MLFIOH | Chapter 23

Episode 23

Before the wounds he revealed could tear her chest apart, Yeorae quickly turned away. In that state, the main dish began to be served.

And then, an incident no one had foreseen occurred.

The cause of the incident was something so modest—a grilled fish barely visible amidst the extravagant feast.

A wooden skewer was stuck into the perfectly grilled fish.

Oh no.

Yeorae’s breath caught in her throat as she noticed it. Before her brain could issue the command, her body moved first.

But because she had been standing in place for too long, her legs wobbled and failed to move forward.

No one saw her falling.

Because at that moment, Leandros let out a scream and overturned the table.

Lilian’s scream echoed sharply through the room.

Shards of plates scattered across the dark marble floor like raindrops.

Leandros drew a dagger from his coat and aimed it at the servants who were approaching him.

“D-Duke…”

“Don’t… don’t come near me. If you come any closer, I’ll cut you.”

Pain contorted his face. The hand gripping the dagger so tightly that veins bulged trembled violently. His body was no longer responding to the commands of his brain—it was completely out of control.

Yeorae immediately tore her petticoat, wrapped the grilled fish in it, and pushed it into the shadows where candlelight didn’t reach. Then she slid from her chair and rushed to the cold floor, where she helped Lilian, who had collapsed.

“Miss, are you all right?”

Lilian flinched in terror at the unexpected touch on her shoulder, but relaxed when she saw who it was. Goosebumps had risen on her porcelain-like skin.

“M-More than me, the Duke is…”

“He’s only acting that way because of a bad experience on the battlefield.”

Yeorae whispered to Lilian the story of the incident from the war.

On the clearest day, a box sent from the enemy camp—and the cruel gift it contained.

Ah… Lilian let out a quiet moan.

Leandros clutched his face tightly as if to shield himself from the crashing wave of memories, his back curled inwards.

Lilian cautiously approached him.

What happened next… Yeorae didn’t know.

She couldn’t bear to watch what came after and left the dining hall. Someone called her name, but even that sounded like it was coming from very far away.

Warm rain was falling from the evening sky.

This was right. No one might recognize her efforts, but she had made the correct choice.

It was something to be proud of. She deserved to be praised.

However, both her cheeks were already drenched. Tears kept welling up inside her eyes and flowing endlessly.

‘I love you, and you remember me too—so why must we run on parallel lines?’

You know… the truth is, I wanted to hold you in my arms and comfort you…

“……”

Silently crying, she stopped when she saw a familiar figure.

Sylas, who had left before sunset, was leaning against a wall, completely drenched in the rain. A red bruise, as if struck by someone, had bloomed across his cheek.

From the slightly ajar window, wind and rain poured in, extinguishing the candles. Their shadows overlapped side by side in the darkness.

For some reason, Sylas’s outline in the dim summer twilight looked very different from Leandros’s.

“Rainy days make everyone a bit more sentimental.”

He took off his soaked outer coat and placed it over Yeorae’s head. Then together, they sank deeper into the darkness.

“It’s the perfect night for painting.”

Water dripped from Sylas’s clothes, leaving marks on the floor of the studio.

In the silence where only the sound of rain flowed, Sylas reached under the red-draped sofa and pulled out a bottle of alcohol.

He deftly popped the cork with a carving knife and handed the bottle directly to Yeorae.

“Here. Drink.”

“No, I can’t. I’m still on duty…”

“By my order, you’re off duty. So now, you’re done working.”

“If I get caught drinking, I could be fired, sir. I already left work in the middle of my shift…”

“Who dares fire you? When I’m watching you with my own two eyes like this. Even my brother can’t fire you.”

Sylas frowned in displeasure. The bruise on his cheek stood out even more as wrinkles formed on his face.

“Don’t be so polite. Just look at yourself right now.”

Go on, take it. Sylas nudged the bottle toward her.

Yeorae hastily wiped her tears and snatched the bottle’s neck, making an excuse.

“I-It’s just that today was rough. I haven’t been away from home for long, and it’s my first time doing this kind of work…”

“There are many reasons we feel sadness. I think even a grown adult should cry when they want to.”

Sylas pulled out another bottle from under the sofa.

He picked a medium-sized canvas, set it on the easel, and rolled up his wet pant legs.

The damp smell of fabric soaked in rain reached Yeorae’s nose.

“By the way, who hit your face?”

“Oh, this?”

Sylas rubbed the swollen cheek.

“I got thrown out after causing a scene at a bar. It’s lucky I was hit on the cheek. If I’d been punched in the jaw, I might’ve lost a few teeth—or dislocated it.”

“Is it okay to hit a noble like that?”

“I’m not treated like a noble in this territory. How funny would it be if a guy ignored by his brother at home walked around pretending to be a noble outside?”

He snorted at the image, but Yeorae didn’t laugh.

“Anyway, what the hell happened in the dining room? I heard something explode and a woman screaming. I thought the ceiling collapsed or something.”

“A dish was served with a skewer, and the Duke got startled.”

“A skewer?”

Sylas repeated, confused, then responded with an “ah” when he grasped the situation.

Even if they weren’t close, he at least knew that much about his brother’s trauma.

Right after giving that answer, Yeorae locked the door to her memories. She didn’t want to revisit the dining hall scene anymore—specifically, Leandros being comforted by Lilian.

Lilian probably comforted him well. She’s a kind person, after all. And his destined partner.

“This’ll do.”

Sylas took out a backless chair, placed it by the rain-streaked window, and asked,

“Do you know the fastest way two people become close in a short time?”

“Hmm… by sharing a drink?”

“That’s not wrong, but there’s an even surer way. Sharing secrets, one by one. Come, sit here.”

Yeorae obediently followed his command but repeated his words and refuted them.

“But sharing secrets is just letting the other person know your weaknesses.”

“In other words, it’s revealing your own weakness to them. It’s like a cat showing its belly. You like cats, right?”

Sylas let out a gentle laugh and wiped his hands with a towel.

Then, he knelt on one knee in front of her, took off her shoes, guided her to stretch her legs comfortably, and naturally placed both hands on her thighs. Finally, he tilted her head to lean against the dark window.

“No, a bit more to the left. Like this.”

His fingertips on her face felt hot. As he untied her hair and let it fall messily down her back, he whispered near her ear.

“Your eyelashes are long.”

Dummy, they’re not even mine. Yeorae chuckled quietly as she took a swig straight from the bottle.

When she brought the lit candle closer, the window brightened, reflecting her image like a mirror.

Sylas checked her pose one last time, then turned to the canvas and firmly instructed:

“It’s perfect right now. Don’t move, okay?”

Yeorae hadn’t known the sound of a pencil dancing across a rough canvas could be this pleasant. While watching raindrops flutter like butterfly wings, she spoke quietly.

“Um… actually, I slept with a man I’d only known for a few days.”