No village could ever have the same face during the day and night—only to varying degrees. No matter how much effort was put into maintaining order, the darkness of night always gave cover to filth, which slithered out in search of opportunities.
One such filth was what stopped Angela, who had been walking aimlessly, simply placing her feet wherever there was ground to step on. It was the dregs spat out by the darkness.
“Where is such a lovely lady hurrying off to all alone?”
Angela looked down at the arm blocking her path. It was thick and covered in shaggy hair. Perhaps it was his actions that led to this thought, but he seemed just like a beast—a useless, worthless beast that couldn’t even be sold anywhere.
“Move. If you don’t want to die.”
They weren’t even worth the wrinkles that would form from frowning. Angela coldly warned him, her face devoid of expression.
But she knew very well—if they were the kind of people who listened to words, they wouldn’t be doing this in the first place.
“If you want to make it home alive, miss, you’d better behave yourself.”
The man blocking her way gestured with his chin toward another man. At that, the other man reached out with his thick, fleshy hand toward Angela.
Smack!
Angela struck the hand with her fan, as if punishing it for daring to touch her without permission.
“This bitch… Just because we’re calling you ‘miss,’ you think you’re someone important even in front of us?”
The man who had been hit dropped the smirk from his cocky face.
“What are you waiting for? Grab her already.”
The man blocking Angela snatched her fan away. It was undoubtedly a valuable item, yet he shoved it into his belt, where it didn’t belong.
Meanwhile, the other man grabbed Angela’s arms and pinned them behind her, rendering her unable to move. As Angela struggled, she lifted her foot and kicked the beast that was approaching.
“Urgh!”
The beast let out a wretched groan as Angela’s shoe struck him.
The man holding her arms was momentarily distracted by the sight, and Angela used that chance to ruthlessly crush his foot with her heel. She felt his grip loosen for just an instant. It was the perfect moment to break free—
“Hold her properly! If you let that bitch go, I’ll sell you off to pay for my drinks!”
Spit!
The man, who had just spat roughly, suddenly lunged at her with a completely different demeanor, as if everything before had just been a joke. His dirty hands roamed over her, snatching away her bracelet, removing her gloves along with her rings, and tearing off the brooch Mary had fastened on her with a bright smile.
Disgusted by the filthy hands touching her, Angela gritted her teeth and thrashed violently. But the man’s hand eventually reached her nape. Angela spat in his face.
“You little—!”
His face twisted in humiliation as he yanked at her necklace. The chain scraped her neck, leaving a thin red scratch. And with his brute force, the front of her dress was torn open, revealing her pale skin.
“Ha, so the real jewel was hidden somewhere else.”
The man in front of her licked his lips as he stared at the exposed area. Behind her, she could hear someone swallowing greedily.
“That’s right, that’s right. The best treasures are always kept hidden.”
Angela’s gaze grew fierce as she looked at the approaching hands. She had only one thought.
I’ll kill them.
Even if my heart bursts and I die, I’ll make sure I kill them first.
—
Kalian and his men tore through the darkened village at a reckless speed that seemed almost insane. They scoured the streets, leaving no alley unchecked, ensuring that not a single drop of water could slip through their search.
After about twenty or thirty minutes—
“We’ve found Lady Bilton!”
The knight who spotted Angela first leaped off his horse and shouted toward the sky, blowing his whistle.
The sharp sound echoed through the night air. Soon, Kalian and his knights, who had been scattered around, would be gathering here. The urgent pounding of hooves could already be heard in the distance.
But before they arrived, he felt he had to resolve this situation, somehow.
“……”
The knight hesitated as he took in the scene before him.
They had rushed all this way to find Angela wandering the dangerous night streets unguarded and to protect her. But instead, the ones begging for their lives, bleeding and trembling, were two unknown men.
One of them had something embedded in his neck—something that had no business being there.
It was an ornament, the kind meant for a woman’s hair. Judging by the empty space in Angela’s hair, it had likely been hers.
And if she had worn two ornaments today, the remaining one was still in her hand. The other man, who was still in relatively better condition, had turned pale, realizing that it was about to be driven into his own neck.
Faced with such an unexpected situation, the knight hesitated, unsure of what he had come here to rescue. He swallowed dryly.
Should he stop this? Or should he just let it happen?
As he was caught in indecision, his fellow knights arrived at the scene in haste.
“Oh…”
“Well, what do we do now…”
But the only thing that changed was that now more people were hesitating.
The knights, who had rushed in to escort the lady to safety, froze in their tracks as if they had witnessed something they shouldn’t have.
Their original dilemma remained unsolved.
Meanwhile, Angela continued stepping closer and closer to the man. She seemed determined to stab him with the last remaining ornament in her hand, pressing it into his thick neck until she was satisfied.
The moment Angela raised her hand high, clutching the sharp ornament—
“Close your eyes.”
A calm voice rang out as a firm grip caught her hand midair.
The one who had arrived, emerging from the night darker than the darkness itself, was Kalian.
Unlike the knights who wavered in hesitation, Kalian immediately stepped in front of Angela the moment he saw her.
His every move was unwavering, as if nothing else existed but her.
His black hair fluttered in the wind, draping over Angela like a veil of night.
At that moment, the strength drained from Angela’s trembling hand.
The ornament, which had been raised like a weapon, slipped from her grasp and fell to the ground.
Looking at it now, it was nothing but a simple hairpin. Something so trivial, and yet she had been trying to defend herself with just that.
The knights, who had previously hesitated at the sight of Angela’s fury, now lowered their heads in shame.
