OIAR - Chapter 61

Although the face was covered, Shioana could identify the other person just by their voice.

'Why did Duke Bernhard come here?'

Flustered, Shioana lowered her head and tightened her grip on the shopping bag. She was embarrassed to have been caught in such a state at the market.

"Take that hand away right now!"

The butcher, wielding a broad, heavy knife, acted menacingly. Having grown up in the market, it was no big deal for him to teach a man a lesson.

However, the Duke, with his face covered by a cloak, still did not respond.

"Are you looking down on me!"

It was just as the butcher, further enraged by the contemptuous attitude, was about to charge forward. Suddenly, several guards appeared from all directions, drawing their swords, and surrounded him.

"What is this again!"

The startled butcher dropped his knife, and at the sight, one of the guards shouted angrily.

"To dare attack His Excellency, Duke Bernhard. You have no fear."

"...What?"

Only then did the butcher realize the other person's true identity and blink his eyes.

"Your Excellency, what shall we do with him?"

At the captain of the guard's question, the Duke, still holding Shioana tightly, spoke coldly.

"What is the punishment for the noble assassin?"

"I will drag him to the dungeon according to the law. Tie him up immediately!"

With his hands bound, the butcher spoke in a desperate voice.

"Something is wrong here, Sir! I didn't know you were His Excellency the Duke!"

The butcher continued to wail, as if he were being treated unfairly. Turning his back on the rattling screams, the Duke whispered into Shioana's ear.

"Those who covet what belongs to others are bound to be punished."

Suddenly, she felt a shiver run down her spine.

'Who on earth is whose property?'

Feeling puzzled, she twisted her body slightly, but she could not escape his grasp.

"Please let go."

She made a sound quiet enough for no one to hear, but the Duke paid no heed. Conscious of the surrounding gazes, Shioana covered her face even more thoroughly and stared only at the ground.

"Who on earth is the woman with His Excellency Duke Bernhard?"

"Did Frank covet His Excellency's woman?"

"Isn't that why he was dragged to the dungeon?"

"That woman with her head bowed must be His Excellency's hidden lover."

With every word it passed through, the rumor grew, and by the time she left the market, Shioana had become Duke Bernhard's secret lover.

'I said no! Absolutely not!'

She wanted to strongly refute it, but the situation was not good.

Duke Bernhard is a high-ranking noble of Urcheka and possesses immense power. Didn't you just witness him sending the butcher, who was making low-level advances toward her, to prison with a single stroke?

“Get in.”

Before she knew it, she arrived at the carriage parked at the entrance of the market.

'I don't want to ride it...'

Shioana didn't have the confidence to sit next to him with such an uncomfortable feeling. Moreover, the Duke seemed angry for some reason during the journey.

Because the hand gripping her shoulder trembled the whole time.

'But why?'

She was pushed into the carriage, but he still maintained his silence. The heavy air inside the carriage pressed down on her chest.

'I feel like I'm going to suffocate and die if I stay like this.'

Unable to bear it any longer, she spoke up.

"You must have just been passing by by chance, but thank you for your help."

Even if the Duke hadn't stepped in, she could have simply ignored that person, and while it was undeniable that the Duke unnecessarily escalated the situation.

However, the Duke still did not speak despite her greeting. Feeling the pressure tightening around her throat, Shioana raised her voice.

"You must be busy, so if you could drop me off here, I will walk."

"...Anyone wants."

The Duke let out an extremely sinister voice. It was a reaction she had never expected.

At that moment, the Duke, who had been keeping his head down the whole time, lifted his chin.

"Look closely at my face!"

She could clearly recognize his face without even having to look.

Except for his hair color, he is exactly the same as Etienne, even down to his pitch. If he hadn't been a Duke, she probably would have suspected that he was Etienne's twin.

"I don't understand why you are doing this to me."

"I told you to look at my face, so why are you talking nonsense?"

Shioana had no choice but to look at his face because of the Duke's persistent behavior. Her was entirely reflected in his blazing red eyes.

For a moment, she felt as if she had returned to a day in the past. The time when she was everything to Etienne, and he was everything to her.

'This is why I hated seeing the Duke...'

With a distorted face, she let out a sigh.

Being with the Duke was uncomfortable. Even though she knew it was clearly wrong, she found herself having pathetic thoughts. 

