Misfortune 68

Chapter 68

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His free flowing black hair and the fresh, relaxed look in his eyes caught Delnia's attention.

It seemed so natural to Roan to let the wind carry him so effortlessly. As if he had learned to breathe with the sea.

It was suddenly clear that he was a naval colonel. She felt like she was catching a glimpse of the powerful, hard life of a man who had grown up at sea without knowing it.

Delnia turned her face back to the sea, feeling a little refreshed.

The ocean was wide and vast, as if it could embrace all life. The peacefulness and infinity of the landscape calmed her mind as much as it had in the past.

How long had it been since she'd felt this way.

It was an unfamiliar peace to Delnia, but one she didn't want to break.

Therefore, she stayed where she was, matching his silence. Until the sun had completely disappeared and the red sky was gradually colored with a light as blue as his eyes.

"Colonel. There you are."

Then, a voice searching for him broke into the silence that had seemed like they were the only two people left in the world.

Roan glared at the interruption, not pleased, and the man, who appeared to be a junior officer, spoke up.

"General Cueron wants to see you."

General Cueron was an old man of noble birth, about the same age as Admiral Lasser. Unlike the Admiral, who was out at sea, he was in charge of administration, so it was rare to see him unless he was in command.

Still, the General saw him often enough that he never missed a party like this. And even then, he's always too busy talking with Roan.

These parties were more of a socializing event for the younger generation, and the old-timers usually avoid them even when invited. Like Admiral Lasser, who was not present tonight.

But it was customary, not enforced, so it was inevitable that there would be a few unwitting observers like General Cueron.

Still, Roan had never refused the General’s call before. He was his superior, no matter what the purpose, and he wasn't usually much fun at parties.

But tonight, he didn't feel like going.

Roan's gaze flickered to the woman who had caused it, then back to the junior officer.

"Where is the General?"

"He's in the banquet hall in the cabin."

"I see. Tell him I'll be right there."

"Aye."

As the junior officer walked away, Roan looked around. He seemed to be searching for someone, but when it was fruitless, he looked back at Delnia.

"I'll be back shortly, so stay here and wait, and if I see Lieutenant Dieppe, I'll send him your way.”

It seemed to bother him that she would be left alone in a place where she knew no one.

Delnia smiled good-naturedly, as if to tell him not to worry.

"Okay. Don't worry about me, master."

The words were clearly meant to ease his worries, but for some reason his expression hardened.

His lips moved, as if he had something to say, but stopped. Then he turned and walked away without another word.

Delnia watched his impatient retreat, then turned back to the sea.

The darkness had settled in, and the sea seemed even more still and desolate than before, and the air seemed even cooler.

She looked up at the black sky and caught her breath.

"What the hell."

Delnia turned at the sound of a familiar voice, one that was laced with malice.

Josephine, dressed as if she were attending an imperial ball, in a flowing gown and all manner of sparkling jewelry, stared at her, one eyebrow raised ferociously.

"Why is a slave here?"

Josephine hissed in annoyance. The shrill, tearing voice stung her ears.

Delnia bowed her head in silence at first. But Josephine's sharp questioning continued.

"Don't you hear me asking you why you're here?"

"I am on an errand for the Colonel."

Delnia chose her words carefully, but Josephine was relentless.

"If your errand is complete, you will return immediately, so why are you still here?"

"I'm here ............ on the Colonel's orders, and he's going away for a while, so I'm waiting for him to return."

"On the Colonel's orders?"

Her voice was sharp, as if suspicious. Nowhere in Josephine's casual dismissal of her was there any trace of the old friendliness.

That day, after being so publicly humiliated by Roan in the center of the capital, Josephine had not slept well. Her shattered pride was so sore and bitter.

It didn't take long for her love to turn into hatred. It was a natural progression for a young woman who believed the world revolved around her.

Now Josephine hated Roan. Of course, she hated that slave bitch even more.

"Ha, Colonel Barthez didn't see it that way either. I didn't think he’d be able to hide the slave.”

Josephine mimicked Roan, flapping her feathered fan.

Only after the beans were peeled did she realize. Her father hadn't been wrong about Roan Barthez being nothing more than a shiny dog.

All the glitz and glamor was just a façade, and objectively speaking, Roan Barthez was nothing more than a commoner with a few skills.

She was ashamed to admit that she had fallen for such an insignificant man, and it annoyed her that her eyes were still drawn to his worthless appearance.

A commoner subject who dared not compare to a noble like her.

The same logic applied to the wench in front of her. It wasn't even a person, it was a slave.

"Well. A commoner doesn't know how to manage his reputation, so he thinks he can bring his slave everywhere."

Delnia paused at the comment. Josephine had seemingly forgotten that she had introduced herself as the future Mrs. Barthez.

Her hostility toward Roan was not unreasonable, given the last time how she had spoken like she was the hostess of the house.

But this kind of blatant disrespect was also a bit much.

"So are you, but being of noble birth should have taught you to speak up when your master does something wrong, not just be a nice little henchwoman. What kind of education did you get in your family? Oh, did they teach you how to seduce men?"

Suddenly the arrow was aimed at Delnia. No, it was aimed at Eperne.

Delnia could hold back no longer and opened her mouth.

"I am allowed to be here because it is not a matter of procedure, and I believe it is unbecoming of a noblewoman to misrepresent the facts in order to unfairly castigate someone."

"What, what?"

Josephine was taken aback by the sudden and unexpectedly wise response from the slave who had been keeping her mouth shut.

Delnia turned to face her squarely, and before Josephine could reprimand the slave for daring not to bow, she spoke again.

"And I don't know about the other houses, but at least in Epherne, they don't train their heirs like that."

"What? Like what?”

She didn't understand how that was an attack on Viscount Nubel when she had only asserted her innocence.

But Josephine was already in no mood to listen to Delnia. The thought of being educated by a slave and insulted her family name was too much for her to bear.

"Your entire family has been wiped out! How dare a lowly slave make fun of my family name?"

Josephine could no longer stand it and lunged at Delnia.

Her nails scratched her cheeks, and a series of cuts appeared at the base of her neck. Her headdress flew off her head, scattering her hair.

The sudden commotion drew a crowd of people around them. Some tried to stop Josephine, but it was difficult to lay hands on a noblewoman.

"You slave bitch, you should have been destroyed along with your family!"

As the onlookers cowered and hesitated, Josephine viciously punched and kicked Delnia.

It was a one-sided fight. As Delnia leaned back to avoid the hit, she lost her balance and stumbled.

Josephine, whose eyes had rolled back in her head and she didn't realize it, gave Delnia a final, hard shove to the shoulder.

"Huh?"

As she was lost in her anger, she felt an eerie sensation of something slipping out of her hand, the scene unfolding in front of her not quite registering.

Before she could fully comprehend what was happening, she heard the sound of splashing water from the distant depths, followed by the screams of people.

"Oh my God, a person has fallen into the ocean!"

"Uh, what do we do?"

In the midst of the scrambling, Josephine was staring blankly down at her hands.

Someone shot past her like an arrow.

The next moment, she saw a broad back diving into the ocean without hesitation. It belonged to a man she couldn’t help but recognize.

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