~CMWDD 02~
Chapter 2
Olentia’s gaze grew icy and sharp.
Though she had come out in a servant’s carriage, she worried that Sokor, ever vigilant, might have sent someone to tail her. So she got out a little distance away from Yulsa’s office, planning to walk slowly with Bobby.
But the Shine Street seemed to be celebrating some festival. From a side alley, a crowd of people poured out, clamorously shouting like crows, barging forward with reckless force.
Olentia frowned as she watched them.
“Hey, everyone! Let’s drink! Today is a drinking day!”
“The deer god has blessed us this day!”
“What on earth…?”
Before she knew it, Olentia was trapped by the crowd, unable to move, and had gotten separated from Bobby.
“Kya! Miss!”
“Bobby!”
It was her first time being left alone in such a crowd. Olentia frantically looked around for him.
Then it happened.
“Ah!”
A small, slight boy snatched the bag she was holding and slipped away from the crowd. Inside that bag was a significant amount of the contract money meant for Senior Yulsa.
“Wait! Come back here!”
But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t get through—they were far too strong.
After a long struggle, Olentia finally managed to push through the crowd and looked around for where the boy had gone.
“I think he went this way… maybe not?”
She turned into an alley and found herself at a famous weapons shop.
At that moment—ding dong!
A bell rang, and a man with an immense build stepped out of the shop.
His face was as white as if painted with plaster.
No—his face wasn’t just white. The man wore a pure white bauta mask that covered his entire face. His black hair was neat, and his shoulders were broad and imposing.
Olentia gasped and pointed at him.
“Th-the man from my dream?”
A large man wearing a plain white bauta mask. No decorations.
He was definitely the man from her dream—the one she was contractually to marry.
Her chest fluttered as she felt her saliva swallow nervously. Hearing the bell, it felt even more fated, like destiny itself had stepped in.
Yet the man paid no attention to her pointing, continuing on his way without a single reaction.
Her pointing felt strangely meaningless.
Watching his broad shoulders, tall frame, and appropriately slim waist, the image of her dream husband became even clearer in her mind.
Without realizing it, Olentia grabbed his sleeve.
“W-wait a moment!”
It was the first time she had ever reached out to a man first. Usually, at social parties, men lined up to be in front of her.
The mask prevented her from reading his expression. He simply looked down at her, exuding a cold and intimidating aura.
“…What is it?”
His voice was low and husky, exactly like the one she had heard in her dream.
Olentia shivered as she clutched his sleeve, feeling a chill run down her spine.
“Th-then… haven’t we met somewhere before?”
She ended up resorting to an old-fashioned line. She spoke with all the sincerity she could muster.
She believed yesterday’s dream was no ordinary dream. Normally, dreams were forgotten in half a day, yet she remembered this one vividly, replaying it in her mind. It was extraordinary.
“I don’t believe we’ve met. I’m not sure what you mean.”
His answer sounded puzzled.
‘Well, I’d probably respond the same way.’
But Olentia didn’t like lingering unease. The dream kept bothering her.
“I have a face that’s hard to forget after just one look. You really haven’t seen me? It’s because something’s on my mind.”
Olentia was fairly confident in her appearance. She spoke somewhat childishly, and the man, fastening his cufflinks, let out a small chuckle. Only then did he seem to take an interest in her.
“Unfortunately, I expect I’ll forget by tomorrow.”
“W-what did you say?”
“I tend to forget everything if it isn’t important.”
‘He’s definitely mocking what I just said.’
Olentia’s face flushed red with anger. She clenched her fists tightly. She had never seen a man this rude, even if she had stopped a passing stranger to waste their time.
Her gaze swept over the man in black uniform from head to toe. Judging by the quality of his clothes, he seemed to come from a well-off family. But attending a masked ball in the early morning? If so, it made sense.
If she got closer, she’d probably smell alcohol…
She sniffed carefully—but instead of alcohol, he smelled of sharp, bitter wood, complemented by a distinctive perfume that suited him well.
