Chapter 11

“What do you mean by that? It wasn’t actually an aphrodisiac…?”

“Upon investigation, although it was sold as an aphrodisiac, it turns out it had no actual aphrodisiac effects. In truth, its ingredients were no different from a hallucinogen or sleeping pill used for medical purposes, but they repackaged it as an aphrodisiac and sold it for a high price. Unaware of this, the Marquis thought the higher the price, the better the effect, so he spent a fortune in the Black Street black market to buy a large quantity of it. Right now, knowing he was scammed, he’s probably grinding his teeth in fury, you know?”

Chief Renford spoke with a smile that suggested it served the Marquis right, but my mind felt dizzy.

Come to think of it, it had been a little strange.

That night when I was almost violated by the Marquis, he clearly said he had used even more drug than on the night of the 25th. Yet far from boiling with lust, I had only felt my strength drain away completely. I had simply assumed that because the Marquis was so repulsive, no sexual desire arose even after taking an aphrodisiac—but in reality, it was a drug with no aphrodisiac effects whatsoever to begin with.

‘Then why on earth did I pounce on Mr. Sutton on the night of the 25th? It must have lacked aphrodisiac effects just the same.’

Wait a minute. Don’t tell me…

‘It was purely of my own free will? Not because of the drug’s influence?!’

My mind went blank. I had been blaming that night’s mistake entirely on the aphrodisiac. Now, it had ended up proven beyond a doubt that all of it had stemmed from my own free will!

At the same time, a sudden thought struck my mind like lightning: he must never find out about this! Even if the whole world knew, he alone must never know. That was why I hurriedly opened my mouth toward the Chief.

“H-Have you by any chance passed this news on to Mr. Sutton as well?”

“No, not yet. I was actually planning to tell him when I see him later…”

“No!”

In an instant, at my thunderous shout—sounding as if I had swallowed a train horn—the Chief’s eyes grew wide. Toward the Chief, I laughed awkwardly and hastily added:

“I-I mean, because I want to deliver it myself. To my fiancé… I want to tell him directly!”

Concluding firmly, I stared intently at the Chief, putting into my gaze the desperate wish that he must never, ever deliver this news to that man.

Fortunately, it seemed my desperation got through. Etching a faint smile on his lips, the Chief nodded and replied:

“Understood. We will leave that story for Miss Elowen to deliver, then. Directly to your fiancé.”

Phew— A sigh of relief escaped me. It was a sigh born from the relief of having managed to put out the urgent fire.

Just then, however, the Chief’s softly smiling lips opened once more.

“By the way, if it’s not too rude, there is one thing I’d like to ask.”

The Chief glanced around for a moment before carefully posing his question.

“Since when did you two become so close?”

“Pardon?”

“That morning when Mr. Sutton brought Miss Elowen on his back secretly to my house, I had no idea you two would end up in a relationship like this. As far as I know, that was the first time you two met, so I was curious as to when your hearts connected. Especially since Miss Elowen wasn’t even conscious that day.”

I was momentarily struck speechless. Because I couldn’t possibly explain that on that very day the Chief mentioned—even while my mind was hazy from the drug’s influence—I pounced on this man purely out of my own free will, and that’s how we ended up like this. In the end, hesitating, I delivered a somewhat sanitized version of the truth.

“That’s… because Mr. Sutton is so much my ideal type. So, in truth, there was a brief moment in between when I regained consciousness, and at that moment, I fell in love at first sight and ended up confessing right then and there. Haha.”

Of course, jumping to a confession just because someone was one’s ideal type and jumping on them were starkly different things, but there was no helping it. Still, the fortunate thing was that the Chief believed my words.

“I knew it! They say the brave gain the beauty, but it seems one can gain handsome men as well as beautiful women!”

“Haha. Well, something like that.”

Laughing awkwardly as I tried to gloss over it, the Chief suddenly spoke with a cool smile.

“Thinking about it, human fate is truly fascinating, isn’t it? If even one of you hadn’t gone to Black Street that day, you would have lived on without ever knowing each other, yet a coincidence on that day created a bond like this. Ah, of course, I don’t mean it was a good thing that Miss Elowen met a killer. Just that, strictly speaking, that’s how it turned out.”

The Chief hastily added in fear that I might misunderstand, but in truth, I agreed with his words. It certainly was a strange coincidence. Especially given that the place where we met was none other than Black Street.

‘Come to think of it, why was Mr. Sutton wandering around Black Street on that night? Strictly speaking, Mr. Sutton shouldn’t have had any reason to roam around there at that hour either…’

Just then, along with a knock, knock at the door, Anne entered the room.

“My lady, a guest has arrived.”

“A guest?”

