16.
“A photo?”
Inside the storage box—which looked as ancient as the archives themselves—lay a photograph of a quiet, secluded mansion.
This mansion is…
‘I remember. The Edenbahir villa I visited with Father seven years ago.’
Thanks to Duke Edenbahir’s generosity, I had been permitted to furnish a room entirely to my own taste. I vaguely recalled moving my childhood dolls, clothes, shoes, and books into that space.
Tucked beneath the photograph was a folded document.
Owner: Vincent Boellony.
‘…That’s my father’s name.’
Anita scrutinized the document. Given the listed floor area and structural details, it was undeniably the ledger for the villa in the photograph.
It wasn’t an Edenbahir estate; it was the Boellony villa.
The next document was a receipt. Judging by the list of furniture payments, it appeared to be for the villa’s interior.
‘The payment date is… only a year ago?’
There was even a significant sum paid to an employment agency just eight months prior, accompanied by a scribbled note:
It confirmed that the staff fees for the upcoming July had been settled in advance.
‘Next July is….’
That’s now.
Anita stared blankly at the payment list. Surprisingly, even groceries had been accounted for. It was as if they were preparing for an emigration.
‘That can’t be.’
Father had moved from his hometown to Shavalon to seek his fortune.
Father’s ambition had possessed a light so vivid and intense that even young Anita could recognize it at once. He was a man who believed that money and education were the only means to transcend the limitations of one’s status—a man who would cross a bridge of straw if it meant securing a future for his daughter.
Shavalon, the city of gold, was the stage for his triumph. Would leaving Shavalon not be the same as throwing away all the wealth and honor they had struggled to build?
If Father had been preparing to move without even telling her.
‘Don’t tell me he knew what would happen today?’
Perhaps that was why he had tried to leave Shavalon in advance.
Anita’s heart began to hammer with a mix of anxiety and anticipation. Perhaps her missing father was waiting for her at this villa. No, it was certain.
‘Otherwise, there’s no way the Duke would have guided me here.’
Anita shoved the documents and the photo into her bag. Now that she held the truth, there was no need to delay.
The villa was located in Buedort, a twenty-hour train ride from Shavalon. There would be a train departing tomorrow morning.
Just before leaving the storage room, she asked the man who had opened the box for her.
“Could you tell me how long my belongings have been stored here?”
The man avoided Anita’s eyes, shaking his head frantically.
“I-I-I don’t know. I d-d-don’t know anything, so p-p-please just take it and get out.”
“Then… can you pretend you didn’t see me here today?”
“I-I-I didn’t see a-a-anything.”
“Thank you.”
Anita bowed and hurried out of the warehouse. She could feel her footsteps quickening. Father really wasn’t gone after all.
“And you said you didn’t know where it was.”
The voice was tinged with a faint laugh—a sound that could have been mockery or amusement.
“Did you hate me enough to lie?”
Anita turned at the petulant rebuke.
Standing there was a silver-haired young noble wearing a jeweled butterfly mask. His composed posture, hands held behind his back, made Anita regain the tension she had just released.
It was uncomfortable not knowing his identity, but she had no intention of showing fear. Anita offered a lie as if it were nothing.
“It’s true that I didn’t know.”
“I’m sorry, but I’ve already memorized your patterns. Every time you lie, your eyes don’t smile, only your mouth does. Oh, perhaps you aren’t aware of that yourself.”
The man’s conversational skill was so sharp that she couldn’t help but be self-conscious. *Only my mouth smiles?*
Since things had turned out this way, she decided to let happen what may.
“Yes, I didn’t know. Thank you for telling me.”
“So, did you find the item you wanted?”
The man had been searching for the same green storage unit as her. This meant he wasn’t someone who had ‘hidden’ items like her father or the Duke, but someone who was ‘searching’ like Anita.
“No. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find it. It’s been so long, I think I’ve lost it.”
The man let out a short, sudden gasp that seemed out of place.
“Now even your eyes are smiling. Flawless.”
“…Thanks to you.”
This man makes me uncomfortable.
But it was difficult to ignore him as she had before. Could he know something?
He stepped forward suddenly, extending a single flower to Anita.
“In that case, my lady. Your name?”
It was the blue rose she had rejected at their first meeting.
“Rosa Eburk.”
“Aha. You’d rather die than tell me the truth, is that it?”
She had no intention of revealing her name. Just as her curiosity began to be outweighed by anxiety and she moved to leave, he spoke.
“Noona!”
A young boy who had been running from afar grabbed Anita’s hand and pulled her.
“Oh, come on! I’ve been looking for you for ages. Let’s go home quickly. I’m hungry.”
“What? Hey kid, wait a minute….”
“Hurry! Hyung is waiting too, so let’s go!”
Hyung?
Because the boy’s lead was so natural, Anita ended up being dragged all the way outside the waste treatment facility.
The boy stopped in front of an old-fashioned carriage parked near the amusement park.
“I brought her.”
A silver coin popped out from between the carriage doors. The silhouette she caught a glimpse of was that of a man.
‘Who is it?’
The boy took the coin and bowed to the man inside.
“Thank you. Call me again, sir.”
As Anita caught her breath, the air in the shadowed alley chilled.
No matter how she looked at it, he had helped her.
“I don’t know who you are, but thank you for your he—”
That was when it happened.
As the carriage door opened further, a white hand reached out. From the mere appearance of that hand, Anita recognized the stranger at once.
It was Lancelot.
“How long do you intend to stand there? Take my hand.”
Ah.
‘I see, it was him….’
She had only confirmed it by his voice, yet a surge of relief rushed over her like a rising tide.
As she took his hand and climbed into the carriage, the wheels began to roll as if they had been waiting for that exact moment.
Only after Anita had hung her head, removed her hat, and smoothed her hair did she look directly at Lancelot. Behind the white curtains, his face was fixed on the passing scenery of the amusement park, filled with a familiar ennui.
‘I really am quite far gone.’
To feel such fluttering joy at the mere sight of him.
Furthermore, hadn’t he taken a break from his busy schedule to come and pick her up?
Even if his interest went only that far, it made her happy—happy enough to make her heart thump pleasantly.
“How did you know I was there?”
“Because you told the butler.”
Ah, that’s right.
“I didn’t expect you to be caught by a clown, though. Were you really dragged all the way to the waste disposal site?”
Responding to his indifferent voice, the scene of the old storage facility flashed through Anita’s mind.
*Do not show this to anyone. Not even to Lancelot. This is an item prepared by the Duke for Miss Anita.*
Even if it was at the Duke’s request.
‘I can’t completely deceive Lancelot, who is helping me.’
Anita decided to find a reasonable compromise.
“I went there for a brief errand.”
His eyes turned to look at her slowly, prompting her to finish.
“Um. I’ll tell you what it was about later, not now.”
“Must you?”
“It’s just… a woman’s secret, you see.”
The perceptive Lancelot did not try to dig any further. The gaze he withdrew from her was heavy with an unspoken understanding.
*You don’t have any secrets from me anyway. Even if you make them, you won’t be able to keep them for long and will end up speaking for yourself.*
Because it wasn’t arrogance but the truth, Anita felt a bitter taste in her mouth.
Clutching the bag containing the photos and documents to her chest, she changed the subject.
“Anyway… thank you for your help. I was in a bit of a difficult spot.”
“You seemed to know each other.”
“Who? That man in the butterfly mask? No matter how much I think about it, he’s someone I don’t remember. His behavior was quite suspicious, too.”
After a brief silence, he warned her in a firm voice.
“Do not go out alone from now on. In your current situation, that is the right thing to do.”