The King's Lover
Chapter 260: Last Resort

Chapter 260: Last Resort

Lady Delphine didn’t believe Rose’s words, but she saw the look in Rose’s eyes. The young woman was willing to take the risk. If Delphine were to refuse her, she would put Rose in even more danger. Her chances would be worse without a map.

Lady Delphine folded her arms around herself. She took off the fur coat after she came into her room, she didn’t need it in the warm room.

Rose looked at her and she could see the pleading in her eyes. Delphine sighed and unwrapped her arms as she picked up the cutlery once again. "Eat," Lady Delphine said.

Rose nodded her head and tried to take a bite of the cake, only to please Lady Delphine. She couldn’t taste it. She tried the muffin—it was similar. She couldn’t taste anything.

"I will get you a map after eating," Lady Delphine started to say as Rose ate, "but I truly do think there is a better way to go about this than doing it this way. It’s dangerous."

Lady Delphine gripped the spoon a little tighter than she needed to, staring at Rose with as much intensity as possible just to convey how dangerous it was, but she knew as she looked in Rose’s eyes that it was a waste of time to try and convince her.

"I know," Rose said with a sad smile. "But it is a risk I’m willing to take."

Lady Delphine sighed. She was worried for several reasons. Other than Rose getting away from the crown prince, Delphine didn’t want to think of what would happen if Rose was kidnapped again—or worse.

She was also worried the crown prince would not be happy to hear of her involvement, and Lady Delphine would rather have nothing to do with this. But she knew there was no one else the poor child could turn to, and Delphine didn’t have the heart to abandon her.

"Promise me one thing," Lady Delphine said.

Rose nodded as she eagerly listened. "I promise, as long as you’re not asking me not to go."

"No," Delphine replied, shaking her head. "You will only do this as a last resort. You must promise to try your hardest, and then—if that doesn’t work—you can then escape on your own."

Rose nodded immediately. "I promise."

She had already tried her hardest. This was truly her last resort, but Lady Delphine didn’t need to know that, and she felt very bad for dragging the lady into this. But Rose had no other option.

"Good," Lady Delphine said and resumed eating.

Rose nodded, and the rest of the meal was quiet. She didn’t miss the occasional frown that would appear on Lady Delphine’s face. Rose couldn’t help the uneasy feeling she felt.

After they were done eating, Lady Delphine stood up from the table and walked towards the shelves in her room. She searched through some rolled-up papers, and after a few moments, she returned.

She stacked the empty plates on each other to make enough space on the smaller dining table that could only hold two chairs. Then she unrolled the map and spread it on the table. It was bigger than Rose thought, but she could still carry it around.

"This is the most recent map I have. The others are not as recent," Lady Delphine paused, and Rose could see the hesitation on her face.

Rose wasn’t about to let her give in to her doubts when the map she was looking for was right in front of her. She looked down at it and frowned at the drawing of the landscape—rivers, mountains. She could see writings, but she couldn’t even guess which was her hometown.

"How long would it take me to get to Edenville from Futherfield?" Rose asked.

Lady Delphine blinked and looked at the map. She traced her fingers over it. Rose watched closely and then looked up at Lady Delphine’s face. Her expression darkened.

"Four to five days by carriage, and maybe two by horse," Lady Delphine said, looking at Rose.

"That’s not too far," Rose said, counting her fingers. The journey from Edenville to the castle had taken around the same time. She had been worried it might take her a week or worse. A week on the roads was no small feat.

"Three days of traveling by yourself is dangerous," Lady Delphine cried.

"I know," Rose said and stared at the map. "That’s why I’m going through the map to find a good route."

Lady Delphine sighed and looked at the map. "There are three major roads out of Futherfield, but only two lead to Edenville. Look at this," she said, pointing at the map.

Rose looked at where Lady Delphine was pointing. It looked like a town.

"This is Futherfield, and the other side is Edenville."

Her hometown was much smaller on the map than Futherfield. There were also a few towns between them.

"I would advise going through towns, as that would be slightly safer, but I doubt they would let you through—and that’s if you can get out of Futherfield," Lady Delphine sighed and looked at Rose again, but she was simply nodding and staring at the map with wild eyes.

"Avoid major roads like the Stonefield Pass. This one. This is a road that would lead you right to Stonegate..." Lady Delphine paused and looked at Rose. "You know Stonegate, right? You couldn’t have reached the capital from Edenville without going through Stonegate."

Rose nodded. "I know. We spent the night in the marquis’s manor."

Lady Delphine nodded. "The royal family has a very good relationship with the Harringtons. It’s no surprise."

Rose nodded again. She remembered most of the roads they had used on their way to the capital, but it was also hard to say, as all the roads had looked the same. But the most concerning part was that they had definitely only used major roads—roads she couldn’t use now.

"Leaving Futherfield will probably be the hardest part of the journey. I haven’t heard anything about attacks on the roads. You might not need to completely avoid the major roads after leaving Futherfield. This is a lesser-used path—it’s pretty rocky—but if you want to escape Futherfield without getting caught or running into anyone, this might be a good bet. But be careful," Lady Delphine said as she pointed to a small road on the map.