Solo For Two Chapter 8

“…I apologize.”

With that, Rambouillet hastily straightened her dress and got off the carriage. Just before getting off, she looked back at Karel in the carriage, who was wearing a frighteningly stern expression.

Rambouillet quickly disappeared into the building. Seeing the dress tails disappearing behind the closing door, Karel let out a hollow laugh.

The woman had thrown an irresistible bait.

***

“How was the evening outing?”

As soon as he opened the door, Karel frowned. Julian was sprawled out on the couch as if it were his own, laughing heartily.

“It’s not like that.”

“No way. It’s been a while since you’ve dressed up properly. You look really good. Is it the dress Mrs. Rambouillet gave you? She’s really sincere. I’m naturally cheering for your love life, but… be careful not to get into a serious relationship. The Duke won’t tolerate scandals happening in his house.”

The slight snowflakes encountered on the way back had melted into moisture. Karel lazily wiped his coat with a dry towel and tossed it to Julian.

“It’s not that kind of relationship. And I have no intention of developing it.”

Wringing the towel dry on his face, Julian frowned.

“You speak as if everything will go your way. Karel, you can’t control women’s hearts.”

“If they knew I’m not a nobleman, they would leave on their own.”

“You’re saying naive things again!”

Julian sat up abruptly on the couch.

“Have you ever read romance novels that women read? You haven’t, have you? If you did, your thoughts would change. There are so many stories where a man without money or power, but with masculine charm, wins over a ‘real’ man.”

Karel looked genuinely bewildered by Julian’s words. His expression was so amusing that Julian chuckled.

In the midst of this, Karel suddenly pulled Julian up.

“Let’s go check on something.”

“What? Hey, wait….”

Dragging Julian, who was resisting even putting on his coat, Karel headed back out the door. Julian grumbled as he followed Karel’s footsteps.

“Where are we going?”

“……”

“It’s not far, is it? It’s freezing out here.”

Still, Karel remained silent for a while.

As they reached the end of the corridor, a strange building appeared between the pine trees on the other side. Before Julian could ask if they were actually going outside in this cold, Karel walked ahead without hesitation.

“Karel!”

“……”

Karel stopped in the snow and stared at Julian. There was no sense of aggression from Karel, no indication that he was about to strike Julian. Instead, Julian felt a faint urgency and sighed as he followed Karel across the garden.

“I mentioned that there’s someone I want to find.”

“Who? Oh….”

Julian briefly recalled the name he had pushed aside in his memory.

‘Alexandre Cédrin.’

His brow furrowed involuntarily. Still thinking about that man. From Julian’s perspective, it was an unworthy subject to dwell on, but for Karel, it seemed different.

“Talking about that guy again?”

“……”

With no response from Karel, they entered the building.

The night had grown late, and it seemed most people in the building were already asleep. Occasionally, murmurs could be heard from some rooms. Karel stood in front of a door without explanation. As if considering entering the room, Karel stood there, then gestured towards Julian.

“What’s up?”

“Translate this for me. What does it say?”

“Hmm, sounds like a person’s name, Alex… Alexandre Cédrin.”

As Julian read out the name, a shiver ran down his spine.

‘Well, that’s an easy question to answer. What’s your name?’

‘Cédrin, Alexandre Cédrin.’

It was the name of that guy.

Finally, Julian understood why Karel had brought him here. With no one speaking for a moment, the room fell silent.

“Look, the names are the same.”

In Karel’s strangely dreamy voice, Julian responded with annoyance.

“Karel, it’s just a coincidence.”

“But….”

“It’s a common name in Russia.”

“What if it’s him?”

“…….”

“If it’s true, then Sasha isn’t just some guy.”

This kid is blaming me. Julian thought bitterly.

“He was homeless, hiding. There must have been some story.”

“Well, wait…. How can you be sure it’s not just a coincidence?”

Karel didn’t answer. The only other evidence, a photo, was still in Karel’s possession, but it was from such a young age that even Karel couldn’t be sure. However, “I’ll find him and confirm it.” Karel had already concluded. So there was no reason for him to answer Julian’s question or convince him.

“Julian, I don’t want to inconvenience you. If you want to leave, you can go first. I’ll stay here and look for Sasha.”

“For goodness sake….”

Julian muttered irritably and turned away first. Karel silently followed, thinking that even if Julian got angry at his stubbornness, there was nothing he could do about his determination to search.

On the way back, neither of them said a word.

Karel wasn’t one to stubbornly insist on things, but once he made a decision, he always followed through. What surprised Julian, despite knowing Karel’s personality, was that Karel had never been stubborn solely for his own desires. Karel had always been mature beyond his years, sacrificial, and willing to step back from his desires.

So when Karel said he wouldn’t go to college, or when he insisted on helping his father at the abattoir, Julian believed Karel’s reasons without a doubt. He didn’t want to squander any more of the Ludwig family’s wealth or cause any more trouble.

‘That was really unfortunate.’

But it turns out it was all to hide and live off society’s honor! And now, he was staying here to find a man whose identity he didn’t even know.

Julian let out a shallow sigh. He kept encountering Karel’s sincerity on this journey. It was unexpected.

“What if you can’t find him?”

