Chapter 11

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Translated by: Miss Lassie

Judith had been reading the newspaper for hours with much curiosity when the chestnut-haired lady beside her started talking.

“Are you interested in the Curtis family, young lady?”

“Oh, yes. A little bit.”

“A millionaire at twenty-nine, surely he’s not an ordinary person.”

The woman shook her head and looked through the newspaper.

“Well, he’s good-looking. Don’t you think the world is unfair? If you’re smart and have a lot of money, wouldn’t it be too much to have a handsome face?”

“I know…”

Judith couldn’t agree more. Coincidentally, all his photos only showed his side profile or half of his face, but there was no doubt that he was a handsome man.

His neatly swept hair, thick and dark eyebrows, and slightly droopy eyes; all gave him a gentle expression. However, the black-rimmed glasses added to the coolness of his business-like demeanor, but it didn’t hinder the beauty of his clear eyes and slender nose.

Thinking about her sponsor for a while, Judith finally summed up his looks in one line.

“He looks like a professor who gives an F grade without mercy but praises your poor final report for trying your best.”

“That’s an excellent description, but don’t you think you’re just describing a psycho?”

“Thank you, but I didn’t mean it that way.”

As a military and aircraft company owner, she assumed he looked like a muscular engineer, but surprisingly, he looked more of a refined intellectual. Of course, his appearance was also far from the image of a warm and friendly old man that Judith had vaguely imagined.

‘He doesn’t look like an old man at all.’

Why did she even think he was an old man? Judith felt guilty that she had imagined him looking like Santa Clause with a fat belly. Her anonymous sponsor wasn’t anonymous anymore, and he was handsome and much younger than she thought.

Judith was still a little bit skeptical. Obviously, her sponsor wrote the two letters since the handwriting was identical. Still, after reading incredible things about him in the newspaper, he didn’t feel like a real person to her.

“He’s one of the most sought-after bachelors in Waltz right now. He hadn’t been home for a long time, so I’m sure the upper-class ladies must be excited to see him again. They always send him invitations to parties or even follow him around.”

“Oh, I see.”

“Well, the same goes for young noblemen as well. All those close to Rogeric Curtis are big names and influential people. Who knows what opportunities they’d get if they stick with him or follow him around.”

Judith, who had spent five years living in the countryside, felt a little embarrassed and insecure. She didn’t think many people saw her sponsor as a golden elevator to success.

Now she was starting to get worried.

‘Wouldn’t I just be a bother to him?’

She had imagined spending her summer vacation in Waltz with her sponsor, but maybe it was better just to have a cup of tea together, chat for a while, share a meal, then go back to Kinsley.

Even in a town as small as Kinsley, some people were still jealous of her because of her sponsor. But in Waltz, there will probably be more people like that. But she wasn’t a naive sixteen-year-old girl anymore. She was twenty-one now and could take care of herself.

She told herself not to be a nuisance to her sponsor once she got to the mansion. She would just convey her greetings, express her gratitude, and go back home to Kinsley.

Still, she couldn’t contain her excitement about finally going to a big city. The woman beside her started talking again.

“Are you a college student? It seems like it’s your first time traveling to Waltz.”

“Yes, I’ve only ever been in Kinsley.”

It seemed apparent that it was Judith’s first time to Waltz. The woman clucked her tongue at Judith’s candid answer.

“Kinsley is a small and relatively safe place, but here in Waltz, you have to be vigilant. It’s a place where you shouldn’t wander off on your own. For example, when passing through the Northern station…”

She pointed to the front compartment of the train.

“You have to be especially careful of gangs such as Bowell and Lagerth.”

“Gangs?”

“Yes, the outlaws of Waltz. Today, the first one has boarded the train.”

Judith secretly rolled her eyes and peered ahead.

There were gangs in Kinsley too. A rather tacky-named bunch called the Rising Sun would often break through the grocery store’s windows where she had been working as a part-timer. They would steal money and food and get arrested by the police soon after. Sometimes, it was faster for Gregory to apprehend them with his bare hands than to report them to the authorities.

Judith wondered if Waltz’s gangs were any different.

Four men entered the door to the second-class cabin. One of them didn’t look very threatening. He wore a sweatshirt, a vest, and an outer jacket loosely slid across his arms.

At first glance, they looked like middle and upper-class gentlemen in casual clothing. They seemed more formal than the savage thugs in Kinsley.

‘Waltz seems to have a high number of gangs too.’

Judith noticed the atmosphere on the train froze eerily as soon as the men got on.

