Chapter 26
The footsteps of the passersby were merciless. Blocked by their strides, Maia couldn’t retrieve the fan that had fallen to the ground, left all alone.
Just as her lips parted in a silent gasp, someone—unlike the others who simply passed by—stopped at the edge of her vision and quietly approached her.
Shoes with a luxurious sheen, clearly not ordinary.
Maia’s eyes widened in surprise, but only briefly.
A hand, large and unmistakably masculine despite its elegance, gently picked up the fan lying on the ground.
It was a fan with a platinum core and golden embroidery—slowly lifted up before her eyes.
His legs, chest, and chin reflected in Maia’s pupils as he bent toward her.
Finally, Maia met his gaze and slowly parted her lips.
“You dropped this. Please take it.”
The voice, calm and unwavering, was like the sound from the deepest part of a serene lake.
“…Marquis Keppel.”
The young man called Marquis Keppel opened his tightly sealed lips as if to speak but closed them again.
Instead, he silently approached Maia and handed her the fan she had dropped.
…Why here, of all places?
Maia bit her lip lightly, careful not to let him see, and quickly accepted the fan.
“It’s been a while. I greet you after a long absence.”
“…Yes.”
She felt uncomfortable. Maia clenched her hand tightly, trying to crush all the memories rushing to the surface.
The unease she failed to hide must’ve shown clearly on her face, but Marquis Keppel, with his usual calm expression, didn’t avert his gaze from her.
A silence settled between them—one that couldn’t easily be broken.
Maia bit her lip harder, desperately trying to think of a way to change the mood.
“Maia.”
Salvation came from an unexpected direction.
The Duke of Western was approaching, his deep blue hair fluttering in the wind.
“…So you were here too. I heard you had gone abroad?”
He looked between Maia and the Marquis as he addressed the latter.
“I returned a week ago,” Marquis Keppel replied with a flat tone.
“His Highness the Grand Duke will be glad to hear that. I’m planning to go hunting with him soon—would you care to join us…?”
The conversation between the two continued, excluding Maia entirely.
“….”
Maia clutched her fan even tighter.
Savior? What a joke. Her discomfort only doubled.
“…It doesn’t seem appropriate to continue this conversation here.”
At that moment, Marquis Keppel’s calm hazel eyes scanned Maia’s complexion, and his voice followed.
“I’ll send a reply to the duke’s residence. Let’s end it here for today.”
“Very well. I’ll await your response.”
Maia’s eyes met his again. For a moment, she lost the ability to speak.
“Then, I hope to see you again. I wish you peace, always.”
With a polite bow, Marquis Keppel turned and walked away without hesitation.
The Duke of Western glanced at Maia’s face and spoke with a hint of surprise.
“…You don’t look well.”
“I’m fine.”
I’m fine. There’s nothing wrong. There must be nothing wrong.
Maia repeated this to herself over and over as she stared at his retreating, soft hazel-brown curls.
The gently fluttering curls, kissed by sunlight and swaying in the breeze, reminded her again and again of her childhood.
This isn’t how it should be. Maia’s deep violet eyes slowly closed.
The past, now impossible to escape, had already seized her by the ankles.
‘Hello.’
I was crouched down, watching a cluster of pansies, when an unexpected greeting made me lift my head.
The afternoon sun stung my eyes.
I instinctively frowned, but through the light, I saw a boy with short-cropped, warm hazel curls standing beside me, looking down.
…Who is he?
I hesitated for a moment before speaking to the boy, who stood quietly without saying another word.
‘Hello.’
At my small greeting, the boy’s clear face curled into a soft smile.
‘You’re the daughter of the Hansberg merchant lord, right? Nice to meet you. I’m Enoch Frisch Keppel.’
Enoch Frisch Keppel.
Definitely from the Keppel marquis family.
‘…What’s your name?’
I didn’t respond right away. I just stared at his outstretched, pale hand.
Then, the boy’s voice returned, sounding slightly unsure.
‘Maia Hansberg.’
I finally answered.
And at that moment, the boy—who looked as if he had never been touched by sunlight—smiled brightly.
‘…Maia. You’re even prettier than I imagined!’
I looked up at him with slightly dazed eyes.
This young noble, maybe just a year or two older than me, was looking at me with a warmth I’d never received before—not once in my ten years of life.
