Chapter 113: Running Away
Chapter 113: Running Away
—CELIA—
The capital was just as lively as I remembered.
Merchants loudly advertised today’s freshest harvest, children darted through crowded streets with wooden swords in hand, and noble carriages rolled leisurely across the white stone roads as though the kingdom had never known chaos.
Warm sunlight bathed the city in golden light while colorful banners fluttered gently overhead, making everything feel strangely peaceful.
Looking around, I couldn’t help smiling a little.
For all the ridiculous things this world had thrown at me, I had somehow ended up missing it.
Maybe...
This really was where I belonged.
With both hands tucked comfortably inside the pockets of my servant’s apron, I wandered aimlessly through the streets without any particular destination.
I had long since discovered that noble dresses were beautiful to look at but absolutely terrible to live in. Heavy skirts, stiff corsets, endless layers of fabric... honestly, whoever designed aristocratic fashion clearly hated women. This, on the other hand?
I patted my apron proudly.
"Pockets."
I nodded to myself.
"Whoever invented pockets deserves eternal happiness."
A nearby fruit vendor paused halfway through arranging his apples.
"...Miss?"
"Hm?"
"...Are you talking to yourself?"
I smiled without missing a beat.
"I’m praising the greatest invention in human history."
"...Pockets?"
"Exactly."
He stared for another second before nodding thoughtfully.
"...Fair enough."
See?
Reasonable man.
I continued walking with a satisfied smile.
For a while, everything felt wonderfully ordinary. The breeze carried the smell of fresh bread from a nearby bakery, musicians played cheerful melodies somewhere ahead, and people hurried about their daily lives without the slightest idea that another world even existed beyond their own.
No phones.
No deadlines.
No meetings.
No business trips.
No...
I stopped myself before that train of thought could continue.
"No."
I lightly flicked my own forehead.
"We’re not thinking about them."
A little girl walking beside her mother looked at me curiously.
"Mom."
"Yes?"
"Why did that lady hit herself?"
Her mother barely glanced over.
"Because she’s an adult."
"...Adults are weird."
"...Very."
I couldn’t even argue with that.
A quiet laugh escaped me before I continued walking, though it disappeared almost as quickly as it came.
It was funny.
For weeks, I had convinced myself that I understood.
Every cancelled dinner.
Every postponed weekend.
Every message saying, I’m sorry.
Every promise of next time.
They all had perfectly reasonable explanations.
Sebastian had responsibilities.
Damien had meetings.
Matthias had work.
Ezekiel practically lived inside laboratories.
Aelith spent more time researching than sleeping.
None of them had actually done anything wrong.
That was probably what hurt the most.
There was no villain.
No misunderstanding.
No betrayal.
Just...
Life.
Life quietly taking people away one day at a time.
I had smiled every single time they apologized.
"It’s alright."
"I’m fine."
"Maybe next week."
Those words had become so natural that eventually even I started believing them.
Until I caught myself checking my phone every few minutes without realizing it.
Until every notification made my heart race before disappointing me.
Until I found myself sitting alone in restaurants because another emergency meeting had appeared.
Until...
I saw Damien smiling beside another woman in that article.
I knew she was only his business partner.
Lilith had reminded me more than once.
Even I knew it wasn’t a date.
But...
The picture had forced me to realize something.
Life didn’t stop moving forward just because someone was waiting.
I lowered my gaze toward the cobblestones beneath my feet.
"...You’re pathetic."
The words escaped before I could stop them.
I sighed dramatically before immediately correcting myself.
"No. You’re dramatic. Different problem."
Another laugh.
Another joke.
Anything to keep my chest from feeling so heavy.
People always said broken hearts came from dramatic confessions or painful betrayals.
Mine...
Came from unanswered messages, empty weekends, conversations that slowly became shorter, and promises that eventually stopped being made.
It wasn’t their fault.
It simply...
...happened.
I kicked a loose pebble farther down the road.
"...Well."
