Chapter 127: Arrow and Punch.

The Western District continued to unfold before Rosaline like a world she had only just discovered, and as the four of them moved deeper into the crowded marketplace, she found herself gradually forgetting the uncomfortable silence that had followed Seth and Christophine from the previous night.

The streets were alive with movement, and every direction seemed to offer something different for her attention to settle upon. Merchants stood outside their shops with their goods arranged carefully before them, while travellers passed through the crowded roads with horses, carts, and bags filled with belongings, and the air itself carried a mixture of unfamiliar scents from roasted meat, flowers, spices, and strange perfumes being sold from small glass bottles.

Rosaline walked ahead of the others with increasing curiosity, occasionally slowing whenever something caught her attention, while Seth and Christophine followed behind her.

Lucien walked beside them.

Christophine noticed.

She noticed far more than Rosaline did.

Lucien had not done anything openly inappropriate. He had maintained a respectable distance and had spoken politely whenever Rosaline addressed him, yet there was something about the way his attention repeatedly returned to her that Christophine found increasingly irritating.

At first, she had attempted to ignore it.

Then Rosaline stopped before a stall selling brightly coloured pieces of glass, and Lucien immediately stopped beside her.

Christophine narrowed her eyes.

Rosaline leaned closer to examine one of the objects, lifting it carefully from the table before holding it toward the sunlight.

"What is this?" she asked curiously.

The old merchant smiled.

"A memory stone, my lady."

Rosaline turned toward him.

"A memory stone?"

"It reflects the strongest emotion of the person holding it."

Rosaline looked back at the small piece of glass.

"Really?"

The merchant nodded.

Rosaline studied it for another moment before returning it carefully to the table.

"I don’t think I want to know what mine would show."

Lucien smiled faintly.

"I imagine it would be something beautiful."

Rosaline looked toward him.

Christophine’s expression immediately changed.

Seth noticed.

He slowly turned his head toward Christophine.

Christophine ignored him.

Rosaline, however, only smiled politely.

"You don’t know me well enough to say that."

Lucien’s gaze remained upon her for a moment longer than necessary.

"Perhaps not."

Christophine folded her arms.

Perhaps not?

She glanced toward Seth.

Seth looked back at her.

Christophine’s eyes narrowed slightly.

Seth immediately looked away.

The group continued walking, but Christophine remained noticeably quieter as she watched Lucien from the corner of her eye.

Rosaline, meanwhile, had already found something else to distract herself.

Further along the street, a crowd had gathered around an open space where several wooden targets had been placed at different distances, and the sound of people cheering drew Rosaline’s attention almost immediately.

She slowed.

"What is happening there?"

Seth followed her gaze.

"An archery game."

Rosaline’s eyes brightened.

"An archery game?"

Christophine looked toward the targets.

Several people were taking turns shooting arrows toward them, and coins were being exchanged between the participants and the man organizing the competition.

Rosaline stepped closer.

"I want to try."

Seth looked at her.

"Do you know how to shoot?"

Rosaline turned toward him.

"Of course."

Seth raised his brows.

Christophine smiled faintly.

"That doesn’t answer the question."

Rosaline placed both hands upon her hips.

"I know enough."

Lucien’s lips curved slightly.

"I would like to see that."

Christophine’s smile immediately disappeared and Rosaline did not seem to notice.

She was already approaching the man organizing the game.

The man looked up when she stopped before him, and after Rosaline handed him the required coins, he reached beneath the wooden counter and handed her a bow.

Rosaline accepted it with both hands.

For a moment, she simply examined it.

Then something about her posture changed.

Lucien noticed first.

The playful curiosity that had been present upon Rosaline’s face gradually faded as she positioned herself before the targets, and although she had never considered herself an expert archer, there was something strangely natural about the way she held the bow.

She lifted one arm.

Her fingers adjusted their position.

Then she reached for an arrow.

Lucien became still.

Rosaline did not notice.

She drew the string backward, her expression became focused.

The crowd around them gradually quieted and then she released the arrow.

It travelled through the air.

The sound of wood being struck followed immediately afterward.

Rosaline’s arrow had landed directly inside the outer ring of the target.

A smile immediately appeared upon her face.

"I hit it!"

Seth laughed.

"You sound surprised."

"I was aiming properly."

"That doesn’t mean you expected to hit it."

Rosaline turned toward him.

"I was confident."

Christophine smiled.

"Of course you were."

Rosaline reached for another arrow.

This time, she positioned herself more carefully.

Lucien watched her.

Christophine noticed.

Again.

Rosaline drew the string backward and released it.

The second arrow struck closer to the centre.

The crowd offered a few approving sounds.

Rosaline smiled proudly.

"I am improving."

"You are," Lucien said quietly.

Christophine’s gaze immediately moved toward him.

There was admiration in his expression.

Too much admiration.

Christophine’s lips pressed together.

Rosaline reached for another arrow, completely unaware of the conversation taking place behind her, and when she became focused upon the target again, Christophine took advantage of the moment.

She stepped closer to Lucien.

Lucien noticed her movement and turned toward her.

Christophine looked at him directly.

