Chapter 39
The con artist smirked ominously, and the face of the stranger holding the flowers contorted as if he were about to burst into tears.
Meanwhile, one of the backup agents watching the scene from afar muttered, “It looks like Abel Sting has completely given up.”
The entire team nodded in unison, as if they had planned it.
It certainly seemed that way.
Abel, who had been languishing all week, looked like a man who had suppressed his appetite for as long as possible and was finally beginning to binge. He was pouring out words toward his target, wrapping them in a plausible veneer, essentially telling her she was doomed and that every misfortune imaginable would find its way to her.
“Oh dear, didn’t you know about bringing flowers from a cemetery?”
“Tsk, tsk, she clearly didn’t. But miss, where are you from?”
As a few busybody merchants chimed in, the target’s face—clutching her armful of flowers—turned the color of a freshly buried corpse.
Vies, the capital of Luxen.
As the center of trade for the continent of Norfolk, land prices in Vies had been exorbitant since ancient times. Even within Vies, the most expensive area was undoubtedly the upper reaches of the Rotten River, lined with the estates of royal and noble families who had ruled Norfolk for generations. The Marquis Reinhardt family was a prime example.
There was another noble family currently as famous in Vies as the Marquis: the family of Count Jerome.
Night had fallen.
The servants of the Count’s household, dressed in full uniform, were moving so busily their feet seemed not to touch the ground.
Today was a very special day. It was the birthday party of Sabine von Jerome, the only daughter of Count Jerome and the fiancée of King Leopold.
Even before sunset, famous figures whose names alone carried weight began arriving at the Count’s estate one after another.
Sabine’s guests were truly diverse.
“Your Highness! Goodness, you really came!”
“I said I would. It’s not that far from Pelfe to here.”
“Don’t make me cry. I spent so much time on my makeup today; I can’t afford to let it run.”
There were collateral members of the royal family from nearby Pelfe.
“Sabine, a very happy birthday to you.”
“Duchess Eros, thank you so much for coming. My mother is in the hall.”
“Yes, yes. By the way, I suppose this will be the last year I can call you by your name like this?”
“Don’t say that. Please, call me by my name whenever you like.”
“How could I do that once you become the Queen?”
Even the elders of the Luxen royal family attended her party.
Not only them, but celebrities from the arts—the most popular dancers, opera singers, painters, and pianists of the moment—had also been invited.
“Thank you sincerely for inviting us.”
“I’m the one who should be thankful you came. I’ve prepared a place over there, so please, make yourselves comfortable and enjoy the evening.”
Sabine gave a social smile and pointed toward a corner of the hall.
As the invited artists followed a servant and disappeared into the corner, a noblewoman fanned herself lightly and praised Sabine.
“I heard that painters and musicians have been desperate to receive patronage from the Jerome family lately. So, it was your doing, milady?”
“Especially Dante, whom you recently sponsored. Dante’s paintings are, how shall I put it… so unique that at first, I wasn’t sure what to make of them. But the more I looked, the more mysterious and captivating they became. I even bought one myself this time.”
Sabine led the guests along, smiling quietly as if embarrassed.
“I’ve always been fond of unique things.”
“Being unique isn’t always a good thing. It’s because you have such an excellent eye that you chose well.”
“Thank you, Duchess. You should hang Dante’s work in your study. It’s a wonderful piece for contemplation, so I even suggested His Majesty hang one in his own study.”
“A work hung in His Majesty’s study? Then I must place mine in my study immediately as well.”
Sabine von Jerome was the rising star of Luxen high society.
It was only natural. She was the King’s fiancée and the only daughter of Count Jerome.
But that wasn’t all.
Sabine walked over to a woman watching her from a distance and affectionately linked arms with her.
“Actually, it wasn’t me, but my mother’s keen eye. Sponsoring Dante and suggesting His Majesty hang his work in the study—it was all her.”
At that, the mother who had been gazing at her beloved daughter, Charlotte, spoke.
“Sabine, that’s enough modesty.”
The mother and daughter looked like a painting.
The biggest reason Sabine could become the star of society was her mother.
