Chapter 15. I Feel Dirty

A moment later, delicious food and a golden-glowing beer were placed in front of me.

Thump thump.

Well then, shall we test it?

My alcohol tolerance.

As a citizen of South Korea, having a beer after work was the joy of life, so being told that three sips of beer was my limit was like a bolt from the blue. I couldn’t accept it.

If my tolerance doesn’t meet expectations, I can just increase it.

Drink a lot and it’ll increase!

With this solemn resolution, I grabbed the beer glass.

Ding-a-ling.

Just then, the sound of the restaurant door opening rang unusually clearly in my ears. I looked around the restaurant for no reason. The restaurant, which had only a few seats occupied when I came in, was now full.

I felt a bit guilty for occupying a table that could easily seat four people alone… but glancing over, I saw that the customer who just came in was also alone.

My guilty feelings towards the owner subsided a bit.

‘Well then, shall I try the beer?’

As I was lifting the beer glass, someone approached my side. Ah, geez, it’s so hard to even get the beer to my mouth.

I looked up. It was the customer who had just come in.

“If you don’t have company, may I sit here?”

“Ah, yes.”

The man pointed to the seat diagonally across from me.

There was no particular reason to refuse, so I nodded. But that wasn’t all. The man’s red hair looked familiar.

The same hair color as my benefactor from earlier today…

But the face was different.

“Is there something on my face?”

“No, I’m sorry. You just look like someone I know…”

“Someone you know?”

A strange light flickered in the man’s eyes. As if he had heard an interesting story. Or as if he had some kind of expectation?

“My Ba-eun.”

“What’s Ba-eun?”

His voice was gentlemanly. Should I say soft or smooth? It had a unique composure.

“It’s like this. It means ‘benefactor like the wind’. It’s the unnamed benefactor who helped me earlier today.”

“Huh?”

From now on, I’ll call this man the gentleman.

Because his atmosphere is gentlemanly.

Anyway, a bewildered sound flowed from the gentleman’s mouth.

Hmm.

Did I speak too nonsensically? I should explain more.

“Actually, he had red hair like you, sir. I specially allowed you to sit because you reminded me of Ba-eun. If not for that, no way. Oh, of course, your hair is like straw compared to his.”

“Khk.”

“Why are you laughing?”

“You seem to be weak with alcohol.”

The gentleman gestured towards my glass with his eyes.

Oh, my.

I touched my cheek with the back of my hand.

“I only took one sip, why is it so hot, why…”

“You’re cute. Enjoy it slowly. There’s plenty of food too.”

The gentleman reached out his arm, making me put down my glass on the table. Then he naturally raised his hand to call the waiter.

“The same, please.”

Ordering without even looking at the menu.

Watching the waiter’s back as he walked away, I turned my head to the red-haired man.

“Why are you copying me, why.”

“It looks delicious. The smell is amazing.”

“Want to try a bite, sir?”

“It’s alright. I’ll eat when my food comes. More importantly…”

Despite sitting diagonally, strangely, the conversation flowed as if we were companions. He continued speaking.

“Why have you been calling me ‘sir’ since earlier?”

“Because you’re gentlemanly. Your voice is very sweet.”

“Khk.”

Which part is funny?

I just answered his question sincerely.

Ugh.

Somehow feeling mocked, I frowned and cut the lasagna into bite-sized pieces and put them in my mouth. Pathetically, it seemed like the alcohol was kicking in after just one sip of beer, so I thought I’d at least have some food to go with it.

Perhaps because my displeasure was clearly visible on my face, the gentleman wiped his mouth with a napkin, also wiping away the smile that had formed there.

“Excuse me.”

“It’s fine. If you don’t want to be called ‘sir’, just tell me your name.”

“Please call me ‘sir’. I quite like it.”

“Then suit yourself.”

Alternating between lasagna and french fries, I habitually gulped down the beer. It went down smoothly.

Wow.

This is the taste.

But I shouldn’t have done that.

When I lived as Yoon Ji-ah in South Korea, what was one glass of beer? Three or four glasses were the norm.

But…

“Ahh. I feel sho good.”

“Whoa. Are you already drunk?”

“You know what… today’s my first day off.”

“Oh? Where do you work?”

“The Imperial Palace, the palace. I’ve been working like a dog for a month and finally… got a day off…”

“…I see the Emperor worked you hard.”

The gentleman’s voice seemed to have cooled a bit, but it must be my imagination. I was too drunk now, my mind was hazy.

