Chapter 109
***
“Rufus, you mustn’t do that.”
Isabelle pressed her hand to her forehead, feeling a deep sense of exhaustion.
“I can’t take any risks right now. So many people know your face—if, by any chance, we’re spotted by someone watching us… then there really will be no way out.”
Facing his mother’s refusal for the first time in his life, Rufus looked dazed. As if he couldn’t believe these words were coming from the person who had always protected him without complaint no matter what he did, his blue eyes—which resembled hers so closely—fluttered slightly.
It was around the time Rufus began to feel sensations returning to his body.
It was a sensation he had given up on ever feeling again after being diagnosed with sexual dysfunction, but the doctor had noted that it might have partially recovered. That alone had filled Rufus with such overwhelming joy that he felt whole again.
That sensation reached its peak late one night when he encountered a maid in front of the greenhouse. Although his attempt to “confirm” it was thwarted by that worthless woman Edmund had brought along, Rufus had grabbed the maid’s wrist with a certain intent at that moment. It wasn’t until he returned to his bedroom that a chill ran down his spine for the first time, as he imagined what his mother would say once she learned the whole story.
But Isabelle said nothing. Even after hearing the report, she was more concerned that Rufus might be hurt, treating him with even more tenderness than usual. She even went so far as to talk about throwing a party to celebrate his recovery.
Isabelle was always like that. She was the kind of person who never scolded her son and covered up any wrongdoing. No matter what Rufus did, she was never the type to reprimand him.
Yet here she was, scolding him this much just because he said he wanted to go to the night market while hiding his identity. Treating him like a fool!
A fiery heat raged inside him.
“Since you’ve come to the capital for the first time in a while, I fully understand your desire to go out,”
Noticing his agitation, Isabelle cautiously approached her son. She even forced a smile to hide any anxiety that might have crept onto her face, softening her voice as she spoke.
“But Rufus, if you care about me, could you bear with it just a little longer?”
Isabelle’s request was almost a plea, so earnest it bordered on desperation. But Rufus felt suffocated, as if something were weighing heavily on his chest. It was a sense of helplessness, as if no one understood him at all.
“Yeah, I’ll just stay stuck here.”
Rufus turned on his heel and walked toward the bedroom.
“Though I might just die of suffocation before they drag me off to Rorschach.”
“Rufus…!”
Thud. The sound of the door slamming shut rang in Isabelle’s ears. Standing motionless, staring at the spot where her son had left, Isabelle exhaled a long breath. All that remained after the sigh was an indescribable sense of emptiness.
***
At the hour when night insects chirped, Rufus, clad in a black cloak, quietly opened the bedroom door and stepped out.
With all the lights turned off, the interior of the townhouse was utterly silent. This was because Isabelle, trusting no one, had no live-in staff. Only a couple of times a week would the supply manager hired by the Marchioness of Rainworth come by to restock food and supplies; otherwise, a profound stillness always hung over the place.
Thanks to this, Rufus was able to move about without being noticed by anyone. Since Isabelle used the bedroom at the end of the second-floor hallway, he didn’t even need to stifle his footsteps like a thief. However, just as he was about to throw open the door leading outside, he had to catch his breath for a moment and pull the handle carefully.
The moment the front door closed behind him, Rufus’s steps grew lighter. He even felt refreshed as he crossed the small garden and passed through the gate.
The cool night air caressed his face. It was a bit secluded since they were on the outskirts, away from the city center, but he knew the general direction of his destination, so he walked without hesitation. Even though he had only seen this path once—when he slipped out of Eldenvale and headed for his hideout—he remembered it perfectly.
Rufus was quite clever. He knew it himself. He believed that while he had always been overshadowed by his half-brother, his intelligence and memory were second to none. Though he knew little of the ways of the world, at this very moment, he was brimming with confidence. Perhaps it was due to a strange sense of liberation—the realization that no one could control him.
After walking through the unfamiliar streets for quite some time, Rufus noticed the sound of lively music coming from somewhere. When he turned his gaze in that direction, the dazzling lights of a night market flickered in the distance. A smile spread across his lips.
