* * *

Whoosh—

As the door opened, the sound of rain grew louder.

Lumiere looked at the man standing in front of her with tense eyes.

Up close, the man looked like a sculpture by a great artist.

A magnificent work of art, enhanced with golden hues, shining brilliantly. A truly great piece by a truly great artist.

As if he had been waiting for a long time, the man, whose hair was wet from the cold rain, brushed it back carelessly and looked at Lumiere.

The two stood frozen, staring at each other as if time had stopped.

Whoosh—

How many seconds passed? Or was it minutes?

The sound of the rain seemed to fade into the distance and then come back closer when he spoke.

“…You’re hurt.”

Chills.

The moment she heard his voice, Lumiere felt goosebumps all over her body.

It wasn’t the same kind of excitement she felt when she ran down the stairs earlier.

It was a shiver caused by the sensuality of his voice.

His golden eyes, filled with the color of glory, scanned her as if licking her.

He seemed to be checking if she was hurt anywhere else.

He raised his long arm and spread his hand as if to caress her cheek, but hesitated as if it was too precious to touch, and asked,

“How did this happen?”

At that moment, Lumiere felt herself go blank.

Could a person’s voice be this gentle?

Even though his subordinates were behind him and Cindy and the twins were behind her, his voice had an unspoken power that made her focus solely on him.

It was a voice that made her feel as if only the two of them existed in that moment.

The man’s large, knobby fingers gently caressed her cheek.

His hand, touching her cheek, was as cold as ice.

At that moment, she shivered as a small chill slowly crept up her back like water filling a bathtub.

‘…What is this tremor?’

Was she shocked by the coldness of the man’s hand, or was she surprised by her heart warming despite the cold?

Unconsciously, she took a step back from the man, looking at him with trembling eyes.

The man, who had been observing her, narrowed his eyes. After staring at her for a while, he slowly stepped forward, closing the distance she had created.

It’s just one step closer, but it felt like a massive wave of intimidation.

“A-ah, um, that is.”

…Goodness, Lumiere, what kind of greeting is ‘ah, um, that is’ to a lover you broke up with just a few days ago?

She wanted to bite her tongue at her awkward first words, but it was too late. The man’s expression turned cold.

She swallowed a short sigh and hurriedly added,

“I’m sorry. I’m not in a good state right now, so it’s hard to explain properly.”

Lumiere genuinely felt sorry for him. But with a determined face, she looked up at him and said,

“But no matter how much we’ve broken up, visiting at this hour isn’t a good thing. If you have something to say, please come back tomorrow…”

“Lumiere.”

His outstretched hand grabbed her wrist. The grip was much firmer than when he had caressed her cheek earlier.

He approached her closely, his golden eyes, resembling a beast’s, blazing.

“You’ve gotten better at acting, hanging out with actors. But pretending not to know me, even I’m hurt.”

Despite his cold voice, his eyes looking at her were still gentle. This was not the look of someone who had broken up with their lover.

Startled, Lumiere grabbed the man’s shoulder as he came closer and said,

“It’s not an act.”

“Then, it’s not acting but real? You sent a note saying we should break up just a few days ago, and now you’ve completely forgotten me?”

He laughed as if he had heard an amusing joke. The clear disbelief in his smile made Lumiere’s chest tighten.

“Yes. It’s not acting, it’s real. You said we were lovers. Then shouldn’t you be able to tell if I’m lying or not? Or did you know so little about me that you couldn’t even tell that much?”

Lumiere was not skilled at lying.

When she tried to deceive someone, it always showed somewhere.

Anyone close to her would know.

Unless, of course, they were so uninterested in her that they didn’t even notice.

At Lumiere’s sharp response, the man fell silent and stared at her.

After a long moment of looking at her with a blank expression, he muttered,

“I don’t know you…?”

His voice dropped dangerously, as if her words had struck a nerve.

“…How much more do I need to know about you before I can say I know you?”

He whispered into her ear with a sly smile.

“I know everything about you, even the parts you can’t see.”

Moments ago, his voice had been as soft and sweet as whipped cream, but now it had turned secretive.

Lumiere covered her suddenly burning earlobes and looked up at him with startled eyes.

“What are you saying…?”

His lips, just the right thickness and color, and wet from the rain, curved into a smile.

“…That’s not what I meant by ‘knowing well.’”

“That’s not what I meant either, Lumiere. I meant we know each other’s dark sides well. Did you think of something else?”

…Goodness, I’ve lost.

Lumiere let out a baffled laugh.

The man, who had been quietly meeting her gaze, suddenly kissed her eyelids.

“……!”

Startled, she flinched, and Karl gently pulled her into his arms.

He looked at her with sweet eyes, as if comforting a sulking lover, and said,

“Sorry for being late.”

If there was any consolation, it was that Cindy and the twins, who she thought would be anxiously watching them, had silently stepped away.

While Lumiere was still flustered, Karl lifted her up and placed her on a large table inside the lobby.

Even during that brief move, he couldn’t take his eyes off her. His persistent gaze made her heart flutter. It was a hot and sweet gaze that could make even a nonexistent love arise.

In the darkness and silence, their faces grew closer. Their breaths mingled, and just before their lips touched,

Beep—!

A harsh ringing pierced her eardrums and snapped her out of it.

‘Gasp!’

Lumiere, who had come to her senses with a start, blocked his nearing lips with her hand. Seeing his eyebrows raise in a puzzled manner, she quickly added,

“I think my explanation was a bit lacking.”

His lips touched the palm of her hand.

As if it didn’t matter, he continued to kiss her palm. Feeling the inside of her hand grow wet, Lumiere quickly clenched her fist.

His hot tongue slipped between her trembling fingers.

“……!”

The hot, wet sensation almost made her moan involuntarily.

Panting in a daze, Lumiere finally came to her senses and, strengthening her grip on his wrist, quickly spoke.

“Wait, stop… Ugh! There was an accident yesterday. A carriage accident. They said it caused some memory issues. I have amnesia.”

His lips, which had been moving from the thick part of her palm to the thin, throbbing veins in her wrist, stopped.

“So, I really don’t know who you are. I don’t have any memories of you.”

The man’s gaze changed as he looked at her.

* * *

An eternity of silence fell.

The man stopped kissing Lumiere’s hand and lifted his head to look at her more deeply.

With her still perched on the table, trapped within his arms, Lumiere could see his changing expression in great detail.

‘His expression changed in an instant.’

When she said she didn’t know who he was, his eyes changed in a flash.

It was so quick yet so clear that Lumiere couldn’t help but be impressed.

After a moment of silent contemplation, the man spoke in a soft voice.

“Can you tell me more?”

Despite his cold expression, his voice was incredibly sweet. His gaze was sharp, but it didn’t seem directed at her.

As she quietly looked at him, Lumiere suddenly grew curious.

‘Why did I break up with this man?’

When the door first opened, he seemed somewhat angry, but from then until now, he hadn’t raised his voice at her even once.

Even when she, flustered, pushed him away, he looked at her with nothing but sweetness in his eyes.

Even now, he didn’t seem to care about being soaked in the rain, only staring at the small wound on her cheek.

‘Why was I told not to love such a man?’

Unable to hold back her curiosity, Lumiere asked him.

“Are you, by any chance, married?”