Chapter 74
Just as the two had expected, once Cedric and Rowena separated, more people approached them to speak.
Most were members of the opposite sex who had been watching for an opportunity, but since it was a public place, no one was rude. The gentlemen were just beginning to get drunk, so Rowena was able to obtain more useful information than she had expected.
“Smuggling, you say… You must be writing quite a frightening novel. I don’t know much, but I’ve heard the vagrants around Esdick Harbor are used as day laborers.”
“If it’s information you want around here, isn’t Owen the best? Since he’s common-born, perhaps he has a talent for scurrying around eavesdropping here and there like a rat. Haha.”
Esdick Harbor. A man named Owen. Smiling outwardly as though it were nothing more than pure curiosity, Rowena listened to what they said.
“Isn’t Mr. Owen the host of this banquet? And the owner of this splendid mansion as well.”
“That’s right. They say that while he pretended to run a respectable textile business on the surface, he was handling all sorts of filthy money in the back alleys.”
“What does it matter how successful he pretends to be? His origins are what they are. Tsk, tsk.”
Perhaps they had an inferiority complex, because the moment Rowena showed interest, the two men raised their voices. As drunken bravado mixed with jealousy, the people around them began glancing their way.
“I think you two are far too drunk. It would be best if you went and rested a little. Then, if you’ll excuse me.”
“No, madam. Just a little longer…”
She had heard everything she wanted, so there was no need to remain there any longer. Avoiding the man who reached out as if to ask what she meant by that, Rowena left her place and hurriedly searched for the balcony on the left.
But there were two separate balconies. As she hesitated, unsure where to go, the mansion turned pitch-black in an instant, as though a black curtain had suddenly fallen. Then, from somewhere, the host’s booming voice rang out widely.
“Ladies and gentlemen, from now on, without saying a word, you must find your partner by their hands and warmth!”
Amid the murmurs, breaths filled with anticipation and excitement pierced her ears from every direction. In the heat that enveloped the spacious banquet hall, Rowena felt as though the back of her neck were burning.
With no other choice, she felt along the wall in search of the balcony and moved toward the nearer one.
Though it was called a balcony, it was not one connected to the outside, but rather a bay window that projected outward. With thick curtains drawn as well, it was just as dark as the interior. The only difference was that another curtain separated it from the space outside.
“He hasn’t come yet.”
Rowena muttered to herself, closed the curtain, and was about to sit on a simple chair to rest when someone abruptly opened the curtain from the outside. At the same time, the heavy smell of alcohol seeped into the balcony.
“You shouldn’t run away like that.”
It was one of the men she had just been speaking with. Whether he had pushed through the crowd to chase after her, even in the darkness she could feel his hot breath and desire. Before she had time to spring up and avoid him, the man drove Rowena farther inside and closed the curtain behind him.
“P-please don’t do this. I’ll scream.”
“Scream all you want. If you want rumors to spread all over tomorrow that you’re a wife who committed adultery behind her husband’s back. Heh heh…”
“Let go!”
She spoke loudly, but her voice was buried beneath the sound of busy footsteps moving about. The man seized Rowena’s arm tightly and reached his thick hand toward her chest.
Thud.
“Ugh!”
A short scream rang out, followed by the sound of a heavy body sprawling across the floor. In the darkness, the man who had been kicked aside sprang to his feet, breathing hard.
“Who the hell—!”
Just as he was about to rush forward, cold metal touched his forehead. The rage that had surged all the way to the top of his head deflated at once, and the man fled with his tail between his legs. Thinking it might be Cedric, Rowena turned with a relieved expression toward the figure who had intervened.
“Is that you?”
“…”
“I was worried because there were two balconies. I thought I might not be able to find you.”
Thinking perhaps her voice had been too quiet for him to hear, she raised it a little, but the figure did not move an inch.
Neither stepping inside nor leaving, the masked man stood in the darkness, staring intently at her.
At the gaze that bored into her to an uncomfortable degree, Rowena rolled her lips inward and bit them.
“…
It isn’t you. Is it?”
As before, no answer came back. Embarrassed, Rowena lowered her head.
“Thank you for saving me just now. Then I’ll be going.”
She was about to brush past the man and leave the balcony.
“…
Ah!”
From behind, a powerful force wrapped around her shoulders beyond the curtain and pulled her in. Enveloped in the thick cloth like a cloak, Rowena drew in a startled breath. Her heartbeat pounded in her ears, and hot blood coursed through her entire body. Fine-trembling hands felt along her shoulders and waist, then held her fast.