"Are you in love with her?"

Lucien blinked.

For perhaps the first time since meeting Christophine, he appeared genuinely caught off guard by one of her questions.

Rosaline remained several steps away, her full attention directed toward the bow in her hands.

Lucien slowly turned back toward Christophine.

"I’m sorry?"

Christophine folded her arms.

"Rosaline."

Lucien’s brows drew together slightly.

"What about her?"

Christophine stared at him.

"You keep looking at her."

Lucien glanced toward Rosaline.

Then back at Christophine.

"I look at many people."

"No," Christophine replied calmly. "You don’t."

Lucien’s lips twitched.

Christophine did not smile.

Her expression remained serious enough to make it clear that she was not asking out of ordinary curiosity.

Lucien studied her.

Then he released a quiet breath.

"You believe I am interested in Lady Rosaline."

Christophine raised one brow.

"Are you?"

"No."

The answer came immediately.

Christophine watched him carefully.

Lucien continued.

"I am not in love with your friend."

Christophine’s expression remained unchanged.

"Then why do you look at her that way?"

Lucien’s gaze slowly returned to Rosaline.

For several seconds, he said nothing.

Rosaline released another arrow.

This time, it landed close enough to the centre that she immediately turned toward Seth and Christophine with a bright expression upon her face.

"Did you see that?"

Seth applauded slowly.

"Wonderful."

Rosaline frowned.

"You sound sarcastic."

"I would never."

Christophine ignored them.

Her attention remained upon Lucien.

Lucien finally spoke.

"Because she reminds me of someone."

Christophine became still.

"Someone?"

Lucien’s expression changed slightly, and for the first time, the easy confidence he usually carried seemed to disappear.

"Someone I cannot remember properly."

Christophine stared at him.

Lucien looked toward Rosaline again.

"There are moments when she does something, and I feel as though I have seen it before."

Christophine’s suspicion did not disappear.

"If you’re not in love with her, then who are you in love with?"

Lucien looked at her.

The question seemed to catch him by surprise.

Then his expression softened slightly.

"I don’t know."

Christophine frowned.

Lucien looked toward the ground for a moment before slowly lifting his gaze again.

"There is someone."

Christophine remained silent.

"I don’t know her name," Lucien continued quietly. "I don’t know where I met her, and I don’t even know if the memories I have are real, but there are moments when I feel as though I am searching for someone I have spent my entire life waiting to find."

Christophine studied him.

Her expression slowly changed.

"And you remember nothing about her?"

Lucien gave a faint smile.

"Nothing useful."

Rosaline suddenly laughed from the other side of the open space, drawing both their attention toward her.

She had struck the target again.

Christophine turned back toward Lucien.

"Then why are you looking at Rosaline like she belongs to those memories?"

Lucien’s expression became thoughtful.

"Because I don’t understand why she feels familiar."

Christophine continued watching him.

Then her gaze narrowed slightly.

"And you’re telling me you aren’t in love with her."

"I am not."

"You are certain?"

Lucien looked almost amused.

"Very."

Christophine stared at him for another moment.

Then she slowly nodded.

"Good."

Lucien raised one brow.

"Good?"

Christophine turned away from him.

"She’s married."

Lucien’s eyes followed her.

"I am aware."

"And her husband is—"

Christophine suddenly stopped speaking.

Something had changed.

Lucien noticed it too.

The expression on her face shifted as her eyes moved past him.

Lucien slowly turned.

Xandros stood several feet away.

No one had noticed him arrive.

His dark clothing moved slightly in the afternoon breeze, and his grey eyes were fixed entirely upon Lucien.

Christophine immediately stepped back.

Rosaline, who had been preparing to take another shot, lowered the bow when she noticed the strange silence.

Her eyes widened slightly.

"Xandros?"

Lucien looked toward the Duke.

"Your Grace."

Xandros said nothing.

That silence immediately made Rosaline uneasy.

She slowly placed the bow down.

Seth straightened.

Christophine looked between the two men.

Lucien’s expression remained calm, although there was now a carefulness in the way he stood.

Xandros began walking toward him.

Lucien watched him approach.

"Is something wrong?"

Xandros stopped directly before him.

Rosaline frowned.

She had never seen his expression quite like that.

There was no amusement.

No teasing.

Not even the obvious irritation she had expected to see after discovering that she had left the residence without telling him.

There was only a coldness in his eyes that made the air around them feel suddenly heavier.

Lucien looked directly at him.

"Your Grace?"

Xandros’ jaw tightened.

Then, without warning, his fist moved.

The sound of the punch landed sharply across the crowded street.

Lucien stumbled backward as Xandros fist rearrange his face.

Rosaline gasped.

Christophine’s eyes widened.

Seth stared.

And as Lucien slowly lifted his hand toward his face while the people surrounding them fell into shocked silence, Xandros took one deliberate step forward, his expression darker than any of them had seen since arriving in the Western District.

No one understood what had just happened.

Not Rosaline.

Not Seth.

Not even Christophine.

But whatever Lucien had said—

Whatever Xandros had heard—

The Duke of Dagon had clearly decided that Lucien Valecrest had lied.