As soon as he left the concert hall, the loud music and dazzling lights disappeared, and Nicholas stepped into the quiet darkness of the night.
Head towards the garden opposite the hall.
Meanwhile, drunken couples were likely hiding in various corners, enjoying some private time together.
Once inside, he planned to change his disguise before reappearing, posing as a man who had broken up with his partner after an intimate relationship. Then, he would get into a carriage and leave the property – and that would be the end of the matter.
"I am waiting!"
The urgent voice from behind made Nicholas instinctively stop.
Slowly, he turned around to see the Marchioness Nadia Le Roy standing there, holding the top of her dress, slightly out of politeness and as if she had run after him.
Could it be?
It's not long before Nicholas approaches Nadia, disguised as Fabian Winter.
But his current disguise was completely different.
It was very unlikely that Nadia would have discovered his true identity, in fact it was almost impossible.
Nicholas remained calm and smiled like Alberto Pucci.
“Did you call me Marquise?”
“Yes, that's true”
Nadia placed her hand on her chest, bowed her head slightly, and gasped for breath.
“Oh my God, it looks like you ran here so fast. Are you okay?”
Nicholas took out a handkerchief from his inner pocket and offered it to her, but Nadia raised her hand to refuse.
“I'm fine. There's something I want to ask you.”
“Come in”
“You were with the Duchess Dumont in the hall earlier, weren't you?”
Nadia's voice had a hint of confrontation.
"I saw you leaving the room. The Duchess was alone before you came in, wasn't she? Wasn't she?"
Ah, that's the thing.
Now, Nicholas understands.
Nadia had an unrequited love for Ethan Dumont.
She even tried to track down Liam Bernard, hoping to find evidence of an affair between him and the Duchess.
When Nicholas didn't answer, Nadia bit her lip anxiously.
Finally, she could no longer hold back and asked: “What kind of relationship do you have with the Duchess?”
“Excuse me? Wait a minute. First, please calm down. There seems to be a big misunderstanding here...”
Nicholas looked at her with concern as he spoke: “There was no dispute between me and the Duchess. We happened to meet in the hall and exchanged pleasantries. Today was our first meeting.”
Nadia's eyes darkened, “…You're lying.”
“I'm not lying. If you don't believe me, don't hesitate to check with the Duchess.”
“……”
Nadia lowered her gaze, disappointment evident on her face.
Frankly, Nicholas did not understand her actions.
Rushing and questioning him was a mistake from the beginning.
She first had to verify his identity and then conduct an investigation.
Questioning someone so frankly is unlikely to yield honest answers. No matter how scandalous the nobles were, adultery was still something that people did not easily admit to.
In the end, Nicholas himself was the result of an illicit relationship.
Because of her, he had to constantly prove his worth, denying even his true name and status.
And his being here tonight was because of that.
Does she lack intelligence, or does she act on emotions, or perhaps both?
Nicholas looked at Nadia with a cold look.
However, from his point of view, her stupidity was comforting. Before, she would easily drop everything under the influence of a few drinks.
Camille Dumont was like that.
During their first meeting, he thought she might be more of a challenge, but today things went better than he expected.
However, there were no tangible results.
He was unable to discover where Liam Bernard was, or whether Ethan Dumont knew that Duke Gerard was the one behind everything.
At this rate, I'll be back empty-handed.
He was not afraid to disappoint his father. His father didn't even know Nicholas was conducting this investigation. But still...
Nicholas clicked his tongue quietly.
Maybe he had already gotten everything he could from Camille.
Of course, if he could delve into the details of what happened with Dumont's log book, that would be perfect. However, it was extremely dangerous.
Given Camille's current wariness due to Liam's incident, even mentioning anything related to the record would undoubtedly increase her wariness.
It seemed wise to leave it here.
There would be no need to get close to Camille again, or to this woman standing before him now.
At that moment, Nadia suddenly raised her head and grabbed Nicholas’ collar, “Didn’t there really be something between you? Really?”
Nicholas frowned, “I already told you. You are wrong, Marchioness.”
"It's impossible. There's no way this woman wouldn't flirt with a handsome man like you in a situation like this!"
Nadia's eyes were filled with a desperate, almost confused gleam.
“Well, I mean-”
Nicholas was upset and started talking, but suddenly an idea occurred to him.
“Are you really going?”
Earlier, Camille looked at Nicholas with a look of regret.
It seemed as if she was afraid that her husband would find out, but she was not at all opposed to being with a man.
In other words, as long as he could create a similar situation again, seducing Camille was not impossible.
Good. There's no need to focus only on finding Liam Bernard.
The real goal is Dumont's record.
If he succeeds in seducing Camille, he may be able to determine if Bernard has tried to steal the notebook.
If Bernard couldn't do it, Nicholas would have a chance—the chance to seize Dumont's notebook for himself.
After all, if a frivolous playboy like Liam Bernard succeeded, there would be no reason why Nicholas couldn't do better.
There was no need to rush. He could monitor the situation, and if it seemed too risky, he could always withdraw.
“Are you listening to me?” Nadia impatiently pulled him by his shirt.
Without saying anything, Nicholas gently removed her hand from his collar.
“You are repeating the same question without accepting my answer. There is no point in continuing this conversation. I will go now.”
“Sir...!”
Nicholas turned, leaving Nadia behind. Under the dim moonlight, a slight smile appeared on his lips.
***
"Duchess! Are you feeling better now?"
As soon as Sofia saw me, she ran to me.
Her small stature made her look almost like a squirrel.
“Yes, thanks to your concern, I feel much better.”
“What a relief! I was afraid I would have to apologize to Duke Dumont.”
Sophia glanced at Ethan standing next to me, her face flushed with excitement.
It was understandable. Ethan rarely attended banquets like this.
In contrast to what had happened at Viscount Rochefort's house a few months ago, this time there was no prior notice, which made his presence even more surprising.
Many guests in the banquet hall were watching us now, which made not only Sofia, but also Count Linucci look extremely proud.
In contrast, Ethan's expression remained indifferent, as if all of this had nothing to do with him.
'Well, he usually looks like this for 23 hours a day anyway…'
“No need to apologise, really. I was just feeling unwell.”
“Indeed. Thank you for taking such good care of my wife, Countess. She seems to have recovered faster thanks to your help.”
I was startled by Ethan's words and turned to look at him.
The Linucci couple also seemed visibly surprised.
Of course, what Ethan said could simply be considered a formality. But the most important thing is that it came from Ethan.
Ethan was known as a cold and stern person precisely because he never spoke that way to anyone, no matter who they were.
And most of all, it was about me.
“…Why are you looking at me like that?” Ethan asked with a slight frown.
“Oh, it's nothing”
Count Lenucci quickly interrupted, saying: “Anyway, it is not only the Duchess, but also you, Duke, who have honored us with your presence. An honor for us indeed. If we had known in advance, we would have been better prepared...”
“Everything is fine. Thank you,” Ethan said in his usual calm tone. His expression and demeanor were not much different from usual, but his words were undoubtedly different.
… What is this?
I looked at Ethan curiously.