Sometimes, it’s necessary to selfishly look away. Attempting to mend someone broken might end up breaking us instead.
With eyes flickering unsteadily, he gazed at me for a while before turning his head away and covering his mouth with a clenched fist, as if suppressing something about to burst out.
I quietly waited for him to calm down, knowing that a mind touched by turmoil needs its time to find peace.
As I expected, it took a few minutes before Ruth, floundering in agitation, regained his composure.
“…Yeah. That should do it. After all, that’s all I can really do in this situation.”
Ruth slowly began speaking, a self-mocking laugh hanging on the end of his sentence.
His deep-set eyes bore the marks of countless breakings and healings, making the weight on his seemingly smaller shoulders today feel palpable to me.
Perhaps because of this, I could no longer suppress the empathy I had been holding back, and I carefully embraced him. It was a hug meant purely for comfort, without any ulterior motive.
“That’s enough, yes.”
“…!”
As I whispered softly by his ear, Ruth, who had been twitching slightly, suddenly froze. Given that the steady breath tickling my neck seemed to have stopped, it appeared he had forgotten to breathe for a moment.
After some time, Ruth, having regained his senses, let out a pleasant laugh and gently pushed me away.
“Thank you for comforting me, young lady. I feel a bit better because of you.”
“I’m glad to hear that.”
I couldn’t help but smile slightly at his candid confession. I never knew being a source of comfort to someone could make me this happy.
While I was beaming with pride, Ruth’s gaze suddenly turned icy cold.
“But let’s stop here. As you know, we are not in a position to freely embrace each other……”
It was right at that moment, when his sharp jab, seemingly capable of cutting even with a slight touch, poured out. Suddenly, unfamiliar voices could be heard from outside the door.
“I hope nothing happened in my absence.”
“No. Nothing happened.”
“That’s good.”
As if on cue, both Ruth and I closed our mouths at the sound.
Who could it be?
I quickly exchanged a knowing look with Ruth, whose focus had sharpened instantly.
Considering the voices were getting closer as if they were coming directly towards us, it was hard to believe they were just guards.
People who could enter the private space of the Duke of Dright… Could it possibly be?
The moment a vague image of someone surfaced in my mind, Ruth abruptly grabbed my wrist and strode forward. As soon as we reached behind the long sofa, he kneeled down and gestured for me to follow suit.
I tilted my head in confusion, looking at him.
“Why are you suddenly…”
“It’s the Duke Dright.”
“!”
The person he mentioned outright was exactly the one I had just thought of. Therefore, without any further explanation, I could instantly understand what was happening.
As I hurriedly crouched down to follow Ruth, someone soon opened the door and came in.
Unintentionally lifting my chin slightly, I saw a familiar figure beyond the sofa.
A man with a taller-than-average height and neatly combed dark blue hair, though not as tall as Ruth. He was unmistakably Duke Dright.
Right. Earlier, the guards mentioned Duke Dright would come before midnight.
I hunched my body tightly and hid again behind the sofa, reminding myself of a crucial fact I had forgotten. It was a fact so important that I couldn’t believe I had forgotten it.
…Wait a minute. What if I happen to come face to face with Duke Dright?
A sudden ominous thought sent shivers up my spine.
Even though I wasn’t cold, I felt a chill and rubbed my arms when Ruth nudged me. Then, he pulled out a notebook and fountain pen the size of his palm from his coat, quickly wrote something down, and handed the notebook to me.
[Though I’ve cast an invisibility spell so that Duke Dright can’t see us, there wasn’t enough time to cast a soundproof spell as well. So, I hope you’ll stay as quiet as possible until he leaves.]
I was surprised, reading the neatly written note, my eyes wide. Not just at the risk of making noise and being discovered by Duke Dright, but at the fact that Ruth had managed to cast an invisibility spell in what felt like no time at all.
It seemed like such a short amount of time that I hadn’t even thought to hide from Duke Dright.
Realizing just how impressive Ruth’s magical skills were, I immediately tried to breathe as quietly as possible. Then, I carefully took the fountain pen he was holding and wrote down each letter cautiously.
[This is my specialty.]
