Tom shouted loudly, his ears turning red instantly. I patted his shoulder lightly.

“Then pretend to be my companion. Act like you’ve newly set your eyes on a pretty boy. And if you change your mind, marry me.”

“I, I have how many lovers already, why would I, a man, with another man, no, I told you not to mention that marriage talk again!”

Trying to hold back my laughter at Tom’s white eyeballs popping out again, I asked calmly:

“So what time?”

Tom, who had been inhaling with his chest puffed out, exhaled a long sigh like a deflated balloon. With a resigned face and drooping shoulders, he said reluctantly:

“Come to the merchant group at midnight. I’ll escort you. Remember. You must come looking as shabby as possible.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll slather my hair with the leather dye I got last time. No one will recognize me as Lucienne Bickman.”

As I spoke confidently, Tom shook his head at me with half-closed eyes. Nix, with a faint smile, said calmly:

“I’ll send a few merchant group guards. Please be careful.”

Responding with a “yes,” I downed the poured alcohol in one gulp. It seemed like today would be another truly tiring day.

* * *

“Miss, this really doesn’t seem right. What in the world……”

Maya anxiously bit her lip beside me as I checked my appearance one last time. While carefully applying dye to my hair, I repeated the same answer once more.

“It’s fine. This will ultimately help with my marriage.”

“What exactly is this secret party being held in the middle of the night? And how will going there disguised as a man and hiding your identity help with your marriage?”

“Well. You could say I’m going to acquire knowledge that will help with marriage. Since I don’t have any adult women to teach me these things, I have to find out for myself, don’t I?”

After combing my now dark brown hair neatly, it gleamed with a polished shine. In the mirror was a smooth face that could belong to a well-bred youngest son of a noble family, the kind who attracts women.

“If, if it would help, I would even sacrifice myself…!”

As I turned to look at Maya who raised her head with clenched fists, she faltered. Her eyes were wide open.

“How do I look? Convincing?”

“……You look handsome. Yes. Dazzlingly handsome. You look a bit young, but yes. Really.”

I smiled at her mechanical nodding, which made Maya bow her head and mutter something. After tightly binding my chest and attaching shoulder pads, I put on men’s clothes. Finally, after putting on boots with raised heels, the look was flawless.

“Miss, the carriage is ready.”

Jenne, who knocked and flung the door open simultaneously, paused. After looking me up and down, now taller, she folded her arms and declared:

“Jenne is coming too.”

“Where to?”

“Wherever Miss is going in that outfit… that appearance. It’s clearly not somewhere proper.”

Since Jenne, unlike Maya, had the skills to protect herself and more, it wouldn’t be a bad idea. I nodded and gestured.

“Fine. But it could be dangerous. And we absolutely cannot reveal our identities.”

“That’s my specialty.”

I started walking with Jenne, who winked, when Maya, with wide eyes, clung to us.

“Then I want to go too.”

“I told you, it’s dangerous.”

I grabbed Maya’s shoulder and said quietly:

“I’ll take you when you can throw a dart and hit an apple above my head.”

“How, how am I supposed to do that!”

After comforting her a couple of times as she cried out in indignation, I left the corridor with Jenne.

As we exited the mansion, the pitch-black darkness greeted me. After taking a deep breath of the cool breeze, I climbed into the carriage.

“Miss, you really do like dangerous places.”

Jenne, who sat beside me, shrugged and said:

“I don’t know much about nobles’ lives, but are there other young ladies who go out in the middle of the night dressed as men like this?”

“I need information about Mükeln Island. The path there is treacherous, so not many sailors have been there, but the coral and pearls available there have unparalleled colors. However, the sailors who know the way to the island are very secretive. They don’t share maps or routes and always travel in the same groups. That makes their goods hard to obtain and very expensive.”

“I’ve heard about that too. They say a sea demon lives on the way to that island. It’s always foggy and there are many reefs, making it difficult to approach the island. There’s even a song about an experienced sailor who took a wrong turn and became a water ghost.”

“You know a lot, Jenne. Did you remember something from your past?”

I stared at her steadily. With her cute freckled face, sturdy body, and excellent swordsmanship, her identity remained a mystery. Jenne blinked her exaggeratedly wide eyes and shook her head.

“No. Jenne’s mind is blank. I must have had something I wanted to forget. So how do you plan to hear these sailors’ stories?”

I chuckled at how smoothly she changed the subject.

“The first things men who’ve been at sea for a long time look for are alcohol and women. I’m going where those two things are. So there might be some trouble. You can wait outside if you’re worried. Tom will be inside.”

At my words, Jenne sighed demonstratively and scratched her chin.

“Tom’s skills aren’t bad, but he’s not very perceptive. I’ll just loiter around near you. By the way, if you’re hiding your identity, what should I call you?”

“……Damian.”

