Chapter 7: The Fox Hunt
* * *
A low, slow melody based on cello flowed softly through the air. Only a few couples enjoying the mood remained on the dance floor, while in the space connected to the hall, people seated at tables enjoyed drinks and food.
As the night had deepened, the earlier bustle had subsided, but the eyes of those continuing their conversations occasionally turned toward the two women. Gazes filled with curiosity about which way this battle would tilt.
Quietly swallowing, Lyra looked down at the woman standing demurely with folded hands. The slight trembling detected in her downcast blue eyes suggested her confusion hadn’t fully cleared. As if she weren’t quite ready to begin the conversation.
But they couldn’t just keep standing like this. Just as Lyra was about to speak first, Davira’s firmly closed lips slowly opened.
“I’m truly shocked. That the Duke would have… such a beautiful lover…”
Her thin, fragile voice made her appear even more delicate. The impact of her voice was so faint that it seemed to contradict Mrs. Beightle’s instruction to always maintain eye contact and communicate intentions clearly during conversations.
Yet every gesture and word from this woman captivated attention, making Lyra wonder if some of the information fed to her had been incorrect.
What was it? Although her posture seemed submissive, Davira Claudia’s aura remained intact. Was this why men and women alike praised Davira Claudia?
As Lyra continued her scrutinizing gaze, Davira looked up. Her clearer, brighter blue eyes were tinged with question, as if demanding a response.
Lyra softly relaxed her stiffening face to hide her momentary confusion.
“I’ve heard much about you, Miss Claudia. You’re truly as beautiful as they say.”
She smoothly delivered the lines she had practiced with Hannah. Her voice trembled slightly, but not enough to be noticeable. Looking at the wavering eyes before her, Lyra mentally recited Davira Claudia’s information.
‘Saint, goddess, the pride of Brikna…’
“Heard? What have you heard about me…?”
She looked worried. Lyra’s smile deepened slightly.
“You don’t need to make that face.”
Lyra’s gaze shifted downward. She was about half a span taller than Davira, and with the high, pointed shoes she wore today, the difference was about a full span—comparable to the difference between most men and women.
Lyra responded lightly while watching the concerned Davira, as if it were nothing.
“I heard that spirits exist in Brikna. Seeing you in person, I understand why they would say that.”
“The Duke… told you?”
“Yes. But the Duke lamented that he couldn’t live in the same world as a pure white spirit. He looked truly distressed then… Though now, he’s able to smile like that.”
As Lyra subtly gestured with her eyes toward where Kaylon stood, Davira bit her lip slightly after confirming the man laughing while building social connections.
“Perhaps I should thank you, Miss Claudia. It’s almost as if I was able to meet the Duke because of you. It’s a pleasure, Miss Claudia.”
When Lyra offered a handshake, Davira stared at the extended hand with wide eyes. She seemed to find it strange that Lyra was confidently using a man’s greeting method.
“My hand is getting embarrassed.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I’m not familiar with this type of greeting.”
Davira, who had been twitching her fingertips as if in deliberation, ultimately did not take Lyra’s hand.
Lyra had recalled the assertive greeting that Madam Oswain had taught her to avoid losing the battle of wills, but now she felt as if she had needlessly trapped herself.
Lyra curled her increasingly awkward hand and lowered it discreetly.
“I see. In the region where I lived, handshakes between women were natural.”
Despite her pounding heart, the lies flowed smoothly. Mrs. Beightle’s various role-playing scenarios had proven helpful. Yet somehow, her mouth tasted bitter.
Lyra held the now steady, impassive gaze for a long time. She felt as if she might have landed a slight blow, but hadn’t even scratched whatever solid foundation lay deeply rooted in those depths.
‘A failure?’
Davira Claudia was not as fragile as she had thought. Though it wasn’t yet clear, the more Lyra looked into the woman’s eyes, which hadn’t shed their watchfulness, the more certain she became.
Should she revise her information? There was a calm yet inexplicable pressure in that scrutinizing gaze.
