The Unwanted Encounter
“I don’t care. I won’t even give a damn.”
“What are you planning to do if I catch you?”
“That’s why I cherish you, Albert.”
Noah turned toward him with a smile that sent goosebumps racing down his spine, then brushed the dust off Albert’s shoulders with gentle, almost tender pats.
“Don’t the smiles I give women when I want to charm them not work on you?”
“You’ll give them to me?”
The rest of his words were left unsaid, but Albert knew exactly what he meant. He simply didn’t want to hear them. His fingers tightened on the stack of papers he was clutching.
“What? What…!”
“Just sleep a bit in my room tonight.”
“Your Grace…”
Albert made a face and grumbled. He was even starting to slip into noble pretenses.
“But what if the young lady catches me? Won’t I be the only one in trouble?”
“Adeline doesn’t care about me at all.”
Noah let out a loud fart and twisted his lips.
“What did you say?”
His casual muttering sounded suspiciously offended.
“So relax. Adeline won’t lift the blanket and take a peek. If you’re still worried, write a note and stick it on the door: ‘Do not enter my room tonight.’”
“This is too much!”
“I’ll add a generous reward.”
“Haaa…”
Albert exhaled a long, defeated sigh even after he forced his eyes open at the promise of money. Noah grinned at his frankness.
“Scared of getting caught?”
He had already slipped in like a cat burglar, slept quietly, and left early. How much interest could that woman possibly take?
Suddenly Noah noticed the hairpin on the desk. He picked it up, slipped it into his pocket, and left the room. He had hated touching it ever since he first saw it. Why the hell had he even brought it out?
Not like him at all. Noah suddenly felt a flash of anger.
He tossed the hairpin into the trash can.
Clang.
The sound echoed especially loudly in the stainless-steel bin.
A little later, someone approached the trash Noah had kicked aside. A broad hand reached in, picked up the hairpin, and crushed it under its palm.
***
“What were you doing all this time that you couldn’t even come out?”
An old acquaintance handed him a water pipe and looked at him with interest. Noah took out his own cigarette and lit it, waving his hand dismissively. He didn’t have a habit of smoking what someone else had already smoked. What, he wasn’t picky about women?
“I thought you were with Celia. But she’s been leaving her stamp on your face every day? Did you two break up?”
Only now did Noah feel truly at ease. He leaned back on the sofa and thought, ‘Is that right? It’s really over?’
“There wasn’t really any point in ending it.”
“Still, you were pretty attached to Celia.”
“If I want to hit something, I can hit anyone. She was just right. No lines crossed, no nonsense.”
Noah clicked his tongue and scratched his temple with the hand holding the cigarette.
“She’s finally getting tired of me too.”
“Really? Found a new pretty girl? That’s why you’ve been hiding all this time?”
“New pretty girl.”
In other words, a sex partner.
“No. My fiancé came looking for me. I’ve been living quietly.”
Noah grinned and denied it. He felt ridiculous, having been unable to enjoy the pleasure district because of that extraordinary fiancé.
The man narrowed his eyes and suddenly let out a whistle.
“You suddenly getting nervous about the Billits’ daughter? No way.”
“……What?”
A filthy, ice-cold insult hit Noah like cold water. He thought he heard wrong. The man shrugged without a care and started stroking the leg of the woman sitting beside him.
“Well, the daughter of the Billits is still a woman. If Noah decided to seduce her, would I not spread my legs? How was it? Wasn’t it good enough for us to stay away…?”
A sickening crack echoed.
The man couldn’t finish his sentence. He staggered. Noah had swung the broken wine bottle at his head without warning. His vision spun from the sudden blow; he barely managed to stay conscious and opened his eyes. Noah stood over him, wine bottle in hand, and grabbed him by the collar.
Only then did he realize what had happened.
Noah swung the wine bottle and smashed it into the man’s head.
“Say it again.”
His voice was calm but sinister. Yet the bloodshot eyes of Noah were glowing with malice.
He had been mistaken. The man, who had finally come to his senses, looked around. The people who had been laughing and joking earlier were deliberately turning their eyes away.
“W-why? It’s just a joke, right?”
He tried to smile it off.
