In the Place where the Golden Rose Was Broken - Chapter 7

To Duke Arcturus Cloen, who was at the top of the priority list of investors her ballet company needed to secure, of all people…

“……”

“……”

Arcturus Cloen, with an unlit cigarette between his red lips, stared at Karen with an indecipherable gaze.

Then he slowly shifted his gaze to Joseph Mallon, who was still groaning and clutching his solar plexus on his knees nearby.

An awkward silence lingered for a long while.

As if he had finished assessing the situation, he belatedly lit his cigarette.

“Do you need my assistance?”

“No.”

“I thought as much.”

The conversation ended there.

It seemed like a question he asked out of courtesy, as a gentleman to a lady. He inhaled the cigarette smoke deeply and turned away without showing any particular interest. It looked like he was moving to a more comfortable place to smoke.

However, Arcturus had to turn back after taking just a few steps.

“Y-you, you…! You wench, I was going easy on you!”

In that time, Joseph Mallon, who had finally regained his breath, quickly grabbed Karen’s hair as she was distracted by Arcturus’s retreating figure.

Whether it was due to letting her guard down or because her strength had drained away,

Karen couldn’t counterattack the man like before. Grabbed by her hair, she was swung around as the man shook her.

Her beautiful face was contorted in pain.

“……”

He had come to the public pool, leaving the private pool in his room, to escape the tiresome family play-acting and Sierra Miller…

And now he was caught up in another troublesome situation.

Arcturus only believed in the clear facts before his eyes, but until just now, he had momentarily doubted his own vision.

The principal dancer of the Swan Ballet Company, whom he had seen at the performance venue just a few hours ago, had reappeared before his eyes in such a striking manner.

Perhaps because her dance had been so impressive, the situation of meeting her again in just a day felt more impactful, but the moment of reunion seemed even more memorable.

At first, he thought it was simply a situation where the dancer was being threatened by a man. But then the frail-looking woman skillfully subdued the well-built man, if only momentarily, as if she had received some training.

“P-please, save me…!”

But seeing her now helplessly being manhandled made him wonder if he had seen wrong earlier.

“Tsk…”

In any case, today had been full of troublesome events.

Arcturus extinguished the cigarette he had just lit in a portable ashtray.

Apart from the ballerina having left an impression on him, he couldn’t just stand by and watch someone in distress.

Arcturus quickly moved and grabbed the man’s arm that wasn’t holding the ballerina’s hair. Then, without giving him a chance to defend himself, he twisted the man’s arm.

“Ah, ah… Aaargh!”

There was a cracking sound. The bone might have broken. Arcturus, unconcerned, lightly tapped with his index finger the hand that had involuntarily released the woman’s hair, like he was administering punishment.

“Is this how you show your lack of proper upbringing?”

His attitude of playfully hitting with just the right strength seemed like scolding a child who hadn’t received proper home training. It was a mocking gesture. True to that intent, the man gritted his teeth in humiliation.

“W-who are you? You think you’ll get away with this…”

Regardless of who it was, breaking the arm of someone from the same upper class couldn’t be overlooked. Although he hadn’t received a noble title himself, he took pride in having accumulated such immense wealth that even those noble lords couldn’t ignore.

However, Joseph Mallon became speechless the moment he recognized who had dared to break his arm.

The other party was someone he couldn’t dare to look down upon.

“We’ve met a few times at our parties. Remember?”

How could he not remember…

Especially since Joseph Mallon had been the one trying to approach him first, there was no way he couldn’t know who he was.

Arcturus Cloen was a war hero beloved by the people, and also the head of a family trusted by the royal family. In other words, he was someone who shouldn’t be antagonized, even if he’s not directly involved in business with him.

Although he felt he was only guilty of being rejected by Karen Chaner whom he loved passionately, he knew others would see him as the bad guy in this situation.

“D-Duke! That… There are personal circumstances. I know I must look bad, but…”

“What shall we do?”

Arcturus cut off Joseph Mallon’s pathetic excuses. His eyes were on the man who had become servile, but his question was directed at Karen.

