A Butterfly Through the Mist - Chapter 103

Tilia, who had been standing dazed for a moment, hurriedly stepped into the room with a belatedly alert expression. Then she calmly began checking her belongings.

Fortunately, she had kept her most valuable item on her person—the butterfly-shaped ring. She had made it into a necklace and always wore it around her neck.

‘I also deposited the money into the Arkansis bank just in case, so there shouldn’t be any major losses…’

Trying to convince herself of that, Tilia was just about to lift the opened suitcase when she sensed something from the direction of the open window.

Someone’s there.

The moment she sensed it, her body froze.

Tilia held her breath and focused all her attention on the presence near the window. A black figure that looked like a thief clung motionlessly to the window, seemingly observing the situation inside.

She debated whether to scream, but then bit her lip, remembering that there were no proper guards here.

She should have listened to Ilex. She was angry at herself for being so stubborn.

He had warned her it was dangerous. That the crime rate was high. She should’ve just ignored her pride and stayed where Ilex had told her to…

Even while caught up in belated regret, Tilia scanned the room, looking for anything she could use as a weapon.

It only took a second for a petty thief to turn into a violent robber. She needed to have something in her hand, just in case.

But all she could see was a single fountain pen.

‘If I stab properly with the nib, it should work well enough as a weapon.’

Deciding on the sharp-nibbed pen as her self-defense tool, Tilia slowly reached toward it.

‘Just a bit more, just a little more.’

Sweat formed on her back from the tension of not being able to make a sound.

‘Almost there…!’

Just as she finally touched the pen with the tips of her fingers—moving without a sound—the figure at the window, having sensed her movement, suddenly flung the window open.

He’s coming in. The masked man was about to enter the room with her as the target. Tilia gripped the pen tightly.

Bang—! A loud noise burst from behind her along with a rush of cold wind.

“Tilia!”

Only after hearing someone call her name did she realize the sound was from the door opening, and the wind had rushed in through the new gap.

Someone pulled her back into a firm embrace. She felt hot body heat against her back. A scent both familiar and foreign filled her nose and overwhelmed her mind.

“Tch…!”

At the same time, the figure at the window, who had seemed ready to pounce at any moment, fell away from the frame as if retreating.

Staring blankly at the thief fleeing in an instant, Tilia turned around a beat later.

She saw a stiff jaw and, soon after, trembling blue-gray eyes.

It’s Ilex.

Tilia stared at him with a slightly dazed expression as he urgently shielded her with his body.

Of course. It’s Ilex Davenport.

“Are you hurt?”

Having hastily checked the area to confirm no one else was around, Ilex scanned Tilia up and down, asking with a face even paler than hers.

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

“…No. I didn’t even come face-to-face with him.”

Apparently not satisfied, he touched around her neck and shoulders before finally letting out a shaky breath.

Looking as though he had much more to say, he furrowed his brows, then suddenly pulled her into a tight embrace.

“Please, just listen to me.”

And in a voice so soft it could only be heard this close, he whispered, “It’s not like I’m asking anything unreasonable.”

Despite the fading tone of his voice, the arms wrapped around her were strong.

Only once she was held in his embrace and her tension subsided did Tilia realize just how tightly wound she’d been.

She was still trembling slightly in his arms when she finally summoned the courage to return the embrace—just as…

“Your Grace, we tracked the fleeing criminal and—! Oh, oh my.”

A tall, rough-looking man rushed in, only to quickly retreat in a panic.

Only then did Tilia remember this wasn’t a sealed room—it was a ransacked inn room. Embarrassed, she hurriedly pulled herself from Ilex’s arms.

“Come in.”

Ilex, allowing himself to be pushed away without resistance, ordered the man outside.

“You said you caught him?”

“Yes, but…”

The large man entered with an awkward expression, hesitating under Tilia’s gaze. Seeing this, Ilex slightly furrowed his brows and gave a small nod.

“I’ll come shortly.”

“Yes, sir!”

