In a tower next to Freesia’s salon was a man whose face was brimming with confusion.
‘That woman, what’s her aim?’
Max couldn’t understand why Juvellian had looked at him with such eyes and why she continued to be so nice to him.
‘What does she want from me…’
He let out a sigh. He felt vexed, recalling the look in her eyes–she didn’t seem to hold any ulterior motives but she didn’t seem to hold any expectations either.
Suddenly, a bitter sense of discomfort arose.
‘How pathetic. I won’t be seeing that woman anymore, so why do I even care?’
Max tried to erase the woman from his head, but strangely enough, the image of her friendly eyes and smiling face kept coming to mind.
‘Damn it!’
The moment a nasty frown marred Max’s face, the door opened.
“Oh, my. Your Highness, why do you have such an expression on?”
“Stop saying useless things and if you have something to tell me, just spit it out.” Max responded to Freesia’s words in a chilling voice.
‘Making a fuss even when I’m just trying to look out for him.’
Although she was feeling quite upset, Freesia composed herself, mindful of her facial expression in front of her master, and told him, “Oh, it’s just that the one who is currently acting as your stand-in, Victor, sent a message.”
“About what?”
“Ah, he said that since Your Highness keeps pushing back your return, it seems they’ve gotten suspicious as the Emperor’s envoy is refusing to go back.”
In other words, the envoy was staying back to act as a spy.
A sardonic smile appeared on Max’s face.
“To think that the one who initially put off my return indefinitely after I announced I’d be coming back is the same one who is getting all impatient now. “
Max continued dryly, “Relay a message to Victor. Tell him to continue acting like me without any mistakes.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
After saying goodbye, Freesia turned around to leave when she suddenly recalled something.
“Oh, and about Lady Floyen. I’m afraid it seems likely that she’ll be looked down upon at the party, and there’s also a rumor that she has a bad relationship with her father.”
Just when Max thought he had managed to rid all thoughts of her from his head, it had been all for naught thanks to Freesia.
“You don’t have to report on her affairs from now on,” he said, his face crumpling in a hostile manner.
‘You were so curious before, so why the sudden change of heart?’ Freesia thought. It was a little odd, but she only nodded her head, used to her master’s fickleness.
“I understand,” she replied and began leaving the room until a low voice suddenly stopped her.
“Where are you going?”
“Pardon?” she asked in bewilderment.
Her master responded coolly, “Don’t you think you should still take charge and finish the current matter at least?”
‘Why in the world is he being like this?’
The thoughts running through her master’s head were like a storm that she could not keep up with, no matter how hard she tried.
* * *
“Miss Daffodil, have you decided whether you’ll be attending Count Arlo’s party this week?”
“Yes, of course I should attend. What about you, Miss Cosmos?”
“I plan on attending as well.”
Nobles gathered in Madam Freesia’s salon, hiding under aliases and masks, were busy talking about Count Arlo’s party over the weekend.
It was because the subject at the center of their conversations was someone who would be attending the party.
“I’m really curious as to who Lady Floyen’s partner will be. What do you think, madam?”
As all eyes turned to her, Freesia–who was quietly drinking expensive liquor at the corner of the table–let out a meaningful laugh.
“I wonder. I think she’ll probably enter with her relative, Sir Ronel, or…maybe she’ll enter alone?”
“Oh my, why do you think that?”
Freesia took a sip of the pumpkin-colored liquid in her glass before parting her red lips to explain.
“If she were to enter with another man after recently ending things with Lord Mikhail, that would only fan the flames of the scandal. But if she were to enter with Sir Ronel, or by herself, she can avoid immediate criticism.”
Everyone was amazed by her plausible words.
“Well, then again, if it’s Lady Floyen, even if she were to make her entrance alone, it wouldn’t be much of a blow.”
“That’s because there are still plenty of young lords who have admired her for a long time despite all the talk about her behavior.”
“You’re right, madam! As expected, you’re quite wise.”
The ends of Freesia’s eyes curled elegantly as she smiled at the praise.
“Thank you, but to be honest, I’m not sure. It’s just a guess.”
“Even if it’s a guess, it’s amazing!”
Freesia’s smile deepened.
‘I think it’s you people who are amazing, not being able to use your brains to deduce something so obvious.’
Of course, it wasn’t a bad feeling being the center of attention, even if the subject of their cheering was not her directly.
The corners of Freesia’s mouth rose faintly as she took a sip of her drink.
“But will you be attending the party as well, madam?”
At the question, Freesia was reminded of what her master had said earlier.
<Freesia, attend the party and stay near Lady Floyen. Help her if she runs into any trouble.>
In other words, she was told to watch over Juvellian and clean up any trouble. And as if that wasn’t enough…
<I’ll also be hanging around the party hall and keeping an eye out just in case.>
Her master was someone she could never guess when and where he would run off to–to think such a person would be following her to the party!!
A subtle sigh slipped out from her lips.
‘I swear, he’s always giving me all the annoying work. To think I have to watch over the lady known for her nasty temperament and the lord known for doing whatever he wants–all by myself!’
