Since I Don't Know Anything About It, Shall We Break Up, Your Majesty? - Chapter 38

“K-Karl, are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?”

Lumiere examined his face with a pale expression.

Her emerald eyes, resembling a recording, were filled with him and endlessly shaking.

Karl felt a strange sense of déjà vu as he looked into Lumiere’s green eyes filled with various emotions.

The surrounding commotion around them was inaudible, and it felt like they were trapped in a world of their own inner silence.

“I…….”

He wanted to say something, but his scratchy throat felt like it was blocked by something, and no words came out.

Did he look like someone frozen in shock?

A slender fingertip touched his cheek.

A small warmth spread from his cheek to his entire body. With the warmth came a shiver.

“Are you not okay? Are you really hurt somewhere?”

……Look at this.

Even if you lose your memory, you are still you, Lumiere.

You are my one and only Lumiere, who saves me with a love so immense that I have never experienced before.

“……I’m fine.”

How could a woman who is much smaller than him always recklessly jump in to save him?

Was she fearless, or did she overestimate herself?

It had been like this ever since she blocked a molotov cocktail flying toward him with her hand.

A person who draws pictures, blocking a molotov cocktail with bare hands without any plan.

Yes, Lumiere was always like this.

She embraced him with a nonchalant face, accepted him, and hurt in his place.

She was sparse with words of love, but all her actions were filled with her feelings for him.

Was that why?

Karl acted spoiled by her love, expecting tenderness and begging for affection.

But recently, Karl had been realizing that he shouldn’t do that.

“The one who should be worried about now is not me, but you.”

Karl lifted Lumiere’s hand, which was supporting herself on the ground.

As expected, there was a red wound that seemed to have been scraped when she fell.

A soft breeze blew over the tender skin that had been scraped and bruised.

Lumiere, who hadn’t realized she was hurt until then, flinched and pulled her hand back.

Karl gently kissed her curled fingers.

He kissed this small, precious hand with reverence and gratitude, as if he was touching something sacred.

“Although I’m very grateful that you saved me, please…… don’t forget that I’m much bigger, much sturdier, and much stronger than you.”

His words were kind.

But the touch that gently brushed the inside of Lumiere’s wrist was closer to warmth than heat.

Similarly, his voice towards her was softer than ever, but his golden eyes staring at her were firm.

“Please.”

The voice whispering in her ear as he lightly pulled her closer was low and deep.

“I beg you.”

As though he was pleading.

A tingling sensation rose from Lumiere’s lower abdomen as she stood there blankly.

The electric-like sensation made her back twitch involuntarily.

‘What is this?’

Startled, she quickly stepped back.

“I-I understand what you mean. I get it. I’ll be careful from now on.”

I’ll also remember that you are big, sturdy, and strong.

She felt a vivid, solid feeling under her palm when she touched Karl’s chest.

‘Phew.’

If sin could be personified, that man would surely be the sin of lust.

He is strangely seductive without doing anything special.

And yet, his neatly composed appearance as he nonchalantly dusted off and stood up seemed somewhat irritating.

Lumiere took a deep breath and stepped back from him.

“It’s a relief that you’re not hurt. But why did you tell me to wait?”

Just as Karl was about to answer, a group of women descended to the first floor amidst a commotion.

“Excuse me! Is everyone alright? Is anyone hurt?”

“I’m Chris Gunther. Let’s have a conversation.”

Chris quickly intercepted them and led them to a less crowded area.

The attention of the people naturally shifted towards them.

“I didn’t do it on purpose. Really. Please believe me!”

“Of course, I believe you, Lady. But could you please explain how the mirror fell? If there’s an issue with the railing, we need to repair it. Could you kindly cooperate?”

“W-What? R-Repair?”

Chris Gunther had a stern look when he’s not smiling, but his expression changed drastically with just a small smile.

With a smiling face, he skillfully coaxed the woman who had jumped down from the second floor and her maid to explain the situation.