The front passengers who got up to get off the train hesitated and turned towards the back door to avoid the men. They clearly didn’t want to pass by them even though the men hadn’t even stepped foot in the room.

The men only stood in the joint compartment and turned their heads from time to time, looking through the rooms as if they were checking something. The train started moving again, and Judith whispered to the woman beside her in a low voice.

“Madam, how did you know that it was the Bowell gang? Are there any signs that can help you recognize them?”

“Yes.”

The woman swung her index finger, pointing to Judith’s face.

“You can tell by just looking at their faces. See the redhead at the back? That’s their boss. The scar on his right cheek is the only identification you need.”

“It’s hard to see from here…”

“Oh my, don’t be too obvious. Do it discreetly. You have a lot of courage to check them out on a moving train. What if the leader sees you? They might pull a gun on you.”

After saying that, the woman returned to knitting the fabric in her hands without raising her head. The old man sitting across from Judith shoved a bible in front of her.

‘Pretend to read this.’

He muttered under his breath.

‘They’re staring at you, young lady.’

Why were they looking at her?

Judith slowly turned the pages of the Bible. Her shoulders were stiff from the strange sense of urgency she felt after an eerie silence fell over the cabin.

The train was slowly approaching downtown Waltz. Judith pretended to get ready to get off by putting on her hat. She took advantage of the shade from the brim of her hat and quickly scanned the front.

At that moment, the man guarding the center of the joint compartment turned his body around. He was the man obscured from Judith’s sight earlier.

Even though he was standing at the back, he stood out remarkably, even from a distance. His exceptional height and broad shoulders exceeded that of an average-looking person.

He was wearing a flat cap that concealed half of his face, but it was enough for Judith to recognize him.

Judith’s eyes widened in surprise.

“…huh?”

She might not have recognized him if it wasn’t for his hat. It was the same chestnut-colored flat cap from her memory. Judith’s eyes fell to his sculpted jawline, which seemed very familiar.

“Am I going crazy?”

Judith got up the moment the door opened with a loud horn. The train arrived at Waltz Central Station, and the man was the first to get off.

She hurriedly flung open the window in her cabin and stuck her head out, looking for the man who had just stepped on the platform. He pulled back the flat cap he had been wearing and looked up at the clock tower in the central station.

Judith saw the side of his face, from his straight nose bridge to his clear eyes. The scar from his right temple to his cheekbone looked pale under the sunlight. Judith’s lips parted in shock.

He was undoubtedly the person who took her to Kinsley when she had just arrived in Baja. Seeing him again took her back to that memory of her unforgettable winter five years ago.

“You keep saying weird things that scare the lady.”

Judith remembered that she had to get off Waltz Central Station too. So she quickly grabbed her suitcases, hurriedly slipped through the crowd, and made her way into the aisle.

By the time she reached the door, the man had already walked away. Dozens of passengers began to disembark, forming a small crowd on the platform.

Judith looked around the unfamiliar station, holding her suitcases tightly. After a while, muffled murmurs fell over the place.

“Was it a gang?”

As Judith pondered over what that meant, the woman from before walked over to her.

“Didn’t I warn you already? That redhead man is the boss of the Bowell gang! Don’t be so reckless.”

The woman looked around them and whispered in a low voice.

“The Bowell gang is entirely in a different league than that low-quality Lagerth gang. Especially that redhead, he’s the rudest guy in the back alleys of Waltz. Besides, he had been watching you since he got on the train.”

Judith wasn’t sure if they locked eyes on the train. But he must have recognized her too since he had watched her during the trip.

But why did he walk away without saying anything to her? Was it because they were on the train? But he could’ve approached her when they arrived at the station.

‘Well, what was I supposed to say too? Say hello to him?’

They weren’t friends, and the only thing they had in common was that they both came from Wortherford Orphanage. But that fact alone didn’t mean they had to acknowledge each other. Besides, the people in Waltz feared him, and the woman warned her about him.

She bowed to the woman and the old man she sat with on the train earlier.

“Thank you for your concern. I shall keep your advice in mind and be careful.”

“Don’t be reckless, okay? Take care!”

Judith walked off the platform, leaving the anxious couple behind.

Smoke from the trains arriving in a line filled the Waltz Central Station, and she heard the sound of loud horns and the hustle of a hundred footsteps.

A round-arched glass covered the ceiling of the central station from Platform 1 to Platform 17. Judith’s stomach churned in excitement and anticipation.

‘I’ve finally arrived in Waltz!’

Judith took her first steps in Waltz.

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Miss Lassie’s Corner

I hope you still remember the male character mentioned in this chapter. You first met him on chapter 1.