Chapter 90
- The Essence of Romance
2023.12.29.
Edgar wore a social smile, doing his best to conceal his disillusionment.
"Perhaps, do you remember me? We met at the Rose Ball. I'm so pleased to foster this friendship."
"I've been supporting Blanchett since the first day of the competition. Her skills are just so exceptional, aren't they?"
Since when had they been so friendly? The noblewomen in front of Olivia were fawning over her as if they would give her their liver and gallbladders.
Just as the absurdity of their behavior was about to make him laugh, the gentlemen pulled Edgar away.
"They've brought in Argent Mountain Cigars. Let's go together."
He wasn't particularly keen, but it seemed like a good idea to excuse himself for a while.
It wouldn't be bad for Olivia to enjoy watching the women who had been acting high and mighty groveling at her feet.
"I'll be back in a moment."
Edgar, bending slightly at the waist and whispering in her ear, looked incredibly affectionate.
Even his low voice was so charming that the noblewomen trembled with envy.
"Yes."
Olivia nodded slightly, concealing her disappointment as she removed her hand from Edgar's arm. He smiled brightly and turned away.
Olivia stared blankly at the man's back as he crossed the wide hall and disappeared from view, then finally turned her head.
While Olivia was chatting with the noblewomen, the first dance tune began.
One by one, the noblewomen left the table to dance the waltz.
Even though she couldn't dance because of her foot, Olivia's gaze wandered aimlessly around the ballroom, searching for Edgar.
"I'll be back."
Elaine said, linking arms with her husband.
Olivia smiled and nodded, and Elaine winked before heading to the dance floor with her husband.
The couples moved to the center and stood in formation.
As the music began, the beautifully adorned men and women surrendered to the flowing melody and slowly began to turn.
Above them, the lights of the giant chandelier scattered brilliant light.
The waltz danced by the fledgling contestants who were just beginning to make a name for themselves, and the ladies who were more attracted to their looks than their skills, was particularly lively.
Olivia quietly watched the people swaying like flower petals and took a sip of Champagne.
It was then that the murmuring voices behind the fan mixed with the soft music.
"I wonder if Marquis Lancelot will propose today?"
"……."
A proposal.
Olivia's ears perked up. People were glancing at Olivia from here and there, whispering.
"Perhaps he'll do it during the fireworks. At the climax of the party. It's so romantic just imagining it."
Whether it was the Champagne or not, Olivia's face gradually flushed red.
Rumors were supposed to spread quietly without the person involved knowing, but how could she have been so oblivious to a story that everyone else seemed to know?
Olivia became confused.
"I'm so excited. We'll finally get to see the Blue Diamond Ring. He really knows the essence of romance."
"I'm so envious."
Despite the envious gazes of the noblewomen, the waltz melody that spread into the summer night air was only sweet.
Olivia gently clutched the hem of her dress and wandered around the banquet hall with a dazed look, searching for the subject of the rumors.
'I wonder if Marquis Lancelot will propose today?'
The noblewomen's whispers echoed in Olivia's ears. It couldn't be just a baseless rumor.
This can't be happening.
A proposal.
"Are you disappointed?"
"!"
Lost in thought, Olivia was startled and reflexively turned her head. Edgar was already standing behind her.
Like the flowers in the vase decorating the table, Olivia's cheeks blushed shyly.
"Y-you startled me."
"Why would you be startled?"
Edgar gave a defenseless smile and leaned his upper body towards her.
"Why, why are you doing this?"
Olivia, flustered, stepped back. He was too close. She was worried about people glancing at them.
"What were you doing to be so surprised?"
'Perhaps he'll do it during the fireworks. At the climax of the party. It's so romantic just imagining it.'
Her heart pounded.
"I was waiting for you."
The blue-gray eyes, made even brighter by the light of the chandelier, curved gently. It was the look that Olivia loved.
"Let's start with a toast first."
Edgar lowered his hand. A staff member approached carefully and placed Champagne glasses on the table.
The golden waves sparkling under the light seemed like a brilliant future for the two of them, and Olivia's heart fluttered.
"To the new Queen."
His low voice was wonderful. But even in this romantic moment, embarrassment was still embarrassment.
"Please, I beg you. I don't want to hear that anymore."
Olivia said in a small voice, her neck flushed red.
Following the delicate neckline where blue veins were transparently visible, the radiance of the magnificent Tiara was noble above the luscious tresses of hair.
The new Queen.
Olivia was the woman who perfectly fit that word.
"When do the fireworks start?"
Edgar's gaze turned from there to the blue eyes that held only her.
