Immediately after, the crowd that surged like clouds swallowed the woman and passed by.

Even after the award ceremony ended, he found traces of the woman who hadn’t appeared in an unexpected way.

“There.”

“Ah, Your Grace!”

“What are you holding now?”

“This… seems to be something a lady lost. But I can’t find the owner at all.”

Elroy immediately recognized the necklace that the troubled servant was carrying around as a lost item. A clear blue sapphire resembling her eyes dangled at the end of the silver-crafted necklace chain.

It was definitely the item he had personally fastened on Annelie.

Seeing it, his mind became a jumbled mess. The moment he received the necklace, the secretary he had sent to the Tevant main house hurriedly returned. He held a luxurious satin case containing the item Elroy had asked him to bring.

Elroy grasped both that and the necklace in his hand and immediately left the hall, heading to the townhouse. Anyway, he had fulfilled all his duties as the Duke of Tevant in this place. Various nobles gathered to pour wine for the after-party, but Elroy’s thoughts drifted elsewhere.

But when he arrived at the townhouse……

The mansion, which always bustled with activity just from the presence of the woman who moved around busily, was submerged in heavy silence. A silence as heavy as the black night sky above immediately pressed down on his breath. It was an ominously quiet stillness.

“…Miss Heich.”

His heart anxiously pounded. It was a strange thing. The place where Annelie, that woman, stayed couldn’t be this cold and chilly. It couldn’t be this deathly quiet.

“Annelie!”

His breathing naturally became rough. A strange premonition pressed down on his nape. The fact that there was no answer even when he urgently called her name brought greater anxiety to his heart.

Elroy went straight through the entrance and turned the entire townhouse upside down like a person who had lost his mind. Lobby, kitchen, reception room, bedroom, studio……

The art supplies, easel, and even the unfinished canvas that Annelie had used were still there, but the woman was gone. The pigments and gifts he had given her, which she had cherished and used carefully, were also still there, not one missing. Seeing that, his heart sank.

“Annelie Heich!”

All sorts of thoughts came to mind. Perhaps someone had intruded and taken the woman. Maybe he should have posted guards at the townhouse. No, did she have an accident on her way home?

“Where on earth……”

His blood cooled rapidly. No matter how many times he searched, the result was the same. Annelie was really gone. Nowhere to be found.

In front of a reality he wanted to deny, what rose after confusion and anger was emptiness and helplessness. The inside of his ears became numb. Meanwhile, his mind began to spin rapidly.

‘First.’

First, he would go to the bedroom and send a telegram.

He belatedly remembered that he had placed a telegram machine there just in case. And how he had tried to teach Annelie how to use it but ultimately failed.

He hadn’t installed it in anticipation of something like this, but he had to use every method available. Call the servants to search for traces of the woman around, contact the police station to ask if any incidents had been reported. Just thinking about that possibility made his hands sweat, but he still had to do it.

It was when he entered Annelie’s bedroom with trembling eyes. Discovering something he hadn’t noticed earlier due to his haste, Elroy froze.

The expensive sky-blue dress was left in the corner like a shed skin.

It was definitely what he had dressed Annelie in for the party. Not only that, but the wardrobe was also carelessly open.

At first, he thought a thief had broken in. And that the thief might have really taken Annelie. While his heart pounded and he ran around in all directions, Elroy slowly caught his breath and approached the remaining traces.

……And realizing it wasn’t a thief, he was seized by greater anger and frustration.

If a thief had ransacked this room, it couldn’t have been like this. With valuable items that would be worth taking all around, the decorations and artwork he had brought into the room for Annelie were all in their places.

The only things missing were a few clothes and possessions Annelie had brought with her when she first arrived.

Everything he had given her remained intact, but Annelie herself was gone.

The bed where the woman should have been lying was cold. Only a few strands of brown hair left on the bedding proved that the woman had used that bed. They were hairs shed by a woman with rough sleeping habits who often tossed and turned in her sleep.

The moment he saw that, his stomach twisted quickly. Elroy leaned against the wall for a moment and closed his eyes. Unlike his heating head, cold reason was spinning around, organizing the situation and drawing conclusions.

Annelie had left this place on her own feet. Not forcibly taken by someone, but of her own will. Elroy opened his eyes again and exhaled a long breath.

‘She couldn’t have gone far.’

Looking closely, the woman hadn’t even properly packed her clothes. The only things missing from the open wardrobe were one old dress she usually wore and one outer garment. She hadn’t left with the intention of staying outside for long.

Elroy continued his thoughts, deliberately ignoring that the few valuables and wallet she had were also gone with her.

‘She must be nearby.’

Had she gone out for an unexpected night walk? She always looked at the park with fresh eyes. But even in the studio with a clear view of the park, no trace of Annelie was found.

‘Where would she go so dangerously at this late hour.’

Even while angry, he worried about the woman, and he was further annoyed at himself for worrying about her. While anxiously recalling places the woman might go, a strong candidate emerged in Elroy’s mind.

Confidence welled up again. Confidence that she would be there, even while hoping she wouldn’t be.

And that prediction hit the mark.

“Ha.”

Arriving at the darkened newspaper office and looking into the storage room he had rebuilt, Elroy let out a hollow laugh.

The woman was sleeping on the narrow, cold storage floor with her coat spread underneath.

In that moment, a surge of emotion rose up. He didn’t even think to tidy his disheveled hair or rumpled clothes from frantically searching for her.

“……”

Elroy looked at the sleeping woman, holding back the urge to shout. And slowly raised his hand to brush his mouth and chin. He didn’t want to wake the soundly sleeping woman by bursting into anger. He thought so even while considering it a pathetically inadequate consideration.

While quietly looking at her figure, ridiculously, his anger gradually subsided. It was because of the mark still remaining on her finger. He must have bitten quite hard, as a faint bite mark still remained on her ring finger.

Slowly turning his gaze, he noticed the woman thrashing about even in her sleep. She never slept neatly, so even when they shared a bed, she was a woman who only slept well when he held her tightly from behind to prevent her from moving.

“Mmm.”

Sleep-talking flowed from the sleeping woman’s lips. Just as she did even when wearing pajamas, her dress had ridden up halfway, revealing her stomach.

Without even a blanket to cover her body, things hidden beneath her clothes were nakedly exposed as her dress rode up. Her milky stockings revealed glimpses of reddish knees and thighs. They were legs that bore explicit traces from when she had joined bodies with him in the guest room at the party earlier. Elroy’s Adam’s apple moved slowly.

If someone were to enter this storage room…

‘Who would she show this sight to.’

Would there be another man in this newspaper office who had seen her like this? While the woman stayed in this storage room, were there other men who tried to peek at her sleeping?

Thinking of that possibility, irritation surged again. It felt like the anger he had barely suppressed was rising again.

Annelie, sleeping obliviously, smacked her lips and changed positions. The dress that had ridden up to her stomach instantly rolled up to reveal the underside of her br*asts with a single movement. br*asts round and shapely enough not to flatten even when lying down briefly showed themselves between her underwear. They were br*asts that slightly overflowed when grasped in his hand.