The man, with the disciplined movements typical of a knight, gave a formal salute to the Duke before stepping back outside.

Tilia, who had been listening in with a hand over her pounding chest, unknowingly tilted her head.

‘Isn’t he just a petty thief? Why did he trail off like that…’

“What’s that in your hand?”

Her train of thought, filled with confusion, was cut short by Ilex’s remark.

Only then did Tilia realize she was holding a cumbersome paper bag in her hand. She looked down.

The handle of the bag she had gripped tightly in her tense hands was crumpled and damp. Still, the red lettering printed on the brown exterior stood out clearly.

“Devil of the Night. Men rule the world, but women rule those men.”

The store’s blunt name and its absurd slogan—likely meant to be catchy—came into view.

As she registered what this was and remembered what she had just bought, a different kind of cold sweat began to run down her back.

“…Devil of the Night?”

Turning her head so stiffly it almost creaked, she saw Ilex staring curiously at the paper bag.

“What exactly did you buy…”

Just as he began asking in a genuinely puzzled tone—

“I-it looks like just a petty thief, doesn’t it?”

Tilia cut him off, desperately changing the subject.

“The way the room was rifled through and how he ran—he totally looked like a thief.”

“…We can’t be sure yet. He hasn’t been interrogated.”

“Is interrogation even necessary? You could probably tell just from what he tried to steal.”

Saying that, Tilia subtly tried to hide the paper bag behind her and gently push Ilex toward the door.

“Just go ahead. I’ll organize my things and check—”

“Before that.”

But as always, Ilex Davenport wasn’t an easy opponent. With that annoyingly sharp intuition of his, he narrowed his eyes and asked, “What are you holding?”

“It’s nothing. I just bought a few things.”

“What kind of things? Show me.”

At those words, Tilia scowled deliberately to mask her embarrassment.

“Do I have to report every single thing I buy to you?”

“Not necessarily, but considering the situation right now…”

Still, Ilex remained calm and unshaken.

“Just in case, let me see. The thief might have followed you from that store.”

“…I bought it just a while ago, so there’s no way that happened.”

Tilia’s persistent effort to hide it eventually made a crack form between Ilex’s brows.

“Hand it over, Tilia. It’s obvious it’s not just daily necessities.”

“……”

“You think I can’t track down that store? I don’t want to go snooping around to figure out what you bought there, so just tell me yourself.”

Faced with his demand, Tilia’s face turned even redder. He said “snooping around” as if it would take effort, but it really wouldn’t. “Devil of the Night” was the kind of store name that stood out clearly just outside the inn.

“Tilia.”

“…It’s personal.”

She tried to sound defiant, but Ilex’s expression only hardened.

The atmosphere around him was growing increasingly intense.

Faced with the look that suggested he might wrest it from her by force, Tilia bit her lip repeatedly before finally murmuring in a crawling voice, “A lingerie shop…”

“Didn’t catch that. Say it louder.”

He usually heard every little mutter, but now he was pretending to be deaf.

With eyes full of resentment to mask her shame, Tilia snapped at him again. “A lingerie shop. I bought underwear. Happy? Now you know it had nothing to do with the thief.”

With that final sentence—one she had absolutely not wanted to say—a heavy silence filled the chaotic room.

Ilex, whom she had fully expected to tease her, only stared at her with slightly widened eyes, then tilted his head as if confused.

“You bought underwear?”

“……”

“Why?”

He sounded genuinely baffled.

“Why would you go out of your way to buy underwear on the day you return home?”

At that, Tilia’s face turned an even deeper shade of red. Embarrassed as if her true feelings had been exposed, her toes curled in her shoes.

“That’s strange…”

Seemingly oblivious to her reaction, Ilex just mumbled on.

“You sure you’re not lying?”

“Why would I lie to you about something like this?”

“Who knows. You always hide strange things.”

“When have I ever—!”

“Then show me. Prove it’s really underwear.”

He shamelessly cut her off and demanded.