I couldn’t understand why a noble would approach and speak so kindly to me, so I hesitated.
‘Um… but may I ask why you’re speaking to me?’
‘Huh?’
He blinked, puzzled.
‘Do I need a reason?’
I flinched. My fingers froze.
He glanced once at the pansy field I had been admiring and said,
‘I just wanted to talk… for some reason.’
A playful smile bloomed on his face.
‘I used to think it was boring coming here with my father, but now I think it’ll be okay. Can I talk to you again sometimes?’
It was the first time.
I took in a trembling breath.
‘…Yes.’
It was the first time I’d ever received such a warm gaze or kind words from a noble.
In my innocence, I lowered the guard I’d built up against nobility.
‘What were you looking at today?’
It turned out that Marquis Keppel’s son hadn’t been lying—every time he visited with his family, he came to speak with me.
Though he was a noble, his tone and demeanor were different from other nobles, and I gradually began to see him as a close friend.
‘I was looking at the hydrangeas my mother grows.’
‘Your mother has a talent for gardening, doesn’t she?’
This boy, the only son of a prestigious marquis family, genuinely admired the modest garden of a merchant.
‘They’re beautiful… I like hydrangeas too.’
He stayed with me, admiring the flowers.
‘Really?’
It might’ve been a throwaway comment for him.
But I was so thrilled to have made a new friend that even after he left, I kept returning to the hydrangea field.
‘Um… here.’
And the next time I saw him, I shyly held out a bouquet.
Several blue hydrangeas, tied with a brown ribbon—a simple bouquet.
…He said he liked hydrangeas last time. So, that’s why.
‘Huh?’
He sounded surprised. My heart raced.
Was this a mistake? Would he throw it to the ground?
A flood of anxious thoughts consumed my mind.
Rustle—
‘Thank you.’
But those fears melted away like snow under the sun as he smiled brightly and accepted the bouquet.
‘Maia, the Keppel family is visiting today. You said you’re close with the young master, right?’
Perhaps sensing my excitement, my mother—who usually never mentioned the business schedule—asked if I was close with him.
‘…Yes.’
I nodded with sparkling eyes.
My mother’s youthful, beautiful face showed an emotion I couldn’t describe.
‘…Alright, then you should come out too. Since the marquis’s wife and daughter are visiting, we should be properly presentable as well.’
Hearing my mother’s casual mutter, my heart swelled.
Swelled so much it was ready to burst.
‘Maia!’
‘…Hello.’
The parents went off into another room, leaving the children alone.
As soon as the stiff adults were gone, the young marquis greeted me cheerfully, and I replied—only to meet the gaze of a girl sitting beside him.
She had been glaring at me with discontent since I walked in.
A fierce hostility directed at me.
I flinched.
‘This is my sister. Elise Adeline Keppel.’
‘Brother, who is she?’
The girl spoke as if referring to an object.
I was frozen for a moment, my body failing to respond.
‘She’s the daughter of the Hansberg merchant lord. Father introduced her earlier, remember?’
‘That’s not what I mean! Why is she talking to you like that?’
My heart thudded loudly in my chest.
I vaguely heard the marquis boy’s flustered voice.
‘Elise, what are you doing?’
‘You’re the weird one, brother! How can you talk to something like that?’
The girl—Lady Elise of the Keppel family—suddenly stood up with a teacup in hand and approached me.
And then—
‘Elise!’
Splash.
‘Filthy merchant’s brat.’
Drip, drip.
Hot tea spilled over my head, burning my skin as it ran down my face.
‘Maia!’
Somehow, my mother came rushing through the door at that very moment.
She gasped when she saw me drenched in tea and ran to my side.
‘My goodness, are you alright, darling? …Lady Elise!’
My mother roared in fury. The marquis’s daughter fled behind her mother’s skirts.
‘…My daughter is still young. She must’ve made a mistake. We’ll compensate you.’
Their conversation rang dully in my ears.
‘Compensate? Are you saying you won’t even apologize?!’
‘Come now, merchant lord. No matter how much favor you’ve gained from His Majesty, you’re still a mere commoner.’
‘How can noble blood like ours possibly lower our heads to someone beneath us?’
A balloon filled to the point of bursting will inevitably pop.
And that day, the balloon of my heart burst too.
Without even a trace of its remains.
Perfectly, cleanly.
Without a single mark left behind.
