Nighttime Encounters - Chapter 30

Gently pushing the door, Trinity silently scoped out the room. The room where the Calskronin heir stayed was submerged in deep darkness. It felt like entering the mouth of a sleeping beast. The tension generated by her strong heartbeat radiated through her veins.

Trinity blinked, scanning her surroundings, and cautiously stepped into the room. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, the shapes of objects slowly crept into her vision. On the table was a neatly arranged bowl of food. Next to the bowl were two bottles of wine.

Trinity muttered softly, feeling strangely uncomfortable, “Are you sure you ate all that?”

He had eaten the soup laced with sleeping pills and drank two bottles of wine, and yet there was not a trace of disorientation in the room. She would have taken it for granted that Calskronin would be sprawled on the floor, but everything seemed far too tidy and organized.

No way.

“Hmph.”

Trinity sucked in a sharp breath. She’d spotted the man in the deep shadows of an armchair. She ducked under the table as low as she could, like an anemone underwater under attack.

“That’s odd. Did the medicine not work?”

However, despite being on high alert against any potential attack, the room remained silent. No matter how long she waited, nothing seemed to happen. Eventually, Trinity lifted her head discreetly and glanced across the table at the man.

He sat, leaning back in the armchair, resting against its backrest. His elbows rested on the armrests, and he supported his forehead with his hand, looking like a sculpture of a thinking man.

“Is he sleeping? Or lost in thought?”

[He’s probably sleeping most likely.]

Trinity, heeding Luperne’s words cautiously, rose slowly and circled the table towards him. His deep-set eyes remained firmly shut. Is this what it’s like to climb a beanstalk that touches the sky and find a sleeping giant? Trinity pondered, realizing that hidden jade eyes might be even more unsettling.

She steadied her pounding heart and cautiously leaned down. She lifted her hand and gently waved it in front of his eyes. But, deeply asleep, he didn’t stir at all. The man’s steady breathing carried the scent of wine into the darkness. It was certain, he was sound asleep. Having taken a sleeping draught and even wine, there was no way he could be awake.

“Ah. Startled me for a moment.”

Finally exhaling a sigh of relief, Trinity slowly straightened herself. Even in his slumber, he appeared poised and alluring.

“Monster!”

Muttering softly, Trinity fixed her gaze on the man and cautiously took a step backward. Perhaps too tense, she stumbled backward, lightly brushing against the table. In that instant, her heart thudded heavily. The empty wine bottle trembled weakly from the slight impact.

Degul degul^[1].

If a heart hit the floor and tumbled away, that’s the sound it would make. Trinity let out a muffled scream, grabbed the wine bottle she’d nearly knocked over, and instinctively checked on the man. He still sat comfortably in the armchair, eyes shut tightly.

“That’s my heart.”

Trinity’s relieved exhale was interrupted by a rustling cry.

[The wardrobe!]

Startled, Trinity tightened her grip on the wine bottle.

Luperne, you bastard.

Luperne, eager to help Trinity, asked aloud without looking up.

[You said he had it in his jacket pocket, didn’t you?]

It was a ruckus unsuitable for a thief, but Luperne was keenly aware of his situation. No matter how loudly he shouted, ordinary humans couldn’t hear it. The problem was, it sounded too clear to Trinity. She gripped the wine bottle tighter and glared at the noisy Luperne. What an annoying little troublemaker. It was just a shame she couldn’t yell back.

[Surely, the coat with the hair ribbon is hanging inside that wardrobe.]

Luperne, who had been making a fuss, darted towards the wardrobe.

[Come on, hurry. Let’s look together.]

Luperne disappeared into the closet to check for the hair tie. It was hard to fathom how someone so clueless could have helped in establishing the empire.

Shaking her head, Trinity carefully set the wine bottle down. Silently passing by the man and avoiding the table, she approached the wardrobe. She had to steal the hair ribbon and escape before the giant woke up.

Trinity’s anxious fingers reached for the doorknob.

¹ Onomatopoeia for a rolling (데굴데굴). ↩