The opera house’s assistant manager was rushing over, having heard the commotion from afar.

“Lumiere, this way.”

Karl said, leading her to the opposite corridor to avoid the commotion.

“There’s an interesting event happening in the bas*ment today. I thought it would be nice to watch it together, but can we still go like this?”

“The bas*ment?”

The entire bas*ment floor was the Gray Club House.

“But I’m not a member of that club, am I? Or, wait, am I a member?”

Lumiere’s eyes widened in surprise.

She was a poster artist employed by the opera house.

Although she was more of a contract worker than a regular employee, it still felt a bit awkward for an employee to enter as a member of the place where she was contracted.

He closed his mouth for a moment as if contemplating and then answered a beat later.

“You are…… a special member. A Royal Platinum grade, the only one of its kind.”

“You just made that up, didn’t you?”

At her suspicious words, Karl only showed a mysterious smile.

See, he can’t even answer.

As if to cover Lumiere’s astonished gaze, a black mask suddenly popped forward.

“Take this first.”

“What is this?”

“Something you need to enter.”

He answered nonchalantly and took out a half-mask similar to the one he gave her, made of black leather with gold embroidery, and put it on.

The two masks looked similar, making them unmistakable partners.

Lumiere, who was hesitating, also put on the mask.

She was curious about what the ‘interesting event’ he mentioned would be.

And she was also curious to know what kind of place the Gray Club was.

Karl, watching Lumiere put on the mask, extended his arm and said,

“Hold on tight. We’re going to a place with many bad people.”

“Saying it like that makes it sound scary.”

“What’s there to be scared of? I’m here.”

A murky gray world.

The one who created the Gray Club.

Karl Winger, who received grand praise as the master of indulgence and art, but everything about him was a lie.

Karl led her to the entrance to the bas*ment with a heavy, sunken gaze.

In truth, despite its characteristic secrecy, it was a place that revealed nothing special once uncovered.

A place where all sorts of worldly greed and the money supporting it ran rampant.

“Now that I think about it, isn’t the owner of the place with many bad people the worst person there?”

At Lumiere’s whisper, Karl responded with a smile like a villain luring a child with candy.

“It’s alright, I’m just a figurehead.”

……Goodness! Who would believe that?

Shaking her head, Lumiere tightly gripped Karl’s solid arm as they descended the stairs.

The grand entrance of the club opened wide as if to welcome her.

* * *

The bas*ment was truly another world.

She had heard that there were all kinds of people in the world, but she never imagined there could be such a variety of crazy individuals.

Moreover, being a member of the club likely meant they were upper-class nobility or wealthy capitalists.

“……Does money drive people crazy, or do crazy people make money?”

Lumiere looked in amazement at a man walking around with buffalo horns as tall as a child on his head.

Behind him, a woman wearing a mask replicating peacock tail feathers followed him gracefully like she was dancing.

Lumiere, who was blankly watching their procession, quickly came to her senses and turned her head.

No matter how unusual, staring too intently was impolite.

“Are those people perhaps from a foreign country?”

Lumiere asked in a low voice, worried others might hear, and Karl looked at her with eyes as if he was watching a small, cute forest friend and whispered.

“That’s the Carnival Room. They hold their own festival there once a week. It might look a bit bizarre. They know it too, which is why they only release such desires here.”

“……Ah.”

It seemed they were releasing their desires here, which they couldn’t outside.

I see. Because there’s a place that guarantees secrecy, they can freely unleash their desires.

If they could enjoy it healthily, a method like that didn’t seem bad.

As Lumiere looked at that place with interest, a man in a rabbit mask who was entertaining guests in the room took off his hat and greeted her.

Then, as if inviting her over, he extended his hand towards her.

“……!”

Before Lumiere could react, her view was blocked by a large hand.

“Be careful, Lumiere. This place is more dangerous than you think for you to handle.”