TOPWL 23

Yudit tucked the curtain into his arms and ran back toward them.

Just as he and Khalid were about six paces apart, the ceiling shook violently, sending embers cascading down. Several large sparks landed on Yudit, and broken bricks struck his shoulder and calf. The impact was too much—he stumbled and rolled across the floor.

“Yudit!”

“Your Highness!”

Yudit raised a hand from where he had fallen, signaling that he was fine. Then, limping, he approached them.

“This should be enough to cover yourself.”

He handed the curtain to the middle-aged woman. She took it with trembling hands and looked up at him, eyes filled with tears.

“Why… why are you going this far…?”

Yudit wasn’t the host of the party like Selena—he was merely an invited guest. Yet, he had risked his life, never once stopping to protect himself, determined to help others escape.

Not just the women—even the other survivors had begun to wonder the same thing.

Yudit gave a faint smile.

“Because I refuse to leave anyone behind in a fire ever again.”

Wrapped in the red curtain, the woman leaped out the window.

Khalid and Yudit locked eyes at the same time.

“You go first, Your Grace.”

“You go first.”

Khalid had already done more than enough to help. Yudit hadn’t expected this side of him. If he had wanted to escape, he could have used the exit instead of the window.

Yudit turned to Selena.

“Selena, you go first. We’ll follow right behind you.”

“I’ll go last….”

“You don’t intend to leave at all, do you?”

Khalid’s sharp tone cut through the air. Selena flinched, startled, and quickly shook her head.

“N-no, that’s not it! If you both leave first, then I—”

“That’s not true.”

Khalid’s voice was firm, filled with certainty.

Yudit didn’t understand. Why would Selena willingly throw her life away?

“Selena, that’s not it… right?”

“Your Highness, please, just escape first. You too, Your Grace.”

Her desperate tone made it clear—Khalid was right.

Selena had no intention of leaving. She planned to perish with this house.

“Selena, why on earth—?”

“Because she’s the host of this party,” Khalid answered. “She believes someone has to take responsibility for the fire.”

“The banquet ended in disaster. The town house is ruined. Your family mines have dried up. And compensating the guests? That’ll only bring further ruin.”

“How… how do you know all that, Your Grace?!”

Selena’s face was filled with shock.

“You wouldn’t be planning to die with this house if you had anything left to rely on,” Khalid said flatly.

Selena opened her mouth as if to retort, but instead, she glared at him.

“My parents have already spent too much on my marriage prospects… And I’m not even their biological daughter.”

Her voice was shaking, almost frantic.

“At the very least, I should protect their honor, shouldn’t I?”

Finally, Yudit understood.

If Selena died saving others, sympathy would fall upon her family. The count and countess, devastated by the loss of their daughter and home, would be shielded from demands for compensation.

But if Selena survived, her family would no longer be pitied. The guests, filled with anger over their own losses, would turn their wrath on the count’s household.

The number of guests might not have been large, but there were still more than twenty. The compensation alone would be enough to drive the family to bankruptcy.

And on top of that, noblewomen—who had never before so much as exposed their knees—had been forced to leap from the second floor in their undergarments. They would seek to restore their lost dignity, by any means necessary.

Even if they knew Selena wasn’t to blame.

Khalid shrugged, indifferent to the weight of her situation.

“Then go ahead and die.”

For all his provoking, his conclusion was disappointingly simple.

“You don’t understand, Your Grace. You were born with everything.”

Selena’s voice trembled with unshed tears as she glared at him.

Khalid smirked, tilting his head.

“The fact that you think I was born with everything just proves how little you’ve lived.”

He spoke as if she were a foolish child.

Selena’s eyes burned with defiance, but Khalid remained unfazed.

“Do whatever you want. I’m leaving now.”

Khalid stepped out of the window without hesitation.

Selena watched him go.

What kind of expression did she have on her face?

As Yudit pondered this, he noticed something—her corset was gone.

“You took off your corset.”

“I-It was to help support the injured….”

Yudit met her gaze. Her eyes were filled with fear and sorrow. Tear tracks ran clearly down her soot-stained cheeks.

He made up his mind.

“Selena.”

“…Yes?”

“Think about later when later comes. I’ll worry about it with you.”

Then, he lunged at her.

Selena, caught off guard, lost her balance. Yudit wrapped his arms around her waist and shouted at Khalid, who was still holding onto the window frame.

“Khalid! Catch her!”

As if he had expected this, Khalid reached inside.

Yudit quickly straightened Selena and pushed her out the window.

Khalid caught her by the shoulders and leaped down with her.

A short scream tore through the night.

Once Yudit saw them land safely, he let out a breath of relief.

As soon as they hit the ground, Khalid rolled Selena aside and shouted up.

“Jump down!”

Without hesitation, Yudit leaped.

The fall felt strangely like flying.

As he descended, he caught one last glimpse of the burning house.

Thud.

He landed on something soft, but the force still sent a jolt through his body.

“Feel good, coming out last after saving everyone?”

Khalid looked down at Yudit, who was lying on the ground.

Yudit, still sprawled out, let out a breathless laugh.

“Yeah. I can actually save someone from a fire now.”

For the first time in decades, he felt like he could finally escape the nightmares that had haunted him.

He pressed both hands to his soot-covered face.

Something hot welled up inside him.

“I wasn’t completely useless.”

Tears spilled down his cheeks.

Khalid silently watched him for a moment before removing his shirt.

Then, he draped it over Yudit’s thin legs.

People began murmuring as they took in the sight of the duke standing bare-chested.

“Keep it on. I can’t exactly give you my trousers too.”

Khalid’s large shirt was more than enough to cover Yudit’s lower body.

When some reporters tried to approach, Khalid shook his head, blocking them.

Then, as if Yudit weighed nothing, he effortlessly lifted him into his arms.

Now cradled in nothing but his underclothes, Yudit looked mortified.

Khalid smirked.

Without a word, he started walking toward his carriage.

As Yudit gazed back, he saw the town house collapsing in the distance.

It was beyond saving. The only thing they could do now was stop the fire from spreading.

Just then, a couple rushed past them.

A familiar face—Count Craven.

Yudit suddenly felt a pang of concern for Selena.

“I need to talk to Selena….”

“Do it later. They’ve got enough to deal with right now.”

Yudit lifted his head and looked toward the crowd.

Count Craven and his wife had found Selena and immediately pulled her into their arms.

They didn’t spare a single glance at their burning home.

Their only concern was her.

Selena, after a moment of stillness, wrapped her arms around them and broke into sobs.

Seeing her cry like a child, Yudit suddenly felt reassured.

She would be okay.

“I brought my own carriage, you know.”

Yudit muttered as Khalid tried to put him into his own.

“I have a townhouse nearby. Get treated there first.”

Yudit hesitated, then nodded.

It wasn’t as if he could summon a royal physician in the middle of the night, and his body felt as heavy as waterlogged cotton.

The coachman, seeing their condition, brought over a blanket.

As Yudit struggled to steady himself, Khalid watched him quietly before speaking.

“Just lie down.”

“I’m fine.”

“It’s making me uncomfortable.”

With that, Khalid pulled Yudit toward him.

Yudit lost his balance and fell against him—his head landing on Khalid’s lap.

He blinked down at the carriage floor.

“Close your eyes and sleep.”