"Wherever you go, whomever you meet. I don't care."
The woman's face was hidden by the parasol. Her voice conveyed no emotion.
"But I can't stand becoming a pathetic woman."
The woman turned.
The outline of the bones on the back of her hand, protruding above the lace glove gripping the parasol handle, was clear.
"Just promise me that one thing."
It meant she didn't care what he did, as long as he didn't attract attention.
Her lips were pressed tightly, her expression resolute, and her dark brown eyes, unflinchingly fixed on him, were cold.
"What."
Yohan's voice dropped low.
"Have you done?"
Startled by the unexpected question, her eyes widened as she looked up at Yohan.
It was ridiculous and absurd. She had harbored feelings for another man in front of her fiancé.
He hadn't done anything yet. Nothing at all.
The sunlight was hot. Irritation surged.
"...I meant, be careful in the future."
Irene said without averting her gaze. Sunlight shattered over her blonde hair, so like Christian's.
Her densely packed long eyelashes, the ashen eyes within. It was inevitable that Christian came to mind.
"I apologize if I offended you."
His reaction suggested he hadn't visited that woman yesterday. Irene slowly looked away and turned.
If she couldn't be with Christian, she had accepted this marriage, thinking that a man who resembled him wouldn't be so bad.
But this man was so different from him.
"Is that all you have to say?"
The man asked indifferently, glancing at his watch.
"Yes."
"From now on."
Irene, who was about to leave, stopped.
"Don't create situations that require an apology."
His gaze was aloof and overbearing.
Even though she was a princess of a small nation, how would a man who treated her like this treat a lowly bastard?
Irene felt a little sorry for the woman.
Olivia was lost in thought, her mind blank. Suddenly, she shook her head. Her neatly cut hair swayed at her nape.
"Miss?"
Anne called out to Olivia worriedly. Her mistress had been acting strange since yesterday.
She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but something was off. Her flushed cheeks suggested she might have a slight fever.
It must be because the Duke had arrived. Moreover, he had come with his fiancée, the Princess.
Could the love that had burned so brightly, consuming itself like a candle, simply vanish in an instant, blown out by a gust of wind?
Anne's heart ached at the sight of her mistress. But she had to tell her this.
"Miss?"
Leaning closer and raising her voice slightly, Olivia, startled, turned her rose-tinted face.
"...Ah! Anne. Did you call me?"
Olivia's heart pounded like a child caught doing something wrong.
It was all because of that man.
Since yesterday, his face kept appearing before her eyes. It was strange.
Even the moment she woke up this morning, his eyes, like a sky with sleet, faintly floated in the air.
Closing her eyes tightly in surprise, it became even clearer, disconcertingly so. Then, when she opened them again.
I must be crazy.
Thinking that, her face flushed again. Afraid of being caught by Anne, she couldn't meet her gaze and fidgeted with her fingers.
"Why? What's wrong?"
"I think the Carriage is going the wrong way."
"What?"
Startled, Olivia pulled back the curtains she had drawn to avoid the reporters and peered out the window.
Anne was right. The Carriage, which had entered the city, was heading down the right avenue instead of turning left towards Riverside.
Olivia opened the small window to the coachman's seat and asked.
"Where are we going?"
"Pardon?"
The McDowell family's coachman, flustered by Olivia's question, asked back.
"The Marquess asked me to bring you. I thought you knew, but didn't you?"
"..."
It was the first she had heard of it. Puzzled, Olivia asked again.
"Did Gerald come by?"
"He only said he was an employee of Lancelot Company, so I don't know his name, but he said it was the Marquess's order and gave me this."
The coachman, holding the reins with one hand, abruptly thrust something from his inside pocket through the window.
It was a letter. Olivia, receiving the plain white envelope, stared at it for a moment.
Yesterday's unfortunate incident stirred her heart again.
Could it be that he was avoiding her because of yesterday's awkwardness?
Surely not.
Olivia shook her head.
He must be busy. He was a busy man.
She was usually oblivious to such things, but she couldn't mistake that look in his eyes. What he wanted was so clear.
He revealed his emotions so plainly, how could she not know?
Olivia's earlobes burned red.
Rubbing her face with her palms, she picked up the postcard-sized letter. She opened the envelope and took out the contents.
The gold logo of Lancelot Company at the top of the letterhead shone brilliantly in the sunlight filtering through the curtains.
"Bring her with utmost respect."
The aristocratic dignity felt in the slanted cursive handwriting.
Olivia didn't know Edgar's handwriting, but the signature below the phrase was familiar.
