Chapter 23

A maid dating her master in front of others — there was no faster way to get herself fired. Besides, since she was in front of others, she wouldn’t have to worry about being accidentally hit by Winston.

“Isn’t that boring just hearing about it?”

“Right?”

As she smiled confidently, curling the corners of her eyebrows, Winston suddenly let out a laugh of absurdity.

“It’s probably going to be insanely boring. How about taking this opportunity to practice patience?”

“Practice… Am I a dog?”

“You are a soldier. Don’t soldiers have patience as their ability?”

For some reason, she decided to put his military qualities in the forefront and scratched his pride. Did it work…?

Winston licked his lower lip, deep in thought.

“If it’s a boring date…. There is one place that is just right.”

Then, he grabbed Sally’s waist and lifted her up without warning. He even pushed her towards the door.

“I’ll give you five minutes. Go change your clothes.”

º º º

As the front door of the mansion opened, the sedan moved slowly. When the car drove through the garden, she stuck close to the window to catch the eye of the employees, but luckily no one ran into them.

Sally stared tenaciously at her last hope, the gatekeeper.

The middle-aged man stared at her in the passenger seat and raised his eyebrows, though immediately turned away. At that, her shoulders slumped down. The gatekeeper was not a talkative person so he wouldn’t go out of his way to say that Winston was going somewhere with a maid.

“You tried hard.”

“What…?”

The maid turned her head and glanced at him. Instead of answering, Leon twisted his lips at an angle and smiled.

…A pale pink blouse with rustic frills, a brown plaid skirt, and a red cardigan with fluff. It was worse than when she was standing in front of the Winsford department store.

She was deliberately trying her best to make the date boring.

‘If that’s the case, take off your stockings.’

It was a sight to behold.

Through the thin black silk, the woman’s well-toned skin shone through. Besides, that rustic blouse didn’t have a tight neckline like a maid’s uniform, so her exposed clavicle and the concave groove beyond it kept attracting his attention.

His attention was focused on the edge of his field of vision even when he was looking ahead.

Leon couldn’t help but remember that woman crouching naked in the dark bathroom last night. No wonder there was another annoying reaction between his legs.

“So, what is the answer?”

“What?”

“You should know the answer.”

He was asking why he only felt lust towards her.

“I don’t know what you mean.”

Sally pulled her chin off her cheeks resolutely, glancing at Winston’s hand as he grabbed the steering wheel. She hadn’t seen him drive on his own in over a year, and she didn’t know what changed it today.

‘…It’s ominous.’

As usual, she thought the attendant and driver would follow. That meant that there would already be two witnesses in the mansion. Although she thought that, her expectations were shattered mercilessly.

‘Is he going to take me to a secluded place like this?’

Sally sat straight like a man wrapped in iron armor all over her body, staring straight ahead.

“Where are we going?”

“Winsford Marina.”

“…Yes?”

The sun was slowly setting. She thought about having dinner in Halewood or downtown Winsford…

‘Why the marina?’

As she turned her head to look at Winston, he was only looking straight ahead. When he wrinkled his eyebrows, she followed his gaze to see Peter’s postal carriage moving slowly in front of them.

“Sally.”

“Yes?”

“You and that guy seemed friendly last time.”

A short scream escaped Sally’s lips, who was about to deny she wasn’t.

It was because Winston suddenly shifted the gear and pressed the accelerator hard. The car sped up to hit the postal carriage. Sally exclaimed sharply as she got close enough to see the dirt on the rear wheel of the carriage.

“What are you doing now?”

At that moment, Winston steered the steering wheel roughly to the left and her body leaned towards the door.

Peter, who was looking at the car threateningly overtaking the carriage, was met with surprised eyes through the window. Her eyes widened even more as he recognized Sally. At least there was at least one witness that she had done her mission.

As soon as the carriage was overtaken, Winston steered the steering wheel to the right.

Her body staggered, this time leaning towards the driver’s seat. Winston laughed mischievously, seeing how fun it was for Sally to hold onto his arms so she wouldn’t fall.

“Wouldn’t it be better to leave the driving to the professional?”

