Chapter 1
Thinking of the red hair that once bowed before her, she looked around. Perhaps knowing it wasn’t her place, that reddish color was nowhere to be seen. Louisyan was twenty-six, meaning there was a three-year age difference between them. Despite being a woman, she served as the current crown prince’s aide. Considering that Louisyan went to the imperial palace every day, it was only natural that the two would meet and fall in love.
“Let me introduce her properly. This is Lady Marillian von Enderick, who will become my concubine.”
The indifferent words wounded her. After saying it so bluntly, her husband grasped the woman’s wrist. His touch was careful despite sounding nonchalant. Isillia silently looked at it.
“Mari, this is my wife, Isillia von Endrianz.”
[Isillia, I told you countless times—that’s not the right direction.]
Isillia closed her eyes, sinking into her memories. She had spent six months passionately pursuing him to finally win that kindness. He had been annoyed and reluctant… yet that voice back then was the softest she had ever heard. She stifled a bitter laugh when she compared it to the tone Louisyan now used with the other woman—completely different from the warmth she had worked so hard to receive.
Perfect gentleness—along with a nickname—spoken casually in front of her. Emptiness washed over her. She was amazed that the woman had so easily obtained the sincerity it had taken Isillia more than a year to earn. She admired her—how on earth had she seduced him to the point he melted like that? How had she won his heart so thoroughly?
She envied her. She hated her.
“Mari, this is my wife, Isillia von Endrianz.”
Louisyan’s eyes, his tone, his entire demeanor… none of it belonged to her. She had never seen such an expression on him. It was unfamiliar because she had never possessed it. Isillia was seeing—for the first time—that Louisyan could openly show that he loved someone. She had believed he loved her simply because he treated her differently from others. But here, before her was someone who received even more.
“Mari.”
A nickname she had never heard. A gentle tone she had never heard. Through that woman, she realized Louisyan could look at someone that way.
Through her, she understood that there was someone he could love more deeply than he ever loved her.
Did he ever love me?
The sudden thought shook her.
Did you ever love me?
Not noticing the faint panic within her eyes, El approached her with a smile. Seeing that lovely expression, Isillia smiled back.
…Did you never love me at all?
“There is no perfect romance.”
Thanks to the emperor’s favor toward her father, invitations poured in endlessly. One day, among the pile stored in a corner, she picked a certain one. Plain, simple, but not tacky. To a young girl, it felt special. When Isillia opened it and went to the duke’s mansion with that letter, she met him for the first time.
“Lord Endrianz,”
Louisyan stiffened at the soft voice. He stopped walking, and the girl following him bumped into his back. She rubbed her nose and looked up. Louisyan sighed. It had been seven days since the girl started following him around. He recalled the party she had turned upside down a week ago—declaring she liked him the moment they met, then beginning her relentless pursuit.
“I like you, my lord.”
He had been so shocked he walked away without even replying. Her golden eyes—stained with traces of hurt—flashed across his memory. Golden eyes, blonde hair, a girl who seemed about sixteen. If someone sent an invitation to such a girl, she was surely of high status.
…Lately, the emperor had been very focused on a certain count.
The emperor was someone who never hesitated to raise a talented person—commoner or not—to nobility. Yet that count had insisted on returning to the countryside, shocking everyone. Ministers were busy trying to stop him. The imperial palace was always short on capable people, especially in the field the count excelled in.
“……”
Seeing the daughter of the man who had recently stirred turmoil in the capital, Louisyan felt conflicted. When their eyes met, the girl smiled. Honey-colored curls shimmered in the light, and Louisyan let out a sigh. Like a baby chick—absurd yet somewhat cute, staring up at him with sparkling eyes. Isillia von Agnes. Just as he suspected, she was a debutante who had only just entered society.
“My lord?”
“Lady Agnes.”
At his call, she bloomed like a flower. Seeing her emotions plainly written on her face, Louisyan spoke.
“As I said before, you’ve only recently debuted. I worry that if you follow me around, your budding youth may wilt before it fully blossoms.”
He chose his words carefully, but the meaning was simple: Stop following me.
He wasn’t sure she understood. She just smiled brightly back at him. Perhaps she didn’t understand at all.
“I like you, my lord.”
Again. Louisyan frowned. Did she even understand what she was saying? Even while thinking her rude, he couldn’t help it. No matter how cold he acted, she continued to chase after him.
“I do not like you.”
He said coldly and turned away. The reddish tint of her cheeks disappeared from sight. He quickened his pace, hearing her footsteps following behind.
“I like you, my lord.”
“……”
If she weren’t the daughter of that count—a man the emperor was invested in—he would have gotten rid of her nuisance long ago. As if sensing his growing irritation, she fell silent. Relieved, Louisyan kept walking. A man from the Foreign Affairs Department approached hurriedly, handing him documents.
“Do you like me?”
Louisyan froze mid-page. The man stared at them in shock. Ignoring him, Louisyan sighed.
“Do you like me?”
She often came to the palace with her father. Recently, she had become the crown prince’s playmate at the emperor’s insistence. No wonder she’s so carefree. Louisyan dismissed the man and turned around. Her flushed cheeks entered his view.
“Lady, I’ve said this repeatedly—I do not like you. I do not even feel fond of you.”
“……”
Her assumptions irritated him. He had ignored her only because it was bothersome, yet she pushed him so far he finally spoke harshly. He had never spoken to anyone like this. Deciding he would end it properly, Louisyan looked at her. The girl’s expression crumpled. She lowered her head.
Good. She won’t follow me anymore.
Feeling relieved, he turned to leave—
“I like you.”
Her soft voice from behind made irritation flare. He spun around to deliver an even harsher rejection… but then he saw those determined golden eyes.
“So… I’m sorry, Sir Louisyan.”
“…Ha.”
He couldn’t even complain about her calling his name without permission. He was too dumbfounded to think. People say that when one experiences something absurd, they can’t even process it. The girl declared she wouldn’t give up just because she liked him—and she looked proud of it. Louisyan was at a loss for words.
Despite her gloomy mood, spring was clearly here. Black hair—like her father’s—fluttered in the wind. Just as she once became a playmate to the prince, her child had now become the playmate of the prince’s son. As soon as news spread that El had arrived in the palace, the young prince rushed over. Isillia smiled warmly.
“You’re here?”
She sat down on the prepared chair, seeing the boy’s deep blue eyes—so different from her husband’s muted ones.
“Why do you keep calling for me? El is mature enough to come alone. I worry that I may tarnish Your Highness’s reputation.”
