Chapter 38
When I left after meeting Leon, the sky had darkened, and soon, snow began to fall.
In the Abel Empire, it didn’t snow often, but when it did, the snow was usually heavy and fluffy.
Today, Calis and Chester were busy, so Margaret and I had a simple dinner together. We sat by my bedroom window, sipping hot cocoa.
“The snow here is so beautiful. In the Luna Empire, there was more sleet or rain than snow,” I said.
“That’s true… That’s why winters in the Luna Empire weren’t much fun. The ice never really froze either,” Margaret replied.
Margaret and I reminisced about the Luna Empire, talking about various things until it was already 10 p.m. She decided it was time to return to her room.
“Duchess?”
As Margaret grabbed the doorknob to leave, Calis was standing in front of my door.
He was fully dressed in his coat, so it seemed he had come straight from a late meeting in another palace.
“Calis? At this hour…?”
Of course, we were married, but… tonight wasn’t a night for intimacy… it was a bit late to come.
“Filina… Are you busy?”
“Not exactly…”
I glanced at the clock, giving him a look that this was a bit late. I had been busy with meetings with Leon and attending to duchess duties, so I wanted a little rest.
“I wanted to watch the snow with you.”
Calis strode toward me with those long legs, steadfastly extending his hand and inviting me to go outside.
Margaret was caught in the middle, unsure whether to leave or stay. I decided to save her from this awkward situation. She deserved a break too.
“Margaret. Prepare a coat. I’ll go for a short walk with the duke,” I said.
“Yes? Yes, ma’am,” she replied.
At my words, a smile spread across the large man’s face. Margaret helped me put on the longest white coat to keep me warm.
“Calis. Let’s go.”
Seeing the smile on Calis’s face made me happy too, and I took his hand as we stepped into the garden, where the snow was falling thickly.
+++
It was a dark winter night. The snow and the snow-covered garden provided the only light as Calis, in his black coat, and I, in my white coat, walked hand in hand.
‘Should I give it to him now?’
I held the item Margaret had secretly slipped into my pocket and glanced at Calis. A star-shaped snowflake landed on his silver hair but fell off.
“Calis. Here, take this. It’s my first successful attempt,” I said, pulling him close and taking out a white handkerchief from my pocket. It was plain, except for his name stitched in black silk on one corner.
“My name? This isn’t your name,” he said, surprised that it wasn’t “Filina Rubelia” embroidered, but another name.
“Pyo Hyena. My real name before becoming Filina,” I replied.
‘My real name… I want only him to know this.’
Calis pressed the embroidered name with his finger and tucked the handkerchief deep into his coat pocket.
“It’s beautiful. Thank you,” he said.
We continued walking in the garden, holding hands, both of us still bare-handed despite having gloves in our pockets.
“Tell me if you’re cold. We can go back,” he said.
About twenty minutes later, Calis noticed my hands had turned red from the cold and placed them in his coat pocket while still holding them.
I looked up at him in surprise, but I didn’t pull away or show any discomfort.
“It’s cold, but… refreshing too,” I said, enjoying the slightly humid winter air, letting the snowflakes brush against my ears without asking to go back.
After walking for a while, Calis noticed my ears had turned red from the cold. Feeling sorry for bringing me out in this weather, he cupped my ears in his hands to warm them and looked into my eyes.
Her black eyes sparkled like the night. He knew exactly what that meant and tried to suppress a smile.
“Your ears are frozen. Why didn’t you say it was cold?”
“I didn’t realize it,” I said.
As I looked up at him, snowflakes landed gently on my face. When one fell on my eyelids, I closed my eyes. Calis kissed my eyes where the snow had settled.
+++
Though we had been outside in the cold, his lips felt hotter and softer than ever.
When his lips left mine, the cold air hit again, only to be followed by warmth as his lips moved with the snowflakes.
As he warmed my frozen cheeks and ears with his lips, I wanted to say something like a heroine in a movie.
Before he kissed me again, I calmed my racing heart and said,
“Shall we have some cocoa first?”
There were no ramen in this world… and that would have been too forward.
I worried he might not understand my meaning.