“Kalian…?”
Angela looked up at him in disbelief, her gaze dazed as if lost in a dream.
Kalian removed his cape and wrapped it around her gently, as if proving that he was truly there.
“It’s me, Kalian.”
“Yes, it’s Kalian.”
At the soft, uncertain voice seeking reassurance, Kalian answered clearly.
But instead of showing her his face, he reached out and gently closed her eyes.
“Just keep your eyes closed and wait for a moment. Just for a moment.”
Kalian pressed his warm palm against Angela’s delicate eyelids, applying firm pressure to each finger as he spoke.
And in the very next instant—
The man who had been relieved to see the ornament fall from Angela’s hand now wore a dumbfounded expression as he stared at his severed wrist.
There had been no time to even register the sensation of being cut.
Only when he saw his own hand lying on the ground did he realize the horrifying reality of the situation. That was when he finally began to scream.
“Aaaagh! Guaaahhh!”
He clutched his bleeding wrist, rolling on the ground in agony like a worm that had swallowed poison.
Watching this from up close, his companion—who still had the ornament embedded in his throat—staggered to his feet and turned to flee. He had quickly realized that if he remained here, he wouldn’t leave with all his limbs intact.
Desperate to escape, he yanked the ornament from his neck, not caring if it tore through his veins in the process.
But before he could even realize that he had already lost his balance, his body had collapsed onto the ground.
Confused, he frantically fumbled over himself, checking if his limbs were still attached—
“Ghh… Aaaaagh!”
A long sword had pierced through his thigh.
His wails filled the air as he saw the vivid red blood spreading around the embedded blade.
Yet Kalian, as if deaf to their cries, gave orders to his subordinates in a composed voice.
“Prepare a carriage for Lady Bilton.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
“And take these men to the underground prison of the estate. I will interrogate them myself.”
“…Understood.”
Torture?
The knights hesitated for a beat before responding.
Kalian had spent his childhood as a mercenary on the battlefield, witnessing all manner of horrors. And yet, he was a man who disapproved of torturing captured enemies.
He believed it was more honorable to grant them a swift death rather than prolonging their suffering. That was how he had always acted, and it was the principle he had instilled in his knights.
Despite taking lives in the name of protection, Kalian valued life more than anyone else.
For a man like him to now declare his intent to torture—
The knights suddenly grasped just how foolish these men had been to lay a hand on Angela.
As they dispersed to carry out their orders, they couldn’t help but glance toward Kalian as he approached Angela. It was beyond their control.
“You really don’t listen.”
After giving his commands, Kalian returned to find Angela, whose eyes had opened despite his earlier instruction. He reprimanded her.
“I wanted to see.”
Angela smiled.
At this moment, even Kalian’s scolding was pleasant to hear.
For just a brief while, she had forgotten about the Bilton estate, about Yvonne, who was looking after Beatrice there.
“Did you really want to see someone’s hand being cut off that badly?”
Kalian adjusted the cape he had draped over her, ensuring it wouldn’t slip off.
“Of course not.”
Angela laughed lightly, her eyes curving with amusement.
“I wanted to see you get angry because of me.”
“……”
“I heard you got angry at Raymond. I was disappointed I missed it.”
“That’s a strange thing to regret.”
“You only ever get mad at me.”
“That’s—!”
Kalian instinctively started to deny it but clamped his mouth shut.
His jaw tightened to the point where the veins on his neck stood out.
He couldn’t refute it—there was too much evidence against him.
Even from what Mary had told him, there had been at least two instances.
And who knew how many more there were in the past that Mary wasn’t even aware of?
Kalian had gotten angry, Angela had felt wronged, but he had been completely oblivious.
Had there been nights where Angela sat alone, staring out the window, feeling abandoned?
“I’m sorry.”
So Kalian chose to apologize.
“Last time, I misunderstood greatly. Please forgive me.”
It was an apology that had been long overdue.
He had delayed saying it because Angela had been unconscious, but it should have been delivered much earlier.
Yet Angela’s reaction was strange.
She must have already received his letter mentioning an apology, and yet she looked as if she had just heard something completely unexpected.
—
The carriage was prepared swiftly.
It was from the Florence Count’s household—dignified rather than extravagant, a carriage that naturally drew attention.
With Kalian’s assistance, Angela climbed inside.
Once she was seated, she expected Kalian to leave.
But to her surprise, he followed suit, settling beside her.
Angela turned to him, puzzled.
“To the Bilton estate.”
Kalian gave the order outside.
As she gazed at his handsome profile, Angela suddenly found herself filled with courage.
It wasn’t often that Kalian, who despised close contact, willingly stayed by her side like this.
And if there was ever a chance to bridge the distance between them, it was now.
Angela slowly reached out and placed her hand over Kalian’s, which was resting beside her.
As expected, he flinched for a moment but didn’t withdraw.
He simply finished giving his orders.
Then, as the horses neighed and the carriage set into motion, he still did not let go.
Angela endured the journey back to the Bilton estate, thinking—
If all the hardships of today led to this moment, then it was worth it.
“You’re trembling.”
Kalian pointed out, tightening his grip around Angela’s hand.
“It’s not me. You’re the one shaking.”
Angela gave the same excuse, clasping his hand as firmly as she could.
May the road back to the Bilton estate be long.
She wished that this moment with Kalian would last just a little longer.
“What is this?”
Kalian’s sudden, sharp voice broke through the silence.
─── ･ ｡ﾟ✧: *. ꕥ .* :✧ﾟ. ───