Just then, the Duke languidly opened his mouth, placing his gloved hand over hers.

"You need not thank me at all."

"...What?"

"Because I didn't help you by chance."

"Then why on earth?"

"Wouldn't I be in trouble if the precious person acting as my stand-in lover got hurt?"

Why does Duke Bernhard keep saying such strange things?

Shioana snapped back and spoke up.

"But I haven't even answered yet."

"I heard the child is very sick."

Where did he hear about Harriet again?

"I will arrange for you to receive treatment from a doctor in District 1."

"...Ah."

It was a truly tempting offer, but it was dangerous if it was only sweet.

'There is no such thing as a free lunch.'

The noble lady who was as innocent as a standing palace lady, believing anything that sparkled, was no longer here. Moreover, with her heart racing just at the sight of the Duke's long eyelashes, she had no confidence in her ability to handle the role of a stand-in lover well.

"There's nothing wrong with being able to help each other, is there?"

"That's true, but..."

...You look very suspicious, so I don't want to get involved.

Shioana swallowed what she wanted to say.

***

She looked similar to before, yet completely different.

After work, Etienne secretly followed Shioana as she headed toward the market. Etienne only gazed at her retreating figure, but Shioana never once looked back.

'Please give me a small discount.'

While buying apples, Shioana haggled over the price, and when buying bread, she asked for a freebie. Walking briskly, she stopped for a moment to look up at the sky.

Shioana's brown hair swayed gently in the soft breeze blowing from the harbor, and a smile filled her face.

'Did you laugh? You can laugh?'

Etienne's heart pounded violently, a mixture of betrayal and excitement.

While he was tormented by all sorts of emotions, a man made a low-class move on Shioana.

'You're pretty.'

He wonders who they dare to do such a thing to.

He had to exercise patience so as not to cut off the butcher's head on the spot. Locking him in the dungeon was not enough to satisfy his anger.

Recalling Siona's smile, which he had seen just moments ago, he tightened his eyes.

"You can trust me. I would never turn a blind eye to a dying person or sell someone for money."

Shioana sighed at the somewhat sarcastic tone and opened her mouth.

"No matter how much I think about it, that is not something I can handle."

"Who would think they wouldn't know that?"

The Duke's eyes blazed with rage, and she felt suffocated.

"But why...me?"

"Because that is exactly what I need."

The more they talked, the more it felt like a tangled ball of yarn.

'Why are you insisting on this offer when you don't even have feelings for me?'

Shioana couldn't understand the reason, but it was also ridiculous to keep refusing.

'I'm the one who needs the money.'

Even though it was a strangely shaped debt, it definitely had to be repaid. Shioana raised her hand to her forehead and spoke with difficulty.

“I understand.”

That’s good. I need you tonight.

"...Yes?"

Startled, Shioana looked out of the carriage and saw that they had already passed District 5. Shioana let out a voice of despair at what the unruly man had done.

"How can you do this without saying a word?"

The Duke opened his mouth as he looked at the shopping baskets scattered at Shioana's feet.

"If it's that basket, I'll have someone bring it."

"That’s not the problem right now!"

As she pressed him, a strange emotion flickered at the corners of the Duke's twisted lips.

"Were you even worthy of arguing with me?"

Shioana quickly shut her mouth as she faced the Duke's cold expression, just as he had when locking up the butcher earlier.

Although the Duke resembled Etienne, his personality was completely different.

'There is no benefit in messing with a madman.'

While Shioana shook her head, the carriage arrived in front of a shop in Zone 2.

“Follow me.”

As he entered, the waiting staff member bowed to Duke Bernhard.

"I have been waiting, Your Excellency."

"I entrust this woman from head to toe."

"Yes, I understand, Your Excellency."

"Uh, Your Excellency, just a moment..."

However, her protest was ignored again, and she was surrounded by employees who swarmed her like bees and dragged her away somewhere.

'I didn't know today would be this unlucky.'

Even though she wanted to run away, she could not move an inch because of the hands undressing her. Having changed her clothes, starting with the chemise, she saw a dress being carried by someone in the distance.

"I, I'm sorry, but I can't wear that."

The dress was certainly beautiful, but the problem was that the back was excessively low-cut. In anxiety, her hand fumbled past her ribs to reach her back. What she grasped at her fingertips was a long scar.

'There’s no way it would suit me.'

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