Annoyed, Olentia turned her head sharply.
“I apologize for the rudeness! I’ll leave now.”
Surely, this was just a masked man, not the delicate, handsome man from her dream. Olentia ducked into an alley, scanning for Bobby. She had already given up on retrieving the bag containing the contract money.
“Hmph… he probably went toward the Karunda Yulsa office?”
Since his destination was the office, it was logical Bobby would head there too. The problem was Olentia didn’t know a single street in Shine.
She wandered through the streets, pouting and lost.
“Where on earth is the office?”
She wanted to ask passersby, but she’d never done such a thing before. Pride held her back.
Finally, after walking until her legs ached, she spotted the boy who had stolen the bag. He walked confidently down Shine Street as if it were his home, accompanied by men in shiny satin suits.
“Y-you!”
Olentia called after him, but the well-dressed men beside the boy suddenly turned as one to stare at her. Their gaze was persistent and lecherous, like predators circling suitable prey.
A chill ran down Olentia’s spine. She hugged her shoulders instinctively.
“No. Take him. Take him!”
She sensed something was off but had no intention of demanding her money back. As she cautiously turned to leave, a man with serpent-like eyes grabbed her shoulder.
“Miss? Didn’t you want to say something to us?”
Terrified, Olentia mustered her courage to speak.
“N-no?”
The man grinned, showing yellowed teeth, spat on the ground, and continued speaking.
“Seems like you did want to say something. Everyone heard that, right?”
The surrounding men chuckled as a group.
Unlike the earlier man in the bauta mask, these men reeked of cheap perfume. A strange mix of tuberose, aldehyde, and neroli—it was nauseating. Staying close would upset her stomach.
“We were just looking for a good actor for our troupe. For example…”
The man ran his hand over Olentia’s soft hair.
“A courtesan whispering sweet nothings to a pimp. And you, miss, would fit perfectly!”
Olentia froze, unable to move.
‘You don’t know how dangerous the outside world is, Olentia.’
She thought of Sokor, who always forbade her from leaving home.
‘Are you just going to stand there and take the insult? Do something, Olentia!’
Finally snapping out of it, Olentia scanned her surroundings. Without Bobby or her guard, escaping became her top priority.
She kicked a key part of the man standing too close.
Thwack!
“Get lost! You crazy idiot!”
‘You don’t think I won’t curse you back?’
She ran frantically, with the men behind her shouting and chasing as one.
“How dare you!”
“Stop right there!”
Fortunately, her Garibaldi shirt and skirt that reached above the ankle allowed for agile movement.
Olentia dashed through the street, ignoring people’s shocked faces and knocked over any stalls in her path to prevent them from catching up. She had never run so recklessly and without decorum.
“I’m sorry! Truly, I’m sorry!”
She shouted apologies to the stall owners, but from behind, the man she had kicked growled:
“If I catch you, you won’t get away. I’ll throw you in the wolf cage that day!”
It was a serious situation. She felt the men were about to catch her.
Her breath hit her chin when suddenly—
“To threaten a lady with a wolf cage? We’re more suited to a rabbit hutch than wolves.”
A man of massive, mountain-like strength appeared before her.
White face—no! A man wearing a white bauta mask.
The same man she had felt was fate in front of the weapons shop.
He crossed his arms and stared at the group in satin suits. Just watching them emitted an intense aura, and a strange feeling came over her that no one could defeat this masked man.
“Y-you are!”
“Th-th-th!”
“I-I-I! I-I! So!”
The group before him suddenly lost their words, as if struck by a cold wind. They shrank, gagged, and trembled, sweat dripping from their faces, shivering as if their bodies were made of leaves in a storm. Even seeing a monster wouldn’t evoke this level of fear.
‘Why are they reacting like this?’
The man clicked his tongue and escorted Olentia to the carriage.
