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Chapter – 02
Because she inwardly considered her family’s behavior pathetic, Nadia had resolved to become an even more upright and modest lady. Yet, no matter how much she pretended not to care, the chattering voices pierced her ears.
The advice ranged from not showing too much affection, to the idea that nothing was as ugly as clinging and crying, to the claim that men only lose interest quickly if they aren’t kept on edge, and even to the warning that one shouldn’t give in to the bedchamber too easily. Since she had no one around to tell her such things—and no experience of her own—it was difficult to judge whether they were true or not.
When the grandfather clock standing against the wall pointed to 2:00 PM, Nadia set her teacup down with a sharp clack and stood up. The atmosphere, which had grown heated with embarrassing topics like how to use one’s tongue or move one’s waist in bed, suddenly went silent as if cold water had been doused over it.
“I shall head out first. I hope you enjoy the rest of your conversation.”
The corners of her mouth, which she had desperately forced upward, trembled slightly. Her cheeks were burning, but praying she wasn’t visibly red, Nadia left the room. Though they didn’t speak, three or four other young ladies who seemed uncomfortable followed her lead with stiff expressions. After exchanging farewells and watching them depart in their respective carriages, Nadia climbed into her own with the help of a maid.
Calming down to the rhythmic sound of hoofbeats, Nadia suddenly bit her lip as an impulse struck her. An uncontrollable curiosity was goading her. After hesitating for a long time—an uncharacteristic behavior—Nadia instructed Susan, the maid accompanying her, to tell the coachman to head toward the shopping district.
It was her first time feeling this restless. Several times she opened her mouth to say they should turn back, only to close it again. She wasn’t about to commit some great crime. She just wanted to buy a book that had been weighing on her mind.
Disembarking near a bookstore she visited occasionally, she scanned her surroundings as if looking for nothing in particular and quickly slipped inside. Thinking she should have worn a hat with a veil, she searched between the shelves and easily found what she was looking for.
After purchasing books of poetry and philosophy that she hadn’t originally intended to buy, she returned to her room, glared at the books on her desk, and locked the door. Then, from among the books with plain covers, she picked up one with a rather flamboyant cover. It was the romance novel they had discussed today.
Nadia let out a hollow laugh at her own behavior. To think she had acted so uninterested, only to run out and grab it immediately. Her hesitation remained, but the temptation was stronger. She opened the book and was instantly sucked in.
Outings to purchase books were repeated several times. It didn’t take long for the excursions—which used to involve a trail of maids and knights—to turn into solo outings. The maids, who initially tried to stop her saying it was dangerous, eventually had to give in to her stubbornness.
Nadia hurried along in a plain dress and a hat as usual. She knew it was dangerous for a woman to walk alone, but her heart pounded just imagining someone discovering the books she was reading.
She would buy a book, read it, and resell the finished one when she came to buy the next. Nadia didn’t plan on doing this forever. Just until her curiosity subsided a bit… then she could stop whenever she wanted.
She disposed of her old books and bought two by an author whose writing she quite liked, thinking to herself that this would be the last time. As always, the thought of going home to read made her happy. And she began to imagine: Could it be that the things they whispered about—the things that made her ears turn red without her knowing—might one day happen to her too?
While hurrying through an alley to catch a hired carriage, Nadia turned a corner and collided with someone, falling to the ground. The books she was holding fell and became covered in dirt, and a dull pain throbbed in her backside from the impact.
“You should keep your eyes open when you’re walking, little lady.”
Nadia was terrified as a large man with a menacing face growled at her. Only then did she feel a pang of regret. She should have listened when the maids insisted she be accompanied by a knight.
She tried her best not to show her fear and slowly stood up. While brushing the dirt off her palms, she noticed small scratches. It seemed she had scraped them against the ground when she reached out to break her fall.
“I’m sorry. I was in a hurry… If there’s no problem, I’ll be going now.”
She tried to slip past the man, hoping he was satisfied with her brief apology. But as if to betray her hopes, the man’s hand crudely snatched her arm. A scream escaped her lips involuntarily.
“You think you can just leave? After hitting someone?”
“I… I didn’t do it on purpose. And…”
Nadia’s body shook like an aspen leaf. She had to be careful not to trip over her own tongue.
“Y-you aren’t hurt, and I a-apologized, so—hick!”
“So you’re just gonna leave?”
