SWRD 19

Chapter 19

Roa Camel placed the plate—now with only a couple of financiers left, though it had been full—on the table.

“A place where no one can interfere with us…”

Roa picked up a champagne glass with her bare hands. Moments later, the translucent champagne spilled onto her dress, staining it slightly.

“Oh dear! I’ve ruined my dress by accident.”

“…”

“Well, it can’t be helped. I’ll have to change into a new dress in the lounge. Will you come with me?”

She looked up at me with an innocent face, and I met her gaze.

“Gladly.”

***

“You didn’t need to go that far.”

I spoke honestly the moment we arrived at the lounge.

Couldn’t we have just come here without her messing up her dress?

Roa Camel sat first on the lounge sofa and smiled, her eyes curving like crescent moons.

“Why not? I thought it was fun. Didn’t you enjoy it, Lady?”

“It’s not about enjoyment. I just didn’t want to trouble you unnecessarily.”

“How kind of you, Lady.”

Roa suddenly propped her chin up with both hands and stared at me intently.

“Unlike the rumors.”

“…What kind of rumors?”

Somehow, I felt like I already knew, even without hearing them…

“Well, there are so many that it’s hard to choose just one, but anyway—seeing that no one had their hair pulled or wine dumped on their head by you at today’s party tells me you’re not what the rumors say.”

Bella…

No wonder you didn’t have any friends…

I stayed silent. There was no need to admit out loud that those rumors likely came from Bella’s past behavior.

Right now, I needed to leave a good impression on Roa Camel. I had a favor to ask of her.

She looked at me in silence for a moment, then gestured politely to the sofa.

“Please, have a seat, Lady.”

“…”

“I’m curious. What is it you want to talk about?”

“The truth is…”

Sitting on the sofa, I began to unravel the bundle of lies I had prepared.

“I need to meet someone—my lover—early this morning.”

“Your lover?”

“Well… someone I’m about to part with. He’s not a noble.”

“Ah…”

“My family obviously disapproves. They said if I meet him one more time, they’ll banish him from the capital.”

“That’s terrible…”

“So I told them I’d end things. But… I want to see him one last time. Because…”

I lowered my head like someone consumed by sorrow from a doomed love.

“Today is his birthday.”

“Oh my…”

“Even though it’s his birthday, he said he has a gift for me. A ring he made himself.”

“How romantic…”

“I want to keep that ring forever. But…”

I looked up. Crying was harder than I thought. I had to fake-wipe imaginary tears before she looked too closely.

“Please, Miss Roa. Help me meet him in secret just this once.”

“So… you want to sneak out of the estate and return without anyone finding out?”

“Yes. At the very least, my family’s knights must not know I left.”

“Well, there’s a secret passage here, so it’s not that difficult…”

A secret passage. Yes, I figured there might be one.

I’d seen it often in novels—villains escaping mansions or castles through hidden paths when cornered.

And now, one just happened to be in this very lounge. Perfect.

I stared at Roa Camel, nervous, waiting for her to reveal the location.

She soon spoke.

“Alright, I’ll help you. In fact, it’d be best if not even the guards at the secret passage know you’re going out. I’ll distract them for a bit.”

“Miss Roa, this favor…”

“Of course you won’t forget it, right? Because I have a favor to ask as well.”

I blinked, then pointed to myself.

“Of me?”

“Of course.”

Roa Camel leaned a little closer and whispered softly:

“…Please do [inaudible favor] for me.”

What? I was startled at first, then quickly composed myself.

Come to think of it, it wasn’t anything too shocking. Actually… it was pretty ordinary.

Exactly the kind of thing Roa Camel would ask for.

“Is my request too difficult?” she asked cautiously while I was lost in thought. Up close, she looked a bit anxious.

Hmm… she’s kind of cute.

I purposely spoke gently, to reassure her and strengthen our deal.

“Not at all. Whatever it is, I’ll do it for you, Miss Roa.”

***

After making a big show of accepting a not-so-big request, I successfully snuck out of the Camel estate with Roa’s help.

She was thorough. Before I even asked, she prepared a dark-colored dress that wouldn’t stand out and a cloth to cover my hair.

“Take your time. The party won’t end until noon anyway.”

And her stamina… was impressive.

Maybe Roa Camel’s party wasn’t unusual—maybe all parties were like this? Starting in the evening and ending the next day at lunch?

‘…Is this why protagonists in novels never stay at parties until the end?’

They always slipped away somewhere in the middle… and now I understood why.

“…I’m here.”

Lost in idle thoughts, I soon arrived near my destination.

‘It was in the alley next to this shop, right?’

The blackmailer had chosen a meeting spot close to the Camel estate.

It wasn’t a coincidence—I sent the letter to Roa because the location was nearby.

If she had declined the invitation, I would’ve contacted another place nearby. Fortunately, the first try succeeded.

I slipped into the alley and checked my compass-shaped pocket watch.

4:30 a.m.

I was a bit early… but 30 minutes would pass quickly.

I leaned against the wall and took a deep breath, going over what I’d do when I met the blackmailer.

‘Come on, blackmailer. Show yourself!’

Squatting down, I took out the pocket watch again. Checked the hands.

If the watch wasn’t broken…

“…Six o’clock.”

It was an hour past the time mentioned in the letter—5 a.m.

I finally admitted it.

I’d been tricked.

I fell for a fake letter and ran around doing nonsense alone!

“You damn—ACHOO!”

…It’s cold.

I forced my numb legs to stand and left the alley.

Maybe it was just me, but I felt chilly. No—definitely not just me. The dawn air was genuinely cold.

Should I have borrowed thicker clothes?

No.

If I really knew this would happen, I wouldn’t have come in the first place.

“Damn whoever sent that letter…”

You shouldn’t live like that. Karma always comes back around…

Muttering curses at someone whose face, name, and even gender I didn’t know, I walked through the quiet streets, thinking maybe it was for the best.

Better this than meeting the blackmailer and failing to bribe them—revealing everything.

That would’ve been the worst outcome… but at least I avoided that.

Let’s be satisfied with that.

Yes. I’ll take the moral victory. If I don’t, I’ll feel so wronged I’ll punch a wall. Though, of course, it’d be my hand that breaks.

Trying to preserve my fists, I kept walking steadily.

The Camel estate was relatively close, but it would still take over 30 minutes on foot.

It would be morning by the time I arrived. …And the party would still be going. Unbelievable.

‘When I get back, I’ll ask for a room right away and wash up with warm water. And then…’

Suddenly.

My steps—and my thoughts—stopped.

I stood still, focusing my senses somewhere.

…Quiet. Did I imagine it?

Then again, I heard something.