Chapter 48 The Night Of The Full Moon
He whispered softly, bathed in the moonlight.
“Without turning on the light.”
Tonight, it’s a full moon.
How bright he looked in the darkness of the room.
Delphine stared at the man’s beautiful form.
She must have woken from a nap.
His mind was dazed, and his sense of reality was not returning easily.
Ioannes’ gaze softened as he realized that she was no longer glaring at him as if to kill him, nor was she eyeing him suspiciously.
The tense atmosphere that had always surrounded them had dissipated, and a soft, moist air flowed between them.
As Delphine watched the shivering man with a lingering gaze, her eyes suddenly took in the bandage on his thigh.
Kneeling there wouldn’t be good for the wound.
The image of him running toward her through the blazing flames flashed through her mind again.
“Burns.”
He looked up, puzzled by the sudden word.
Delphine muttered in a quiet tone.
“The doctor…, said to put some medicine on it.”
“Oh, I’ll take it and apply it.”
“I’ll help you.”
A flash of surprise crossed Ioannes’s face at the sudden offer.
He hesitated for a moment.
But the wait was short-lived.
As usual, he couldn’t refuse her offer.
Ioannes slowly removed the bandages.
Beneath it, a jagged gash on his thigh, thicker than his waist, was revealed.
Delphine’s confused mind was further disturbed by the sight of a more severe burn than she had expected.
‘If he really was using that crystal of strange power, wouldn’t he have extinguished the fire at will?’
“Ioannes Pride. He is uncannily cruel and strong…”
“I don’t know the man. I only saw him the day of the recital.”
“But is that really a human ability?”
She wants to deny it, to say he had nothing to do with the bizarre events.
But a reasonable doubt waged a fierce war in her mind that all the circumstances and evidence pointed to him.
Misreading her puzzled expression, Ioannes spoke quickly.
“I’m gross, I just thought I’d…”
“No, you are not.”
Delphine grabbed his hand as he reached for the bandages again.
He stiffened at her touch, as if she’d shot him with a tranquilizer gun.
“It’s okay…. I’ve put on ointment like this before, often.”
Delphine picked up the ointment and carefully spread it over his wound.
Just as she had done to the beautiful boy then.
It must be the moonlight.
Was it the full moon tonight?
Or was it the deep, sweet nap?
For once, reason seemed paralyzed, and only emotion seemed to drive her.
“You’ve been hurt worse than…”
Delphine’s voice was wet, and she lifted her trembling eyes.
She locked eyes with him, who was looking down at her with pleading eyes.
Delphine realized they were recalling the same memory.
Long ago, in this very manor.
She used to rub this salve on his back.
“… Is this the man you were talking to the other day?”
Ioannes asked, his voice lower and more subdued than usual.
“That he was your only comfort?”
Delphine nodded wordlessly.
“I’m surprised a commoner from District 3 was your only comfort.”
He muttered under his breath, adding her name very carefully at the end.
“… Delphine.”
Not his usual awkwardly polite “My Lady”.
Suddenly, his hazel eyes were moist, as if remembering something past.
The light of the full moon seeped through the drawn curtains of the quarters.
Delphine’s mind flooded with precious memories she had deliberately kept hidden.
“Ioan. Have you ever heard of the legend of the full moon?”
The boy who had so captivated her lonely heart.
The boy who had playfully spoken to her one day after her father had scolded her.
“A deal where if you mix your blood over the water in the light of the full moon, you share a piece of each other’s soul.”
“If I can have a piece of… soul, I’m all for it.”
Within the Empire, especially among the nobility, magic superstitions are not to be discussed.
But in front of Ioannes, it would be okay.
It was a common childish prank she’d played before.
She’d never had any childhood friends, and the memory of playing tricks on her father was one she treasured.
The last time she asked him, he turned away…
‘Really, this is the last time.’
One more time.
The last time. Really the last time.
Maybe he’ll tell her the truth first.
Three days later, before she walked into that hidden factory herself.
