4. The Maid
After that, Killian gazed at Emily in silence. His expression was serene, as if he were carefully observing her. What he had just said was that he had asked Philip, who had been guarding the entrance to the second-floor stairs, about her whereabouts.
Why did he come looking for me? Emily's bewildered eyes turned toward his calm face. Her transparent gray eyes met his deep, settled dark brown ones in the air, intertwining. For a moment, she felt her heart racing unexpectedly.
As the corners of his eyes narrowed slightly, Emily flinched and shrank her shoulders. She quickly lowered her gaze. Then he, who had been standing, approached her. As the tall man drew near, she swallowed dryly. Tension made her entire body tremble.
"You were reading a book, I see."
He lightly took the heavy book from her hands, glanced at the cover, and neatly placed it back on the shelf. Once the book was shelved, he turned his gaze toward Emily. The prickling sensation on the top of her head made her nerves taut.
"You were just about to leave, weren't you? Hmm."
After saying that, Killian turned and walked away with steady footsteps. Emily stood frozen in shock. He paused in his walking, went to the lamp by the sofa at the front of the bookshelves, and turned it off, plunging the front into darkness.
The study was illuminated only by the soft, faint light from the magical ceiling lamps that had been glowing even before the curtains were opened. Killian walked back between the bookshelves where Emily stood. In the dim lighting, the tall figure in a black suit made her spine tingle. Her heart pounded wildly.
In the heavy silence of the study, the sound of her heartbeat filled her mind, echoing loudly in her ears. In the quiet atmosphere where even her breathing felt noisy, she met his deep dark brown eyes again. His gaze was serene like a cold, still lake yet intensely piercing—unwavering and straight. Killian stared at Emily.
The dim study, shrouded in silence, felt suffocating, making it hard to breathe. Tension crept through the air. Emily clenched her hands slightly, hearing her thumping heartbeat.
"...I wonder why."
Breaking the quiet silence, Killian's low, murmured words flowed through the air. Then he approached her. As he drew close, Emily drew in a shallow breath from the tension. His settled dark brown eyes deepened as they looked down at her. His calm breathing sounded right in front of her. To steady herself, she clenched her fists so tightly that the veins on the back of her hands turned white.
In the quiet study, it seemed her heartbeat echoed impossibly loudly. What is he going to do?
The men Emily had seen so far were her kind father; the repulsive Mark; the violent young noble Olens; and the sleazy baron. Killian was also a young noble. Why would he, here, with me...?
His arm moved slowly. Then Killian's long fingers approached her eyes. He brushed her chin as if handling delicate glasswork, softly and gently. His touch stopped at the tip of her chin. Slowly bending his long fingers, he gently lifted her chin. As her face tilted up toward him, she met his dark eyes staring piercingly into her.
Emily instinctively lowered her gaze. Her veins tightened with tension. Killian stared for a long time at her downcast eyes, nearly closed, then lifted the corner of his mouth slightly. Slowly, his gaze sank downward, and a warm, soft touch gently pressed against Emily's lips. It was polite and cautious.
Emily's eyes snapped open in surprise as she looked up at him. Killian stood expressionless with a cool gaze. As she opened her mouth to say something, noise erupted outside the study, followed by the boisterous laughter of a man and a woman.
Amid the loud talking, there was a thud as something bumped against the study door.
"Hold on, this is the quietest spot I know."
The woman's voice was slightly slurred, as if she were drunk. It was a voice Emily recognized. Her eyes, filled with tension and curiosity, turned toward the door. The sound of fumbling with the doorknob came from outside.
At that moment, she felt a firm hand lightly around her waist, and Killian pulled her close, hiding them deep within the abundant folds of the curtains gathered in the corner of the bookshelves.
In the narrow space, surrounded by rippling curtain folds on all sides, the arm around her waist gripped tightly, pressing her body seamlessly against his. Behind her ear, where her heart pounded, she felt Killian's shallow breaths.
―Creeeak.
Through the thin gap in the curtains, she saw the heavy study door open as the two drunken pair stumbled in, giggling.
They were about the same height. And they were people she knew.
"Haah, it's really quiet."
"Right?"
Evril giggled, holding a champagne glass, in response to Ilroi's words. The two plopped down on the sofa. The faint light softly outlined their figures.
For some reason, they giggled for a while.
"That's enough drinking now."
"Ah, no. I don't wanna. I'm gonna get wasted. There's no big brother to stop me anyway."
"You're already drunk, Evril."
Clink. Ilroi roughly snatched the champagne glass from Evril's fingers and set it on the side table by the sofa.
"Hng. How dare the second son of a count family steal the Duchess's champagne?"
Evril pointed accusingly with a slurred tongue.
"Because you've had enough."
Ilroi replied with a frown. Evril burst into laughter again, then fell silent. Watching them, Emily felt a faint warmth on the nape of her neck. Killian, who had drawn closer, buried his nose against her nape and inhaled deeply. The arm around her waist tightened even more firmly. That area burned like fire.
Suddenly, the silent Evril outside the curtain reached out, grabbed Ilroi's shoulder with one hand, and shook it.
"Do you even know who I am?"
"Well, the most beautiful and noble person I know?"
As Ilroi grinned, Evril furrowed her brow.
"Ha, hilarious."
Evril relaxed her body, leaning deeply back into the sofa, and exclaimed in disbelief.
"...Why?"
When Ilroi asked, Evril twisted her mouth.
"Noble? What kind of word is that? Probably the same as 'filthy,' right?"
"What do you mean? Your Grace, the dignified and esteemed Duchess."
As Ilroi asked in an exaggerated theatrical tone, Evril sighed.
"Dignified? Esteemed? Ha. Big brother has no idea what I do every day. As that noble and dignified Duchess..."
Trailing off into silence, Evril suddenly stared at Ilroi with a bright voice.
"Anyway, I'm not a virgin anymore, so why don't we have some fun? Huh? Might as well enjoy the luxuries noble ladies get at the end a bit early. Once I go back to Raysha, there won't be chances like this. I struggled so much to escape Raysha. How about I do it in the position the next Kingston Duke likes? Hehe."
Finishing her words, Evril narrowed her eyes and kissed Ilroi on the lips.
At that moment, Emily felt a short sigh from behind her. An unpleasant aura spread from Killian, and the arm that had been holding her tightly loosened. Soon, Killian strode out from behind the curtain.
"Evril."
The sudden voice from behind startled the two. Evril and Ilroi jumped up from the sofa and stood straight.
"...Brother."
"...Killian."
As Killian glared, the two bit their lips and remained silently for a while. They looked like children caught doing something bad by an adult.
Killian let out a short sigh and reached out to grab Evril's wrist. At that moment, Evril resisted roughly.
"Let go, brother. If you were here hiding, that means you have something to be guilty about too."
Evril said, glaring at the curtain flap where Killian had emerged. In response, Killian firmly twisted her arm and led her.
"Evril, let's go."
Then he glared at Ilroi and said,
"We have family matters to discuss. Leave. And you—we have things to talk about too, so come along."
Evril, being dragged by her wrist, twisted her face toward Ilroi. Ilroi hesitated, then followed toward the door where the two had disappeared. His face clearly showed embarrassment.
Soon, the study fell quiet again, as if a storm of commotion had just passed. Emily emerged from behind the curtain. Her mind was a jumble. In that short time, incomprehensible events had happened one after another.
Suddenly, Emily touched the corner of her lips with her finger. The sensation was completely different from before. It had definitely touched. Warm and soft lips that she could never have imagined from his cold, aloof appearance.
Shaking her head to dispel the thought, Emily left the study and headed to the guest room in the Belpharos baron's residence.