To Julian’s question, Karel replied without a hint of hesitation on his face.

“That won’t happen.”

“Isn’t it too easy to be so sure?”

“It won’t happen until I give up.”

Karel’s unwavering faith sent shivers down Julian’s spine. Was this the same Karel who had been a devotee of rationalism?

But even so, Julian couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something unusual about his connection with Sasha. He had thought it was just a passing acquaintance on the journey, but to find clues about him in the house of a randomly invited noblewoman… It was too strange to simply dismiss as a cruel twist of fate.

Julian stared intently at Karel, who seemed to be playing along with the whims of fate.

‘Somehow, my brother has changed.’

There were no outward changes, but the transformation must be happening internally.

Feeling Julian’s intense gaze, Karel asked, “Why, is it surprising that I’m like this?”

“No… I don’t know what to say. Surprising! It’s actually fitting. I’m…”

Julian rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on. “I always knew you’d end up in a relationship like this. Just had a feeling. Think about it, you were never really interested in romance. I thought you were asexual! Once those guys get a hold of you, they drive you crazy… You become a completely different person.”

To Julian’s words, Karel chuckled silently. Unaware of his troubled brother’s feelings, Julian sighed.

“Yeah, I knew you’d be like this.”

He hadn’t even considered that the other person would be a man, let alone another guy.

Julian lowered his head and pondered for a while. If they were going to meet eventually, wouldn’t it be the duty of a brother to help? What if he just got tired of this nonsense… Karel might be disappointed if he found out the truth about the man. He might realize that being infatuated is nothing at all.

With those thoughts in mind, Julian resolved to help Karel.

Upon arriving in the room, Julian poured himself a drink to soothe his body, exposed to the cold for so long.

“So how are you going to find this man? Let’s hear the plan.”

“We need to find clues. Where he went, what he went to do. It would be even better if we could meet his family.”

“…He probably isn’t here.”

Karel quietly observed Julian’s words.

“He said he was going to Paris.”

Julian took a sip of his drink.

“So when we ran into him, he was going in the opposite direction. We were heading east, and he was heading west. If the Alexander Cedrin who was here and who you’re looking for, Sasha, and his statement about going to Paris are true… it lines up.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“You never asked.”

Avoiding Karel’s gaze, Julian poured himself another glass of bourbon from the bottle on the table.

“If you know anything else, tell me now.”

“I don’t know anything else! We only talked for about ten minutes.”

“So what did you talk about in those ten minutes?”

“At first… he seemed pleased that I knew Russian. So, I asked for his name… Oh! He suggested traveling together.”

“He declined?”

“Yeah, from what I remember…”

Julian frowned. It was clear in his memory that Sasha had hesitated. It was puzzling why he had refused even though there seemed to be no reason to decline.

“It seemed like there was some conflict.”

“Probably because of different destinations.”

“No, he said he was going to Paris and suggested we go together. But then he declined, and um…”

“He declined?”

“After he declined…”

Seeing Karel intensely focused on his words, Julian swallowed hard. Now he vividly remembered how he had parted ways with Sasha. He had conveniently erased it from his memory, thinking he would never see him again.

“I asked him not to see me again.”

“What?”

“He said he stole your money.”

Julian studied Karel’s silent demeanor. He sensed that something was going wrong from the subtly distorted expression on Karel’s face.

“He stole? He said he did that?”

“No… I suspected, so I interrogated him… Why, Karel?”

“He didn’t steal. I gave him the money. He looked so pitiful.”

“You gave it to him?”

Julian couldn’t help but wonder if Karel was defending the guy. Knowing Karel, it was possible.

“Yeah. Told him not to beg like that wherever he goes.”

“But he didn’t deny stealing the money.”

“…I see.”

Julian flinched at Karel’s low, almost muttered words. Karel seemed hurt.

In any case, if Sasha didn’t steal the money and Karel gave it willingly… Julian realized he had unfairly accused a poor man. But what was done was done, how would he rectify the misunderstanding? Julian recalled how Sasha hadn’t denied stealing the money when questioned but had actually tried to return it to Julian.

Was it really money he had no intention of taking, or was it due to his unfamiliarity with indebtedness?

If Sasha had a decent profession and had fled alone from Russia for some reason… Julian was reminded of the chilling cold of this place. The journey must have been tough.

Furthermore, even after enduring all that, Karel had tried to return the money given to him. Stripping away the prejudice against the man, there was only a conscientious and pitiable soul left.

The unexpected turn of events left Julian feeling stifled. Especially when he remembered Sasha crying as Julian escorted him out of the inn.

“I must never mention this. If Karel finds out he made that man cry, he’ll be furious with me. Anyway, if I ever meet him again, I should apologize for mistaking him as a thief….”

In any case, this gave Julian a reason to meet Sasha again. With that in mind, Julian decided to go along with Karel’s plan.

“No need to delay any further, let’s leave immediately.”

“Immediately?”

Karel looked at Julian with surprise.

“Yeah, tomorrow. Let’s head straight to Paris.”

“Are we going to a royal ball?”

“Forget about that. Besides, I’m tired of those balls. Sure, tomorrow’s event is supposed to be a bit special, but it’ll be in a bigger venue with more people.”