“A joke?”
Noah’s smile matched the man’s for a moment, but his eyes were stone-cold. Noah sliced the jagged bottle sharply beside the man’s lips.
“A-argh, aaah! Fuck!”
Flesh tore as the shards cut deep. Noah watched the man writhe in agony, then let out a low laugh.
“I was just playing a little joke. Why are you screaming so loud?”
“Y-you crazy… why, argh, why are you doing this? You’re no different from me, fuck!”
“When did I ever say such things about Adeline?”
“Fuck, what’s so different about that bitch!”
Noah finally understood what they meant by “seeing nothing when blinded by fear.” The thought cooled his head. He set the wine bottle down. The moment the man sighed in relief, Noah’s fist slammed into his face.
Crash!
The man’s body toppled onto the table. Bottles and ashtrays spilled to the floor. Screams and curses erupted as people began to leave their seats one by one.
Noah stepped on the man’s throat with his shoe, pinning him so he couldn’t rise. With each press of the sole, the man’s face turned purple.
“Say one more word about Adeline like that. Next time it won’t be your mouth—it’ll be your tongue.”
Why was he so angry?
Maybe the man was right. Just thinking about Adeline made his stomach turn; he had simply avoided saying anything about her. But he and the man were not that different at all.
He had become obsessed with Adeline. After admitting it, he had tried desperately to sleep with her once. What was so different?
He suddenly looked around. The pleasure-seekers lay scattered everywhere. Clothes and underwear lay scattered on the floor. Cigarettes and coins rolled across the ground.
A place where light, vulgar, dirty people gathered.
“Ah.”
The social club, where trash had been piled together, suddenly disgusted him.
“It’s not fun anymore.”
Was he truly drunk? Even in this state, the only face that rose in his mind was Adeline’s. If Adeline saw him like this, if she learned that Noah was no different from these vulgar, dirty trash.
The thought sent his blood running cold. Noah kicked the unconscious man aside and quickly turned and left.
Leaving the social club in the middle of the night was an extremely unusual act. Everyone crowded around to share the story; it had become a massive issue.
***
Adeline was taking a night walk. She had spent the entire day either avoiding Noah at the library or staying with the physician, or occasionally visiting the medicine shop. She was tired. The only relief had been catching a quick nap while with the physician.
“Young lady. The best way to prevent malnutrition is to eat well and rest enough. It’s not the time to worry about the young master—it’s time to worry about yourself.”
The physician held her hand tightly, full of worry, but she couldn’t bring herself to say she would.
Admitting she was sick meant spending nearly every moment together in the same space as Noah.
The curtains didn’t hide the situation very well. Noah had been masturbating every night for a while, but he had skipped a few days recently. Adeline had already witnessed his erection.
“Calm down. Calm yourself.”
Adeline walked the path while fanning her burning face with a small fan. It was already late, but the path was brightly lit; she felt no fear.
At that moment, the lights in the building went out. It was Noah’s room.
‘He’s gone to sleep now. I’ll wait a little longer.’
Looking at him with a clear head would have been embarrassing. Even if she forgot, the moment she thought of his swollen chest, she would break out in sweat.
How much longer could she keep doing this?
Instead, perhaps her own actions were making their relationship awkward. Adeline sighed deeply.
Creak.
Just as she was about to leave the path, the gate opened and a carriage entered.
“Huh? A carriage at this hour?”
Adeline stopped and stared at the carriage curiously. Since it was night, the crests were hard to see, so she narrowed her eyes. Then she was startled. The Miller Duchy crest was clearly engraved.
‘Oh! The Miller Duke and Duchess have returned?’
The carriage door opened. Adeline panicked and hid behind a tree.
Meeting the Miller Duke and Duchess right now was not a good idea. If they learned that their fiancé, Adeline, had been doing odd jobs in their residence, they would be shocked.
Adeline already knew that staying here was far from ordinary.
“Still, it’s been a while. Nice to see you, though…”
From behind the tree, Adeline peeked out with narrowed eyes. The familiar sound of shoes on the ground made her frown. Her gaze traveled up the man’s long legs and reached his face.
Adeline closed her eyes and opened them again.
“Noah?”