Fearing it might be my uncle, my brows unconsciously furrowed. Fortunately, the name that flowed from Anne’s lips belonged to an old friend of mine whom I had briefly forgotten due to the recent chaos.

“Young Count Lucian Sobek has arrived. He wishes to see you immediately.”

In truth, it was only natural for Lucian to come running to me.

The person who would be most shocked by the news of my engagement—that was undoubtedly my only friend of fifteen years, Young Count Lucian.

However, his reaction was far more intense than I had anticipated.

Instead of his usual lingering smile, his green eyes fluttered wildly with a deep frown. Having rushed over so urgently, drops of sweat clung to his golden hair, and his green tie even stuck out from his vest.

Yet all of this was quite refined compared to his highly excited voice.

“Ellie! It’s all a false rumor, right? No matter how I think about it, it makes no sense! You’ve never once mentioned that businessman to me all this time, so does it make any sense that you’re suddenly marrying him?!”

Having been away at the provincial estate on his father’s errand for the past month—hearing all the news only now after the delay—Lucian pressed me as if he couldn’t possibly believe it.

Of course, I fully understood Lucian’s fierce reaction.

‘Lucian was the only friend who knew so much about me.’

What I liked, when I was most sad, and even… my ideal ‘scent,’ which I had never told anyone else.

Moreover, since my father passed away, he was the only person who called me by the affectionate nickname ‘Ellie.’

Yet news had suddenly arrived that such a friend was getting married. And not even directly from that friend’s mouth, but through someone else!

‘He must feel betrayed. Because if I were Lucian, I would have felt hurt, too.’

In a situation like this, there was only one thing I could do for Lucian right now: a sincere apology.

“I’m sorry, Lucian. For letting you find out this way. But…”

I continued, staring straight into Lucian’s green eyes that resembled a lush forest.

“It’s not a false rumor. I’m really sorry I couldn’t tell you in advance, but he really is my fiancé.”

In an instant, Lucian’s forest-like green pupils shook violently. Looking at that made me feel even more sorry, but even so, this was all the explanation I could offer him.

‘If I were to lay everything out honestly, I’d have to tell him everything from meeting a killer to pouncing on Mr. Sutton, and I can’t do that. No matter how much Lucian is my best friend…’

It was then. Lucian, who had been hanging his head low, suddenly looked up at me. At the same time, grabbing my shoulders tightly, he blurted out:

“It’s because of your uncle, isn’t it?”

“Huh?”

“From what I heard, the Marquis who tried to do something to you—he was someone your uncle introduced. So fearing your uncle might bring another strange groom candidate like the Marquis, you’re trying to marry that businessman instead. You…”

Stopping mid-sentence, the color of Lucian’s eyes darkened significantly. And a sentence as full of conviction as his darkened eyes flowed from my old friend’s lips:

“…don’t like that man at all.”

The garden after Elowen left was desolate.

Of course, as appropriate for the season, the lengthening sun brightly illuminated the spring flowers in full bloom even in the late afternoon, and a deep floral scent filled the garden, but none of that mattered.

Though not right now, he had been certain that she would one day stand by his side—and now Elowen was going to stand by another man’s side. Because that fact was so utterly shocking, Lucian felt as if he were standing right in the middle of a barren desert.

Just before coming here, when he heard the news of Elowen’s engagement, he had been certain it was all a false rumor. Even when Elowen informed him that all those stories were true, Lucian hadn’t doubted his belief.

If that businessman really were Elowen’s fiancé, it must be a marriage she was forced into despite not loving him—choosing the lesser of two evils to avoid the worst.

However, all expectations were shattered.

‘No, I like him. So Lucian, please cheer for us. So that I can be happy with him. You can trust me and cheer for me, right?’

She said she liked him. To the point where Elowen’s sky-blue eyes, as she uttered those words, even sparkled shyly beneath the late afternoon sunlight. Unbelievably so.

In the end, Lucian had let her go just like that. But that didn’t mean he had given up on everything.

‘This won’t do. I have to meet that man myself. To meet him in person and ask why he suddenly approached Ellie…’

Yet had God overheard Lucian’s thoughts? The moment of the desired meeting arrived sooner than expected.

“I wanted to see you at least once anyway. To meet like this by chance.”

A dry voice carried over on the cool breeze from behind. When Lucian turned his head with a lingering thread of doubt, as expected, that man was standing there. Wearing a face as emotionless as the greeting he had tossed out moments ago. Yet that expressionless face soon changed color.

“Ah, perhaps it’s not a chance encounter.”

Beneath his chilled, dark red eyes, a bitter sneer gathered. Simultaneously, an intelligent voice resembling that sneer continued:

“Since it seems the Young Count came to my house on purpose.”

“…”

“To see my fiancée.”