Run.
The instinct in her head warned her. She had to get away, but from head to toe, it was as though she had been bound tight by something, and no strength would enter her body.
“Rowena.”
“…”
“Rowena…”
A rough, hoarse voice. A grating voice mixed with the rasp of metal, difficult to listen to. It was nothing like the smooth, even tone she knew.
Killian.
In the pitch-black darkness where she could not see an inch ahead, Rowena felt completely isolated. The tinkling laughter of ladies, the low and gentle whispers, even the busy footsteps all seemed to come from a world far, far away. She had felt this sensation before.
In relation to one man.
“I found you.”
“…”
“You can kill me now if you want, so come back.”
“…”
“You can strangle me, or shoot me with a gun. Even as a ghost, come back to me.”
His voice was calm, yet so desperate it seemed to wring the heart. Beyond the curtain, the hot forehead that touched her shoulder seemed to have no weight.
Rowena covered her ears.
No. I can’t be swayed. There’s no way this man is here. There’s no way he would call me in a voice like this. This must be an illusion. It’s because I drank.
Whether it was an illusion or reality, she had to escape. But it felt as though she had fallen into a deep well, as though the entire banquet hall were a distant, deep sea. As if buoyancy itself were blocking her, she could not move even a single hand.
It was then.
The lights came on, and at the same time, she saw Cedric looking for her. It felt as though lightning had struck.
Coming to her senses, Rowena seized the moment when the strength around her waist loosened and pushed the man away with all her might. Without looking back, she ran toward Cedric. As though, the moment she turned around, she would turn to stone.
* * *
Owen was filled with expectation. The banquet he had put such effort into hosting for the first time in a long while had been a success. There had been some unsightly people jealous of his wealth and success, but all the guests wore satisfied expressions. The midnight event must have been the true highlight.
Standing with his family in front of the entrance hall and seeing off all the guests, Owen searched for one person with his eyes. And the moment he spotted a certain man, he approached him almost at a run.
“There you are.”
“Mr. Owen.”
Jenok, who had likewise been looking for someone, turned his head toward Owen.
“Where is His Highness?”
“I was looking for him as well, but…”
As Jenok trailed off with a troubled expression, Owen spotted Killian and brightened, passing by him.
“Your Highness!”
Owen greeted Killian with a bright face and continued in an excited voice.
“It is an honor that you came. My only regret is that you came anonymously, so I could not introduce you.”
On the day they had first met, the suggestion Owen had made through Jenok after chasing after them had been precisely this banquet. The pretext was that since he had invited all the nobles and notable figures of the capital, the person he was looking for might perhaps be among them.
And his other motive was…
Owen’s gaze busily swept behind Killian’s back. His lovely daughter was nowhere to be seen. She might not compare to the woman in the portrait, but he had raised her wanting for nothing, and she had always been praised as a beauty. If she happened to catch the duke’s eye, it would truly be killing two birds with one stone.
“Were you satisfied with the banquet?”
He asked affably, watching Killian’s expression, but the lips visible beneath the mask were expressionless.
“Did you perhaps find the person you were searching for, or another connection…?”
Had something gone wrong? Owen swallowed dryly and asked with caution.
“The guest list.”
Throwing off his mask, Killian commanded with bloodshot eyes.
“Bring me the guest list for tonight’s banquet. Gather every temporary helper and every maid as well. Right now.”
It was a face that tolerated no disobedience. Overwhelmed by his force, Owen hunched his shoulders and nodded vigorously.
Looking down at his two hands, Killian kissed them as though savoring the warmth that had touched them for a brief moment. Whether Jenok, who had approached, looked at him in confusion or not, Killian’s shoulders shook as he laughed loudly like a madman.
Rowena. After searching so desperately, he had finally seized even the end of a thread. He felt as though he wanted to offer a prayer to the god he had never believed in.
He had met her at an unexpected time, in an unexpected way, and had stupidly let her slip away, but that warmth, that trembling, was unmistakably Rowena.
She had slipped through his fingers in an instant, but he had to grasp her again soon.
Whether she was a ghost or a living person.
“Your Highness.”
At the voice calling him, Killian stopped laughing and turned his head. When their eyes met, Jenok quickly lowered his head. For an instant, he thought he had seen something flowing down Killian’s expressionless cheek, but it was probably his imagination.