Chapter 22
Noxia quietly held out both hands toward him. Jade soaked a cotton pad with a suitable amount of disinfectant and carefully began to wipe the scrapes on her palms.
His movements were as devoted as if he were handling the most sacred and fragile treasure in the world. As though every motion were part of a holy ritual, he meticulously wiped away the traces of blood and dirt.
Since Jade was also barehanded, their skin inevitably touched. The warmth of Jade’s hand against Noxia’s was hot. It wasn’t damp or unpleasant—just gently cozy, like a pocket heater.
A sound almost escaped the tip of her tongue. Noxia had to bite her lip tightly so she wouldn’t let out an embarrassing noise. Thinking he must have noticed how stiff she’d become made her so ashamed she could hardly breathe.
“Now I’ll apply the ointment.”
Jade remained consistently polite, as if completely unaware of her tension or embarrassment.
He set the stained cotton aside and opened a second container. Upon the skin that had stung from disinfectant, he gently spread a soft, milky ointment.
This moment tickled even more than before. Without realizing it, Noxia squeezed her eyes tightly shut. Jade focused solely on the wound. His touch was just as gentle as earlier.
“All done.”
After wrapping a thin bandage over the treated area, Jade spoke kindly. When his hand finally withdrew, Noxia felt relieved—and at the same time painfully regretful.
“Thank you, my lord.”
Noxia forced her voice to sound as normal as possible. Just trying to meet his gaze and hold an ordinary conversation made her feel faint.
“Treatment is finished now, so once you finish your tea, you can get up. No rush—drink slowly, Miss Deccan.”
“Yes, my lord.”
“And today’s tea is on me. You don’t need to repay me for the medicine either.”
“Oh, no, please. Since you were kind enough to help me, I should at least pay—”
“It’s fine, Miss Deccan. It was kindness I offered on my own accord. For the sake of my peace of mind, allow me to pay for the tea and the medicine. Please.”
His manner remained unfailingly courteous, yet the substance of his words was stubborn. What a strange person, Noxia thought. Still, she had no choice but to accept again.
“…Thank you, my lord.”
Prince or nobleman, it didn’t matter. For the second day in a row she had run into noble gentlemen who approached her as they pleased and showered her with “kindness,” and it gave Noxia a headache. Enough to make her never want to get involved again.
What good is a handsome face? What use is pleasant scenery for the eyes? Just sitting and talking with them drains every ounce of energy.
Truthfully, her conversation with the prince the day before had been fairly enjoyable, and the peach tea he recommended had been delicious. And today Jade Lanon had treated her kindly from beginning to end.
Even so, she didn’t feel like getting any closer to them. The psychological burden of simply being around such high-ranking people far outweighed the pleasure of conversation or good tea.
So she hoped never to meet again. Meeting by chance at social gatherings in the same city was unavoidable, perhaps—but sitting face-to-face like this, alone… never again…
…Really? Do you really never want to see him again?
Noxia’s gaze trembled as she looked at Jade. A strange desire welled up inside her chest.
That won’t do.
Saying she never wanted to see him again had been a lie. Whatever she felt about Prince Elenon, her feelings toward Jade Lanon were quite different. She… that man…
“Once you finish your tea, I’ll escort you home. The roads are too congested to call for a private carriage, so… would it be alright if I walked you there?”
Jade’s gentle question snapped Noxia back to her senses. Almost by habit now, she answered:
“Of course, my lord. Thank you.”
After that, the two drank their tea in silence. Both cups had cooled considerably.
When they finished, they rose together. Once again, Jade opened the door for her, and Noxia stepped out into the corridor.
Thanks to resting comfortably in the soft seat, her legs no longer shook as they had earlier. She was relieved—and proud—to be able to walk firmly on her own feet again.
Jade paid for the tea at the counter. Then the two stepped out onto the sidewalk. The sky was now completely drenched in deep indigo. Noxia looked back at Jade.
“Where are you staying, my lord?”
“I don’t have a separate residence in the capital, so I’m staying at a hotel.”
“I see. I live in a rented house on West District, 17th Street. I’ll lead the way.”
“I’ll follow.”
They walked toward Noxia’s home together. Leaving the busy streets of cafés and restaurants behind, a quieter residential area unfolded, and the silence around them grew deeper.
