Chapter 1.2
Is this what it’s like to be struck by lightning? The moment she absentmindedly lifted her head and met that intense gaze, Caitlyn froze completely. Eyes of deep, burnished gold — intense enough to be likened to those of a predator suddenly gleaming in the dark — were fixed piercingly on her.
And it wasn’t only the golden eyes. The man, with jet-black hair slightly disheveled across a sculpted brow, a sharp yet masculine bridge of the nose and jawline, possessed a beauty as cold and destructive as a brilliant star hanging in a midwinter night sky.
But the reason Caitlyn was frozen to the point of being unable to budge was not because of the man’s appearance, which would have taken any woman’s breath away. She couldn’t see the man’s future. Not even a single inch of it.
A warning bell rang in Caitlyn’s head. When she snapped to her senses, her limbs were moving faster than her mind.
‘I have to run away!’
This person is not an ordinary person. To be more precise, he might not be an ordinary ‘human.’ Because there had never been anyone whose future she couldn’t see until now. While Caitlyn was in a state of confusion, the man’s low voice tickled her ear.
“……Found you.”
A shiver ran through her entire body. Caitlyn didn’t know the other’s future, but she knew her own. She had to run away. And right now!
But the man stood tall in the doorway, not allowing her any space to escape. On the contrary, his gaze remained nailed to Caitlyn and didn’t move, then meaningful words flowed from between his slightly parted lips.
“I finally found you…… Cathy.”
Goosebumps erupted all over. Cathy was a pet name used only by her late parents and her brother Edward. It was a name that no one would call her after Edward died several years later, and it was a childhood name so informal that it wasn’t even used by family outside the house, yet this man she was meeting for the first time today knew it.
‘How?’
It was an abnormal thing no matter who looked at it, but she didn’t have the leisure to be quietly submerged in questions. Caitlyn tried to escape by almost pushing past the man, but the other’s solid body didn’t budge. Her mouth went dry.
Please, please……! Let me escape from this bizarre man!
Did the heavens respond to her desperate cry? A frantic voice was heard from behind.
“Your Grace Archduke Akbar!”
The moment the man turned his head toward the voice, a slight opening appeared. Caitlyn did not miss the opportunity and quickly slipped outside. The cold night air felt sweet.
The waiting coachman recognized her and opened the door, and the carriage Caitlyn boarded quickly left the courtyard of the Marquis’s estate. Roxias Akbar, the Archduke who had lost his prey, clicked his tongue slowly, but Marquis Colandor, who hosted the ball, did not notice his uncomfortable mood and continued speaking with a face full of emotion.
“To think Your Grace would actually come…… I am simply overwhelmed with gratitude.”
The corners of Roxias’s mouth curved into an arc. His sharp eyes had not softened in the slightest.
“There is nothing in the Northern region in winter. I came for a hunt, so I would like your cooperation.”
The Marquis nodded violently. The Archduke Akbar, who was the younger cousin of the current Emperor and famous for being the most intimate with the Emperor among the high-ranking nobles, usually stayed secluded in the North and rarely appeared in the capital. But for his first schedule in the capital to be the ball he held—this was an opportunity that had to be seized.
The Archduke wants a hunt? If so, he would inquire about the best hunting grounds and release all sorts of rare animals to satisfy the Archduke. Who knows what he might gain in the future by forming a connection like this?
“What kind of prey do you desire?”
Roxias’s eyes curved faintly. The Marquis stared at that sight blankly. Roxias Akbar—this man had the ability to enchant people, regardless of his status or power. But from that alluring mouth came an unexpected answer.
“Naturally, it would be a fox.”
The Marquis blinked his eyes slowly. He would catch as many as the Archduke wanted, but foxes were dismissed as trivial animals and did not receive very good evaluations as prey.
He asked back to confirm the other’s intentions. In case he was speaking in a roundabout way to say not to release such trifles like foxes.
“Merely a fox…… is what you mean?”
“Yes.”
A deep yearning was embedded in Roxias’s voice.
“A fox that doesn’t know its place is the most fun to catch, after all.”
Discussion
0 CommentsReactions
No comments yet.