I turned my head abruptly.

The woman’s wailing was barely noticeable amid the surrounding cacophony.

I wondered for a moment if I’d misheard.

As I scanned the crowd, I noticed something odd.

“Some are wearing masks, and some aren’t.”

I quickly discerned the difference between the two.

The people without masks wore less formal clothing than those with masks, indicating that the mask signified social standing.

“Those wearing masks must be nobles.”

They would prefer not to reveal their identities. Commoners wouldn’t care, so there were more people without masks.

Then, I heard that wailing again amid the noisy crowd.

“Find my child, my child! What have you done to my child!”

Among the bustling crowd, a woman’s tawnybrown hair caught my eye.

Her hair, disheveled and reaching down to her waist, was a mess.

I stopped in my tracks, not caring that the Duke and Clements were drifting further away.

“Wait a minute! There seems to be a misunderstanding…!”

At the staff’s words, the woman suddenly raised her head. The instant I saw her face, my vision went dark.

“Miss, are you alright?”

It was Ian who had shielded my eyes. I blinked vacantly and lifted my head.

“The Duke and the young master are waiting.”

“Diane!”

Six steps away, the Duke and Clements were looking at me. No, they were quickly walking toward me.

The Duke, with his longer legs than Clements, carefully covered my face.

“What happened?”

Clements followed and asked.

“What’s wrong, Diane? Is it too noisy around here?”

I looked at the Duke and Clements in turn. Their voices sounded as if coming from a great distance.

“If you’re tired, go home first.”

“I’ll take you and come back.”

Snapping back to my senses at the words “go home,” I remembered why I came here.

“I can’t leave just like that.”

“I’m fine!”

The Duke’s worried expression turned into a frown. Even Clements, whom I was staring at, looked more serious than usual.

“I really am fine!”

I had to repeatedly assure the Duke and Clements that I was fine.

Because the Duke insisted on going home, I had to again say, “I’m going with the Duke!” without really meaning it.

The Duke kept emphasizing.

“If you’re scared, go back first with Clements.”

Clements wasn’t much different.

“You understand, right? If it’s a little hard, you have to tell me.”

“Okay, Clements. I got it. I will.”

Only after receiving my multiple affirmations did Clements finally take a seat on the chair next to him.

The Duke went somewhere else with another staff member, mentioning a reservation.

Now, I was sitting in the VIP seat of the spacious hall on the first floor with Clements.

Behind me, Ian and Sophia stood side by side, and behind Clements was his aide, who said his name was Gordon.

Only after confirming all that did I somewhat calm down.

The auction hadn’t started yet.

I recalled the woman I had seen earlier, who had been crying out for her child.

“It wasn’t Rebecca.”

For a moment, when I saw her from behind, I had thought of Rebecca. My heart felt like it had dropped.

But on closer inspection, it wasn’t her.

The woman wasn’t wearing a mask, so I could see her face and be certain.

“I was mistaken.”

Realizing she was a completely different person, I now saw her demeanor, hair color, and body type more clearly.
The hair I thought was a mustardbrown turned out to be a lighter shade, and she was smaller in build than Rebecca.

Her face looked like she had cried for days, tears seemingly exhausted. All her energy was gone, and dried tears were caked on her eyes.

Yet the woman continued to sob uncontrollably.

‘Why is she looking for a child here? Did she bring a child here?’

It was really noisy earlier, and people were crowded.

The staff had cleared the way for us to enter, so it wasn’t complicated, but I had seen other people enter on their own, bumping into one another.

‘She must have lost her child in the crowd.’

The thought of her frantically searching for her child made me uncomfortable.

‘She’ll find the child.’

Staff were swarming; they would find the child for her. But my gaze began to wander.

I found myself looking around just in case.

But there was no need. Everyone entering this hall was wearing the same mask.

“Who are you looking for?”

“No, nothing.”

But there were no children like us to be seen.

So, people turned their heads curiously, observing us.

Then I spotted a person wearing a white mask. The masked face was already facing my direction before I noticed it.

‘Was he looking at me?’

From his build, he seemed male, but with a hood and mask, I couldn’t confirm his hair color, age, or anything.

Then, applause erupted from the audience.

Turning my gaze to the stage, I saw a large man stepping up.

“Thank you all for your passionate support—!”

I turned my head back to where the masked person was. But the person who had been watching me was nowhere to be found.

‘He was just here. Where did he go?’

I looked around, but it seemed that person had already left. I turned my gaze back to the front.