Since I Don't Know Anything About It, Shall We Break Up, Your Majesty? - Chapter 40

What his fingertip was pointing at was the central billiard table where the match was currently in full swing.

So, that high-class billiard table fit for royalty… is in my house?

It was so absurd that she couldn’t even laugh.

Just… really literally, it was simply baffling.

“You and I often played billiards for stakes, and you won 7 out of 10 times. You’re that skilled.”

Come on, no way.

Lumiere looked alternately at Karl and the billiard table with subtle eyes.

Although she couldn’t remember, when he said such things had happened with those beautiful golden eyes, somehow it felt trustworthy.

‘…No, no. Even so, me?’

“…Even if I was good then, I don’t remember it now.”

“Did you remember how to shoot a gun?”

Lumiere raised her eyebrows and looked up at him as if wondering why that topic came up.

Karl brushed her disheveled hair and whispered gently.

“Who do you think taught you how to shoot?”

…No way?

“Who do you think taught you billiards?”

“…Really, you taught me all sorts of things.”

“You had an excellent talent for everything done with your hands.”

Saying that, he lifted Lumiere’s hand and kissed each fingertip.

“…Everything.”

Then he met her eyes and smiled a smile that seemed to melt, why did it look so lascivious?

Just as Lumiere was feeling herself heat up for reasons she didn’t understand,

“…Yes! The second challenger has defeated the third challenger and kept the king’s seat!”

With a start, their turn had come.

* * *

‘Oh well, whatever.’

With that mindset, she stood in front of the billiard table, arm in arm with Karl.

It was truly a feeling of resignation in the literal sense.

In fact, the mask she was wearing also made her bolder.

It wasn’t some grand tournament anyway, just a small event hosted by the club.

Even if she were to lose terribly here, it would just be losing a billiards bet.

In a place where secrecy was promised, wearing a mask and enjoying a bit of entertainment, she wondered what there was to be afraid of.

Is this why people wear masks?

With such a bold heart, she stepped onto the stage, and decided to enjoy it since it had come to this, grasping the billiard cue.

But then…

“Unbelievable! Truly, what amazing skilled players! The crown of today’s tournament goes to our third challengers!”

To think we’d go all the way to victory!

“Oh, this is…”

…Why did it turn out like this?

Lumiere looked at Karl with a dazed expression, holding the golden billiard cue handed to her by the host.

He smiled brightly and waved to the cheering crowd while wrapping his arm around her waist.

“I told you. I said you were good.”

Just as he said, the balls rolled exactly where she wanted them to, without the slightest error.

Moreover, she could instinctively sense where Karl wanted to pocket the ball and where he wanted the ball to go without even thinking about it.

‘…It’s almost like muscle memory?’

It was at a level where she played billiards not with thought, but with her body, with instinct.

And to think they even won the championship like that, how baggling could it be?

Lumiere and Karl, after responding earnestly to the enthusiastic cheers and toasts of the people, quietly slipped out of the event hall.

There were lounges where people could rest in the middle of the long corridor, and the two of them settled in one of them.

“How was it? Fun, right?”

Karl said as he handed Lumiere the champagne he had brought.

Lumiere looked at the golden stick she had ended up holding, then nodded her head with an incredulous laugh.

“…A little?”

“A little?”

Karl looked at her with narrowed eyes.

She rolled her eyes around and slightly corrected her words.

“…A little more than a little?”

“Hmm?”

They both looked at the golden shining cue stick at the same time, and as soon as their eyes met, they burst into laughter without anyone starting first.

“A lot! It was much more fun than I expected.”

Satisfied with Lumiere’s answer, Karl smiled with a subtly boastful face.
Finding it both annoying and funny, Lumiere couldn’t help but laugh along with him several times.

‘It was fun. Billiards!’

The thrill of pocketing the balls exactly where she wanted was beyond what she had imagined.

Moreover, doing it with a partner she was in sync with doubled the fun.

She understood why people loved billiards so much.

“I’m relieved you enjoyed it.”

“But is it okay for you to do this?”

“Hm? What do you mean?”

“The win. Isn’t it wrong for the owner to come out and take the prize?”

Karl asked gently with a smile in response to her words.

“Why would it be wrong?”

“Well… if you win, this event isn’t for the guests anymore, is it?”

“Who said this event was for them?”

Lumiere’s green eyes wavered in confusion at Karl’s retort.

“…It’s not?”

“This is just for fun. It’s not held ‘for’ anyone. Now, a question. Did today’s game give joy to the spectators or not?”

Come to think of it, the spectators didn’t seem to care who won among them.

They cheered when someone made a good shot, booed when someone made a sneaky shot, and watched the game casually.

But…

“Now, do you think anyone out there knows that I’m the owner of this place?”

“Probably… not?”

“Did we cheat or commit any fraud during the game?”

“Of course not.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

Well, winning itself isn’t the problem, but…

But my heart, my heart feels a bit uneasy, Mr. Karl Winger.

However, it was really difficult to explain this uneasiness in concrete words.

“…Still, wouldn’t those people feel bad if they knew?”

Karl chuckled softly at her words and said,

“So?”

“…Pardon?”

“If they feel bad, what are they going to do to me?”

He asked back with a gentle smile.

“Are they going to come and make a scene?”

She wondered what kind of fool would dare to make a scene with this man.

Come to think of it, most people didn’t even know what this man looked like.

Information about him was almost top secret, and he put proxies at the forefront of all his business activities.

Even if a few of his photos were taken, there was no newspaper that would dare to publish them.

He wasn’t called the Lord of Pleasure for nothing.

Karl was the one who held the gossip and scandals of the powerful, no less than the newspapers.

If articles about him started to break, it could only mean that Karl Winger had begun to fall.

“I’m touched that you see me as so soft. What should I do?”

Karl whispered, kissing the back of her hand.

It was clearly a beautiful smile, an elegant voice, and an impeccably dignified attitude.

‘…But why does it feel so much like a villain boss?’

Lumiere stared at his mesmerizing golden eyes and face with a strange look, then turned away.

She had worried for nothing.

Yes, she really worried for nothing.

Come to think of it, what’s wrong with him wanting to have some fun in his own territory?

Relieved of her worries, the champagne tasted even sweeter.

She put down her empty glass and stood up.

It was time to calm down and head back.

It was too late for a good lady to be out and about.

“Well, it’s fine. As long as it ended well. Now, I should go back…”

At that moment.

“Wait.”

Karl pulled her wrist as she was about to leave through the half-open curtain and embraced her.

His long, cold fingers touched her lips as she was about to ask why.

“Shh.”

The sudden contact tickled her nose with his deep, clear scent.

Her startled heart fluttered uncontrollably.

But before she could focus on that, a commotion was heard from outside.

“…Do you know how much money I paid you, you bastard!”

“You son of a b****, did you just push me? You want to try that again? Huh?”

“Oh, brother! Calm down, causing a scene here won’t do any good–”

“Yeah, try it! Go ahead! You lost to a woman in a game you were winning, and you still have the nerve to hold your head high?”

“Are you saying it’s my fault that I lost? Huh? Is it my fault?”

Startled by the rough voices, Lumiere grabbed the edge of the curtain and turned her gaze towards the commotion.

In a small gap next to the rest lounge.

Three large men were quarreling in a quiet passage where servants passed by.

“Looks like a fight broke out.”

And it was three grown men grabbing each other’s collars and fighting.

No, why are they doing this? Lumiere’s expression changed subtly as she looked at them with questioning eyes.

It was because the silhouette of one of the three men looked familiar.

“Huh? That person is…”