033. Shadow
The two men left the bar. The only traces of their presence were a jacket and an old hat left on the table.
In the alleyway that had suddenly become dark, only the dim lamp light was quietly illuminating their heads.
Hardius walked silently with one hand in his pocket. With the other hand, he held Emilia's wrist tightly as if tying it up, but Emilia felt as if she was being sucked into the center of a swirling typhoon.
Slowly, slowly, she can't tell if she's stepping on the ground or what. Her vision is dizzy, and she feels like she's floating. This is probably the state of being drunk.
Yeah, I'm drunk. It's because I'm drunk...
Emilia steeled herself several times.
Didn't her father, who passed away a long time ago, say the same thing? Alcohol is like a trap that makes you lose your sense of reason.
Alcohol is what makes you say things you don't mean, do things that go against common sense, and bring about irreversible regrets.
They were both so drunk that both Hardius and she did such strange things.
But no matter what... how... Emilia tightly shut her eyes. Every time she thought back to herself allowing the kiss, her heart kept sinking.
Although Emilia didn't know anything, she knew what a kiss was and what it meant. From the moment menstruation begins, women must always be wary and careful of men.
“Men are not like women, Emilia. Men can have strange feelings for women they don’t love, even women they’ve never met. They get caught up in their desires and do things they absolutely shouldn’t do.”
Kalia has always said that.
Strange feelings, desires, and actions that should never be done.
The expressions were consistently vague and incomprehensible.
When Emilia asked exactly what he meant, Kalia hesitated and did not answer. She simply said, “You will understand when you get married. The pastor said you shouldn’t be taught when you are too young,” and patted her head.
But now, Emilia realized naturally that the kiss just before was 'something that absolutely should not be done'.
Where did it go wrong? Did she stimulate him too much?
She pointed at the shirtless man and didn't refuse Hardius when he asked her to dance, and she didn't push him away when he suddenly stopped.
Emilia became extremely timid.
What on earth is that guy thinking? Is he regretting it like she is?
But Hardius's hand, which was grabbing her wrist, was too hot and firm. It was so strong that she couldn't even think of twisting her arm away.
Before she knew it, she had arrived at the riverside of the Rivier. Beyond the dark river, the lights of the magnificent mansions were twinkling like stars.
The calm sky, pale moonlight pouring down on the heads of the two. The two pairs of footsteps, stepping on the stone path, resonated like a harmony. In contrast to the boiling heart, the walking path was calm and peaceful. After walking for a long time, she returned.
Basilion House, the world of Hardius Meyer.
Emilia had become much calmer.
Today, they talked about their pasts for the first time, and Hardius said that he wanted to be a normal person for once. They drank alcohol in that state and got drunk. They both lost their minds in a strange mood.
He just kissed her once out of curiosity.
Haley did the same. She said she had a secret kiss with the Miller's son at church. And she was only thirteen.
“It’s the memory I want to erase the most in my life. But I don’t regret it. It made me feel like I’d really become an adult. And who knows? Kisses don’t leave a trace anyway.”
Yeah, no one would know. Hardius is not the kind of man to go around spreading rumors about such things.
Life will be a mess for a while, but there's nothing she can do about it. She has no choice but to forget it quickly, just like Haley.
“Emilia.”
When he stood before the signboard with the shield and arrow emblem engraved on it, Hardius finally turned to look at Emilia.
It must have been because she had worked hard to keep her mind straight the whole time she was walking. Emilia was able to face him with a calm face. The words she had practiced came out more naturally than she had expected.
“Forget about what happened earlier, Young Master. We were both drunk and made a mistake.”
Emilia smiled faintly on purpose.
“I learned an important life lesson from that incident earlier. 'There is nothing in this world as scary as alcohol and curiosity.' Isn't that true?”
Instead of an answer, an unknown gaze poured down upon her face. Unable to bear it, Emilia coughed in vain and turned her head away.
At that moment, the iron door suddenly opened, and someone walked out. It was a servant who worked as Basilion's footman.
“Ah, Young Master!”
