Chapter 25
It was a surprising reaction for being left alone with him in a small space. She had ridden in a carriage with Rogerick several times, but she had never been this self-conscious.
And there was that gaze, which he seemed to have no intention of averting.
“Do you have something to say?”
The look in his eyes, which was fixed on her face, seemed to have a temperature.
One that was so hot it was hard to bear.
“What is your relationship with Lord Rogerick?”
“…He’s a friend I’ve known since childhood.”
“That can’t be all, judging by the look in his eyes when he glared inside.”
There was no way Rogerick would have agreed to them riding in the carriage alone so easily.
But David was adamant. He lent them the carriage but not the person to drive it. The only way for Rogerick to take his horse was to ride it himself.
So Rogerick was riding right next to the carriage. The window was too low for them to make eye contact, but it was clear that he was keeping a close watch on the inside.
“Could that just be Miss Cecilia’s misunderstanding?”
“Even if it were, it has nothing to do with His Grace.”
“Ah, I don’t think so.”
He let out a sigh-like sound and rubbed his chin. The meaning of his gaze, which held a faint, testing smile, was clear.
‘Interest?’
Did he fall for her at first sight? Or was he deliberately approaching her because he was a destined rival who had to bring down the Cissil family?
Neither was welcome. So she deliberately changed the subject.
“I’m curious about how you started a gun business.”
The two of their gazes went to the long rifle propped up in the corner of the carriage.
It was truly an old model. From the old-fashioned wood and iron to the ornate engravings, it looked clumsy and inconvenient compared to the pistol she used as often as she used chopsticks in her previous life.
“Well. Isn’t it charming?”
“In what way?”
“Because people who see it for the first time can’t grasp its power. They’d think, ‘How can that blunt thing kill a person?’ But once they get a taste of it….”
Bang, David formed a gun with his fingers and mouthed the sound.
“…They can never think that way again. Because they’ve usually already passed on to the other side?”
“It’s a dangerous object.”
“It’s a powerful weapon.”
“It would have been better if it had never appeared in the world.”
“That’s why I started it.”
What a load of nonsense.
‘He’s a thug with a bunch of hot air.’
The more she talked to him, the more she couldn’t give him a generous evaluation.
He was nothing special besides his attractive smile and eye-catching body. He was also the type of man she hated the most. Most of the thugs in the underworld where she grew up and lived were just like him.
He slightly gestured with his index finger toward the outside.
“Erdel has a lot of wide plains, so it’s good for shooting. We’ve almost arrived at the shooting range.”
“…Isn’t this place also near the cliff?”
“That’s so people don’t come here.”
David playfully wiggled his eyebrows.
“You wouldn’t want to accidentally shoot someone, would you?”
Was he joking?
He seemed to be as low-class as he looked.
She could tell just by looking at the party in Erdel. Nobles aren’t always full of grace. It was the same as in her previous life, where the wealthy and those with decent jobs were often shady behind the scenes.
“Lady Cecilia, you should go and try shooting it. You look like you have a talent for it.”
“Thank you for the offer, but I’ll decline.”
“Why? Are you afraid of guns, perhaps?”
“…Of course.”
The question he asked, as if to provoke her, was bizarre.
He pierced her pride as if he knew her strong-willed nature. But Cecilia didn’t fall for it easily. Instead, she lifted her head as if to put up a barrier.
“I lost my precious horse to that gun today, so of course I’d be scared.”
“Haven’t you heard the saying that the best way to overcome fear is to face it head-on?”
“You’re giving a very difficult task to a delicate lady.”
“The more delicate you are, the more you should get familiar with a gun.”
He suddenly bent forward.
“A nasty incident happened in Erdel.”
At that moment, the carriage lurched.
Their knees touched. Even though they were covered by a skirt and pants, Cecilia flinched as if their bare skin had touched. Then, she flinched again at the close-up of his blue eyes and gripped the cushion of her seat.
“…What incident?”
“Didn’t Lord Rogerick mention that several women and boys were kidnapped?”
“…….”
“This is a secret, but… there was a person who was murdered in that incident.”
His whispering voice seemed to be choking her.
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