DBMDC~29💥

Chapter 29

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 A Ruined Exhibition Visit

Of all times… why did it have to be him.

It was their first encounter since the duel at Hampstead Heath.

The moment Ariel saw Valentin, her feet refused to move. An overwhelming urge to turn around and flee seized her, sharp and instinctive.

But the man escorting her was infuriatingly composed as he continued forward step by step, oblivious. With every narrowing distance, something like jagged gravel seemed to rise from her stomach, pressing up through her chest and throat.

Valentin, as expected of a trained royal guard, showed no outward reaction. And yet Ariel could feel it—his gaze fixed on her like a physical weight. That alone made the presence of the man beside her even more suffocatingly vivid.

How could such an encounter even exist?

It felt like she had fallen victim to some cruel joke played by the heavens.

Unable to find anywhere to look, her eyes wandered helplessly. Eventually, as she stepped onto the marble staircase, her gaze landed on Valentin.

His eyes were already slightly red.

Something surged violently in Ariel’s throat.

It was already over.

They had stood with pistols drawn, facing death itself. So now, whether anyone liked it or not, her place was beside Leonado.

But even so… she did not want to tear Valentin’s heart apart twice with this sight.

Even knowing she could not avoid such situations in the future, she still felt that way.

Like a sinner, she dropped her gaze. Her body obediently followed Leonado’s pace as they ascended the stairs, his gentlemanly escort feeling less like courtesy and more like chains dragging her toward execution.

Inside the gallery, the air turned cold against her skin.

“Let us begin with the works from the era of the Cultural Revolution,” Leonado said evenly.

Even knowing her state, he did not falter. He continued his explanation smoothly.

“This was the era when it was fashionable to reinterpret the gods of Gruten literature into human form.”

“I know that,” Ariel replied.

Even a child would know such basic cultural knowledge. Yet the way he explained it felt cold—detached.

Leonado stopped walking.

Ahead of them hung a massive painting, taller than a grown man.

A riverside scene of a knight and his lover standing among blooming forget-me-nots, while above them the goddess of jealousy looked down upon them from the heavens.

“Is there something wrong, my lady?”

His previously gentle tone had turned ice-cold.

“Something… wrong?”

Of course there was.

He had seen Valentin. There was no way he hadn’t.

Yet he acted as if nothing existed. That calm pretense ignited her anger.

Their gazes collided like blades.

But in the end, Ariel swallowed her rising fury.

“…No. There isn’t.”

It wasn’t worth it.

Leonado studied her silently, then tilted his head with a faint, derisive exhale.

“It seems your mind is still entirely filled with your beloved cousin.”

The exhibition had already begun to fall apart.

Leonado’s patience, carefully maintained for the sake of the outing, began to rot.

He had known it was a mistake the moment he saw that soldier standing at the gallery entrance. Still, he had tried to preserve what remained of the afternoon.

But watching her unravel made it meaningless.

“Perhaps you should resolve that,” he said flatly. “If you wish to avoid being misunderstood as involved in something improper.”

Ariel’s eyes sharpened instantly.

“That is an insulting remark.”

“I simply returned the insult I felt first.”

Her breathing grew uneven, her fingers trembling slightly.

It was disgusting—how easily he twisted everything.

“Are you enjoying this?” she asked sharply. “Watching us exchange looks in secret?”

“You should ask yourself the same question,” Leonado replied. “You seemed quite pleased to let him see us.”

“Aha.”

Leonado’s lips curled slightly.

“If you mean the satisfaction of showing a defeated man the collapse of his future… then yes.”

Ariel’s eyes reddened.

“You…”

She could not give even a shred of her feelings to this man who crushed others so casually.

It was infuriating.

She felt as though she had been played with again.

And now, there was nothing she could change.

Her breath tightened. Her vision blurred.

“Lady!”

A sharp voice cut through the haze.

Why was he shouting?

If he intended to toy with her, he should at least finish properly—

But she could not think any further.

Everything went dark.

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“What an absurd situation…”

Leonado caught Ariel as she collapsed into his arms.

For a moment, he stared down at her unconscious face, stunned by the irony of it.

A woman who had been baring her claws at him just seconds ago—now limp and silent in his arms.

“Take her to a hospital,” he ordered immediately.

Outside the gallery, Valentin rushed forward.

“Ariel!”

Leonado didn’t even turn his head.

Let him bark.

There was no need to acknowledge it.

He lifted Ariel carefully into the carriage, laying her down with deliberate caution before sitting opposite her.

As the carriage began to move, the sound of wheels over stone settled the chaos in his mind.

He looked at her in silence.

Her face was pale—far too fragile-looking compared to the sharp-tongued woman from moments ago.

“…So this is what you look like when you’re quiet.”

Long lashes, a delicate nose, slightly parted lips.

Like a marble statue sculpted by a master.

He exhaled faintly, almost amused at himself.

He had expected resistance, negotiation, calculation.

Instead, she had simply collapsed.

Ridiculous.

He shifted his gaze away, only to hear a faint sound.

“Mary… corset…”

Leonado froze.

His expression stiffened.

His eyes drifted downward.

Then—awkwardly—he looked away again.

“…Ha.”

A dry laugh escaped him.

Alone in the carriage, he hesitated for a long moment before carefully moving her so her head rested on his thigh.

This was absurd.

A nuisance.

A burden.

And yet…

Her breathing grew uneven again.

With reluctant precision, he loosened the corset strings beneath her dress, just enough to let her breathe more easily.

Her expression gradually softened.

“…That’s better.”

He was about to fix the dress properly when her hand suddenly shifted, resting lightly on his leg as if it were a pillow.

Leonado froze again.

“…You really are something else,” he muttered under his breath, rubbing his face in silent exhaustion.