Chapter 55
“Did everything go as planned?”
Late at night, before going to bed, Layla pricked her finger to summon Rainier. He appeared instantly, dressed impeccably, as if he had been waiting for her.
Layla still found it fascinating — that all she had to do was prick her finger, let a tear well up from the sting, and by the time she blinked, he would be standing right there.
“Yes, more or less.”
Rainier didn’t seem particularly moved about the fact that things had gone according to plan.
Layla, finding that odd, studied his face.
“Aren’t you happy?”
“I am. But… there’s something else that makes me even happier.”
Rainier came over and sat by her bed. Layla had only called him out of concern over the situation, not because she wanted to have a conversation.
And, more than anything, his sitting so close made her feel strange.
“What is it?”
“I’m just really happy to be doing business with you, my lady.”
At that, Layla scratched the back of her neck without realizing it.
Truthfully, she also enjoyed working with him. She was grateful that he had trusted her enough to invest entirely in her, and it had been thrilling to make a fortune in just two days thanks to Crown Prince Anasis and Lady Weimar.
It was also gratifying that ventures she had only predicted might succeed had ended up going far better than expected.
In her previous life, she had stayed shut in her room, studying constantly — afraid that if her mind was as weak as her sickly body, people would despise her even more.
Now, seeing the theories and predictions she had studied back then turn out to be correct filled her with joy.
What she’d thought had been futile effort was, in truth, preparation patiently waiting for the right moment.
“You didn’t summon me at this hour just to hear about the situation, did you?”
Actually, she had.
When he tilted her chin up again to set the mood, she somehow couldn’t refuse.
The faint ache from where he held her chin quickly faded. It felt as if his vivid red eyes were pulling in all her senses.
It was like the world had gone pale and colorless, with only his eyes shining scarlet in the middle of it all.
She found herself unable to look away from those ruby-like eyes.
“Mmph…”
In that moment, he kissed her.
The instant their lips touched, Layla turned her head away, but he followed her movement and caught her again.
A mischievous impulse stirred in her, and this time she turned her head the other way. He chuckled, caught her chin, and kissed her again.
When he began to explore her mouth more insistently than before, she gripped his shoulders tightly and stayed still, refusing to react.
But he teased and coaxed her so persistently that she eventually found herself responding in kind.
They exchanged breath, lips parting with a sticky sound, and Rainier was smiling in a way she’d never seen before.
“Sweet dreams, my lady.”
He gently wiped her lips with his hand as he said it.
“You’ve been running a business, I hear.”
The next morning, just as Layla was about to leave after a light breakfast, Count Avière called her into the dining room. Normally, he didn’t care whether she ate in her room or skipped breakfast entirely.
But operating a salon right in front of Éclair — one frequented by the crown prince and Lady Weimar — was bound to make the rounds among the nobility.
And, more than rumors, the bank records of deposits and withdrawals spread even faster.
“Yes,” she replied.
It felt strange to have breakfast alone with the count while his wife and Siever dined in their rooms.
In both her past and present lives, Layla had never once believed Count Avière cherished her. On the contrary — she’d always thought her father disliked her.
“Is it true your business partner is Prince Fernando Lutenberg?”
Thinking of the false identity Rainier had created, Layla nodded.
“How did you come to know him?”
“We met at a party hosted by the imperial family. He helped me out back then.”
It was true Rainier had helped her at the imperial ball, so it wasn’t entirely a lie.
“I see.”
The count was genuinely curious after hearing that Mont was making far more money than Éclair.
“That reminds me, Father…”
“Yes?”
“My dowry — please let me have control over it now.”
She’d told others she had already poured her entire dowry into the business, but in truth, she had yet to receive it from him.
“Very well. Marquess Bruce mentioned that you wouldn’t need your dowry anyway.”
“Sonette said that?”
“Yes. It seems the marquess intends to provide you with a separate dowry.”
Layla realized she hadn’t been keeping track of Sonette lately — he’d been busy with the hastily arranged engagement ceremony, now only three days away.
She knew this engagement was her path to getting revenge on Siever, but she still found the whole affair uncomfortable. Engagements weren’t something she took lightly.
Yes, she’d been engaged multiple times before, but back then she had dreamed of a future with each fiancé. This one was different — this one was fake.
And without a doubt, Sonette’s feelings were fake too.
“I’ll arrange for you to have access to your dowry once the engagement ceremony is over.”
“Thank you.”
When the count sighed while looking at her, Layla forced herself to calmly chew her appetizer as if nothing were wrong.
“Layla.”
“Yes, Father.”
As if finishing with the pleasantries, Count Avière got straight to the point.
“If it’s the Lutenberg crown prince, perhaps our Avière family could do business with him as well.”
“…Excuse me?”
“Bring him over sometime.”
Even though Rainier’s identity was fake, he was already her business partner — yet her father spoke as if she were an outsider. Layla gave a bitter smile.
“Yes, I’ll do that,” she replied, carefully masking her expression.
That morning, Layla arrived at Mont ten minutes later than usual — still two hours before opening — with the staff due to arrive soon after.
But what she saw stopped her in her tracks.
“Oh my goodness…”
A line of carriages stretched out in front of Mont.
“You’re late,” Rainier said with a smile, appearing suddenly behind her and ushering her inside.
“It’s two hours before opening…”
Seeing him once again in his black mask, she couldn’t understand the situation.
Nobles were generally leisurely people, yet here they were waiting two hours early. Still, they were maintaining appearances by staying in their carriages.
“That just means the response has been good,” Rainier said casually, opening the door and guiding her in.
“Mmph…”
The moment the door shut, Rainier kissed her. Pressed back against the wall, Layla instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck.
There were still about ten minutes before the staff would arrive.
He pressed her so insistently that the back of her head thudded against the wall. Noticing, he slipped his hand behind her head to cushion it before resuming the kiss, locking eyes with her.
Layla had squeezed her eyes shut from the suddenness of it, but as his movements grew gentler, she slowly opened them.
She found herself caught in his gaze — a strange, suspended mix of familiarity and unfamiliarity.
You’re my every first… and you’ll be my every last.
The words rose in her mind like a memory that wasn’t hers, yet somehow felt like it was.
As the kiss ended, someone jiggled the door from outside with a creak.
“My first…” Rainier began.
“It’s me,” Layla said without thinking. “And your last too.”
His eyes widened, then he smiled faintly — almost sadly.
And suddenly, she began to doubt everything.
How did she know such a thing? And where were these strange memories coming from lately?
Hugo returned exactly two days later. His ship had been wrecked by pirates, forcing him to take a rescue vessel to a foreign country before making his way back.
To make matters worse, a fierce typhoon had made sea travel impossible — it was assumed even the pirates had perished in the storm.
He’d taken the long way overland, which had cost him a great deal of time.
Now, he not only lacked goods but also needed to check if Éclair was running smoothly.
So he went straight to his business.
And then—
“I can’t wait to get into the top-tier customer list.”
“Right? Lady Weimar went straight in the moment she arrived.”
“Did you see earlier? Even Crown Prince Anasis went in.”
“Oh my.”
The line of carriages near Éclair was, in fact, leading to the shop right next door.
Hugo knew immediately — Éclair would be empty.
“This can’t be happening!”
With disbelief in his eyes, he turned and rushed straight into Éclair.