The woman praised as the most beautiful in East Norfolk, the owner of an unrivaled eye for beauty, the center of the latest trends, and the queen of society.
“Marchioness, I am so envious. How could you have a daughter who is both this beautiful and this intelligent?”
Charlotte von Reinhardt laughed.
At that, her masterpiece, Sabine’s smile, deepened as well. As the mother and daughter—with their luscious blonde hair and amethyst-like purple eyes—smiled at each other, it created the illusion that the surroundings were brightening.
However, Sabine was not Charlotte’s only masterpiece.
“Is it just your daughter? What about your son?”
The true masterpiece was someone else.
“Speaking of Brother Oscar, Mother… I’m so upset with him.”
As Sabine spoke in a whining tone, Charlotte stroked her daughter’s cheek.
“Don’t say that. Don’t you know how busy your brother is?”
Oscar von Reinhardt.
As Charlotte’s legitimate eldest son, he was the source of her power. This was evident by the fact that she still maintained the Reinhardt name even after having Sabine with her longtime lover, Count Jerome.
“Even so, how can he not come to his only sister’s birthday?”
“If you remember what Oscar bought you as an engagement gift, you shouldn’t be saying such things, should you?”
As Charlotte lightly tapped the large diamond necklace around Sabine’s neck with her index finger, gasps of admiration erupted from those around them.
“It’s larger and more brilliant than my own wedding jewels!”
“Milady, I’m so jealous. There isn’t a brother in the whole world who would give his sister a necklace like this as an engagement gift.”
Charlotte put on a mock-stern expression.
“You’re the one who pestered your brother to buy this, saying it would serve as your birthday present too, weren’t you?”
“Mother. I could do without gifts like this; I just wish my brother would have come.”
When Sabine responded with a sorrowful look, the noblewomen surrounding them chimed in.
“I understand how you feel, milady. A party attended by the Marquis of Reinhardt… if such a place existed, I would go even if it were across the sea.”
“I feel the same way. Did you know my younger sister is currently scrapping newspaper articles featuring His Excellency the Marquis?”
“My sister is doing the same. I don’t know how many dailies she subscribes to just to collect photos of the Marquis. Marchioness, it doesn’t matter if there’s no place to sit—if the Marquis ever attends an event, please, you must let us know.”
“Forget a place to sit; I wouldn’t mind if there wasn’t even room to stand.”
As the noblewomen spoke with desperate expressions, Charlotte laughed leisurely like a well-fed lion before speaking.
“Oscar tends to avoid places intended for mere idle chatter, so I don’t know how it will go, but if such an occasion arises, I shall let you know.”
Just then, a family servant approached cautiously and whispered something to Charlotte. Charlotte soon nodded.
“I understand.”
Once the servant withdrew, Charlotte turned to her daughter, who was looking at her with wide eyes, and spoke affectionately.
“Sabine, your father is calling for you.”
“Calling for me? Instead of coming here?”
“It seems a gift sent personally by His Majesty has arrived, and it appears it’s something that simply cannot be brought in here.”
At that, the surrounding noblewomen began to make a fuss.
“I want to be born as you in my next life, milady.”
“Your brother’s gift was enough to be envious of, but a gift from His Majesty that is of such a scale it can’t be brought inside?”
Sabine acted modest, covering her mouth with her hand, and Charlotte led her daughter away.
The mother and daughter walked through the crowd of nobles who were showering them with praise. As a place designed for banquets, the hall had an external staircase that led directly to the rear garden. The servants threw open the balcony doors leading to the garden for the approaching pair.
Sabine, who had been holding her mother’s hand throughout the walk, let go as they reached the balcony and ran to the railing in a single bound.
Count Jerome, who had been waiting for his daughter in the garden lit by scattered lanterns, smiled brightly when he spotted her appearing over the balcony.
“Father!”
Beside the Count stood an Akhal-Teke, a horse said to be the finest among prestigious breeds, showing off its elegant form. With its characteristic golden mane fluttering in the dim garden, the Akhal-Teke looked almost like a unicorn.
