22.

Rewinding time, a few hours before Elze returned to the boarding school.

Locked in his cell, Lucian gazed out of the window with tightly woven iron bars.

‘The sun is setting.’

The twilight world appeared as brilliant as if woven with gold and rubies.

Lucian’s hand reached toward the window reflexively, and he clenched his fist tightly.

The time when he could bask in the light of twilight and stand freely felt so distant now.

And…

‘Will she come today?’

Elze Lepérien.

The only woman who had extended her hand to Lucian in this dreadful boarding school.

‘Depending on the circumstances, it may take a while.’

‘Even so, I’ll try to come back as soon as possible.’

Elze’s uniquely soothing voice echoed in his ears.

Lucian suddenly imagined Elze standing under the twilight.

Perhaps she was smiling brightly as usual.

As always.

“…”

Elze’s smiles were so perfect and beautiful that sometimes he felt uncomfortable, as if they were hiding emotions and thoughts behind a mask-like, painted smile.

But…

When they finally escaped this dreadful boarding school and could freely stroll under that twilight, what expression would that woman make?

At that time… would she show her true expression to me?

Lucian suddenly became curious.

Clang, clank!

Just then, the sound of a lock being opened resonated.

Lucian snapped to attention, as if he had been splashed with cold water.

He tensely turned to the door.

Thunk.

The door opened, and a middle-aged man appeared.

“Duke Kalleid.”

The man Lucian had been looking at since morning.

The man who had sent the guards and crushed Lucian to the ground like a dog when he first attempted to escape.

It was Victor.

He placed a tray of food on the table.

“Dinner.”

“Never mind, I don’t have an appetite.”

Lucian shook his head.

It wasn’t a lie.

Being locked in this room and receiving meals regularly would naturally make his stomach feel upset.

“I wish I could go for a walk at least.”

Victor narrowed his eyebrows.

“Duke, this isn’t your mansion.”

“…”

What did he mean?

Lucian furrowed his eyebrows and stared at Victor.

Then Victor spoke curtly.

“It means that here, you can’t just do what you want and refuse what you don’t want.”

“…”

So, right now… is he reprimanding me?

Lucian’s expression stiffened.

But Victor continued as if he expected to be heard.

“This morning, you only had breakfast, and you skipped lunch, saying you didn’t feel well. You left more than half your breakfast uneaten.”

“Is that a problem?”

“Yes, it is.”

Victor exaggeratedly nodded his head.

“Frankly, we are genuinely concerned about your health, and we carefully prepare these meals, hoping for your well-being…”

Then he smirked.

A clear sneer.

“Why, do you think we might have put poison in this meal?”

“What?”

“Or is it something Elze told you to say?”

That woman?

Lucian’s face hardened.

“Elze told you to eat only the food she provides and not to touch the food we give you.”

“I’ve never said that.”

That was true.

He had merely told him to eat his meals even if he didn’t feel like it.

Moreover, Elze was not the type to force-feed meals, except for when Lucian had been starving in the beginning.

Forcing someone to eat was a form of torture in itself.

“But why aren’t you eating? There’s no reason not to eat unless you don’t want to eat, is there?”

With an attitude that seemed like he was grumbling to be heard, Lucian was momentarily annoyed.

“Fine.”

In the end, he sighed and picked up the utensils.

Elze had already been in difficult situations a few times because of Lucian.

Trying to escape on the first day, the letter from Marquis Craig, and more.

However, if he were to clash with Victor again here…

“That woman might have a hard time.”

Lucian suppressed his nerves that kept trying to sharpen and turned his gaze away from the food plate.

He sliced a thick steak and put a piece in his mouth.

The piece of meat rolled around in his mouth like grains of sand.

Mechanically chewing and swallowing one piece and trying to push the next piece into his mouth.

“Ah, this is truly different. Noble blue-bloods are something else.”

Victor, who was scrutinizing Lucian, spoke again.

“Just slicing a steak, but you are incredibly elegant.”

“…”

“This is just… When I see Duke Kalleid…”

Victor, who had been observing Lucian without a word, focused his gaze on Lucian, like a snake.

“About nobles, it seems as if they are educated and born with everything even in their mother’s womb.”

“…”

“Well, that’s because Duke Kalleid is one of the most renowned nobles in the Empire.”

It was spoken with a tone as if he were evaluating an item in a store.

