Chapter 22

The tangy finish suggested it was a lemon-based drink.

‘Finally, I feel alive again.’

Yvette held the glass in one hand and pressed the other firmly against the corners of her mouth.

Perhaps it was because she had forced so many smiles.

One more smile and she felt sure her mouth would start twitching.

That was when it happened.

“Yvette.”

A voice she had heard somewhere many times rang out behind her.

At the same time, a rough hand seized her shoulder.

“……Uncle?”

“I have something to say, so follow me at once.”

The moment she heard the voice, Yvette guessed who it was.

But before she could say a word, Baron Larishi dragged her out of the party hall.

She could see the surrounding nobles glancing over, but not a single one of them stepped forward to stop Baron Larishi.

They merely watched the situation with interested eyes.

‘What in the world is going on?’

Yvette stared at her uncle with an incredulous expression as she was led along.

Baron Larishi, whom she had not seen in a long time, was far thinner than before.

Perhaps because he had not been sleeping well, there were dark circles around his eyes, and his skin was rough.

Yet even seeing her uncle in such a state, Yvette felt no particular emotion.

“If you have something to say, say it here.”

By then, the two had left the party hall and were passing through a sparsely populated corridor.

Seeing the dim surroundings without a single proper light brought her sharply to her senses.

Instinctively, she felt she should not follow any further.

Only then did Yvette plant her feet and come to a stop.

When she did not follow and resisted, Baron Larishi turned back with a nervous look.

Then, through his rough lips, a voice laced with iron came out.

“If you don’t want to smear the Blanche name, then stop talking nonsense and follow me.”

“……Right now, the one smearing the Blanche name doesn’t seem to be me, but you, Uncle.”

Yvette let out a hollow laugh and roughly shook off Baron Larishi’s hand.

Perhaps his body had weakened in the meantime, for Baron Larishi’s grip fell away without strength.

Looking at her staggering uncle, Yvette spoke coldly.

“No matter how close family we are, one shouldn’t lay hands on another person so carelessly. Isn’t that something a noble should know?”

At her rebuke, Baron Larishi flinched, his shoulders trembling.

“Noble. Noble, is it……”

Baron Larishi slowly raised his head and faced Yvette.

The gaze that had once been kind was now filled with an unknowable madness.

“If only you, if only you weren’t here, I could have lived like a proper noble too……”

Baron Larishi muttered as if to himself. At the same time, his dazed expression contorted in an instant.

“If only you weren’t here……!”

Baron Larishi suddenly reached both hands toward Yvette’s throat.

At the unexpected attack, Yvette instinctively backed away.

But Baron Larishi was one step faster.

Whatever had suddenly given him such strength, Baron Larishi shoved Yvette against the wall.

“Ugh!”

With a ‘thud,’ a dull pain spread through her back.

At a pain she had never experienced in her life, Yvette let out a short groan.

“It should have been like this from the beginning.”

Baron Larishi muttered as he choked her.

His eyes had already lost focus.

‘This man, he’s not in his right mind.’

Just a little further from here was the party hall, packed with people.

And yet he was attacking her so openly.

It was not something a fool would do.

“Let…… go of me!”

Yvette struggled with all her might to escape Baron Larishi’s grip.

But Baron Larishi did not budge.

As if possessed by something, an overwhelming strength radiated from him.

It was around the time her strength was slowly draining away.

“……What do you think you’re doing?”

With a ‘crash,’ the hands squeezing her throat vanished in an instant.

It happened in the blink of an eye.

“Cough, cough.”

Yvette clutched her throat and coughed repeatedly. Drawing in all the air she had been deprived of at once made her dizzy.

When she turned her gaze to the side, she saw Baron Larishi collapsed on the floor.

Seeing that he was not moving, he seemed to have fainted.

“Are you all right, my lady?”

At the gentle voice falling from above her head, Yvette belatedly raised her head.

Only then did the person who had saved her come into view.

“If I hadn’t been here, you might have been in danger.”

The one who had helped her was a man with snow-white hair, half his face covered by a mask.

Yvette stared blankly up at the man.

‘Why does he feel familiar?’

When their eyes met, the man smiled brightly. Through the gap in one eyelid, a bright yellow eye gleamed vividly.

“You’re silent, so it seems you must be very startled, my lady.”

When she gave no answer, the man shrugged awkwardly.

Only then did Yvette come to her senses, a beat late.

“Ah, thank you for helping me.”

“I only did what any gentleman would. I’m glad a beautiful lady such as yourself wasn’t hurt.”

Unlike his almost excessively gentle voice, the man’s eyes sharply swept over her.

At the stark contrast, Yvette felt a chill run down her spine.

‘What an oddly unpleasant person.’

His attitude was certainly kind. Yet there was a sinister air about him that she could not quite put her finger on.

Yvette straightened her clothes and forced her expression into order.

“Um, I’m afraid I don’t know your name……. What should I call you?”

Still, a savior was a savior, so she thought it best to at least know his name.

But the man’s next answer made Yvette stiffen.

“My name is Alber Magnus. Please call me Viscount Magnus.”

“……Viscount Magnus?”

“Yes. You may have heard of me at least once.”

Viscount Magnus smiled brightly and nodded. At that, Yvette smiled awkwardly as well.

‘Of course I have. Of course I’ve heard of you.’

You’re the one who appears in the original story as the madman second only to Kerbel—how could I not know?