He looked strangely surprised when he recognized his master. At the same time, he saw an unfamiliar carriage running over the footman's shoulder. Looking in that direction, he saw that someone had visited Basilion House and was returning.
As expected, the carriage slowly stopped in front of Hardius. Under the lamps, a long, gloomy shadow was cast.
“That’s good. I was just about to leave.”
The man in the carriage took off his hat and revealed his face. He was a middle-aged man with wrinkles around his eyes. Hardius smiled gently and approached the man in the carriage.
“It’s been a while, Senator Richard. Why did you come here without contacting me?”
“I can’t help but be curious after hearing your mother’s story. That’s why I came to see you so suddenly, despite my rudeness.”
The man answered as he glanced at Emilia.
For a moment, Emilia felt as if a snake was climbing up her back.
While she was thinking about whether she should suppress the strange feeling and greet him, Hardius suddenly turned his head towards the footman.
“Kyril, is the carriage ready to return to Erndorf?”
The footman blinked in confusion and then answered.
"Yes."
“Then, now let’s go and take Miss Bern.”
"All right."
“Emilia.”
Hardius turned back to Emilia.
The sudden visitor had brought her back to her senses. Emilia wiped her damp hands on her skirt and prepared to say goodbye.
What should I say? I want to finish well...
Without any time to think, Hardius comes to a conclusion.
“Then shall we part ways here?”
“...Huh? Ah...”
There is nothing wrong. Hardius must make way for the guests, so she must leave.
But why does she feel so strange?
Hardius looks a little unnatural, and the fact that the man in the carriage keeps staring at him is also somewhat uncomfortable.
“...Then I will go now.”
Emilia greeted him lightly. Despite her confused mind, her body followed the footman without hesitation. Everything was instantly returning to the world she knew so well.
It's a good thing. She's glad they broke up so quickly.
She didn't have the confidence to talk calmly.
From the moment Hardius turned onto the side road, she thought it would be just a dream for one night anyway.
Don't get me wrong, just because we joke around, he takes off his tuxedo for me, and gives me a beer with flower petals floating on it. The kiss is just a mistake made by beer and dancing. Everyone makes mistakes.
'It's okay...'
Emilia repeated those words over and over again as she walked after the footman.
William Richard stared at the spot where the 'common woman' had been standing for a long time. He narrowed his eyes and followed the woman's back, then opened the carriage door and nodded at Hardius.
“Can we talk for a moment?”
“Is that so?”
Hardius smiled and climbed into the carriage. In the dark space with the door closed, green eyes gleamed sinisterly beneath droopy eyelids.
“Is that the woman? The fiancée who’s causing you so much trouble.”
"... Yes."
“As rumored, she is quite a beauty. Now I understand why men at banquets coveted her as their mistress.”
William chuckled and lit a cigarette. He took a drag and crossed his legs with a languid look in his eyes.
“So what are we going to do now? About that woman. Can you really shake her off?”
“Once public opinion has died down, I intend to go to His Majesty the King immediately. I will inform him that we have agreed to break off the engagement...”
“No, no...”
William's sullen face shook from side to side.
“Don’t let your guard down just because you gave a growling dog a bone. Don’t make fun of them. They don’t care whether you two agree to break off the engagement or not.”
“But we can’t just leave the negative reputation alone.”
“Yes. Reputation is important. In our world. That’s why I came here in such a hurry.”
William suddenly nodded enthusiastically and rubbed his palms.
“Actually, the parliamentarians are more stubborn than I thought. If we just leave them alone, even the King will be unable to do anything about it. They might even force your marriage. Your engagement has become symbolic thanks to the Rochester Bill. There’s no reason to refute it. That trashy letter has your family seal on it, and didn’t the King notarize it five years ago? I think it might be time to change tactics.”
“You’re changing the plan. Are you thinking of using brute force?”
The word 'force' rises in thick clouds, riding on the pungent cigarette smoke.
“Now that we’ve brought it up, what do you think? After all, she’s your fiancée.”
Hardius looked at William with an expressionless face, his green eyes gleaming slyly.
“Would you be okay with it? Even if I just killed her.”
The inside of the carriage was suffocatingly stuffy.