Freesia cursed her master inwardly, but noticing the noble ladies staring at her with expectant eyes, Freesia replied in an elegant tone,
“Oh, yes. I received an invitation, so of course I should go.”
She let out another sigh after taking a gulp of her drink.
‘It would be insubordination if I don’t go, so even if I hate, what choice do I have?’
The nobles, who had no idea about her inner thoughts, chattered again.
“Then we should make a bet on who Lady Floyen will enter with.”
Instead of answering the suggestion that came from one of the laughing ladies, Freesia simply nodded and smiled in response.
Then, one of the nobles brought up a question they had been curious about.
“But, if she ends up entering alone as Madam said, wouldn’t Lady Floyen’s scandal remain unanswered?”
“Ehh, I don’t think so. Wouldn’t we just have to find the one with the cuff buttons?”
Freesia began drinking silently again as the nobles started to speculate on their own without her having to step forward this time.
“By the way, I heard Marquess Hessen’s successor, Lord Mikhail, will also be attending the party.”
“Oh my!”
Everyone became interested in the news that the couple who had drawn keen attention for their separation would be reunited in the ballroom again.
“Who do you think he’ll partner with?”
“I wonder. He’s such a good looking man–enough to have made Lady Floyen act up out of jealousy whenever someone looked his way.”
“Not to mention he’s also quite capable in terms of skill…I’m sure there are many young ladies aiming for him.”
It was when they were all smiling happily, thinking of Mikhail’s good looks, when someone added, “But he must be feeling quite relieved, now that the woman who had been harassing him all this time finally moved on to a new lover…”
“Ah, you’re right! It’s a well-known fact that Lady Floyen’s love for Lord Mikhail was one-sided after all.”
This time Freesia openly nodded at the obvious remark, but she wiped the smile off her face when a man passed by their table.
‘He reeks of alcohol.’
Although this place was known to be a place where trash masquerading as elegant nobles gathered, there were the occasional ones who couldn’t control their urges and ended up causing a scene.
‘But not in my salon.’
The disturbance caused by her master a few days ago was more than enough. Freesia furrowed her brows then signaled to the guard inside the salon.
‘Watch him.’
Following his master’s orders, the guard followed the man carefully. He made sure to uphold his status as an elite member of an informant guild by making sure his footsteps didn’t make any noise.
‘He’s almost at the exit.’
Once the man crossed the corner, his mission would be over. As the guard thought so, the man walking in front of him abruptly turned around and approached him.
‘Huh?’
The guard tried to defend himself, but the man was faster.
“Why are you tailing me?”
A hostile aura and agility that could overpower his opponent in an instant–the man in front of him was obviously not an ordinary person.
‘Who the hell is this guy?’
The guard answered the man quickly to avoid an unwanted situation.
“Well, you see…you seemed very drunk, so I was following you because I was worried.”
The eyes of the man in the mask scrutinized the guard, but when he found the salon’s badge hanging from the guard’s jacket, he let him go.
“I’m not drunk.”
He then turned around and headed for the exit.
The guard stared at the figure of his back, fretting over what the man might do and let out a sigh.
‘Yes, well, he didn’t cause a disturbance…and he’s leaving the building, so it should be fine.’
Judging the situation to be cleared, the guard returned to the main hall.
Meanwhile, the man who had just gotten into a scuffle exited the salon and got into a carriage whose family crest was covered.
“Return to the house.”
After telling the coachmen where to go, the man took off his mask, revealing a handsome face–though it was occupied by a distressed frown.
‘Juvellian.’
He tried to ignore her. It would be a waste of time to direct any of his attention towards her.
But now that rumors of her having a lover became more plausible, the man found himself unable to act as he wanted.
‘Did she really give cuff buttons to another man? And…to a lowly man who no one can even identify no less!’
Mikhail’s face crumpled when a fit of anger he couldn’t understand surged inside of him as he recalled the image of the woman who had clung to him in the past.
<Mikhail, I only did that because I was upset that you were with someone else. I won’t do it ever again, so please don’t abandon me.>
While repeating the same kind of acts over and over again, she had clung to him to the point where it was exhausting. He had thought he would be happy after finally breaking up with her.
But every time he heard news about her, he felt angry instead.
‘Why am I feeling this way just because of that woman…!’
In a state of confusion, Mikhail tightly clenched his fists but then his eyes brightened when an idea came to mind. He was well aware of what would torment her the most.
‘That’s right, it would be good to see the look of agony on your face when you see me with another woman, Juvellian!’
Pledging to inflict pain on a deceitful woman, Mikhail slowly closed his eyes.
For some strange reason, he felt a slight pain in his chest but dismissed it, blaming it on the alcohol.
* * *
I let out a sigh as I entered my room.
‘Ah, I don’t know what to do. Going with my father as my partner… This really wasn’t part of my plan at all.’
It was without a doubt that when I’m with my father, I would have to be mindful of each and every one of my actions.
I worried over how to act at the upcoming party for a moment, but pushed it aside as it would be too troublesome to worry over it any longer, and simply made my decision.
‘Alright, as long as I remain quiet at the party and minimize my presence as if I’m not even there, there shouldn’t be any problems.’