Chapter 83…………………………..
Beyond the Mask
- Tap, tap, tap.
In the capital, in Akkia’s office. Akkia sat at his desk, resting his chin on his hand, rhythmically tapping his pen against the surface.
After a long while of this, Rikel, who had been silently observing from the side, cautiously approached the duke.
“Um, Duke….”
“What is it?”
Akkia responded carelessly without even turning his head at Rikel’s voice. He had been in this state for days.
No one knew exactly what had happened at the Belarus family party. More than a dozen times a day, he would stop working mid-task and drift into thought.
Rikel let out a low sigh at the sight of the half-absentminded duke and extended a stack of papers.
“This is the report on the person you asked me to investigate.”
No sooner had he finished speaking than Akkia lifted his head sharply and snatched the documents, scanning them with a sharp, impatient gaze.
“Edward Alencia? The second son of the Alencia family?”
“Yes. As you know, the Alencia family has maintained close ties with the Belarus family for a long time. Also, it seems that Master Alencia was dispatched to Bialitzkal as an administrator at your recommendation, Duke Belarus.”
Akkia’s brows furrowed at the words “at Duke Belarus’s recommendation.”
“It’s said that he stayed briefly at the Belarus mansion before being dispatched. And since he majored in herbal studies at the academy, it seems he and the young lady became close.”
“Tch.”
Akkia tossed the report onto the desk, clicking his tongue in displeasure. Clearly, while he and Lea were apart, the Belarus family had paired her with another upstart.
“Where did they find such a fool….”
He roughly swept back his neatly combed hair. The memory of that day lingered in his mind.
Lea, dancing closely and affectionately with a man he had never met.
“Who am I suffering for, right now?”
He was frustrated. He had been working tirelessly, sharpening himself to be with Lea as soon as possible. And now, he had only attended the party to catch a glimpse of her from afar.
Yet, he had seen her giggling with another man. The memory made his mouth taste bitter.
“Um, but….”
Unaware of the duke’s emotions, Rikel brought up another point.
“What is it?”
“From what I observed, he spent nearly the entire day holed up in his study.”
“And what of it?”
‘Whether he was studying or chopping firewood, what does it matter?’
Just as Akkia tried to dismiss it lightly—
“However, it seems he spent the entire day with Miss Belarus there.”
“…….”
“And if they enter in the morning, they don’t come out until sunset…”
- Crack!
At Rikel’s words, the fountain pen in Akkia’s hand broke.
“D-Duke! Are you okay!?”
Rikel quickly pulled out a handkerchief and offered it, but Akkia didn’t even glance at it. Instead, he asked sharply:
“What did you say?”
“Eh?”
“Say that again.”
“W-Well… the young lady and he were together all day…!”
“Stop.”
Akkia stopped him, as if forbidding him to speak any further.
‘Together in the apothecary all day…’
He couldn’t even muster a bitter laugh. To think they were alone in such a confined space until late at night. And not just once, but every day!
Technically, Edward’s study wasn’t small and even had a large terrace—it was quite open. But to Akkia, that was no excuse.
“And there’s one more thing to report….”
Suppressing the urge to resign on the spot, Rikel carefully continued with his last report.
“What now?”
He hesitated for a moment under the duke’s fierce presence but feared the consequences of not reporting it.
“Tonight, there’s a masked ball at the house of Marquis Romanov…”
“A masked ball? Why all of a sudden?”
“Well… the young lady is attending.”
- Bang!
All the restraint Akkia had held so far crumbled. He shot up from his chair as if he could no longer contain himself.
“…Where is Lea going?”
“To, to the Marquis Romanov’s masked ball.”
‘Ha. Fine.’
He could forgive her being close to Master Edward or Edmund of Alencia. Since that fool studied herbal science, it made sense they could collaborate on research.
‘But, what?’
“A masked ball?”
Did she even know what kind of place she was going to? He impatiently loosened his tie, which felt like it was strangling him.
Akkia could no longer stand idly by. Resolving his thoughts, he stormed out of the office.
