Chapter 57
“Why are you taking the side of someone like Layla?!”
Hugo stormed up to stand in front of Rainier—who was disguised as Lady Weimar—panting with rage. Layla stepped in front of him, as if to protect Lady Weimar, and looked him straight in the eye.
“If you get close to a vulgar girl like her, my lady, you’ll only suffer for it! She’ll try to steal your lover, just like she did with Siber!”
“You really are insane.”
As Hugo raged, Layla’s expression grew colder and colder.
“Let’s get the facts straight. It was Sister Siber who showed interest in my fiancés, not the other way around. I never made the first move.”
“But Ianaskovich admitted it himself!”
“I dated Ianaskovich first. Then he became Sister Siber’s lover. So obviously I came first, and she came after, didn’t she?”
“You—!”
“I always thought you were stupid, but I didn’t realize it was to this extent, Hugo. Breaking up with you was the best decision I ever made.”
When Layla sneered, Hugo clenched his fists.
“Who said we were broken up? You’re mine!”
At that moment, Hugo grabbed Layla’s arm.
“Siber was just a fling! I told you I’d marry you!”
“Let go! I don’t need someone like you! If what you said about me is true, then why would you even want to be with me?”
Her question hit the mark, and Hugo couldn’t contain his anger.
“Because it’s all fake!”
The surroundings instantly fell silent.
“Ha. Fine. It’s true Siber spread those lies about you. So what? I said I’d take responsibility for you, didn’t I?”
“Did you forget you were the one who said we should break up? That you were the one who ended it?”
“That’s because you’d already had a baby with Eichmann, but you wouldn’t even kiss me!”
“And what did I tell you back then? That you were the first person I’d ever even held hands with.”
“Who’d believe that?!”
As Hugo shouted even more shamelessly, Layla yanked her arm free.
“You should have believed me—if you really wanted to marry me like you said.”
At that, Hugo, now shaking with rage, raised his fist.
—Thud!
“Kyaaa!”
Along with Layla’s scream, the one who fell to the floor was Lady Weimar.
“My lady!”
“Kyahhhh!”
“Viscount Ronald hit the lady!”
“Oh my god, is he insane?!”
“What on earth is going on?!”
The first floor was thrown into chaos. Since the people from the second, third, and even fourth floors had come down to watch, the place was packed.
“How dare you strike me, Viscount Ronald.”
“N-no! My lady stepped forward on her own—!”
“Hhhnnngh… My lady, are you alright?”
Layla quickly looked at Lady Weimar with tears in her eyes, as if deeply worried. For a brief moment, their eyes met—and in that instant, the lady’s eyes, which had turned a faint red, blinked blankly before returning to normal.
“How dare you,” Lady Weimar said, taking Layla’s hand.
“I will be informing my father of this.”
“No, my lady! I was aiming for Layla! I swear I never intended to hit you!”
Realizing the seriousness of the situation, Hugo tried to approach Lady Weimar, but Layla firmly blocked his way.
“Get out, Hugo. You’ve gone too far.”
“Hey! You love me! Are you really going to do this when your future husband is in trouble?”
“Who said you were my future husband? I never want to see you again. And my husband will…”
Layla almost said Sonnet, but thinking of Rainier—who had taken a slap for her—she held back.
“…will absolutely never be you.”
“Remove him.”
Lady Weimar gestured to her knights. The knights, sweating nervously, knew they had failed to protect her from being struck. In truth, they had only stood by thinking it was Layla who would be slapped.
“My lady! Please let me explain! My lady!”
And so, Hugo was dragged out.
With him gone, the first floor fell into a tense, watchful silence, eyes darting around but no one speaking.
“Layla.”
“Yes, my lady.”
“My cheek hurts. Since I took that hit in your place, you now owe me a debt.”
“Thank you, my lady. And… I’m sorry.”
“If you’re sorry, then come to my next tea party.”
“Yes, of course.”
Lady Weimar tousled Layla’s hair affectionately, then looked up toward her friends, who were peeking down from the stairs.
“Let’s head back for today.”
“Yes, my lady!”
“Yes!”
“My lady, are you alright?”
“Oh no, your cheek is swelling up!”
Lady Weimar’s close friends swarmed around her in tears.