His flamboyant script, signing the identity guarantee documents at the Rondos consulate, had been so impressive that it was etched in her memory.
It was definitely his signature.
"So, where are we going?"
The man's sweet voice, suggesting a meal at Grand Bleu, echoed in her ears.
"He said to bring you to the Lancelot Hotel. With utmost respect."
"!"
Olivia's bright blue eyes widened for a moment.
Today was the day of the Leopold Hotel opening party, which the morning newspapers and Dumblin Club members had been constantly talking about.
And on such a day, the Carriage was heading towards Golden Avenue.
Good heavens!
It was a bad omen.
As always, the evening on Golden Avenue sparkled with red sunsets and dazzling lights.
Among them, the Leopold Hotel, perfectly renovated, captivated attention with its refined classic beauty.
The area in front of the hotel was already swarming with reporters, their enthusiasm for coverage burning hot.
Silver flashes flickered towards the arriving dignitaries, decorating the crimson sky.
Yohan, who had spent the night on the hotel's top floor, checked the preparations and began to dress.
As usual, Yohan, dressed in a black suit, listened to Maurice recite the schedule once again.
"Smile during the unveiling ceremony and commemorative photo. Got it? Don't forget to smile. Your speech is after His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, and please, even on the platform, keep a smiling face-"
"Enough."
Yohan cut him off, fastening the strap of his watch and shaking it lightly.
The gold buttons on his black jacket shone in the yellow light, along with his neatly combed-back blonde hair.
It was the signature color of the Leopold Hotel. Naturally, gold was also chosen as the dress code for the opening party.
Yohan, who had been standing in front of the mirror, turned around. The elegance of his noble birth flowed coldly. Maurice was newly impressed.
"The Princess."
"We received word that she has departed."
Yohan nodded briefly and checked the time as a habit.
His desolate gray eyes reached the watch. That was all, but. His eyes, unreadable, were fixed on it for a while.
If Edgar came,
Would Olivia come too?
Yohan, looking down at his wife's birthday present, distorted his eyes.
For a moment, his heart throbbed. Yohan turned his gaze away.
It was such a clear, short but intense sensation, yet he sensed a danger that he shouldn't delve into deeply.
What could he do now?
Returning to his cold gaze, Yohan neatly adjusted the front of his jacket.
It was time for the opening party of the Leopold Hotel, which he had devoted five years to.
The dress Catherine chose at first sight was an evening dress in Champagne gold with elegant draping details.
It was a design that highlighted Anne Boleyn's toned figure, honed by tennis.
"Gorgeous, Anne. So pretty."
Catherine wanted to praise her own sense.
"You too, Catherine."
Anne Boleyn slowly looked away from the mirror and gave Catherine a captivating smile. Her red-painted lips were luscious.
Edgar would come too.
Anne Boleyn thought of the man who had once been her lover. As the head of a company representing Britt, he would come. Then, that woman.
She hoped that the lowly bastard would attend and grace the occasion. Anne Boleyn turned around, eagerly anticipating it.
"Let's go too."
Anne Boleyn linked arms with Catherine.
As they took a step, the gold fringe that stretched from below the knees to the ankles flared dazzlingly, revealing her white legs.
The sound of heels echoing on the ivory marble was very cheerful.
"Irene."
Catherine, wearing a silk dress with gold lace, smiled brightly and reached out to Irene.
Irene met Catherine's fingertips.
The gold diamond necklace around Irene's neck, dressed in an elegant black dress, sparkled brilliantly.
A moment later, the luxurious Carriage carrying the princesses left Britt Palace and began to head towards the Leopold Hotel.
"Are you really not going?"
"No."
Edgar's answer, leaning against the window frame with his arms crossed, contemplating the Leopold Hotel towering behind the Pale Hotel, was firm.
It seemed that all the social figures of Litten were turning out. Luxurious Carriages lined up like ants.
"Don't do that-"
"I have a prior engagement."
Gerald jumped up as Edgar, uncrossing his arms and putting his hands in his pockets, turned around.
"A prior engagement? I'm your assistant, what schedule am I unaware of?"
"It's a private matter."
The end of the simple answer was slightly raised.
What on earth had gotten into him? Gerald gave him a suspicious look.
Edgar smiled and casually picked up the jacket he had draped over the back of the chair.
"Gerald, attend in my place. Give Yohan my regards."
Edgar smiled as he put his arms through the sleeves of his jacket. He straightened his collar and was about to take a step when there was a knock. It was his secretary.
"A guest has arrived."
The secretary politely announced the arrival of the sudden visitor.