Lyra began to feel confused. When their eyes first met, the woman had seemed somewhat shocked, but now she appeared to have contained her emotions. Or perhaps she was deliberately trying to ignore reality.
‘Should I provoke her further?’
Just then, Davira’s lips parted.
“I’m sorry, Miss Norris.”
“Yes?”
The atmosphere felt somehow ominous. What reason could this woman have to apologize? If anything, Lyra should be the one apologizing for trampling on the pure feelings Davira had harbored.
As Lyra gazed quietly, Davira continued with a face that had become more resolute than before.
“Please break up with the Duke… no, with Kaylon.”
* * *
“Wow, what a fantastic two-shot!”
A man with his thumb and index finger curved like a camera frame commented as he looked at Lyra and Davira standing face to face.
Max Haister, the second son of the Haister newspaper family, continued speaking while changing the direction of his fingers as if capturing the two contrasting beauties in his angle.
“The sexy woman who appeared like a storm and the elegant woman of pure devotion. Both are my type, though…”
“Isn’t that too broad to be called a type?”
“What does it matter? As long as they’re beautiful.”
Max narrowed his eyes at Kaylon, who was snorting and mocking him. Then he abruptly asked his friend who was watching the two women with interest.
“What’s your choice?”
“That’s such a childish question.”
“Oh, come now. How can you call it childish? You should respect this noble crossroads of choice.”
“Don’t you think the question itself is wrong?”
“How is it wrong? Don’t tell me you’d be satisfied with just one person? Don’t you know tastes are always changing?”
As Max widened his eyes and questioned almost accusingly, Kaylon laughed incredulously.
“By the way, where did you meet such a beauty? Let me in on the secret.”
“What would you do if you knew?”
“What do you mean what? I need to know so I can have a stunning beauty by my side too.”
“Are you capable of that?”
“What’s there to be incapable of? The newspaper company will soon be mine anyway.”
Max shrugged his shoulders. Compared to the Lianton ducal family, it was a boast as insignificant as an ant’s tear, but since being designated as the next head, his ambition was no less vast than the Duke’s massive estate.
But Kaylon wasn’t one to give in easily. Looking at Max, who had always enjoyed revealing his status through exaggeration and jokes since their club-going days, he asked indifferently:
“With just that alone?”
Max, provoked, immediately pointed at Kaylon, who was leaning against the wall.
“Ha! Still a friend who doesn’t know the fearsome power of ink. Do you know how many families come bearing chests of gold each year, begging for favorable coverage?”
“…”
“You probably can’t even imagine it.”
He moved beside Kaylon, who kept his mouth firmly shut in feigned ignorance, and whispered suggestively:
“Though what puzzles me most is that Lianton isn’t among those soliciting families.”
Kaylon frowned at the meaningful smile that clearly revealed what Max wanted.
“If you want to settle this, shouldn’t you offer a suitable bribe?”
“Bribe? What bribe?”
“You know Haister has many informants, right? And that everyone else just follows the articles we publish?”
“This is absurd.”
“That’s your problem. Always finding things absurd. You should also have a child by now… Oh! Is that true?”
Max, who had been spouting nonsense, suddenly thrust his face toward Kaylon as if just remembering something. Ignoring how one of Kaylon’s eyebrows rose in disapproval, he directly asked what he was curious about.
“I mean the premarital pregnancy. She doesn’t look like she’s with child in that slender body. Just a rumor, right?”
“Why ask when you already know? You’re the ones writing these novels.”
“I knew it! I told you so.”
Max snapped his fingers and grinned.
“Then I still have a chance… Hey! Where are you going in the middle of our conversation!”
Kaylon moved away, barely listening to the chatty Max Haister. Judging by how noticeably flustered Lyra appeared, it seemed his fake lover was having quite a hard time with the fox.
While it might be best for her to handle it alone, it seemed like a good time to pull the trigger.
With his eyes fixed on Lyra, he strode toward his lover with long legs.
