Chapter 12
Belita let out a faint sigh and stepped down from the carriage. The coachman belatedly tried to take her hand, but Belita shook her head.
Once Belita was fully off the carriage, Tarchen turned toward her.
“Where is it?”
Belita pulled a slip of paper out of her dress pocket.
“Give it to me.”
Tarchen tried to take the paper from her hand, but Belita raised it. He lifted an eyebrow slightly as he looked at her.
“I’ll find it myself.”
Her reply was firm. She already disliked Tarchen from earlier, and she didn’t want to rely on him unnecessarily.
Tarchen tilted his head slightly.
“Will you be able to find it?”
“Yes. It’s not like I can’t read.”
The note was complicated, but the directions were written in detail. The butler had gone ahead once and written them down.
As Belita was reading the note, Tarchen spoke beside her.
“Just reading it and actually walking there are very different things. I’ll find it.”
He reached for the paper in her hand, but Belita stepped back. At that moment, her foot caught on a stone, and she fell backward. Instantly, Tarchen pulled her waist toward him.
His solid body pressed against hers. Strangely, there was no smell of sweat in his breath, even though he always complained about being stuffy inside and stayed outdoors.
No—there was a scent. Dry grass.
That was the smell Tarchen had.
Belita felt oddly unsettled. More than that, Tarchen didn’t release the arm around her waist and stared at her intently. His lowered gaze. Unlike his usual sly tone, his face looked more serious than ever.
Unfamiliar with this side of him, Belita avoided his eyes.
“Thanks for stopping me from falling.”
Tarchen slowly let go. Belita brushed off her dress for no reason and lifted her chin.
“Let’s go.”
Tarchen followed without a word.
I thought he’d mock me the whole way, saying this wasn’t the right road.
But he was strangely quiet.
Finding his obedience unsettling, Belita glanced at him. He was frowning as he looked ahead. His masculine jawline, sharp eyes, and slightly tanned skin made him look unapproachable, but now his expression was harsher than ever.
Belita spoke calmly.
“Relax your face. Someone might think you’re going to kill someone.”
Tarchen laughed.
“Have you seen me do that?”
“Do what?”
“Kill someone.”
His voice was low. Startled, Belita frowned.
“No.”
“What do you think it’d be like if I really did?”
“Are you crazy?”
When she looked at him in shock, Tarchen lowered his head close to her face. Their eyes met, and the corner of his lips lifted.
“I’m joking.”
“……”
“You take it seriously.”
Still smiling, he stepped back. Belita stopped abruptly. Tarchen stopped as well and looked down at her.
“You think just because my father trusts you, you can say anything to me?”
Tarchen didn’t answer. His ash-gray eyes darkened slightly.
“Watch what you say. There are things you can say to me—and things you can’t.”
Belita walked ahead first.
Why does Father keep Tarchen around?
She couldn’t understand it. He had no manners, and everything he said was crude.
At a fork in the road, she didn’t hesitate and turned right.
“I don’t think this is it.”
At the sudden voice, Belita looked up. Tarchen gestured ahead.
“This is where we were earlier.”
Belita stiffened and looked around. A red brick house stood nearby. Now that she thought about it, she had passed it before.
She hurriedly checked the note. A line was drawn near the red brick house—exactly where she was heading.
“No. It says we pass through here…”
Tarchen stepped beside her and bent down slightly. His shadow suddenly covered her. He was tall enough to block her entirely.
An unfamiliar sensation surrounded her. Feeling strange, Belita lowered the note.
“It’s definitely here.”
When Tarchen looked at her, she quickly stepped aside, escaping his presence.
“This way.”
She stared straight ahead, not looking at him.
“Belita.”
His low voice irritated her. It was different from his usual teasing tone. She didn’t respond and kept walking.
“Do you know how many times we’ve gone in circles?”
His voice flew from behind. Belita finally stopped.
“We’ve gone around the same damn place three times.”
At the crude word, Belita turned sharply. Tarchen twirled his finger in a circle.
“You—”
When she glared at him, he smiled.
“We’re really going around the exact same place.”
He spoke slowly, emphasizing each word. When she stayed silent, he walked up and held out his hand.
“Give it to me.”
Only then did Belita turn away.
“No. I can find it.”
At her firm refusal, Tarchen lowered his hand with a smile.
“Are you sure? Places like this can only be found by someone like me.”
“It’s your first time here too.”
“It is, but alleys like this are all the same.”
His boast annoyed her. She had always thought of Tarchen as beneath her, rude and uncultured.
What would he know?
She had always been good at finding places with notes like this. The alley just seemed more complicated today.
After carefully reading the note again, she confidently pointed to the left fork.
“It’s here.”
Tarchen snorted.
“Ah, I know roads like this well.”
Belita glared at him once, then walked ahead again.
But the deeper they went, the darker the atmosphere became.
This should be the right way…
Unease crept into her heart, but she kept walking.
The alley became a mess. Rotten doors barely hung in place, and one side of the street was smeared with vomit. Belita frowned and turned her head.
With every step, the surroundings grew more miserable.
She had never seen a place like this. No—she had never seen a world like this.
People stared with pale, lifeless faces. Some held out broken bowls and asked her for money. Others simply stared ahead blankly.
“Money… please give me money!”
Someone approached her directly this time. Startled, Belita stepped back. Tarchen moved in front of her. At his glare, the person quickly retreated.
Tarchen turned to her.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes.”
She only nodded. Tarchen moved closer beside her.
“We’ve probably entered an undeveloped area.”
He spat out what he had been chewing.
“There are places like this?”
“Didn’t you know? Some people here used to do well in the capital, but their trading companies collapsed and they couldn’t pay their debts, so they ended up living here.”
The words shocked her. To fall overnight after being successful…
“Then… they have to live like this?”
They looked like animals. They were people, yet they felt like something else. Some even crawled toward her begging for money.
Tarchen spoke slowly.
“Yes. If they don’t die, they survive in places like this.”
There was no trace of laughter on his face now.
“If you don’t have money, this is what happens. You become pitiful and filthy.”
Belita had no words. She never wanted to fall into such a place.
Then someone suddenly jumped out from between the alleys. Belita flinched and stepped back, and Tarchen grabbed her shoulder.
Since this was her fault for coming here, she spoke while looking ahead.
“Sorry.”
Tarchen sighed lightly.
“Shall we go back?”
As she nodded and turned, beggars suddenly swarmed in. They stared at her clothes. The glossy fabric clearly looked expensive.
“Fuck.”
Startled, Belita looked up. Tarchen pushed her back against the wall.
“Stay here. I’ll deal with them.”
“Tarchen—”
“Those rat-like bastards only need a few punches… ah, those vagrants. Anyway, they can’t beat me.”
Belita couldn’t speak. When she looked at him stiffly, he warned her,
“Don’t go anywhere. Stay here.”
Then, without fear, Tarchen walked toward them.
He struck the rushing man skillfully with his fist. Even when they pulled out knives, he dodged lightly, hitting only enough to knock them down.
The many beggars soon crawled on the ground, groaning.
Tarchen grabbed one man by the hair.
“If you’ve got eyes, you should know who to pick fights with. Huh?”
When the man nodded weakly, Tarchen released him irritably. Groans filled the alley as he stood up.
He turned at once and walked back to Belita.
For some reason, he looked unfamiliar as he approached. He stopped in front of her, his shadow covering her completely. Their eyes met.
Then he smirked.
“You look like you’ve fallen for me.”