The two men left the bar. The only traces of their presence were a jacket and an old hat left on the table.
In the alleyway that had suddenly become dark, only the dim lamp light was quietly illuminating their heads.
Hardius walked silently with one hand in his pocket. With the other hand, he held Emilia's wrist tightly as if tying it up, but Emilia felt as if she was being sucked into the center of a swirling typhoon.
Slowly, slowly, she can't tell if she's stepping on the ground or what. Her vision is dizzy, and she feels like she's floating. This is probably the state of being drunk.
Yeah, I'm drunk. It's because I'm drunk...
Emilia steeled herself several times.
Didn't her father, who passed away a long time ago, say the same thing? Alcohol is like a trap that makes you lose your sense of reason.
Alcohol is what makes you say things you don't mean, do things that go against common sense, and bring about irreversible regrets.
They were both so drunk that both Hardius and she did such strange things.
But no matter what... how... Emilia tightly shut her eyes. Every time she thought back to herself allowing the kiss, her heart kept sinking.
Although Emilia didn't know anything, she knew what a kiss was and what it meant. From the moment menstruation begins, women must always be wary and careful of men.
“Men are not like women, Emilia. Men can have strange feelings for women they don’t love, even women they’ve never met. They get caught up in their desires and do things they absolutely shouldn’t do.”
Kalia has always said that.
Strange feelings, desires, and actions that should never be done.
The expressions were consistently vague and incomprehensible.
When Emilia asked exactly what he meant, Kalia hesitated and did not answer. She simply said, “You will understand when you get married. The pastor said you shouldn’t be taught when you are too young,” and patted her head.
But now, Emilia realized naturally that the kiss just before was 'something that absolutely should not be done'.
Where did it go wrong? Did she stimulate him too much?
She pointed at the shirtless man and didn't refuse Hardius when he asked her to dance, and she didn't push him away when he suddenly stopped.
Emilia became extremely timid.
What on earth is that guy thinking? Is he regretting it like she is?
But Hardius's hand, which was grabbing her wrist, was too hot and firm. It was so strong that she couldn't even think of twisting her arm away.
Before she knew it, she had arrived at the riverside of the Rivier. Beyond the dark river, the lights of the magnificent mansions were twinkling like stars.
The calm sky, pale moonlight pouring down on the heads of the two. The two pairs of footsteps, stepping on the stone path, resonated like a harmony. In contrast to the boiling heart, the walking path was calm and peaceful. After walking for a long time, she returned.
Basilion House, the world of Hardius Meyer.
Emilia had become much calmer.
Today, they talked about their pasts for the first time, and Hardius said that he wanted to be a normal person for once. They drank alcohol in that state and got drunk. They both lost their minds in a strange mood.
He just kissed her once out of curiosity.
Haley did the same. She said she had a secret kiss with the Miller's son at church. And she was only thirteen.
“It’s the memory I want to erase the most in my life. But I don’t regret it. It made me feel like I’d really become an adult. And who knows? Kisses don’t leave a trace anyway.”
Yeah, no one would know. Hardius is not the kind of man to go around spreading rumors about such things.
Life will be a mess for a while, but there's nothing she can do about it. She has no choice but to forget it quickly, just like Haley.
“Emilia.”
When he stood before the signboard with the shield and arrow emblem engraved on it, Hardius finally turned to look at Emilia.
It must have been because she had worked hard to keep her mind straight the whole time she was walking. Emilia was able to face him with a calm face. The words she had practiced came out more naturally than she had expected.
“Forget about what happened earlier, Young Master. We were both drunk and made a mistake.”
Emilia smiled faintly on purpose.
“I learned an important life lesson from that incident earlier. 'There is nothing in this world as scary as alcohol and curiosity.' Isn't that true?”
Instead of an answer, an unknown gaze poured down upon her face. Unable to bear it, Emilia coughed in vain and turned her head away.
At that moment, the iron door suddenly opened, and someone walked out. It was a servant who worked as Basilion's footman.
“Ah, Young Master!”
He looked strangely surprised when he recognized his master. At the same time, he saw an unfamiliar carriage running over the footman's shoulder. Looking in that direction, he saw that someone had visited Basilion House and was returning.
