Chapter 24
Even if Jack had no effect on the young master at all, I’d still been thinking that I should at least try experiencing romance, even if only halfheartedly.
Of course, compared to the young master, Jack was nowhere near enough to satisfy me… But honestly, with Claude as my standard, no one else could possibly measure up.
I knew it wasn’t right to treat someone as a substitute for someone else or just as a way to pass the time, but Jack was only trying his luck with this maid and that one, hoping to catch whoever he could. So, I decided not to feel any pangs of conscience over it.
“I don’t know if I’ll be able to cure you, but sure, I can spare you a bit of my time.”
Contrary to my attitude, which all but screamed that nothing would ever happen, Jack looked a bit flustered when I agreed.
But that only lasted a moment. Soon enough, he dropped the sheepish act and quickly showed his true colors.
“I can’t thank you enough. I haven’t even heard your name yet, but if we’re going to get to know each other better… Why don’t we find somewhere quiet to talk?”
The hand that somehow found its way around my shoulder and the voice laced with impure intentions made me regret this in less than a second. Well, in any case, it didn’t seem like a big deal to chat for a while.
But that day, or rather, not only that day but ever since, I never got the chance to have that conversation with Jack.
“Come this way.”
I shrugged off the hand touching my shoulder and took the lead, guiding Jack toward a secluded patch of woods behind the manor.
Not even five minutes had passed when the footsteps behind me suddenly stopped, and a thud followed. It was the sound of something collapsing.
A sudden sense of foreboding struck me. I turned my head, and there stood someone who should not have been there.
“Young Master…?”
Facing me with the expression of a grim reaper freshly risen from hell, Claude startled me more than necessary.
At his feet lay Jack, eyes rolled back, unconscious from whatever had been done to him. I glanced at Jack briefly, then quickly looked back at Claude.
“Don’t be too surprised. He’s still breathing.”
The midday backlight made it hard to read his expression, but even so, my heart was pounding erratically.
Is it strange that someone who could wield such quiet violence so nonchalantly was him?
“…How did you…”
Or was it stranger that I felt a secret thrill at his actions?
“Is that really important?”
“No, I mean, I…”
“Just listening to it all was making me furious.”
Without another word, Claude grabbed my hand and started walking off somewhere, not sparing even a glance at the fallen Jack. The cold feel of his leather gloves gave me goosebumps at the back of my neck.
A brief glimpse of his eyes revealed they had also gone cold. He must have really misunderstood, thinking I’d actually meant to fool around with Jack. Not that I hadn’t considered it at all, but…
“Um, Young Master. If you’d just listen to what I have to say—”
Sensing instinctively that something was wrong, I tried to explain, but it was already too late. With his gaze darkened to a dangerous level, there was no way my words could reach Claude.
“I didn’t let you run around just so you could pick up any scraps. This is how you repay my sincerity?”
Muttering unintelligible words, he didn’t stop walking.
Even as we passed through doors, the central hall, and up the stairs toward the young master’s quarters, he never once let go of my hand.
Every servant who saw us simply sent worried looks, thinking, ‘Ah, another big commotion is about to start.’
At last, Claude, as if herding a sheep into a pen, pushed me into his bedroom.
He was already sensitive just after returning from outside, and now, perhaps because of what had happened, his presence was sharper than usual, pricking at my skin like a silent warning.
“With that clever mouth of yours, go on. Explain, Ayla Bell. What exactly were you planning to do with that bastard while I was gone?”
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