Olivia's face, filled with anticipation, was lovely.
Edgar, who knew the meaning of the question, met Olivia's gaze and replied.
"Whenever you wish."
Considering the cost of silencing the guests in the jewelry store that day and the reporters outside the window, it was a bit anticlimactic, but it wasn't bad to admire her cheeks turning a delicious red.
It was just as the clear Champagne glasses were about to clink together that Gerald approached urgently.
"Excuse me... President."
Gerald greeted Olivia politely, then bent down and whispered something in Edgar's ear.
The content was drowned out by the music, which had changed to a lively rhythm, but Edgar's expression darkened for a brief moment before returning to normal as if it were nothing.
"I'll have to excuse myself for a moment."
"Is something wrong?"
It was a worried question.
"No. There's someone I need to greet. It'll be quick. Can you be alone?"
Edgar asked mischievously.
"Of course. Go ahead."
Olivia smiled faintly and replied.
Edgar stood up, lightly kissed Olivia's forehead, and left the banquet hall with Gerald.
Olivia watched the man's retreating figure.
Just like when she was climbing the red stairs amidst the dazzling flashes of light, her heart pounded again.
From his affectionate lips that had landed on her forehead, a strange harmony of joy, the excitement of waiting for a proposal, and the anxiety of his receding back washed over Olivia.
\\
Johann Leopold was falling apart in a spectacular fashion.
Maurice had been feeling a throbbing in his temples for a while now.
The past month had been a series of unconventional moves that defied his predictions since he began working as the Duke's aide.
The Duke should have been in Leiden right now, of course. There was a mountain of urgent work to be done sitting in the Leopold Company's office.
For such a man to disappear without a word with his body not even fully recovered was too much.
"Find him immediately!"
Maurice was furious.
"Quietly, so that no rumors leak out. Find him right now!"
In fact, he was the biggest victim of Johann's impulsive behavior.
He had been dragged here, ruining his chance to start something resembling a romance for the first time at the age of thirty-two.
Really. If he hadn't owed him his life from the Carriage accident...
To make matters worse, Dowager Margaret Wellington was coming from Lemonde across the sea. It was a disaster he had brought upon himself.
Oh! God!
Dr. Biden must have been very detailed, because when he rushed into Johann's bedroom after receiving an urgent telegram that the enraged Dowager had personally boarded a ship and was crossing the ocean, all that awaited him was an empty bed and liquor bottles rolling on the floor.
Damn it, where the hell did he go?
As he swept back his bangs in annoyance and raised his head, the Lancelot Hotel, lit up like a giant Christmas tree, came into view across the windowpane.
"……."
A chill ran down his spine for a moment, but Maurice shook his head with a silly laugh.
No way.
Even if he had injured his head, was drunk, and hadn't been in his right mind lately.
There's no way he would go to such an embarrassing place.
\\
A man addicted to gambling has nothing to fear. Even more so if that gambler is a drunkard.
Gerald clicked his tongue inwardly as he looked at the reporter, who was so shameless that he had no conscience.
The reporter, who was waiting for them in a crooked posture in the office on the top floor of the Lancelot Hotel, was the very same man Edgar had commissioned to fabricate the scandal on the night of the Rose Ball.
"You need money..."
Edgar said, exhaling a long stream of cigarette smoke, summarizing the reporter's rambling threats in one sentence.
"Well, that's about it."
The reporter grinned. An unpleasant smell of alcohol wafted over. There was a scab of blood on the corner of his mouth, probably from being beaten up somewhere.
Even as his face contorted in pain, he didn't stop talking.
"Unfortunately, this will probably be the last time. Of course, since it's the last time, the amount needed is quite substantial."
He had been steadily winning and raking in the stakes. The last game was also clearly a winning one.
He bet his entire fortune and lost it all on the spot.
After causing a ruckus, claiming it was a rigged game, he was beaten up and kicked out, and there was only one place he could turn to.
He suppressed his resentment and looked at the Marquess with pleading eyes.
"The last time..."
Edgar's eyes narrowed. A low voice echoed in the heavy air, and cigarette smoke slowly spread.
"Yes. I swear to God, it's the last time."
Of course, it was a lie.
The man rolled his eyes anxiously.
Edgar calmly watched the malicious blackmailer, who used his position as a reporter to dig into the private lives of socialites and extort money from them.
Gerald, standing beside him, gritted his teeth.
That damn robber.
They shouldn't have listened to him in the first place. People's greed is endless.
It was wrong from the start to have bribed such a man to fabricate a scandal.