As expected, the carriage slowly stopped in front of Hardius. Under the lamps, a long, gloomy shadow was cast.
“That’s good. I was just about to leave.”
The man in the carriage took off his hat and revealed his face. He was a middle-aged man with wrinkles around his eyes. Hardius smiled gently and approached the man in the carriage.
“It’s been a while, Senator Richard. Why did you come here without contacting me?”
“I can’t help but be curious after hearing your mother’s story. That’s why I came to see you so suddenly, despite my rudeness.”
The man answered as he glanced at Emilia.
For a moment, Emilia felt as if a snake was climbing up her back.
While she was thinking about whether she should suppress the strange feeling and greet him, Hardius suddenly turned his head towards the footman.
“Kyril, is the carriage ready to return to Erndorf?”
The footman blinked in confusion and then answered.
"Yes."
“Then, now let’s go and take Miss Bern.”
"All right."
“Emilia.”
Hardius turned back to Emilia.
The sudden visitor had brought her back to her senses. Emilia wiped her damp hands on her skirt and prepared to say goodbye.
What should I say? I want to finish well...
Without any time to think, Hardius comes to a conclusion.
“Then shall we part ways here?”
“...Huh? Ah...”
There is nothing wrong. Hardius must make way for the guests, so she must leave.
But why does she feel so strange?
Hardius looks a little unnatural, and the fact that the man in the carriage keeps staring at him is also somewhat uncomfortable.
“...Then I will go now.”
Emilia greeted him lightly. Despite her confused mind, her body followed the footman without hesitation. Everything was instantly returning to the world she knew so well.
It's a good thing. She's glad they broke up so quickly.
She didn't have the confidence to talk calmly.
From the moment Hardius turned onto the side road, she thought it would be just a dream for one night anyway.
Don't get me wrong, just because we joke around, he takes off his tuxedo for me, and gives me a beer with flower petals floating on it. The kiss is just a mistake made by beer and dancing. Everyone makes mistakes.
'It's okay...'
Emilia repeated those words over and over again as she walked after the footman.
***
William Richard stared at the spot where the 'common woman' had been standing for a long time. He narrowed his eyes and followed the woman's back, then opened the carriage door and nodded at Hardius.
“Can we talk for a moment?”
“Is that so?”
Hardius smiled and climbed into the carriage. In the dark space with the door closed, green eyes gleamed sinisterly beneath droopy eyelids.
“Is that the woman? The fiancée who’s causing you so much trouble.”
"... Yes."
“As rumored, she is quite a beauty. Now I understand why men at banquets coveted her as their mistress.”
William chuckled and lit a cigarette. He took a drag and crossed his legs with a languid look in his eyes.
“So what are we going to do now? About that woman. Can you really shake her off?”
“Once public opinion has died down, I intend to go to His Majesty the King immediately. I will inform him that we have agreed to break off the engagement...”
“No, no...”
William's sullen face shook from side to side.
“Don’t let your guard down just because you gave a growling dog a bone. Don’t make fun of them. They don’t care whether you two agree to break off the engagement or not.”
“But we can’t just leave the negative reputation alone.”
“Yes. Reputation is important. In our world. That’s why I came here in such a hurry.”
William suddenly nodded enthusiastically and rubbed his palms.
“Actually, the parliamentarians are more stubborn than I thought. If we just leave them alone, even the King will be unable to do anything about it. They might even force your marriage. Your engagement has become symbolic thanks to the Rochester Bill. There’s no reason to refute it. That trashy letter has your family seal on it, and didn’t the King notarize it five years ago? I think it might be time to change tactics.”
“You’re changing the plan. Are you thinking of using brute force?”
The word 'force' rises in thick clouds, riding on the pungent cigarette smoke.
“Now that we’ve brought it up, what do you think? After all, she’s your fiancée.”
Hardius looked at William with an expressionless face, his green eyes gleaming slyly.
“Would you be okay with it? Even if I just killed her.”
The inside of the carriage was suffocatingly stuffy.
Support Novellate!
Comments
Post a Comment