Chapter 29
Maybe it was because she was exhausted.
Even though Sophie was shouting that something terrible had happened, it didn’t really hit her.
“Why? What’s wrong?”
Sophie thrust a gossip paper toward Luviana, who asked with a lethargic expression.
Her tired brain took some time to process the visual stimulus entering her eyes.
Only after rereading the headline on the front page several times did a scream burst from Luviana’s mouth.
“What is all this?!”
<Grand Duke Klitzman, sprinting with a beautiful young lady in his arms. Destination: Scopi Hotel. Who is the lucky lady?>
What—?!
Luviana’s mouth hung open.
“A… what… this… hoo…”
One sigh after another spilled out from her slackened lips.
Her head was spinning wildly.
She collapsed back onto the bed and stared blankly at the ceiling.
‘What am I supposed to do with this?’
The headline didn’t mention her name, but inside the article, the “lucky lady” was written in bold: “Luviana Fayson.”
She had been so careful.
She had even paid for Ellion’s clothes at the boutique to avoid suspicion.
She had lied to the Ribbon Trio, saying he was her cousin Alex.
‘Where on earth was Ellion’s identity exposed?’
Bolting upright again, Luviana began reading through the paper thoroughly.
<…The Grand Duke Klitzman rushed in urgently, shouting his own name as he demanded a room. A staff member at Scopi Hotel recalled that the Grand Duke—normally known for being composed and calm—looked extremely shaken…>
Ah… so that’s what happened.
Luviana let the paper fall limply from her hand as her strength drained away.
‘Well… His Highness must have panicked seeing me barely conscious. He wouldn’t have had the presence of mind to care about who was watching.’
She covered her face with both hands.
She couldn’t blame Ellion for shouting his own name.
After all, it had been to save her from collapse.
‘But still—!!!’
A hotel scandal between the heroine and the dark-grand-duke-male-lead?!
‘This is bad. Really bad! Chad must have seen this. Oh no!’
She felt like crying, but she was so exhausted that no tears came.
Just then—
There came the sound of frantic footsteps in the hallway, and the next moment, her parents burst into the room.
“Luviana, is this true?”
“Is it true you went into a hotel with the Grand Duke Klitzman in broad daylight?”
They asked at the same time.
Both looked as if they were about to cry.
And understandably so.
A newly adult unmarried young lady entering a hotel alone with a man who wasn’t her lover or fiancé—
And now the entire nation knew, thanks to the gossip paper.
Any parent in the world would react like the Count and Countess.
Luviana sighed softly and began to explain.
“I parted ways with Mother yesterday and was heading to the bookstore, but suddenly I felt really ill. His Highness happened to find me and took me into the hotel.”
“Why didn’t you come home instead?”
“I needed to lie down somewhere immediately. When I rested at the hotel, I got better. I didn’t come home right away because… I didn’t want to worry you unnecessarily.”
“Oh, Luviana…!”
“Parents are meant to worry about their children. That’s what we do. How could you hate that…!”
Lyndon and Virginia finally burst into tears.
“So today? Are you still feeling unwell?”
“Should we call the physician?”
“I’m fine today. Really. Please don’t cry.”
Even after she wiped their tears, they continued crying for a long while.
Meanwhile, the gossip paper also reached Emperor Christopher’s hands.
While sipping tea, he read the article about Ellion and Luviana, and his eyes sparkled brightly.
“A day like this actually came! A scandal article about our Ellion!”
Christopher burst into cheerful laughter.
His younger brother had always viewed women as if they were stones.
He had no intention of dating, much less marrying and starting a family.
“And that boy has a scandal?! A hotel?! A romance?!”
He kept laughing and laughing.
The chief attendant beside him cautiously spoke.
“Your Majesty, it is a gossip paper. It shouldn’t be trusted fully. At most half may be true and half exaggerated.”
“Half is enough. That’s plenty. Better than nothing at all.”
“…”
“I suppose I should help that half-truth grow into something larger. I’ll send Ellion a letter.”
“I’ll prepare the writing table right away.”
While waiting, Christopher reread the already-finished article again. And again. And again.
“Tch.”
Ellion slammed the gossip paper down.
He couldn’t believe he had shouted his own name the moment he entered the hotel yesterday.
“Like a complete idiot…”
He had no memory of it.
He had been too distraught, worrying about Luviana who had collapsed.
He couldn’t even remember how he reached the hotel, how he entered, or how he got to the room.
Oh—he did remember the moment when Luviana praised the hotel’s moving staircases.
Haa—another pained sigh escaped him.
All their efforts to hide his identity had gone up in smoke.
Because he had lost his damn mind in a moment of panic.
“Is this gossip paper well-known?”
“Yes, Your Grace,” answered Steward Scott with a nod.
“It’s the top-selling gossip paper in the capital. The imperial palace also keeps a close eye on it.”
“Then His Majesty must have read it too.”
“Most likely.”
His headache, which had eased earlier, returned.
Groaning, he pressed his fingertips to his forehead.
Then—knock, knock.
A young servant entered, holding a silver tray with a gold envelope on it.
“A letter from the imperial palace, Your Grace.”
Ellion stared at the golden envelope.
A sense of foreboding washed over him.
He couldn’t bring himself to open it.
“Shall I read it for you, Your Grace?” asked loyal Scott.
“Just burn it.”
“…”
Scott silently shook his head.
One could not burn a letter from the imperial palace unread.
“Shall I read it for you, Your Grace?” he repeated in the exact same manner.
Ellion gave up and nodded.
Gloved hands opened the envelope, and Scott began reading.
“His Majesty the Emperor congratulates Your Grace on the hotel scandal published in the gossip paper.”
“Congratulates? Ha!”
The emperor’s sense of humor was always awful.
“He also expresses concern that, as a member of the imperial family, Your Grace has been involved in such indecorous behavior.”
“What? Indecorous behavior?”
Ellion let out a short laugh.
This joke was actually mildly funny.
“His Majesty says he urgently wishes to discuss the matter. If Your Grace does not visit the palace today, he will come here personally.”
“…”
“And he adds that if that happens, Your Grace will most certainly appear in tomorrow’s gossip paper as well.”
“…Damn it.”
This joke was the worst of all.
Saintess Florencia did not read gossip papers.
Nothing in the social sphere’s gossip ever interested her.
Such was the life of a saintess.
But if it concerned Ellion, that was a different matter.
When she received a large envelope delivered by information broker Marco, a bad feeling wrapped around her entire body.
‘There must be an article about Ellion.’
She opened the gossip paper anxiously—and her beautiful face twisted viciously.
“What? Ellion went to a hotel? With Luviana Fayson?!”
Thump, thump—her heart pounded violently, her breath grew shallow.
Annoyance bubbled furiously in her head.
“So that’s why he left early yesterday? For a mere dinner invitation at the Fayson estate? Why?! Who even is Luviana Fayson?!”
Her delicate hands trembled as she gripped the paper.
Then came a knock.
“Saintess, Duke Mirren has arrived to see you.”
Her father was here.
Her contorted expression instantly returned to her usual serene one.
Gone was any trace of irritation or anger—only calm gentleness remained.
‘Father must not find out.’
Checking her face in the mirror once more, Florencia walked toward the door.
