs did not budge. She then threw the rope out of the window. The length of the garment met Jayna’s expectations. All she had to do was to get on the garment rope and slide down. 

This should be enough, right? 

Jayna’s room was on the third floor. Even if she accidentally fell down, it wasn’t high enough to kill her. However, after she positioned herself on the window sill, all her courage drained out. The ground seemed too far away when she looked down from above. 

She took a deep breath and hung onto the garment. It wasn’t that difficult for her to go down safely because of the knots she had made while tying together the garments. She clasped the strap so tightly that her hands turned red. However, after coming halfway down, she met a familiar face beyond the nearest window.

Ellie, who was holding a laundry basket, met her eyes. She was no doubt shaken by the sight before her. She immediately threw away the basket and opened the window.

“My lady?” 

“Uh, um, hi!” 

“What are you doing there?” 

Jayna laughed awkwardly. 

“Ellie, this…” 

While Jayna was trying to make an excuse for herself, a gust of wind suddenly blew, and the rope she was holding shook uncontrollably. 

“Uh, aaahhh!” 

Jayna’s grip loosened and she fell down.

“Ahhh!! My lady, oh no! Your Highness, this is an emergency! Milady just…!” 

Ellie screamed even louder than Jayna when she fell. Fortunately, she landed on soft grass and wasn’t hurt. But her plan was foiled because of Ellie.

I can’t be caught as soon as I escape. 

Jayna stood up immediately and ran towards the forest. She was determined to run away from the rigorous torture called studying. 

* * * 

“Phew…” 

Jayna had come to a place she barely knew anything about. She was out of breath after running all the way to the forest. Thinking back, she couldn’t believe how reckless she had been. She had jumped out of the window and ran all the way to a spooky forest just because she hated studying. If someone were to hear this story, they would laugh it off as an illiterate woman’s antics. She knew all this, but she really loathed studying and wasn’t bothered about how others would perceive her.

She was fine with studying history, because she had to be knowledgeable about historical facts to survive in this world. However, she really hated aristocratic etiquette and culture. The textbook had a twisted way of explaining things. She’d rather spend her time learning magic than study tea-time etiquette and table manners.

I wish I could use magic too…

Needless to say, this world had magic. There were two ways to use magic – through the innate mana present in one’s body or the mana present in the atmosphere. Theoris belonged to the former category. He was a genius with a natural affinity for magic and could control mana flawlessly. In addition, he was an excellent swordmaster who could materialize his mana into a sword, a skill only a handful of people possessed.

Indeed, Theoris is the most perfect male lead ever. 

Sadly, in 《How to Love That Obsessed Man》, ‘Jayna’ did not have the qualities of a wizard. The amount of mana in her body was little, and she couldn’t control the mana in the air. She was a typical damsel in distress and had to be saved by Theoris time and again. Well, it didn’t really matter. After all, with the confinement ending, she could finally live the life she had always craved for. 

Anyway, where am I? 

Jayna looked around her. There were trees and unknown plants everywhere. She had come quite deep into the forest. There were no signs of human life. She had planned to return to the castle around dawn and work out a new schedule, but unfortunately, she had ventured too far than expected.