Chapter 113. It Took Me a While to Find You, Madam
2023.12.22.
A sunset resembling autumn light seeped into the windowsill.
Blair listened to the faint sounds of the crowd drifting from afar beyond the window as she braided her hair into two pigtails.
'Even if it's just a wig...'
Finished with her makeup, Blair picked up a straw hat and stood before the mirror. Putting on the straw hat as a finishing touch, she exuded the scent of autumn.
She was now ready to enjoy the Harvest Festival's eve.
Coming downstairs to the first floor after getting ready, Anna, who had been waiting, saw Blair and marveled.
"My, if it weren't for the baby, I'd believe you were a young girl."
"Hmm, isn't that a bit of an exaggeration?"
"I am always sincere. Ask Lord Mikhail when you meet him later. I'm sure he'll agree with me."
It was surely an empty compliment, but it still felt good.
Blair laughed off Anna's fuss and headed to the village square with her. She was supposed to meet Mikhail at the fountain in the square and enjoy the festival together.
However, apart from her excited heart at the thought of enjoying the festival, a part of her felt heavy.
It was because the confession she had heard from Mikhail a few days ago kept lingering in her mind.
'I don't mean to ask you to accept my feelings right away. Of course, you can cut me off whenever you feel like it's not right.'
'...'
'However, please give me a chance.'
'...'
'Not as a client and a guild master, but as a man approaching you.'
If things went as planned, she would attend the masquerade ball held in the square tonight with Mikhail.
And if he found her, she would officially date him as he had requested.
'But...'
She had never thought another love would come into her life. If love was so painful and agonizing, she had decided to end it with Herdin alone.
For the rest of her life, only Ashiel was meant to be there.
'Could someone like me love another person?'
Unable to find an answer to that thought, she arrived at the fountain in the square. Without even needing to look around, the two women spotted Mikhail at a glance.
Blair hadn't noticed because the men she grew up seeing were Ivan and Herdin, but Mikhail was also taller than average.
Coupled with his handsome appearance and gentle impression, he couldn't help but stand out among the crowd.
He was completely different from the scary image that typically came to mind with guild masters. If a stranger saw him, they would think he was a well-bred young noble.
As Blair and Anna spotted him and tried to approach, Mikhail noticed them first and strode over.
"There's a large crowd, as expected. It would be best to avoid places where people gather as much as possible and be careful."
Having arrived early and scouted the surroundings, Mikhail asked Anna a favor.
"Anna, can you stay by the Madam's side and protect her?"
"Of course. I was planning to do just that."
Blair ended up enjoying the festival flanked by the reliable two on either side.
As the sun completely set and darkness fell, the shops began to light their lamps one by one. The soft glow of the lamps shining in the darkness further enhanced the festive atmosphere.
The shops displayed a variety of items, including masks for tonight's masquerade ball and toys for children, while the street vendors mostly sold an abundance of street food. It was as bountiful as a festival of autumn should be.
'It's similar to the cherry blossom festival, yet has a strangely different vibe.'
Unintentionally savoring the memory of the first festival she had seen half a year ago, Blair naturally thought of a certain face and froze. Following that, she also remembered the warmth of the large hand that had firmly held hers so she wouldn't get lost.
Just as she was trying hard to erase the memories that had sprung up unbidden, a familiar scent lingering in her memory tickled her nose.
'This scent is...'
Turning her gaze following the scent, she saw a street vendor selling cream puffs.
At the same time, the memory of the sweet cream puff she had eaten under the cherry blossoms resurfaced, making her heart sink.
Memories are truly terrifying.
Once etched, they cannot be erased at will, and the moment a small gap appears, they burst out as if they've been waiting for it.
As Blair smiled bitterly at the sudden memory, Mikhail, having seen where her gaze lay, stepped forward immediately.
"I'll go buy it for you. Please wait here."
It seemed he had misunderstood and thought she wanted to eat a cream puff.
"No, it's fine. I'm okay—"
Blair tried to stop Mikhail, but he had already walked away toward the vendor. It was a consideration so that the pregnant Blair wouldn't get pushed around by the crowd in front of the stall.
Anna whispered as she watched him.
"At times like this, he seems like such a warm and thoughtful person."
"Is he not usually?"
"Well, he's definitely a good person normally, but warm and thoughtful... I'm not so sure."
While the two were talking, Blair felt a gaze. It was the gaze of the street vendor who had spotted her.
He looked back and forth between Blair and Mikhail, then put an extra cream puff into the bag and said cheerfully,
"Here, this is for the baby in the belly. And this is for the dad, so he eats well and takes good care of the baby's mom."
Unlike Blair, who was flustered by the misunderstanding, Mikhail smiled as if he was now used to it and accepted the bag from the vendor.
Striding back to Blair and Anna with the bag of cream puffs, Mikhail first offered one to Blair.
"Please, have some."
"Thank you. It must have been a hassle."
"Not at all. I like sweet things too."
As if proving his words weren't a lie, Mikhail devoured a cream puff in no time.