His reason for seeking out the night market in the first place was that he had recalled a sinister conversation the servants had once shared. They said that the street stalls, where the lights stayed on late into the night, were always filled with women selling their smiles to men… He had been filled with anticipation that, in a place where noble youths didn’t frequent, he could have a unique experience without worrying about drawing unwanted attention.
It was just then, as he quickened his pace, his spirits slightly elevated, that it happened.
A few paces away, a figure shifted silently. As Rufus hesitated and came to a halt, sensing his presence, they too glanced up.
A woman exhaling cigarette smoke looked at Rufus and flashed a sultry smile across her heavily made-up face. The other woman standing beside her also scanned him from head to toe and curled the corners of her mouth upward.
The two women wore revealing dresses that exposed more than half their chests, exuded the pungent scent of heavy perfume, and were decked out in cheap jewelry. It was immediately obvious that they were the type who seduced men on the street.
“Hello, handsome gentleman?”
“Looking for a lady to keep you company?”
With that, they approached him with a seductive sway. For a moment, Rufus was overcome with bewilderment.
“…Are you talking to me?”
“Who else would we be talking to?”
The women giggled as if they’d heard a funny joke. As the distance between them closed, a sensual scent filled his nostrils.
“Have you lost your way? Shall we show you the way?”
“We’re quite skilled at guiding night visitors.”
The woman, now close enough to touch, tapped Rufus’s chest with her bright red fingernail. His heart pounded strangely at the unfamiliar and dangerous aura. It was a kind of gaze he had never experienced before. The women were looking at him as a “man.”
“Where were you headed? Want to go to a nearby tavern together?”
“……”
“Why aren’t you saying anything? And why are you wearing such a dark cloak?”
“Show us your handsome face.”
With the two of them chattering away in snickering voices from either side, he felt as if his soul were about to be sucked right out of him. Since he didn’t mind it, he stood there silently, and one of the women reached out and pushed back the hood of his cloak.
“…Oh my.”
“You really are a handsome young man.”
Rufus, who looked just like Isabelle, had delicate features rather than a masculine appearance. He wasn’t particularly tall, and his build was slight; at first glance, he was far from the image of a man who could hold his own.
“Could it be that this gentleman wasn’t looking for us, but a man?”
That single remark, uttered by the woman with a chuckle, instantly got under his skin. Rufus, who had been lost in thought, furrowed his brow menacingly.
“What kind of nonsense are you spouting?”
“Oh my, did I offend you?”
“I’m busy, so get the hell out of my sight. You filthy scum—how dare you speak so freely? Do you even know who I am?”
Rufus twisted his lips into a sneer, hurled a curse, and brushed past the woman with a sharp tap on her shoulder. Just then, a voice as cold as a slap in the face cut through the air from behind him.
“For someone who was panting with excitement the moment he saw us, he sure acts like a big shot now that he’s a man.”
“Hannah, cut it out. Let’s go.”
“What? It’s annoying how he acts all high and mighty like he’s some big shot.”
Rufus came to a sudden halt. A chilling silence settled over the middle of the dimly lit alley.
“Say that again.”
“You think I won’t do it if you tell me to? You, right there—just looking at you, you look like a greenhorn who’s never even used his lower half properly!”
Rufus’s clenched fist trembled.
“I meet more than ten guys like you every day. You’re nothing special, yet you go and show off in front of a woman for no reason.”
Rufus strode toward the woman and grabbed her slender wrist. Startled, she tried to pull her hand away, but it was no use. As her face turned pale with fear, he felt a surge of superiority.
“Look me in the face and say that again!”
“What’s wrong with you? Are you crazy?”
“Let Hannah go!”
The situation turned ugly in an instant. The frightened woman raised her hands and began lashing out at Rufus, while the other woman lunged at him as well. Rufus raised one arm to shield his face from the barrage of punches, but he didn’t loosen his grip on her wrist. The three of them, tangled in a chaotic struggle, flailed about as one mass before losing their balance and crashing to the ground.
A jumble of curses and screams suddenly cut off. At the same moment, a sharp cracking sound rang out as something hard struck the stone floor.
***
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