The man glared with bloodshot eyes and shoved his face close to hers. A revolting smell of alcohol wafted from his messy, bearded face.
“Who says I’m not hurt? Can’t you see this?”
He pointed to a gash on his forearm that looked to be at least a span long. Anyone could see the wound was half-healed and certainly hadn’t been caused by bumping into her. Nadia realized the man had no intention of letting her go easily.
“…What do you want?”
“Medical expenses.”
Nadia looked at the thick palm thrust toward her with a gaze full of contempt, but at the man’s continued badgering, she had no choice but to place her coin purse upon it. The man looked satisfied as he opened the pouch full of silver coins.
Seeing that face, Nadia felt a slight sense of relief. If it ended here, she was lucky. She held her breath, waiting for the man to leave. However, instead of departing, he began to fiddle with Nadia’s hat.
“Your voice is cute. Why don’t you show me your face?”
“There is no reason to!”
Her voice sharpened. She looked around frantically. How wonderful it would be if someone appeared and chased this brute away.
That wish was granted before long. When the brute tried to snatch Nadia’s hat, a new figure grabbed his arm and stopped him.
Trembling, she widened her eyes to see if this newcomer was someone who could help her escape this situation.
The man who suddenly appeared had bright red hair, was at least a head taller than the brute, and carried a large sword at his hip. His handsome face, which wouldn’t look out of place standing next to Nigel, made her heart flutter for a moment, but a large scar across his cheek looked menacing enough to kill the advantages of his looks.
The aura emanating from the man was so fierce that Nadia had to consider, for a brief second, the possibility that he was an accomplice of the brute.
“Hey, go look somewhere else.”
“Who the hell are you?”
The brute, turning around with a scowl, lunged at the man, seemingly unwilling to back down easily. Nadia, who had been relieved that they didn’t seem to be accomplices, tensed up, expecting a fistfight to break out before her eyes. However, the situation ended in an instant as the man twisted the brute’s arm in a strange direction.
The man who had been harassing Nadia clutched his dangling, twisted arm and fled out of the alley, shouting curses.
It seemed he really had rescued her. It was a scene no less impressive than the Prince Charming on a white horse who appeared in the romance novels she read secretly every night. Thinking that, the fear she felt from the scar vanished, leaving only a sense of his exotic and handsome features.
Nadia hoped he would politely ask, ‘Are you alright, milady?’ or say something gentlemanly like, ‘I apologize for frightening a lady.’ But he simply handed her hat back without a word.
Nadia wasn’t disappointed. This is fine in its own way. She offered a shy smile and a word of thanks.
“Thank you. Because of you…”
“Are you out of your mind?”
Nadia froze, the smile still on her face. The man picked up the books she had completely forgotten, brushed off the dust, and spoke in a stiff voice.
“A woman walking alone in back alleys like this is no different from saying she wants to be prey.”
It felt like waking from a dream. Nadia was flustered for a moment but soon nodded quietly in agreement. She really had been in danger just now. When she lowered her head without a word, the man sighed softly, as if he thought she had reflected on her actions.
“I’ll take you to where the hired carriages are, so be careful from now on.”
“…Yes.”
Nadia adjusted her hat and nodded. She reached out her hand to take the books, but…
“I’ll carry them for you.”
“A-ah, no. I’ll carry them. Give them to me!”
Seeing her get restless over the romance novels in his hands had the opposite effect; he glanced down and read the title. The Lady and the Knight… Nadia desperately hoped that the slight twitch of the man’s lips was just her imagination.
The man, who personally hailed a carriage for her, turned to leave without lingering. Feeling an odd sense of urgency, Nadia realized she had gripped his sleeve so hard it wrinkled, and she was startled by her own actions.
“Do you have more business with me?”
“Ah, well… that, um…”
It was such an impulsive move that she couldn’t possibly have any business. After agonizing for a while and racking her brain, Nadia suddenly came up with a thought. Her face turned bright red as she struggled to speak.
“T-that… I don’t have the carriage fare… because that man took all my money earlier, so… if you could lend me…”
Of all things. She wanted to hide in a mouse hole right then and there. To think that the only excuse she could find to hold onto him was something like this.
Regardless of whether Nadia was embarrassed or not, the red-haired man let out a small chuckle and surprisingly readily lent her the money. When the man said she didn’t have to pay him back, Nadia insisted on repaying him no matter what.
Thus, what she gained was the man’s name, Asil, and a promise to meet the following day.