Handing a cream puff to Anna as well, Blair took a big bite of her own. The sweetness brought out her dimples.
Seeing that, Mikhail let out a soft chuckle.
"It's good to see you enjoy it."
His fingertips lightly brushed away the crumbs on Blair's cheek.
Feeling embarrassed by the touch, Blair offered the bag, and Mikhail didn't refuse, picking up another cream puff.
Whether he truly liked cream puffs or not was unknown, but one thing was certain: he was someone who could share and enjoy the things she liked with her.
Unlike Herdin, who would just quietly watch her eat.
"Ah, there's a play going on over there. Shall we go watch it together?"
Anna suggested as she looked around.
It was her first time watching a street play rather than one in a theater, which piqued Blair's curiosity.
As Blair readily nodded at Anna's suggestion, Mikhail's reaction was strange.
"Mikhail?"
"...Ah."
Mikhail, who had been staring down the street with unusually cold eyes, finally looked at Blair.
"I apologize. There are a lot of people, so I've become a bit sensitive."
Saying that, Mikhail headed with the two women to where the play was in full swing. However, his eyes scanning the surroundings were still sharp.
'Was the gaze I felt earlier... just my imagination?'
But considering there had been a kidnapping attempt before, there was no harm in being on guard.
The play was a story based on the myth of Nerha and Loen, the origin of tonight's masquerade ball.
Blair couldn't take her eyes off the street play. Whenever a funny scene came up, she would look back at Mikhail and Anna and smile brightly.
Seeing her like that, Mikhail also let down his guard and smiled along.
After his confession, she had seemed awkwardly wary of him, but seeing her quickly forget that and simply enjoy herself looked undeniably cute.
Eventually, the play came to a successful end.
Right on cue, a bell tolled in the distance. It was a signal indicating that the masquerade ball would begin in 30 minutes.
Hearing the sound, Anna looked at Blair and Mikhail and exclaimed in an exaggerated voice,
"Oh my, look at my mind. I think it's supposed to rain tonight, but I left my laundry hanging out."
"Rain? The sky looks clear, though..."
"I'll go back first. Take your time looking around and come back."
By the time Blair belatedly realized her intention to leave them alone, Anna had already disappeared into the crowd.
Realizing she was suddenly left alone with Mikhail, Blair froze.
She thought she had come to the festival without reaching an answer, but in truth, the answer had been decided long ago.
She had merely been putting it off because she felt sorry to reject the feelings of the man who had shown her such kindness all this time.
The moment she took a bite of the cream puff that held the memories of spring, she faced her own heart that she could no longer avoid.
She couldn't leave Mikhail with any false hope in this situation. If she didn't reject him properly, that in itself would be deception.
"Mikhail."
Having finally made up her mind, Blair looked up.
But Mikhail's gaze was directed not at her, but towards the other side of the square. With a coldness in his eyes she had never seen before.
"...Madam. I apologize, but something has come up that I need to check on, so I'll have to step away for a moment."
"Pardon?"
"I'll be back before the masquerade ball starts, so could you please wait here for a moment?"
At his extremely serious tone, Blair nodded without thinking. Having received permission, Mikhail immediately disappeared towards the other end of the square.
Left alone in front of the fountain, Blair sat on a nearby bench and waited for Mikhail in silence.
But ten minutes passed, then twenty...
In the end, even when the bell rang signaling the start of the masquerade ball, Mikhail did not return.
Amidst her waiting, the masquerade ball began.
Among the crowd wearing masks, only Blair stood there blank-faced without one.
'Should I put one on too?'
Just as Blair was hesitating under the strange looks from people, masked children trotted over to her.
"Sister, aren't you wearing a mask?"
"You have to wear a mask. If you don't wear a mask, the Sea God might find you right away and take you away!"
"...Is that so? Thank you for telling me."
Unable to beat back the children's urging, Blair put on the mask she had bought earlier while looking around the shops. She didn't want to ruin the festive atmosphere.
"Don't get caught by the Sea God!"
Having accomplished their mission, the children finally wore proud smiles, waved, and ran off.
Behind the retreating children, she saw couples who had found each other laughing happily. They embraced one another and shared kisses without hesitation.
The sight of lovers looking at each other with eyes full of love was so beautiful that it made her feel envious.
As Blair was watching them with an unwittingly wistful smile, a shadow suddenly fell over her.
"Ah, I'm sorry. The person you're looking for is probably not m—"
Thinking that someone had mistaken her for their lover and approached the wrong person, Blair took off her mask and looked up.
At that moment, her breath caught as she met the blue eyes beyond the mask that were looking down at her.
"Ah..."
On a night where time seemed to stand still, the red lips of the man who was quietly gazing at her with eyes as cold as an icy lake moved.
"It seems like I've found the person I was looking for."
Along with a languid, mid-low voice, the man's hand cradled Blair's cheek, aligning their gazes.
"It took me a while to find you, Madam."
The familiar warmth of the fingertips touching her cheek felt chilling.