Rikel, staring blankly at the duke’s departing figure, asked,
“Duke? Where are you going…?”
“Obviously.”
Akkia paused at the door, twisting one corner of his mouth into a grimace.
“To catch the runaway cat.”
“Eh?”
With that, Akkia disappeared in an instant. Left alone in the office, Rikel muttered absentmindedly:
“Then who’s supposed to do all this work…?”
The pile of paperwork on the desk fluttered in the silent, lonely air.
❀ ❀ ❀
Lea stopped walking as she surveyed the lavishly decorated mansion.
Nobles, extravagantly adorned, each wore a mask covering half of their face.
Perhaps because the Akkia she had seen in the capital felt like a completely different person here.
She couldn’t refuse the invitation from Lady Wayne to join her.
‘Why did I agree to come to this exhausting place….’
Lea sighed quietly, careful not to let Lady Wayne notice. Her pink hair, flowing down to her waist, felt unfamiliar.
Since this was a party where she had to hide her identity, she wore a wig to conceal her red hair.
As Lea sipped her champagne, Lady Wayne pulled her close.
“I’m Rafne. Miss, let me introduce you. This is Derek and Tain.”
As Lea turned, she saw Lady Wayne standing with two noblemen.
The man standing deepest in the group approached and kissed the back of her hand.
“And what is the name of this beautiful young lady?”
“Le… no, it’s Lily.”
Unconsciously about to say her real name, Lea quickly corrected herself. At a masked ball, she had to introduce herself with the pseudonym she had chosen for the day.
“Fitting for a young lady as fair and pure as a lily. If you don’t have a partner tonight, why not join us?”
Lea felt uncomfortable under his slimy, overly smooth gaze. Since the introduction, he had been annoyingly close.
‘Hah.’
She was about to refuse, thinking this was the height of absurd flirtation. But then she saw Lady Wayne laughing brightly, unlike her.
“Oh my, Derek… how well you understand my heart!”
“Well, I guess we just get along well.”
“Ha ha, Derek, really…”
Seeing them cling together as if already lovers, Lea couldn’t bring herself to leave.
As she reluctantly stayed, the night outside the window grew darker.
‘I should go back now.’
Just as she was about to hint to Lady Wayne that it was time to leave, she saw her kissing Derek passionately.
And it wasn’t just the two of them—everywhere she looked, couples were entwined. Lea’s face flushed red.
‘This is insane.’
She had heard noble parties could be licentious, but not to this extent. She had come impulsively, angered at Akkia, yet now…
Just as she turned to leave, Tain, who had gone to fetch champagne, stopped her.
“Where are you going, Lily?”
“I’m leaving now.”
As Lea tried to turn, Tain swiftly grabbed her waist.
“What are you doing? Let go!”
“Why pretend now? Look around you.”
Lea glanced around. Glasses clinked and broke loudly, yet no one seemed to care. People moved only on instinct, as if pleasure were the only thing that mattered.
“You came to have fun too, right? Stay still, I’ll take care of you.”
He laughed and groped her roughly.
“Stop it, okay?”
The familiar scent of jasmine brushed her nose. A large hand suddenly pulled her away.
“What the hell are you doing?”
“You’re the one doing it, to my woman.”
Tain’s frown deepened at the response, and then he bit his lip as he saw Akkia’s fierce eyes through the mask.
“Damn it, you should’ve said if there was a man here!”
By the time Lea regained her senses, the man had vanished into the crowd. In this den of beasts, a sane person existed.
As she prepared to politely thank him, she heard a voice.
“At the House of Duke Belarus…”
Startled, Lea lifted her head.
‘How does he know my family…?’
A man with black hair as dark as the night sky. She had never seen anyone with such dark hair.
“Seems you weren’t taught not to come to places like this carelessly, huh?”
The man slowly lifted his hand to untie the mask. The black wig covering his hair fell, revealing golden strands that shimmered in the air.
And when the mask lifted slowly, revealing red eyes, Lea froze.
“Lea.”
It was Akkia.