Ruth looked at me curiously as I took the pen from him, but soon after seeing the note I returned, he curled one corner of his lips.
Seeing the small smile on his face, I smiled back.
Just as I had written in the note, I was confident in my ability to hide from others’ gazes better than anyone. Thus, following Ruth’s request was no trouble at all.
As our silent conversation was drawing to a close, a loud thud suddenly echoed from beyond the sofa.
“Damn it! What the hell are they doing with this kind of work!”
Following that, I heard Duke Dright yelling in an irritated tone. And as if his mood hardly improved, the sound of objects being smashed repeated several times at the end of his speech.
I listened to those threatening sounds while unconsciously covering my mouth with both hands to prevent any reaction.
It felt morally wrong to secretly witness the dirty side of someone renowned for their integrity and kindness. More precisely, it twisted my stomach with a revolting sensation as if I were watching something raw flailing.
As I struggled with the urge to leave that place immediately, Duke Dright finally calmed down and flopped down onto an armchair near the sofa.
Fortunately or unfortunately, I had a clear view of the armchair side from where I was hiding. Thanks to that, I could observe everything Duke Dright did after sitting down without missing a detail.
After catching his breath for a moment while sitting, Duke Dright pulled an unidentified object from his vest and put it in his mouth. He then lit the object with a match.
A cigar, perhaps.
As Duke Dright breathed in and out, the stale smell filling the room made it easy for me to guess what the object he was holding in his mouth was.
For a long while holding onto his cigar, Duke Dright eventually pressed the area around his eyes irritably with the back of his hand.
“Damned old man. Never once has he dealt with things according to the contract. He knows full well what I’m having to do because of him.”
The words spat out by Duke Dright were vague in their target, but perhaps because I already knew quite a bit, it wasn’t hard to understand.
Likely the “old man” referred to Duke Hazel, the “contract” related to the children at the facility and the slave auctions, and the “what I’m having to do” must be the tampering with the ledgers sent to Emperor Ruth.
As I was internally interpreting the story I had just overheard, Duke Dright, who had rubbed the burnt end of his cigar with his index finger, roughly ran his hand through his hair.
“Still, he’s being fooled by me. I wonder how he’ll react when he finds out he’s been thoroughly bested by someone he looked down upon. By then, whatever that person does, it won’t make a difference.”
Chuckling to himself, Duke Dright stood up and walked over to the table.
“Let’s see, how many will sell tomorrow? If we’re sending about ten… roughly five or six should sell. The stock is good this time, so perhaps even more could sell.”
The footsteps that had been leaving regular marks stopped, and the mumbling that followed indicated Duke Dright was now reviewing documents about the children currently at the facility.
The sight of Duke Dright treating these children like livestock filled me with an urge to burst out right then and there.
However, I refrained from acting on impulse, as it would mess things up. Moreover, Ruth placed his hand on my shoulder as a signal to stay still. Contrary to my wildly beating heart, my head cooled down as if doused with cold water. Even as I suppressed my discomfort, Duke Dright’s monologue continued.
“Hmm. I should tell Isabella not to sell this one. Since mother would like her, it’d be better to keep her as a maid in the mansion instead of selling her as a slave.”
It was a statement fitting for Duke Dright, widely known for his deep filial piety. Though, the content was by no means pleasant.
Just then, there was a knock on the door.
“Lord D, it’s time for you to leave.”
“Ah. It’s already midnight, I see. Alright, I’ll leave shortly.”
“Understood.”
Hearing the voice indicating it was already midnight, Duke Dright put away the documents he was looking at. Then, he stopped in his large steps, muttered quietly to himself, “….the God.”
“!”
Watching Duke Dright leave the room without delay, I gasped. Although it wasn’t clear, there was no doubt about the meaning of his words, and the sense of dismay that was swirling inside me finally burst.
If I heard correctly, right before leaving the room, Duke Dright definitely cursed, “Damn God.”
As the door closed, I straightened my bent knees and hurried to see what Duke Dright had seen before he left.
“……”
There was a painting of a baby angel cradled in the arms of God. It was a familiar baby angel with scattered hair and golden eyes.
