Path of Thorns and Flowers Prologue 1.1

Translator: Effe
Editor: Aurum

“How the hell did you get caught when you yelled at me for being confident?” Arbel, who lit up the dark room, questioned fiercely.

Carnett looked around. When she realized that this was the room he stayed at, she replied with a sigh of relief, “There was an error with the expected time.”

“It’s a failure itself to predict the time. You’ve been warned several times that it’s not always the same.”

“I didn’t know it would make such a difference.”

She would say she was embarrassed, too, but Arbel suddenly put his long finger over her mouth. “Shh!”

It seemed that the knights who followed the footsteps entered the floor where Arbel stayed. “No way, they’re not going to check every room, are they?” Carnett asked him as she listened toward the door and looked outside.

“I think that is correct.”

She heard the sound of knights as they knocked on the door of every room. “Even if it was bothersome, I should have erased the traces.”

Arbel scoffed at Carnett’s blow. “If there were no traces, it would have been rather suspicious and they would search more thoroughly in every corner.” He listened again to the movement outside. The sound gradually increased.

“I left a trace to make them think I ran outside, but I don’t know who it is there seems to be someone who has a good eye.”

“You have to find a place to hide right now.”

Carnett started to look around to find a place to hide. “Excuse me, I’ll be in the bedroom. The parlor will be caught soon.” Carnett looked around the open interior and ran into the bedroom before the owner’s permission was given.

Arbel looked absurdly at her back, and he approached the mirror.

“That’s so perfect.” Looking at herself in the mirror, with a worried expression, Carnett took off her shoes and socks and dumped them in the corner. She also removed her earrings and rings and put them on the table.

“Is this okay?”

The moment she took off his jacket and tried to get a gown, he heard a knock on the door.

“Sorry, Marquis of Cler, I’m sorry for the late time.There are reports that a suspicious person has been found, so we are searching all of the rooms. Please cooperate for a moment.” It seems that a knight has visited Arbel’s room, the son of Grand Duke Alois, the most prestigious of the Hessian Empire –  Marquis of Cler.

The voice from outside the door was of Sir Lewis, the Vice-Commander of the Imperial Knights and the youngest son of the Duke of Montfort.

Arbel made sure the door to the bedroom where Carnett entered was closed, and then he hastily unwrapped the shirt he wore. He soon opened the door after he unbuckled his pants and slit his hair. “What’s going on?” His wide open shirt, loose pants, messy hair and bare feet told them that he had just woken up.

The faces of the knights gathered in front of the door turned red at the appearance of the Marquis who was annoyed and slightly frowned. Perhaps the most famous person on the continent would be the Marquis of Cler. He had beauty that is admirable regardless of gender. Normally, with his perfectness, he raised respect from everyone, but today he fascinated others with his disorganized appearance.

The knights who looked at the sculptural body blushed as they peeped through the wide open shirt.

“I’m sorry. The movement of the intruder has been detected. It may be annoying, but we ask for your patience so that we can check your room for a while.” Unlike the subordinates who lingered back, Lewis demanded permission to search without a change in his facial expression.

Arbel glanced at the vice commander and looked over his shoulder.

The nobles who stayed in the other rooms where the knights had searched the rooms, still wandered into the hallway to see what was going on. As Arbel’s gaze met theirs’, the noble ladies frowned as if to tempt with a reminiscent expression. He politely greeted them and then stepped back. Even with his unspoken permission to come in, the knights murmured, and Lewis shouted fiercely.

“What are you doing without looking inside the room? Are you going to miss the intruder like this?”

At Lewis’s word, the knights rushed into the room and began to search the parlor. As they felt the heat of Marquis’ gaze on them, they quickly finished their search and reported that there was nothing wrong with the room.

Arbel, who had leaned against the wall and was watching the figure, slowly stood up. He said, “Are you done now?”

Lewis looked around the room until the end and looked back at the Marquis. He noticed that the Marquis smiled leisurely, but somehow it was different from usual. It was not an exaggeration to say that if Marquis of Cler put his heart into it, he would be able to seduce even a centenary monk.

The Marquis’ movement threatened the fluttering shirt to open even more. He folded his arms in front of his smooth, muscular chest that was visible through his shirt.

“If the search is over, I want you to leave.”

The eyes wide open and the colored red lips had no choice but to show why he was called the devil of society.

People said that unlike the dangerous appearance, the disparity between it and the polite attitude and the neat tone further increased the charm of the Marquis. However, Lewis was suspicious of everything about this graceful and sensual man. 

This was the person who moved the social world of the Hessian Empire. The social world that was a battlefield without gunfire. The success of the party was determined by the number of high, famous, and powerful people that attended. No matter how high and precious the organizers are, if the level of attendees was poor, the party could have been ruined.

The famous socialite king was said to be the first to be listed on the list of invitees. A party attended by Marquis of Cler and a party not attended by him was enough to judge the rise and fall of the nobles that year. If he wanted to, even a noble with no name could emerge as a hot potato in the social world that attracts everyone’s attention.

These were things that didn’t really make sense to Lewis, a knight. He had no interest in politics or power, and he was just one of the so-called ‘cool guys’ who wandered around the social world.

Why is this man so influential. And he himself wondered why this man was such a headache.

Lewis’ gaze observed the Marquis who awaited their withdrawal and began to scan inside again. Unlike ordinary rooms with only one bedroom, the VIP room had a separate parlor and a bedroom.

So far, there was no need to search through the bedroom.

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