I was surprised by the name that came out of my mouth. Instantly, a wave of longing surged in my chest. Suppressing my trembling voice, I smiled at Jenne.

“Call me Damian.”

* * *

“Be careful and stay right next to me. Understand? And don’t take off your mask.”

“You seem too into pretty boys, Tom. Tone it down.”

After repeatedly cautioning me the whole way, Tom clicked his tongue at my indifferent response and flung open the door of the shabby inn. Simultaneously, a completely different world from the quiet outside unfolded.

Sweet-scented smoke filled the air. In the center was a stage prepared for performances, where nearly n*ked men and women were entangled. It looked like they were dancing, but it didn’t really resemble dancing.

Someone was singing in a languorous voice. People sitting around the stage could be seen drinking alcohol and chatting. Some glanced at us as we entered.

Everyone wearing masks created a strange atmosphere. Most had thin velvet eye coverings or thick paper masks that covered half the face.

Not particularly interested, people turned their gazes away as Tom walked through the crowd. Even in that brief moment, he had spotted a group that looked like sailors.

“Hey, Tom. Long time no see.”

“Letitia is over there, but you have other company?”

People who recognized him greeted him. I adjusted my mask slightly. Tom waved his hand.

“Keep it down. I don’t want Letitia to spot me.”

“What’s this, got a new lover?”

Brushing it off with a casual laugh, Tom sat down. I glanced at the men sitting at the next table and took a seat.

The smell of alcohol and fishy seafood wafted over. Their voices could be heard mixed with the singing.

“……so you should have eaten Sheryl pie there. Because of your heavy *ss waddling around, we missed out on everything.”

“Coty pie is the best, I tell you! Sheryl always smells fishy.”

“That fishy smell is the sea smell stuck in your nostrils, you idiot. Can’t you tell the difference?”

“Do you even know what meat goes into Coty pie? It’s dried rat meat. Look at that cheap taste, enjoying that.”

“No, but this bastard keeps……”

As the hefty man rose with his heavy body, making the chair clatter, I opened my mouth.

“The truly delicious pie is Zachary pie.”

The men turned toward me. The one advocating for Coty pie was wearing a rabbit mask that was half slipped off. I put strength into my lowered voice.

“Haven’t you tried it? It’s in Ningatan street. If you haven’t tried a freshly baked mince pie filled with scraps of meat, you’ve lived in vain.”

I could hear Tom laughing in disbelief. The plump man with the blue mask suddenly stepped toward me and lowered his head to meet my eyes.

I gestured with my hand to restrain Tom, who flinched. Even in the dimly lit interior, I could feel the gleaming light in the man’s eyes. After staring at me intently, he clicked his tongue.

“Looking like a delicate young master, have you ever even set foot in Ningatan street?”

“I’m still clumsy with bone-stripping techniques.”

I replied nonchalantly.

“I often get scolded for damaging the knife.”

The atmosphere among the men changed after hearing my words. The blue mask, with an expression of disbelief, sneered while looking at my hands on the table.

“You do deboning with those fine hands?”

“Want me to show you? On your body.”

I looked at the man challengingly and gestured toward his bulging stomach.

A tense atmosphere flowed amid the woman’s sticky, drawn-out singing. Just as the man’s mouth, not covered by the mask, contorted, a hand emerged from behind and pressed firmly on the crown of my head. As I shrank my neck with an “ouch,” Tom leaned in with a smirk.

“Where’s this bravado coming from, rookie? How many more knives are you going to ruin? If there’s deboning to be done, I should step in.”

The men’s attention shifted to Tom and his muscular arms, evident even through his clothes. Tom snorted and said:

“Come find me if you need meat or want to become meat. Everyone in Ningatan street knows where to find Tom.”

The man who had completely removed his mask as if it was cumbersome raised his hand with an “oh.”

“Tom? I know that name too. I heard you’re working at the Nix merchant group these days?”

“Well, I help out a bit. They need my brilliant mind.”

Now it was my turn to snort. A man with a long beard spoke in a husky voice:

“I once sailed with Nix in Freemont. How’s he doing?”

“Eating well, sleeping well, and shitting well. Except that merchant group business is so busy he doesn’t have time to swing his lower body.”

The men burst into laughter at Tom’s joke. Taking advantage of the naturally lightened mood, I called over a staff member and ordered alcohol. The men’s eyes widened as the strongest millet liquor was placed in a jar.

“I may be clumsy with knives, but I’m quite good with alcohol. I need friends who can keep up.”

I scooped a full cup from the jar and downed it in one go. The suspicious sailors’ mouths spread into wide grins.

“I thought you were a young master who didn’t know the ways of the world, but I like you.”

I nearly fell off my chair from the force of the rough pat on my back. As I straightened my back, the sailors indiscriminately scooped up alcohol and began boldly emptying their cups.

I exchanged glances with Tom while exhaling a faint sigh. This was just the beginning.