“No. But Johann is a good person. He annoys me sometimes, but he takes good care of me. That kind of thing.”

“…You seem very close. Calling him by his name and all.”

“Hehehe. If you’re jealous, I’ll call you by your name too… What’s your name?”

“Cyril.”

“Huh? What did you say?”

“Nothing. It’s nothing.”

Ah, this is really impossible.

How miserable it must be to have such a low alcohol tolerance.

The world was spinning bizarrely. My ears were muffled and the gentleman in front of me was wobbling like slime.

Oh, what’s this?

Why is the table flying towards me?

My head was spinning round and round.

I collapsed onto the wooden table. And I think the gentleman said something, but I’m not sure.

“It’s dangerous to get so drunk… What would have happened if I hadn’t come, Seraphina.”

We hadn’t introduced ourselves.

Ah…

I must be dreaming.

* * *

A figure moved through the dark alley.

The man with red hair slightly longer than shoulder length, tied in a ponytail, exuded a somewhat chilling aura.

His facial features were faintly visible in the dim light. It was Cyril, the gentleman who had sat at the same table with Seraphina in the evening.

“Master.”

Another man appeared from the darkness that seemed to be empty. He recognized his master perfectly despite his face being different from usual.

“Did you resolve the urgent matter you needed to check?”

“Jacques, how do you recognize me?”

“How could I not recognize the person I serve?”

Jacques answered, bowing his head politely.

But normally, it should be impossible to recognize him.

Rip. Cyril tore off his skin. More precisely, he tore off the artificial mask.

Right.

It’s understandable not to recognize this face.

It’s a disguise good enough to completely wash away one’s identity.

But when we met earlier in the day…

<Get out of the way!>

<Aah!>

When the thief caused a commotion earlier in the day, Cyril was also among the crowd. He recognized Seraphina at a glance.

When I was looking for her so desperately, she was nowhere to be found, and now to meet like this…

As soon as the article about the purifier was published in the newspaper, Cyril headed to Elmon. It said her name was Seraphina. There was no description of her appearance, no mention of any personal history other than being a commoner, but just seeing the name, he came all the way here on a hunch.

There must be more than one or two people living under the name Seraphina.

But it wasn’t easy to meet her, as she was locked up in the Imperial Palace. He started working behind the scenes to create a reason to enter the palace. And in the midst of that, he encountered her by chance.

What luck.

Cyril immediately followed Seraphina. No, before that, he picked up the bankbook she had dropped.

Ah. As careless as ever, then and now.

Somehow, she seemed unchanged from the Seraphina in his memories, and a mix of nostalgia and joy welled up.

Cyril jumped onto the rooftop, avoiding the annoying crowd. Then, keeping an eye on the thief and Seraphina, he ran quickly with light movements.

If he lost her now, he didn’t know when he’d meet her again. A purifier could be sent to the battlefield at any time.

Will she recognize me?

Just before, her attention was stolen by the thief. But if they face each other properly, Seraphina would surely recognize him. Just as he recognized her at a glance.

How will she react?

Will she be moved? Or will she cry, asking if I’ve been well? Will she pour out questions, asking how I’ve been living, why I’ve only appeared now?

He was so curious about what expression she would make with her grown-up face. He was excited.

But for that to happen, first…

I need to deal with this nuisance.

Cyril glanced at Seraphina, who had collapsed in despair after losing the thief over the wall, and then turned his gaze. Catching a rat like that was nothing to him.

And thud.

He threw the bankbook and the thief in front of Seraphina.

<It seemed like you were looking for this.>

<Wow… Who are you? No, thank you for helping me.>

But to ask who I am…

It felt like a dagger had been stabbed into his heart.

Cyril barely covered his crumbling expression with a smile. But it seemed difficult to hold on for long. So he just left a message to deal with the thief as she saw fit and quickly left the place.

Of course, he didn’t leave completely.

How could he let her go after finding her like this?

He followed Seraphina at a distance. All day long.

Before he knew it, it had become evening, and when he came to his senses, he found himself sitting at the same table with her without realizing it.

While he was like this…

“How could she not recognize me?”

Cyril, who had entered the hideout, slowly stroked his chin and then frowned.

Clink.

After putting a few ice cubes in a glass, he poured some hard liquor. The air vibrated with the smell of intense alcohol, incomparable to the beer he had drunk earlier.

“I feel disgusted.”

More accurately, it would be right to say he felt upset, but harsh words flowed from his mouth, having lived through rough times.