Even though she was being sarcastic, instead of answering, he muttered something else.

“Is that guy your fiancée?”

“What?”

Sally wrinkled her face to the fullest, making it obvious that she was genuinely offended by that teasing. Seeing that, Winston only turned his eyes her way and raised the corners of his lips.

“I like handsome men.”

“Really?”

“Why does the Captain think that?”

“You don’t like me.”

…Superb.

Sally stared at Winston’s face with cold eyes.

Tanned skin just enough to look good, long eyelashes gracefully draped over the sharp eyes, a smooth falling nose, and a strong jawline…

‘Damn it.’

He was the devil she despised, but even Sally was forced to admit the fact that he was good-looking. Why was the inside so ugly, yet he had such a wonderful outer shell…?

“Oh, right.”

“What is it?”

“I can tell by seeing the Captain that I like handsome and kind men.”

Dispute the fact that she thought he would make a mockery out of her again, Winston wrinkled his brow and looked only in front. Was it rude to say that he was not nice? It was not that he got the nickname of vampire for nothing.

“Handsome and kind men…”

Leon bit his lip once, then squeezed out a light laugh.

“Then, it makes sense.”

º º º

‘What kind of trickery is this?’

Standing at the marina, Sally couldn’t keep her mouth shut.

In front of her, a luxury cruise ship with orange lights lit one by one. It was an overly grandiose place for a boring date.

“Go in.”

Winston shoved her back as if anchored to land. As she walked down the ramp leading to the entrance, she felt confined in a lavish prison, caught by Winston.

“Excuse me, Captain.”

“What?”

“When are we coming back?”

“Four hours later.”

Sally stopped in front of the entrance. Even now, she wanted to go out and have dinner in town, though Winston, who was quick-witted, would not let her go. As expected, she was pushed into the cruise ship, and just as she was settling her foot in the boat, he threw her an assignment.

“Try to make four hours feel like eight hours.”

The servant who was standing in the lobby immediately approached the two of them.

“Welcome to the Sunset Cruise that will make for a fantastic night out.”

…Fantastic, what was fantastic?

The moment his gaze met Sally, who was standing next to Winston with a displeased look, the servant raised his eyebrows slightly. He let out a slick welcome and even glanced her up and down. It seemed that he was surprised to see the shabby clothes that did not suit a luxury cruise ship.

‘What are you looking at like that? It’s just a uniform.’

She glanced at him, and the servant turned his gaze away and gave Winston an exaggerated smile, something they’d see on an advertisement poster.

“Where can I guide you?”

“The restaurant.”

When the answer felt like a command, the servant guided the two of them to the elevator. Passing passengers and employees, they all cast strange glances at her once in a while.

Though it was a little awkward because she was not used to receiving attention, it was a good thing. As long as the other people’s gazes kept chasing them, Winston couldn’t do anything nonsense.

As the elevator door opened, he beckoned her to go in first, as if she was his lady. He didn’t seem like a gentleman to push her back with his hand.

“It’s a good night.”

The elevator operator raised his hat slightly to greet him. Sally greeted him and stood on the corner. Then, she was followed by Winston, who was standing in the middle and rummaging through the pockets of his jacket.

The next moment, he took out two stiff bills and handed them to the operator. The operator’s eyes widened, and Winston nodded slightly for him to accept the money.

‘Is he tipping the operator every time he gets on the elevator?’

Frowning at the luxury, which she couldn’t even afford, Winston then grabbed her and pulled her into the middle of the elevator. As she stood next to him, Sally took a step away from him, and he grabbed her again. Finally, Winston cornered her against the wall and smiled.

It soon became clear what all these unconventional actions were actually for.

The door closed, and the elevator, which had been going up smoothly, suddenly stopped and rumbled loudly.

“Agh!”

Since she was holding her arms tightly and was in the middle of the elevator, Sally couldn’t lean against the wall. The moment she collapsed on Winston’s chest, her body staggered.

His thick forearms wrapped around her shoulders.

“Practice your patience, Miss Bristol. Are you trying to attack me in front of people?”