Before she uncovered the past he wanted to hide so badly with her own hands.
‘… Please tell me with your own words first.’
“Ioan. Really, don’t you remember the legend of the full moon?”
Delphine asked in a trembling voice, grabbing the hem of his robe with both hands to hang on.
How he had appeared time and time again to save her when she was in danger.
The way he had stood by her side through the night during her fever.
The way his face had leapt from the roaring flames, as if to say that without her, the whole world was lost.
She’d let go of the reins she’d barely held on to, telling the stranger she didn’t deserve this.
His eyes flickered as he met her pleading gaze.
“… Delphine.”
His eyes were more disheveled than ever.
Lips pursed as if about to confess something.
Delphine felt his mask slip away.
‘So he remembers that day, too.’
Their innocent friendship.
The excitement of what could have been their first love, had it not been for the stark difference in status.
Before she knew it, Ioannes’s hand was on her waist.
They stared at each other intently, with only the moonlight between them.
As their gaze deepened and intensified, the invisible wall between them melted away.
His gaze blurred, and he slowly lowered his head toward her.
Their hot breaths mingled across the barely-there distance.
But just before their lips met.
“Ioan. Please…”
Breaking the silence, Delphine spoke again.
“Please tell me the truth. You, you must love me…”
Hesitating, Delphine finally spoke the words she’d been holding back for so long.
“You liked me…”
Hesitation flashed across his slackened eyes at the last word.
His lips parted in hesitation.
“I…”
Please.
Please…
Delphine looked up at him pleadingly.
The second he hesitated to answer seemed like an eternity.
His lips twitched and his eyes squeezed shut.
And when he opened them again, the boy was gone.
The man behind the nobleman’s mask smiled a graceful smile that feigned politeness.
“My Lady. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“…”
The tears that had been building up in Delphine’s eyes fell.
Ioannes’s eyes fluttered wide at the sight of him, but he did not speak again.
As if to give him one last chance, Delphine, who had been watching him wordlessly for some time, finally spoke up.
“… Is that your answer?”
To her last question?
The beautiful man, glowing in the light of the full moon, answered quietly.
“… Yes, My Lady.”
Delphine released her grip on him as if she were dangling.
A cold chill ran down her spine.
All the passion that had been threatening to creep through the cracks had been extinguished in an instant.
She wondered why the light of the full moon, which had seemed so warm and mysterious to her as a child, was now so cold.
Delphine closed her eyes as she stood still, watching the azure glow.
“If that’s your answer… Okay.”
Delphine pulled away from his body and turned around.
The moment she heard his answer, what little hesitation she had left was swept away.
In three days.
She will go to that factory.
No matter how hard he tries to hide it, she will walk to where the truth lies.
… Even if it’s a path that leads against him.
No matter what’s waiting for her at the end of it.
***
Three days later.
Dawn had barely begun to break.
A rustling sound woke Delphine, and Ioannes stood before her, dressed in full uniform as usual.
He straightened his uniform with an expressionless face and smiled when he saw her open her eyes.
“An urgent matter has arisen, My Lady, and I will not be able to join you this morning.”
It was what Belly had related earlier.
That there would be a disturbance somewhere in District 3 that would draw him away early.
Delphine nodded wordlessly.
The man spoke in a soothing tone, as if he thought she was still awake.
“You may sleep a little longer. I’ll make sure I get home as early as possible, then.”
Home early. Could he do it?
Ioannes bowed and left the room quietly.
Delphine lay in bed for a while longer, then quietly rose.
First, breakfast, as usual, to avoid arousing the suspicions of the maids Ioannes had assigned.
Then she headed for the study.
“I’ll be in the study again today.”
As Delphine made her way up to the third floor, she turned to Anna, who was beside her, and added softly.
“I need to finish a novel… that’s nearing its conclusion.”
“Yes, My Lady,” said Anna, “and I’ll do some sewing in the next room without disturbing you.”
It was exactly half past nine when Lynn knocked on the window of the third-floor study.
