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Chapter 7

And speaking Hyprian... Could this child be...?

She recalled a plot point from the original story.

Just before the story began, the male lead had suffered a severe injury.

"By any chance—"

Bwoooong—

At that moment, the train let out a loud signal, as if about to depart.

The child panicked, looking around frantically.

Then it dashed back toward the train.

"Wait!"

Startled, Emilia tried to grab the child, but it had already reached the train.

She quickly grabbed her bag and followed.

Thud!

The doors closed the moment the two of them scrambled aboard.

The child hurriedly tried to head somewhere. Emilia caught it by the shoulder and asked.

"[Name, name.]"

"[Ivan! I'm Ivan!]"

The child answered without hesitation.

Emilia sighed quietly.

Just as she'd thought. The name was familiar.

The emperor's hidden illegitimate child.

And a child who would soon be killed by the empress.

Since it happened before the story began, she didn't know the details, but she was certain that the one bringing the child to the capital was the male lead.

Just then, a passenger passed by and glanced at them.

Ivan flinched and quickly hid behind Emilia.

Sensing something odd, Emilia grabbed a corner of her skirt and shielded Ivan.

Once the passenger had passed, she quickly turned around.

"[Bad person, here?]"

She whispered quietly. Ivan nodded, tears streaming down its face.

At once, Emilia's expression grew tense.

So that's why the child had deliberately left the train to ask for help.

Because the people on board were too dangerous.

What do I do.

Emilia turned her head to look at the door.

But the iron door was already firmly shut.

The train lurched as it began to move.

In the original story, the child was killed by assassins.

Apparently, the male lead, who should have been by its side, was injured and unable to move.

The child was alone, with no one else around.

It seemed certain that the place where the child would be killed was this very train.

If so, she should have stopped the child from boarding...

Emilia bit her lip, realizing her oversight.

"It's okay, it's okay."

She patted Ivan's back and quickly gathered her thoughts.

First, this outfit is too conspicuous.

She'd thought the same at the station—it wasn't ordinary attire.

That was probably why the passing passenger had looked at the child.

"Just a moment—"

Emilia reached to take off Ivan's robe, then stopped.

There's blood on the clothes underneath.

Surely, clothes with bloodstains would attract even more attention than the robe.

Sighing, Emilia adjusted the robe back into place and spoke cautiously.

"[Come this way, okay?]"

Ivan gripped her outstretched hand tightly.

Emilia kept the child hidden between her body and the bag, moving as carefully as possible.

I need to get to my seat first.

The train had compartments divided into four-seater sections.

According to what she'd seen when buying the ticket, the other three seats in her section were all empty.

Since she'd bought the ticket just before departure, there was a good chance they were still vacant.

Soon, Emilia stood before the compartment door.

She grasped the handle and listened—thankfully, no sound came from inside.

Creak, click.

Thank goodness.

As expected, the compartment was empty.

Emilia quickly slipped inside and shut the door.

Then she sat Ivan on the seat and knelt before it.

"[Sick person, where?]"

"[They're in ##!]"

What did that mean?

Emilia furrowed her brow, thinking.

But she couldn't understand the child's words.

So she asked in a way that might make it easier to infer.

"Hmm. The train—no, [front? back?]"

"[Back!]"

Just as Emilia was busy trying to deduce the male lead's location—

Voices sounded from outside.

She paused and turned her gaze toward the door.

Ticket inspection?

Emilia turned back to Ivan and pulled out her own ticket from her pocket.

"[Do you have this?]"

Ivan shook its head.

We'll be caught by the conductor... No, wait. Something's off.

Of course, a conductor could check tickets.

But usually they only checked a few passengers at random—they didn't inspect everyone one by one.

Could it be...

Emilia carefully opened the compartment door without a sound and peered out.

A few compartments ahead, she saw the back of a man—a conductor checking tickets.

Outwardly, he looked like an ordinary conductor, but the hem of his trousers bore bloodstains.

He's definitely looking for Ivan.

She drew in a breath and quickly shut the door.

At the same time, she heard the man speaking to passengers in the next compartment.

It's too late to take the child somewhere else...

Just then, her gaze fell on her large travel bag.

That's it!

She immediately opened the window and stuck her head out.

Just below, a wide river flowed.

At this height, it won't even make a sound.

Pulling her head back in, Emilia opened the bag.

Oh! The pouch Mrs. Anderson gave me!

Her eyes widening, she grabbed just one small pouch.

Whoosh—

Wind rushed in through the open window, whipping her hair about.

Then Emilia tossed the contents of the bag out the window, one after another.

She felt a pang of guilt for littering—

But a life is more important!

Ivan stared with wide eyes at her sudden actions.

Emilia pointed to the now-empty travel bag and whispered urgently.

"[Get in here, quick!]"

Ivan hesitated, looking back and forth between Emilia and the bag, then rose from the seat.

It climbed into the bag.

Fortunately, the child was small enough to fit without difficulty.

"[No sound, okay?]"

Confirming that Ivan had nodded, Emilia closed the bag.

She quickly sat down and smoothed her clothes—

Just then, a knock came at the compartment door.

Stay calm.

The door slowly opened, and the man from before appeared.

"May I help you?"

"I'm checking tickets. May I see yours?"

The man stepped inside and swept his gaze across the compartment.

Emilia swallowed hard and quickly handed over her ticket.

The moment he took it, she pulled her hand back—her fingers were trembling with tension.

I can't look even the least bit suspicious.

No matter how she thought about it, she didn't think she could overpower that man.

And even if I ran, I'm trapped inside a moving train.

The man checked the seat number on her ticket.

As she waited for him to return it and leave—

"What's that luggage?"

He indicated with his eyes the bag at her feet.

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