Chapter 16. After the Escape

A promotional poster for the Grand Theater in the capital, proudly advertising that Ain Reveron has the leading role.

In other words, if I reveal my name here, it’s almost certain that my profession will be exposed as well.

Then, she would find out that all the acts I’ve been putting on as a host were nothing but lies, and…

‘I’ll probably get slapped at least.’

That would be troublesome.

Although today is a holiday, tomorrow he would need to take the stage again.

If he shows up with a bruise on his jaw and handprints on his cheek, the makeup artist would surely faint, and the troupe leader would definitely grab him by the collar.

‘…No.’

This isn’t it.

It didn’t matter if there were handprints on his face.

The makeup artist would hide the marks with makeup while foaming at the mouth, and even though the troupe leader would grab him by the collar, he would still send him to the stage on time.

What he wanted was, if possible, to reveal everything after the play was over.

His profession, his name.

After all, in just four more days, the play *The Little Duke Raskal* would come to an end.

Once he was completely freed from the role of Raskal, or rather, the fake Raskal, he wanted to confess.

He hoped she wouldn’t think of anyone else when she looked at him, even for a moment.

He wished to be remembered by her, even just a little, as less fake.

Even if it was all just his selfish desire, and perhaps, by then, the noblewoman might be so furious at his late confession that she would strike him with a knife instead of a slap.

He buried these thoughts within himself and remained silent.

In front of him, Serenia continued to exhale loudly, letting out sighs.

‘Why the hell would he hide his surname? Is he a descendant of a family destroyed for treason or something?’

She was lost in thought, becoming angry, when she suddenly froze.

‘…Huh?’

The thought that just crossed her mind seemed surprisingly plausible.

“Wait a second. No way… Could it be…?”

Ain awkwardly responded, unsure if he had been caught.

“Yes? What are you talking about?”

“Is there someone in your family who was caught for treason…?”

“…”

“Why are you being silent? Huh? You’re making me nervous!”

Flustered, Serenia stammered as she pressed him for an answer.

Even with her urging, Ain remained silent, only narrowing his eyes.

Meanwhile, Serenia’s face kept changing from pale to blue.

At that moment, she was seriously considering whether she should tear up the contract and run away.

Step.

Ain took a step forward and got closer to her.

Suddenly, the space between them shrank to the point where their breaths could be felt.

Serenia, already flustered, became even more so, unable to gather herself and began to panic.

He brought his mouth close to her ear and quietly spoke.

“Milady.”

“Ugh, uh, why, why, why?”

“Have you had any dealings with the Galut family?”

“…Yes?”

Serenia tilted her head, unsure why the name of a violent organization she had heard of once had come up.

However, the next moment, her expression froze.

She sensed that several people from a distance were closing in on them.

It wasn’t hostile, but it wasn’t friendly either—an unpleasant and ominous presence, maybe twenty people, or even more.

Having inherited the skills of her father, once known as the kingdom’s greatest swordsman, she was sharper than most knights when it came to sensing danger.

Without needing an explanation, she immediately realized the situation, and Ain whispered quietly.

“I’m sorry.”

“Why… Why would you be sorry?”

“If you aren’t a noblewoman, I think this might be my fault.”

At his response, Serenia widened her eyes and asked again.

“Did you… have dealings with the Galut family?”

“Yes.”

“Really? How did that happen?”

“The person who seemed like the boss of the place asked me to come to Salon Galut, and I rejected it quite strongly.”

“Ha? How strongly did you reject it?”

“I said I wouldn’t go under a rooster’s comb…”

“Excuse me?”

“Well, you see, the Galut family’s symbol is a rooster.”

“Ah.”

Serenia almost found herself agreeing, but she quickly snapped out of it and scolded him.

“No! You shouldn’t have done that! Do you think you have two lives?”

“So now, I regret it.”

“What’s the use of regretting it now!”

While the two were whispering as if they were almost embracing, the rough-looking men gradually closed in, surrounding them completely.

“Wow, this is a nice scene.”

“We’re working until the dawn, and here you are, just enjoying yourself with a woman.”

“Damn it. How can anyone live like this?”

Serenia and Ain exchanged glances as they half embraced.

Looking at the rooster tattoos on their hands, necks, and foreheads, it was clear they were from the Galut family.

However, they weren’t here to target anyone—it was obvious they were just looking for trouble.

Quickly assessing the situation, Ain turned around and hid Serenia behind him, acting like an ordinary commoner.

“Wh-what’s going on here? If there’s anything I can help with, just let me know.”

“Huh?”

“Take this coat, the wallet, the watch—everything. I’ll give it all to you. Just let me go safely…”

As soon as the words “let me go safely” left Ain’s mouth, the already menacing look of the thug gang became even more hostile.

“This bastard, suddenly hitting where it hurts?”

“Yes?”

“Shit. Did you really have to make it so obvious that if we don’t find her by today, we’re gonna end up at the bottom of the river?”

While Ain tried to understand what they meant, the thugs started grumbling with displeased expressions.

“Damn it. This damn Shederon place is so damn big.”

“Yeah. How the hell are we supposed to find a runaway woman in three days?”

“Looking at it, we’re definitely not finding her today.”

With those words, curses began to fly from every direction.

The man at the front of the group, with a self-deprecating smile, spat on the ground and said nonchalantly,

“So, since we’re gonna die anyway, let’s have a little fun before we end up at the bottom of the river.”

As soon as his words fell, the man standing next to him grabbed Ain by the shoulder, as if to crush it, and said,

“You said you’d help us earlier, right? Then get lost and leave the woman behind. We don’t want to waste any energy on a man.”

Ain’s gaze instantly turned cold.

“Oh? What are you gonna do if I glare at you like this? You may be taller, but you look like someone who’d fly away if I blew on you.”

He spoke threateningly as he grabbed Ain by the collar.

At that moment, a white hand appeared from somewhere, gently covering the thick hand with a rooster tattoo.

Then, there was a crackling sound as the joints popped, echoing across the riverbank at dawn.

“AAAHH!”

The thug screamed loudly as he rolled on the ground, clutching his wrist.

The rest of the thugs and Ain’s gaze turned to the owner of the white hand.

“Let go and leave. I’ll sue you for breach of contract.”

Serenia threatened with an angry tone, staring at Ain, who was still dazed.

The thugs, now realizing the situation, their eyes wide, rushed toward her.

Serenia skillfully avoided the first man’s grasp, grabbed his arm, spun around, and threw him to the ground.

Next, she precisely struck the advancing thug’s ankle with the heel of her boot, causing him to lose his balance and crash into the one running at her from the opposite direction.

What she inherited from her father wasn’t just the ability to sense danger.

She then dispatched a few more men with the same fluid motion, but with numbers on their side, there was no guarantee she could win.

Behind her, a large hand reached out and grabbed her by the hair.

Serenia barely managed to dodge the grip in time.

But in the process, the wave-style, light brown wig she wore as part of her disguise fell off.

As her long black hair cascaded down like a waterfall, the Galut family thugs froze, staring in shock.

“Wait, that…?”

“Isn’t that…?”

“No, it can’t be…”

The thugs, who hadn’t seen even a trace of her in the past three days, couldn’t process the situation of her suddenly appearing in front of them.

While they were momentarily stunned, Ain made his move.

“Milady, hold on tight.”

“What…?”

Before her question could finish, she was suddenly lifted into the air.

Ain had scooped her up in his arms.

Serenia let out a short scream, instinctively wrapping her arms around his neck.

At the same time, Ain bolted forward like a streak of lightning.

“Whoa?”

“Grab on!!”