Chapter 36
The Visitor
When Sena opened the front door, she looked up at the western sky, where rain clouds had begun to take over, and felt an inexplicable unease.
The leaden sky, which only moments ago had been dyed a clear azure, now sulkily filled her vision, accompanied by flashes of lightning.
Even though it was a summer evening, the bright sunlight was cut off, and the thunderclouds seemed to steal the heat from the sun, draining the world of its color.
Spotting the figure of her child—who still had not returned from the primary academy—on the road leading home, Sena waved her hand broadly.
When Dino came home, he slumped from the summer heat. After finishing his meal and bath, he sprawled out on the long sofa in the air-conditioned living room.
Before long, drowsiness overtook him. Using a cushion as a pillow, he began to breathe softly in his sleep right where he was.
Sena draped a blanket over her sleeping son, then sat down beside him and gently stroked Dino’s cheek.
His sky-blue hair was as blue as the summer sky had been just moments before.
The more he grew, the more strongly her son came to resemble that man.
Dino, with his delicate, almost girlish features, was often teased about it by upperclassmen. On occasion, it even led to fights—something one of the academy teachers had once informed Sena about, leaving her troubled.
Not only his profile, but even his temperament resembled that man.
The man with whom she had spent that miraculous single night—the Crown Prince, Robert.
Thinking back on it, Sena felt a wave of melancholy pass through her.
It was already over.
Why was she reminiscing about it now?
She was a woman who had run away from him, after all.
Once she began thinking about those facts from the past, they overflowed into her mind all at once.
At the same time, she found herself wanting to see Roasso, the master of this house, who had not yet returned home.
Even if he was the child’s father, compared to a man with whom she had shared only a single night, Roasso—who had given her years of unconditional friendship—left a far better impression.
The sense of security was on an entirely different level, and she placed complete trust in the cook who acknowledged her abilities.
As Sena stood up, thinking she would prepare a separate dinner for Roasso, who worked late into the night, and finish the housework that had piled up, the doorbell rang.
“Could it be Mia again?”
Her best friend, who had graduated from university and joined the temple’s archaeology research department, had been showing up unannounced more often lately.
She would come to complain about how her marriage to the boyfriend she’d been dating since her student days still wasn’t settled, or how work stress was getting to her—things like that.
As a pretext, and because Dino was a cute relative of sorts even to her, Mia would always bring small gifts meant for children.
Sena thought it was about time Mia seriously faced her boyfriend.
“Hii~!”
The doorbell rang a second time.
That was strange. Was it not Mia?
Sena tilted her head.
Was it because her hands were full? Normally, as long as the door was unlocked, Mia would come right in without hesitation.
The doorbell rang a third time, followed by knocking from the front door.
Sena noticed a black luxury car outside—one she had rarely seen before.
Once, an imperial prince had come all the way from the capital to visit Roasso.
Upon learning that Sena had once worked at the Hotel Gazarik, His Highness had been greatly pleased.
At the time, Dino had been at the academy, so they hadn’t run into each other.
But now, her son was sleeping right there.
A vague sense of dread ran through her heart.
The knocking continued, and outside, heavy rain completely engulfed the world.
“Dino, wake up. Go to your bedroom.”
As she called out, “Please wait,” toward the door, the person outside seemed to comply, stopping the knocking.
Still half-asleep, Dino grumbled, rubbing his eyes as he walked toward his bedroom.
After confirming that her son had disappeared into the upstairs bedroom, Sena opened the door.
Standing there was a tall man—older than Sena, but not yet in his thirties.
He wore a white summer jacket, black trousers, and a pale yellow shirt.
When he removed his hat, neatly combed blond hair and a somewhat intimidating gaze looked down at her.
It was the figure of her former superior.
“General Manager…”
Standing there was Alex, the general manager of the hotel where she had worked in the kingdom’s resort area.
He looked at her with suspicion, then bent at the waist in a gentlemanly bow of greeting.
“Miss Loewengrin?”
“Y-Yes. That’s right.”
At Sena’s murmured reply, Alex, having confirmed her identity, raised one hand and signaled toward the black car.
A man in black holding an umbrella stood by the vehicle. The rear seat was opened, and the umbrella was offered toward the mysterious person inside.
Who…? Sena frowned at the suspicious visitor.
That the general manager would come made some sense, since he was connected to Roasso.
But for the general manager himself to personally confirm her identity was far too strange.
As the large man who had walked through the dim twilight stepped into the light of the porch lamp and his face emerged, Sena felt fear and took a step back.
The man revealed in the light was the one she had fled from after that wonderful night.
The man she had thought about with guilt every time something happened over the past six years.
It was Robert.