I clapped my hands together once.
"Enough."
The word echoed louder inside my own head than I intended.
"I’m staying."
There.
I’d finally said it out loud.
No hesitation.
No uncertainty.
No looking back.
This world had become my home long before I ever returned to my own.
Aria was here.
Lilith was here now.
The boutique I’d dreamed about still waited for me.
There were people who needed me here.
Maybe...
Maybe my story had simply been trying to tell me that all along.
Earth had been where I was born.
But this kingdom...
This ridiculous, magical, exhausting world...
Had become where my heart learned to live.
I smiled quietly to myself.
"They’ll be alright."
It wasn’t something I needed to convince myself of anymore.
I genuinely believed it.
Those five men had crossed worlds and sacrificed everything because they loved me.
Now...
They finally had lives worth living.
They have successful careers, bright futures, and a chance to build something that belonged entirely to them.
I wouldn’t become the reason they abandoned all of that.
"...So this is goodbye."
The words were surprisingly easy to say.
Painful.
But peaceful.
I drew in one long, steady breath until my lungs were completely full, then slowly let it escape.
The tightness in my chest didn’t disappear, but it loosened just enough for me to breathe without feeling like something was crushing me from the inside. Maybe that was enough for now.
Not every wound needed to disappear overnight. Some simply needed time... and the willingness to keep walking despite the ache.
I lifted my face toward the endless blue sky above me. The clouds drifted lazily across the horizon, completely indifferent to the storm that had been raging inside my heart these past few days.
It was funny, really.
The world had a way of continuing forward no matter how shattered someone felt. The sun still rose. Birds still sang. People still laughed.
Life simply... went on.
I stared at that familiar sky for another moment before a small smile slowly found its way back onto my face.
"...You know what?" I murmured to myself.
It wasn’t the first time I had my heart broken.
It certainly wouldn’t be the last.
Maybe this was simply another Chapter of growing up.
Maybe this was adulthood.
Loving people.
Getting hurt.
Learning to let go.
And finding yourself again afterward.
I chuckled softly at my own dramatic thoughts before shaking my head.
"Geez, listen to me." I laughed under my breath. "Who would’ve thought I’d become this philosophical?"
If Lilith were here, she’d probably roll her eyes and tell me to stop narrating my life like the heroine of one of her novels.
The thought made me smile a little wider.
Slowly, I raised both hands into the air before curling them into tiny fists. Holding them close to my chest, I bounced lightly on my heels, looking every bit like someone trying to encourage herself before facing a difficult challenge.
"Alright..." I whispered.
My voice sounded much steadier this time.
"Let’s do our best from now on, Celia."
I gently bumped my fists together.
"Fighting."
The word echoed far more confidently than I expected.
Somehow...
Saying it out loud made me believe it.
I lowered my hands and took my first step forward.
Then another.
And another.
The bustling streets of the capital welcomed me with their usual liveliness. Merchants enthusiastically called out to passing customers, children laughed as they darted between stalls. The entire city carried on exactly as it always had, completely unaware that one woman had just decided to rebuild her life from the very beginning.
It was strangely comforting.
The world wasn’t waiting for me.
Which meant...
I didn’t have to keep waiting either.
There were dreams I still wanted to chase.
A boutique I wanted to open.
Dresses I still wanted to design.
People I still wanted to meet.
A future that belonged to me alone.
Maybe I had spent too much of my life revolving around other people.
Maybe...
It was finally time to become the center of my own story.
I smiled to myself as I disappeared into the crowd, allowing the countless strangers around me to swallow my small figure until I became just another ordinary face walking through the capital.
This time...
I wouldn’t wait for anyone anymore.
I wouldn’t keep staring at a phone, hoping it would ring.
I wouldn’t count the days between promises.
I would keep walking.
I would keep living.
I would keep smiling.
Even if...
Somewhere deep inside...
There was still a quiet little part of my heart...
That hoped someone would come looking for me.