Although it made Lucian feel uncomfortable, he managed to endure it.

“But why are Elze so obsessed with Duke?”

Until Lucian had murmured.

Lucian raised his head abruptly.

His eyes turned bright blue.

“Well, I do understand why the Marquis fell for Elze. She does have a unique look.”

But Victor kept dragging Elze into the conversation.

“Why, did Elze give her body to the Duke, perhaps…?”

Clang!

The tableware was slammed onto the food tray.

The chains were pulled, and Lucian screamed anew as he quickly got up.

Then, there was a gasp.

Victor swallowed the words he was about to say.

“Shut up.”

A dining knife was pressed against Victor’s throat.

Specifically, it was right on the carotid artery.

One wrong move, and he could die instantly from hitting this vital point.

Victor felt goosebumps all over his body.

“W-What is this…!”

“If a person had been patient, they would have known how to keep their mouth shut.”

Lucian lightly tapped the carotid artery with the knife while speaking.

“How did someone like you, a scoundrel, rise to the position of a steward?”

Then he twisted the corner of his lips.

It was a sharp, mocking smile.

“If you weren’t trying to rise to the position of a butler using those kind of tactics.”

“And what are you talking about?!”

“If not, how could someone like you, a scoundrel, become a butler?”

Lucian shrugged as if to say he couldn’t understand.

“I just don’t get it.”

“Anyone…!”

Victor’s face turned crimson with shame and fear.

Victor shouted frantically, “Is anyone there?!”

Instantly, Lucian’s pupils turned cold.

He was ready to forcefully silence this vermin-like fellow at any moment. But then he thought, ‘Elze, that woman could get into trouble.’

Crash!

The door swung open as if it were about to shatter.

The guards rushed into the room.

“Master Steward!”

“What is this?!”

Shocked, the guards immediately pushed Lucian to the ground.

Kudung-tang!

Lucian was easily subdued by the guards.

Only after confirming his condition did Victor cry out with outrage.

“How dare this caged brat behave like a beast!”

“That pathetic sight is your true self.”

Lucian sneered coldly.

“When you were deriding me as an aristocratic brat, you couldn’t even suppress me with your own strength.”

“What, what are you saying?!”

“You called a bunch of underlings to forcibly subdue me, and now you’re just running your mouth.”

Even though he was overpowered and couldn’t move, his icy gaze still showed his undying spirit.

“This bastard…!”

Victor, who had lost half his sanity due to humiliation, moved his arm roughly. At the same time, a sharp needle was pushed deeply into Lucian’s throat.

Lucian opened his eyes wide.

‘What on earth is…’

His vision became dizzy.

It seemed to be fading from the edge of his sight, but his entire body felt unusually clear.

Even though his body was merely pinned down, the weight of the guards felt like solid rocks.

“You… What are you doing…?”

Lucian glared at Victor while gritting his teeth.

Victor reached out and grabbed Lucian’s hair.

The pain, as if his hair was being ripped out from the roots, made Lucian grit his teeth harder.

“For a bleeding nobody like you to mock me as an aristocrat…”

Victor growled as he yanked Lucian’s hair.

“You ought to learn your place.”

He said while gritting his teeth.

“Furthermore, you should obey my orders!”

At the same time, Lucian’s vision turned pitch black.

* * *

There was a loud commotion.

People gathered and were making noise, raising their voices, but among them, one figure was particularly clear in Lucian’s blurry vision.

That was her beautiful, radiant hair.

‘Elze?’

It was Elze. She had an enraged expression on her face as she confronted Victor.

After a moment, the servants who had supported Victor fled in panic, like rabbits escaping from a predator.

Elze approached Lucian quickly.

‘My whole body feels like it’s on fire.’

Lucian muttered softly, gasping.

A persistent, relentless pain that felt like someone was constantly scraping his entire body with a knife.

His body was so heavy it felt like he couldn’t lift a finger.

Then, Elze lowered herself and kissed Lucian.

‘What is this?’

When her soft lips touched his dry ones, the dull sensations that were loosely held together suddenly intensified.

A thrilling sensation that felt like it was made up of only the most beautiful, precious, and wonderful things in the world.

Elze’s sweet fragrance tickled his nose.

He didn’t want to let it go.

No, he couldn’t let it go.

He knew it was an irrational impulse.

Nevertheless…

‘Don’t go.’

Unintentionally, Lucian clung to Elze.