Was this mansion always this quiet and dark?

No.

Normally, around this time, wax candles would be placed on each floor of the central staircase. Even after the midnight bell rang, a servant or two would still be moving about to finish their duties, so their path needed to be illuminated.

But unlike usual, now, even after Noah Hamilton had climbed all the way up to the third floor, there wasn’t a single speck of light or even an ant in sight.

Could it be that even the servants knew what he was about to do? 

When that thought crossed his mind, veins bulged at Noah’s pale temples. Mentally cursing with the worst profanities he knew, he walked heavily down the long corridor.

‘Damn it. I don’t even know anymore.’

Eventually, the oil lamp he carried flickered brightly in front of the room door. After hesitating briefly, Noah finally cleared his throat and gathered his courage.

“It’s Noah.”

His voice echoed through the empty corridor. Then there was no response from inside. But he knew. There was no way she hadn’t heard him.

I shouldn’t have come here after all. He turned to leave without regret. Just as his booted feet changed direction, a woman’s urgent cry came from inside the room.

“Ah, um, come in!”

So tense in this wretched situation, Noah’s hand slipped once on the doorknob from sweat before the door opened with a creaking sound.

A cool bedroom in the October night without any heating. The pitch-black darkness without a single light made it feel suffocating, like being in a coffin.

In that space, only the oil lamp in Noah’s hand gave off a warm yellow light, dimly clearing his vision.

“Sorry I’m late.”

“……”

Noah, who had greeted her with utmost courtesy, slowly approached the silhouette visible on the bed.

With her platinum blonde crown barely visible from beneath the covers she had pulled over herself, Noah had no way of knowing what she was thinking right now, and truthfully, he didn’t want to know.

Deliberately ignoring the woman, he set the lamp down on the ornate nightstand beside the bed. The oil swayed precariously before burning even brighter than before.

In the suddenly brightened room, Noah could see that the bedcover the woman had pulled over herself was trembling violently.

“…Well, I’ll undress first.”

Still no answer came. After hesitating briefly, Noah steeled his resolve and slowly began to undress. He first removed his dark gray lounge jacket and hung it on the chair beside the bed. Then he unbuttoned his stiff linen shirt, never once looking at the woman.

Just as he was about to unbutton his pants, made of the same material as his jacket, he suddenly heard the woman’s thin voice.

“Ugh, huuu.”

“Lily, are you crying right now?”

“Hic, hu…”

“Ha, do you think I came here to r*pe you?”

Who had put him in this ridiculous situation? 

Noah, his patience wearing thin, stomped two steps forward and yanked off the bedcover. Then he froze in place.

“Damn it, what the hell…”

Lily Berkshire was the symbol of propriety and the lily of society. She always insisted on necklines that came up to her throat. 

Her dresses with no gaps for exposure and long sleeves without puffs were stifling. Yet such conservative attire only made her dazzling beauty more mysterious.

Now she lay completely n*ked and defenseless before Noah. Her flowing platinum blonde hair precariously covered her n*pples.

‘F*ck.’

Noah’s gray eyes captured the scene in an instant. He thought she might have inherited the genes of her great-grandmother, Queen Shelley, whose fatal beauty allegedly caused wars between nations.

Transparent milky skin without a single blemish, br*asts too large to hold in one hand, and glimpses of her voluptuous b*ttocks. Not excessively thin, her body had definite curves in all the right places.

No sane male who saw this woman in such a state would leave her alone. They would mount her and suck that fair skin until it turned red and blotchy. What would the taste of that seemingly soft, unblemished flesh be like?

Noah unconsciously swallowed his saliva and licked his lips. His manhood was already throbbing in his pants.

“Haah…”

Several seconds of silence passed between the man and woman whose eyes had met. The woman, regaining her senses first, hurriedly fumbled for the bedcover to hide herself. 

Tears that had welled up in her startled eyes rolled down her cheeks. Noah felt utterly deflated. He absolutely detested women’s tears.

“If you’re going to sob like this, why did you put on such a stubborn front? Damn it, it wasn’t easy for me to come here either.”

“I-I’m sorry, Noah.”

“I’m the idiot for going along with this nonsense.”

Noah roughly spat out the words and picked up his discarded shirt, putting his arms through the sleeves. There was no need to stay in this room any longer.

“Where are you going? D-don’t leave.”

“Let’s pretend this never happened. Harry and I both temporarily lost our minds, and it was a mistake.”

At the cold mention of her husband’s name, Lily’s brown eyes shook violently. It was common knowledge among those familiar with the Townsends that the couple had been indifferent to each other for the two and a half years since their marriage.

“What if you just leave? Are you giving up the cotton shop district that Harry promised to give you?”

Noah shook his head vigorously.

“People try to paint us as rivals, but I actually consider Harry quite a good friend. I never intended to accept the cotton shop district in the first place. Damn it, I’m wealthy. Did you think I came just for that?”

“Then why…”

“Ah, forget it. I’ll explain it to Harry in a way he’ll understand. I’m leaving.”

Noah, who had quickly buttoned up to his neck, checked the clock on the wall while adjusting his cuffs. Midnight was still a while away. 

The thought of leaving now to spend the night drinking and playing cards at the Knightsbridge club improved his mood somewhat.

“Well, goodbye.”

As Noah turned to leave, whistling with his jacket in hand, a pitiful voice he could not possibly refuse fell upon his ears.

“Noah Hamilton. Please don’t go. I promised my husband I would mix bodies with you tonight.”

* * *

“Harry. I can’t take this anymore. I’d rather go back to my estate and watch the cats in the backyard. Would you call a carriage for me?”

“Hah… You haven’t changed since childhood, Noah. Don’t act like a child. As the Hamilton family representative, you should maintain your position.”

“Yeah, you’re still a pain. It’s already August, so what does it matter? The social season is almost over. I can’t stand these balls and such, ugh.”

Noah had completely given up on high society. Times had changed. 

Now a single revolving revolver could easily subdue an opponent instead of a sword, and somewhere, automatic carriages were being created to replace horse-drawn ones. Even a camera had been invented that could vividly capture all of this.

In this rapidly changing world, still having to wear cumbersome clothes and maintain pointless etiquette as nobility made him want to vomit.