She had practically run back to her room.

He hated her.

The look on his face had confirmed it for her.

And he wanted her gone, he had said so himself.

What then was the point of staying and prolonging the agony for the two of them?

As she ascended the tower to her room, her legs gave way and she fell to her knees sharply.

Her olive-skinned guard was behind her within seconds, lifting her up by the waist.

She nodded at him and grasped the rail to steady herself.

Her mind was already made up.

She was leaving.

But she would still have to find a way to prove her innocence. The fact that the maid that served her could not be found meant that someone had gone through the trouble of poisoning her and covering their tracks.

She spun around and looked at him.

"That night... did you see the maid that served me food?"

He just stared at her, his large and round eyes soft with sympathy.

"Yes." His voice was so soft she almost didn’t hear him.

Her heart lurched in her chest at the thought of having evidence.

"But I had dozed off and didn’t have a good look at her face or features. I just assumed she was one of your usual maids because you received her at the door."

Her heart sank.

His testimony was of no use.

"Thank you." She said and continued up the stairs.

By the time she reached the landing, everywhere in her body ached.

She so desperately wanted to lie down - but she refused to afford herself such a luxury.

If she stayed another day in this dreary castle, she would take her own life, she thought to herself.

"Claire!" Her sister called, rushing to her side.

"You should not be going up and down these stairs, Claire. Do you have a death wish?"

"I’m fine, Rory."

"No, you are not. I am taking you back to bed this instant."

She stopped walking, forcing her sister to do so as well.

The hallway had become very dark. A very heavy rain was coming.

But nothing was going to deter her.

"Have your maid hurry up here and pack up all your things. We are leaving now." She said in a voice that left no room for argument.

Her sister raised a brow at her.

There was a maid lighting fires in the sconces to light up the darkened hallway.

"Shouldn’t we wait till..."

Claire laid a hand on her shoulders.

"I have never been impulsive, Aurora. Just trust me one more time, it is best that we no longer stay here."

Aurora looked like she wanted to argue but swallowed it back.

"Very well, Claire." She turned back to her room.

Claire threw the door to her own room open and beckoned her guard to come inside.

What carriage would she even use?

As if he sensed her question, he said, "There is a stable keeper that has a carriage and wagon for hire... that is if you have the coin for it..."

She had no physical money on her, but there must be something of value she could give him for his services.

The necklace Yeren had given her... it was real gold.

That would have to suffice. She didn’t want to keep it and be constantly reminded of the time he had given it to her.

If he hadn’t taken the necklace Aldrich had given her, that would have been her object of bargain instead.

"Send a maid to speak to him and have him bring the carriage to the front entrance. Then come back and help me with my cloth chest."

He nodded and backed away hesitantly.

After a few minutes of waiting, he returned to carry her box.

Claire had already cleared her vanity table and put everything into the chest.

She was still getting used to hearing him speak when he said, "Have you informed the King of your departure?"

She froze mid action but composed herself quickly enough. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"I have not. But I doubt he would care. You can do so after I have gone."

She bit her lower lip and waited for him to take the chest away.

She drew down all the drapes after one last glance at the room and left the room, shutting the door behind her.

As she stepped out of her room, Aurora was stepping out of hers.

"Are you all packed?" Her sister gave one glance at the closed door of her room before nodding.

"Why does it feel like we are running away, Claire? In the middle of such heavy rain?"

Claire pulled her to herself and hugged her, wincing at the pain that shot through her.

They would be perfectly fine. Aurora was everything to her, not Yeren.

"I will tell you everything when we get to our new home."

The word ’home’ felt bitter on her tongue. How could she call Penbrook her home?

Holding her sister, they both went down the stairs. The necklace was tucked in her fist as they reached the bottom of the stairway.

Aurora’s guards came up to them, drenched from the rain.

The huge man looked like he wanted to protest for the little girl’s sake but held his peace.

Lara, her girls, Aurora’s maids and a few others were standing at the entrance.

Why were they all there? They were making it much harder for her to leave...

The carriage was waiting at the front entrance as she had instructed and the driver came around to hold the door open for them.

After bidding her farewells, Rory ran across the distance and slid into the carriage.

Claire took much longer because Lara refused to let her go. The older lady weeped on her shoulder, mumuring about how she still had a chance if she stayed behind.

"Please write to me, you know my address. Write to me especially if you hear any word concerning the maid I told you about." She told Lara.

Lara nodded, her head bobbing like that of a little child.

Nodding at her guard, she ran through the rain to the awaiting carriage.

In the short distance, the heavy raindrops managed to soak her without remorse.

When she reached the door, she stopped to glance back at the place that had become her home for the past few months.

Perhaps, Aurora was right, they were running away.

At the thought, her gaze flicked to the parapets of his study. She hadn’t expected him to be there, or to be looking down at her.

But there he was.

The raindrops blurred her vision, forcing her to look away.

Blinking back her tears, she waved to the people that stood at the entrance and slid into the carriage.

The door was shut after her and the driver rushed to his seat at the head to hurry them along.

She glanced at the interior. There was nothing fancy about it - just plain wooden walls that had been lacquered to keep out the rain. It even smelled freshly waxed. The seats were anything but soft, but she couldn’t complain.

One corner of the roof was condensed with a droplet of water that threatened to slip into the cushion of the chair when it saw fit. And the cotton curtains were dusty, swinging with every wave of the wind.

She turned to Aurora who was leaning against a window and tried to smile.

"He wanted to be part of our family, Claire. I liked living in the castle."

The last thing she wanted to talk about was the place they had just left, but her sister’s words intrigued her. She grounded the necklace in her hand until it bit into her tender skin.

"Who wanted to become a part of our family?" She asked, even though part of her already knew the answer.

"The King, of course."