“See you tomorrow, Layla.”
“Ah, yes!”
And with that, they left with Lady Weimar.
“Let’s get you to a doctor, my lady!”
“The physicians at the duke’s estate are far more skilled than any in the city.”
She replied with composure as she walked away.
The incident made the papers.
And in the days to come, Mont used the publicity as a stepping stone to expand the business even further.
“Aah, it really hurts.”
“Haha…”
“Ow, ow, ow.”
Layla still couldn’t figure out how Rainier had managed to so perfectly disguise himself as Lady Weimar.
“How on earth did you do it?”
“Do what?”
Looking at the swelling on one side of his cheek, she pointed.
“This… this.”
“Oh, this?”
Rainier looked at her with a sly smile. He reached up, tucked a strand of her soft pink hair behind her ear, and brushed the curve of her ear with his fingers.
“I fell.”
She had the feeling he wasn’t telling her the truth.
“How do you fall and injure your cheek? And besides, you’ve got a really high nose. If you fell, wouldn’t your nose get hurt first?”
“There are people who fall backward and still break their noses, you know.”
“That sounds like a proverb.”
“So you think my story’s a proverb? I must come to mind often, then—like a proverb.”
Rainier chuckled and took her wrist.
“Ow!”
He released her hand with a smile.
Layla’s eyes widened. It was the wrist Hugo had gripped so hard earlier, the pain so sharp she’d been certain it would bruise by tomorrow.
But the moment Rainier let go, the pain was gone—completely.
How was that possible?
She didn’t think he was hiding things because he didn’t trust her. Rather, it felt like there was a reason he simply couldn’t say.
“Why are you smiling? You said it hurt.”
“Who knows.”
Rainier kept smiling at her. She looked, somehow, a little sad—and he thought she might be worried about him.
“Come with me.”
Layla gently tugged at his sleeve. Despite her small frame and lack of strength, his tall, broad body followed her lead.
She brought him down to the preparation room in Mont’s basement. There was a kitchen there.
Scooping plenty of ice from the storage bin, she wrapped it in a clean cloth.
“If you’re in pain, why do you keep smiling?”
“Good question.”
She tried to press the ice to his cheek, but the height difference was so great she had to stand on tiptoe. He bent down slightly, waiting for her touch.
“Thank you, Rain.”
“I don’t understand. Are you thanking me for falling?”
“Just… thank you.”
She thought that if even a sturdy man like Rainier could be hurt this badly, she would have fainted if she’d taken that blow herself.
When Hugo had raised his hand earlier, she’d been so terrified she shut her eyes tight. The sound when the slap landed hadn’t been a sharp smack, but a dull thud—like being struck with a blunt weapon.
“How’s the inside of your mouth?”
“Curious?”
“Yes.”
She worried he might have cut the inside of his mouth badly.
“Want to check?”
“Do you really want to flirt in this situation?”
With a fresh, teasing smile, he leaned close, as if to kiss her.
“I always do.”
Then he lowered her hand—and pressed his lips to hers.
The faint taste of blood oddly tugged at her heart.
Even if she felt upset, his movements didn’t change.
Hugo was finished. Éclair was now going through bankruptcy proceedings.
Siber had taken over Éclair’s shares, but someone else came forward offering to buy them for an even larger sum.
On top of that, rumors about Layla—long believed to be true—were now being questioned. Some were even saying they might have been lies all along.
“So you’re saying… run the two businesses at the same time?”
Layla looked at Rainier—guest or intruder, she wasn’t sure—who had handed her some documents early that morning.
“Yes. We made enough this week alone to afford it comfortably.”
He smiled as he handed her the papers. Layla looked them over, bewildered.
“Why are you telling me this today?”
She studied him closely, unable to read his intentions.
Today was her engagement day with Sonnet Bruce—hurriedly arranged, but still prepared in full.
“What other reason could there be? I’m telling you not to get engaged.”
“…What?”
She stared at him, the papers still in her hands. He gave her a wry smile.
“Don’t get engaged.”
Her gaze fell to his lips. The fact that they had been kissing so much lately was impossible to ignore.
“And go into business with me instead. I can give you much more.”
Somehow, his words felt almost like a proposal—and it left her feeling strangely unsettled.