“Sure,” he said, chuckling softly. He led me back into the palace.
After being in the snow for so long, we were soaked from head to toe, but we forgot all that and kissed as soon as we entered the room.
Our shared warmth gradually warmed the cold winter air. Snow from our coats melted into drops on the floor.
“Calis. I’ll make some cocoa,” I said.
Once the room warmed up a bit, I released my hold on him, using cocoa as an excuse to escape the intimate moment.
“You should drink more,” he said flirtatiously, snapping me back to reality. I considered pushing him away…
“I only want to kiss,” I said, securing my safety and letting go of reason.
We continued kissing without taking off our coats. Our breaths made the room sweeter than the cocoa.
That day, the snow seemed magical… even I couldn’t understand my heart.
+++
Later, the emperor’s aide, Bart, was waiting in his office after work for a man.
“What will he try to meddle with this time…?”
Feeling the recent tension around Calis, Bart checked the corrupt businesses he was involved in.
Although both were too valuable to let go, Bart’s instincts had never been wrong.
Thanks to this, every time Calis exposed corruption, Bart had managed to withdraw and cut ties in time to survive.
“Alright… the pharmaceutical company case has to go… a shame, but it can’t be helped…”
Deciding to drop the widely rumored pharmaceutical company business, Bart secretly smirked at Calis and Lucas.
‘No matter how hard you try, you can’t catch me.’
As he lifted his whiskey glass, a man dressed entirely in black silently entered the office.
“So, any news from the slums?”
Bart sipped the whiskey, then looked at the man in black.
“A young boy seems to have met a noble. That noble is said to be the famous woman recently,” the man reported.
“Is that so… Keep a close watch on that boy. Make sure he never meets the noble again.”
Bart ordered the boy quietly eliminated, knowing that Lucas and Calis had taken an interest in the matter.
“And… there’s a message from your side,” the man whispered. Bart smirked arrogantly.
“Not bad, but my safety comes first… Tell them to wait a little longer. And we need more small people in the mines. Handle it.”
“Yes, sir,” the man replied. Bart now thought he could compensate for letting go of the pharmaceutical business by exploiting workers elsewhere.
When the man in black left quietly, only the curtains moved slightly.
+++
On the morning of January 18, underwear produced by Vivian arrived at the store.
Our group gathered to look at the lingerie, blushing, while the workers finishing the store panicked and ran off.
“Where did everyone go? The finishing isn’t done yet!”
The head of the construction crew couldn’t escape but stood nervously, looking at the floor.
“We told them to take a short break because it’s hot inside,” he explained.
I decided to reward his professionalism.
“You got married recently, right? I’ll give you this couple’s lingerie as a gift. It’s a new design by the daughter of the marquis.”
At my words, our group swarmed him, urging him to open it.
“I designed it myself. Go ahead, you’ll like it,” Vivian said confidently.
He finally opened it and shut his eyes tightly.
“I’ll take a short break too,” he muttered, slipping the lingerie into his coat and taking a half-day off.
When he didn’t return, Vivian and I exchanged victorious smiles.
‘Oh! The design seems successful!’
The couple’s lingerie I gave had a small lip print on the lower part for men and women… I’ll stop there.
We then began hiring staff for the store ahead of its February 1 opening.
<Beautiful Woman Pushike Staff Recruitment>
Requirements:
Own at least one lace, palm-sized piece of lingerie at home.
Confident they won’t blush when looking at displayed lingerie.
Willing to show risqué lingerie to embarrassed customers.
Stella screened the resumes and passed them to Vivian and me. We conducted the interviews.
“The first interview is a practical test. Walk among the displayed lingerie and bring the one you think is the riskiest from the second floor.”
Many failed this seemingly simple test. They either closed their eyes at the lingerie or turned red, and some couldn’t even touch the risqué pieces.
Only ten brave candidates passed, staring at Vivian’s daring designs with curiosity.
“The second interview is a practical test. Wear the lingerie you chose for a day and write your impressions to submit tomorrow.”
They all wrote long reports, which Heine meticulously read.
The ten candidates then began training and were contracted to start work immediately upon the store opening.