Suddenly, something felt off. Noxia realized belatedly that she hadn’t heard a sound she should have heard earlier while passing through the city.
Didn’t a fire alarm go off earlier? In that empty building?
Suspicion rose in her mind. She clearly remembered the piercing alarm echoing through that deserted building.
Had it truly been someone’s prank? Or a malfunction? If there had been no real fire, then it made sense that everything had remained peaceful.
But even if it was a malfunction, once an alarm rang, the fire department should’ve come to confirm it. Yet when she left the tea shop, there had been no commotion nearby.
…It must have happened while the lord and I were still inside the café, that’s all.
Noxia reasoned logically. Since she and Jade had stayed in the tea shop for quite a while, everything had probably already been taken care of by the time they came out.
Satisfied with that conclusion, she decided to brush off the lingering unease.
Silence continued. Noxia glanced sideways at Jade. He kept his eyes forward, walking quietly. In the dark, his profile looked hazy and beautiful, like a fragment of a dream.
It was hard to believe such an unreal man was actually walking her home.
Noxia opened her mouth to say something—then closed it again, afraid the illusion might shatter.
They reached the street leading to 17th Street in the West District. If they turned the corner and walked a little farther, her rented house would appear, but she didn’t want to guide a barely-acquainted nobleman all the way to her doorstep.
She turned to Jade. At the same time, he stopped as well, looking at her gently. Noxia spoke.
“If you turn right here, it’s immediately there. I think I can go alone from here.”
“Understood, Miss Deccan. Please take care on your way.”
He was courteous and kind to the very end. He didn’t say anything implying they should meet again, and Noxia, who hadn’t expected such a thing anyway, calmly suppressed the irrational disappointment rising inside her.
“You too, my lord. Thank you again for today, for helping me and treating me to tea.”
“Think nothing of it. And be careful not to get your wound wet.”
“I will.”
They exchanged polite farewells. Noxia tried hard not to feel dizzy at the sight of Jade’s smile glowing like a star in the dark night.
Jade waited until Noxia turned away first. He watched her retreating figure until it completely disappeared from sight. Only then did he slowly turn around.
He listened carefully in the silence. Noxia’s footsteps were no longer audible. Relieved, he vanished into the darkness.
It wasn’t time to return to the hotel yet. There was something he needed to take care of first.
The four men who had fled from the fire alarm ran all the way to the opposite side of the city just to be safe.
Complaining about their bad luck and ruined mood, they eventually ducked into a bar they found along the road.
Soon, they drank again. One man left early, saying he was going home first.
The remaining three continued drinking heavily. Well past midnight, they were practically kicked out by the bar owner.
Linking arms and slinging their arms over each other’s shoulders, they staggered down the street, singing loudly and exchanging slurred, filthy jokes.
Some people glared at them with annoyance; others hurried away in fear.
Before long, there was no one around them. At such a late hour, that wasn’t strange.
However, the suffocating stillness that fell over the area—so deep that not even a faint breeze could be heard—was strange. As if the space surrounding them had been completely sealed off from the rest of the world.
But they didn’t notice. They were too drunk, too busy with crude jokes and hoarse singing.
Then one of them stopped walking first. He blinked several times through alcohol-clouded vision, trying to confirm what he was seeing.
“Am I… seeing things…?”
“Huh? What?”
“Look. Over there. Isn’t that… a person?”
One man slurred, another frowned, and the first man lifted a thick finger and pointed.
The being indeed had the shape of a person. But on closer inspection, it was riddled with chilling abnormalities that made it impossible to truly call it human.
Its face, bleached white in the moonlight, was eerily beautiful. Its smooth skin had the sacred, foreign quality of marble or white jade rather than human flesh.
Its short hair was darker than the night sky, shimmering like silk thread. Its brows were neat and dark, and its equally black eyelashes were long and fluttered faintly.
Beneath them, irises encircling deep pupils shimmered like the bottomless lake of a winter night—dizzying to gaze into for too long. Beautiful, yet so cold one felt they might freeze upon the slightest touch.
The creature’s beauty did not end there. From its perfect face, down the line of its neck, and to the body hidden beneath immaculate clothing, it radiated an indescribably alluring, otherworldly presence.
The men sobered instantly, standing frozen in place. In the middle of the silent street, the three of them stood like fools, mouths agape, staring blankly at the strange being before them.