“Shall we hand him over to the police? If necessary, I’ll testify.”

“No. Let him go.”

“You want me to just release the man who tried to threaten you?”

“I don’t… want this to escalate.”

“Well, if that’s your wish.”

Arcturus helped the man stand up, who was on the verge of collapsing with his knees bent.

“Farewell then, Mr. Geoseff Mallon.”

His name was actually Joseph Mallon, but neither Karen nor Joseph corrected this fact.

He cowered under Arcturus’s gaze, then glared at Karen behind Arcturus’s shoulder, then looked at Arcturus again, and finally gave Karen a lingering look.

It was only when Arcturus completely blocked Karen from Joseph’s view that he finally took a step to leave.

Anyone watching might have thought they were really dating.

While Karen was inwardly exasperated, it happened.

“Were you lovers?”

“Pardon…?”

She ended up hearing this absurd question. Not from Joseph Mallon who had already left, but from Duke Arcturus Cloen who had saved her.

“Absolutely not.”

“If not, then never mind.”

“Why did you make such a mistake? After seeing Mr. Mallon being violent towards me…”

“Many men are violent towards those closest to them, my lady.”

The pair of light blue eyes with a hint of interest were directed at Karen. It was more of a gaze that seemed to observe and test the other person rather than one of pure intent.

Karen didn’t like the slight upward curl of the man’s lips, even though he had witnessed her in a painful situation.

“A man and woman alone in a hotel, and one professing love…”

“……”

“From my perspective, it was natural to misunderstand you as lovers.”

This man, while being polite to others, seemed to find this situation strangely amusing.

“Do you find others’ misfortunes entertaining?”

“Hmm…”

Although it wasn’t her intention to say this to someone who helped her…

That contemplative look as if he was pondering was slightly irritating.

“Honestly, it was troublesome.”

“And now?”

Instead of answering, Arcturus smiled with a hint of awkwardness. That smile itself was a sufficient answer.

“I’ll skip thanking you for your help. You must have found it entertaining because of me.”

“If I’ve offended you, I apologize.”

“I don’t need apologies without sincerity.”

Arcturus, noticing that Karen wanted to leave, slightly turned his body to let her pass. Karen was about to brush past Arcturus. However, after taking just two steps.

“Ah…”

Karen’s body tilted to the side. The problem was, she wasn’t the only one who fell.

“Ah!”

Arcturus was caught by her hand, which instinctively reached out for something to grab, and toppled sideways with her. It happened because he had been completely off guard without any tension.

Splash!

The wide swimming pool, particularly cold and chilly in autumn, swallowed the two of them.

Arcturus was the first to emerge from the water.

“Haa… Ha, haha…”

Suddenly drenched like a drowned rat, Arcturus sighed as he wiped his wet face, then burst into a hollow laugh.

He remembered the dancer’s question about whether he found her misfortune amusing.

He had thought he would never see her again except during performances, let alone become entangled with her like this.

No, he had never even considered such a thought about someone he barely knew.

Experiencing unexpected situations one after another made him laugh involuntarily.

He felt annoyed and dumbfounded.

But to some extent, the situation seemed so absurd that it was funny.

Yes, ‘amusing’ would be the right expression.

But where was that woman now…

“Hey, my lady!”

Arcturus, who had been laughing with his face covered, belatedly tried to check on the dancer who had pulled him into the water. Though he was annoyed at being dragged in, it was his duty as a gentleman.

Then Arcturus could see the woman floundering, unable to stand properly in the swimming pool that wasn’t even that deep. He hurriedly approached her, put his hands under her armpits, and lifted her up as if picking up a child.

“Cough! Hah!”

“……”

The woman spat out the water she had been holding in her mouth right onto Arcturus’s face.

Arcturus closed his eyes, endured this absurd situation once, and then tried to put her down. But the woman struggled again and clung to Arcturus, wrapping her arms around his neck.

“My lady? Would you let go?”

“N-No!”

“The water isn’t even that deep. Aren’t you overreacting?”