<CHAPTER 2>
Apetina assumed it was just a routine remark and answered without much thought.
“Yes.”
The manager sneered as he placed the exact tea payment, down to the last coin, into the register.
“Well, you must have enjoyed yourself, sitting for two hours with just one cup of tea.”
Feeling slightly apologetic for staying so long, Apetina had been tolerating his rudeness, but her expression turned cold.
Thinking there was no need to engage, she tried to leave, but her eyes caught sight of the Baron watching her.
She hesitated for a moment, wondering if he had changed his mind, but the manager continued.
“Next time, don’t overreach yourself and go somewhere that suits you. This isn’t a place just anyone can visit.”
Apetina paused for a moment, then turned around.
“And where exactly is a place that suits me?”
The manager looked her up and down and scoffed.
“You should know better yourself. In any case, this is a refined place frequented by the upper class, so don’t even think of coming again.”
“Do you say that knowing what I might look like the next time I come?”
Her tone was completely devoid of emotion.
He had assumed she wouldn’t be able to argue back even if he treated her poorly, and until now, that had been true.
Yet for some reason, her calm and composed voice sent a chill down his spine.
The manager lifted his chin in pointless defiance and retorted.
“I don’t see how it would be any different, so is there any need for me to answer?”
“I’ll ask again. What will you do if I appear differently next time?”
The manager suppressed a laugh and spoke with a contemptuous gaze.
“If you come looking like someone from the upper class, I’ll acknowledge you as a guest.”
“I don’t need your acknowledgment. Instead, you should sincerely apologize for your rudeness today.”
The manager let out a short laugh and replied.
“Very well. And if that ever happens, it would mean I have no eye for judgment as a manager, so I’ll quit this place.”
His tone was full of confidence, as if such a thing would never happen.
Hearing their exchange, the staff and nearby guests began whispering among themselves.
The manager proudly lifted his chin as if to show off.
Apetina nodded as she looked at him.
“Within a few months, I’ll visit again in a form you’ll recognize. Make sure you keep your word.”
As she finished speaking and walked toward the door, she could feel the piercing gazes of others.
It would be a lie to say it didn’t bother her, but it wasn’t as humiliating as the manager had intended.
She was slightly surprised at how unaffected she felt, then opened the door and stepped outside.
When she looked back at the teahouse she had just left, the Baron who had been sitting by the window was staring at her with a serious expression.
Now that he knew she wasn’t in a position to be treated generously, he would likely abandon the idea of paying a high price.
Apetina gracefully greeted the Baron with her eyes, then crossed the street to board a carriage for business.
“What are you looking at so intently?”
The one who spoke was Prince Perion Novaren Keldin Lemea, second in line to the throne of the Lemea Empire.
A perfect master who lacked nothing, from lineage to appearance, as if proving the unfairness of the gods.
In public, he always wore a picture-perfect smile like a mask.
Yet now, he was openly showing his emotions while looking behind him.
Interest, curiosity, and a hint of irritation.
Wondering what was happening, Ernarn turned to look and saw the woman who had been sitting across the street arguing with the manager.
“She’s always noisy.”
She had ignored the staff’s signals to leave, so he had ordered desserts he had no intention of eating.
His master, who normally showed no trace of such indulgence, seemed unusually sympathetic today.
The manager’s voice grew louder.
As a result, the surroundings fell silent, making the argument easier to hear.
“I make mistakes sometimes.”
Perion let out a small laugh as he looked at his subordinate, who seemed to be blaming himself for choosing the wrong place.
“Did anyone say anything?”
“I heard it was a quiet place. I didn’t expect this.”
“It doesn’t matter. We’re just out wandering with nothing to do anyway.”
Perion’s gaze drifted outside for a moment before returning.
Their table wasn’t by the window.
So he shouldn’t have had a clear view, yet the man watching them didn’t move at all.
Perion muttered as he looked at him.
“Pretending not to notice such an obvious spy is exhausting.”
“They were placed there as a warning not to act recklessly. It wouldn’t make sense for them to hide.”
The teahouse, which had gone quiet, became noisy again as the argument ended.
Ernarn, who prided himself on being his master’s most loyal subordinate, called a servant.
After clearing away the untouched desserts and ordering fresh tea, he spoke.
“Please refrain from leaving the imperial palace while I’m away.”
“I will. What fun would there be in wandering alone?”
“You say that, but you’ll act on your own again. Until Duke Zeldin finds a new guard—or at least until I return—please behave yourself, even if it’s just for a few days. Understood?”
“Marquis Renald, I’m not a child. I can protect myself.”
“Do not be so confident. Didn’t something nearly happen not long ago?”
“That was because I was betrayed by someone I trusted as a guard. If someone close to me turns traitor, there’s nothing I can do.”
Perion looked outside and murmured.
So tell my grandfather to stop sending guards. Dealing with them is tiring, and it only makes me less aware of my surroundings.
“Not everyone follows the orders of the Bonel family.”
“So far, they always have. Whether through money or threats, they make sure no one stays by my side.”
The Bonel Merchant Guild, the largest in the empire.
Lady Bonel, the emperor’s favored concubine and mother of the First Prince, was the daughter of Morris Bonel, the guild’s leader.
They were desperate to kill Prince Perion, the biggest obstacle to placing their bloodline on the throne.
Perion rested his chin on his hand and looked at the marquis across from him.
“I find it strange that you’ve stayed by my side all this time.”
“I have more than enough money, and I have no family to be threatened.”
“Would you have betrayed me if you did?”
Ernarn tilted his head slightly.
“Every time you find a traitor, think about it. What would I have done?”
Perion nodded for him to continue.
“The only family I had were my late parents, and they loved Your Highness more than they loved me.”
“What about your younger sister? Aren’t you leaving me because of the Viscountess Bernal?”
“Leaving? I’m only taking a few days off. And she’s an illegitimate half-sister no one knows about—just my father’s blood.”
“Still, it’s because of that blood that you’re taking your first leave.”
“The lack of a signal means something has happened. I need to find out what’s going on and take care of the children.”
Those children are also just your father’s blood, aren’t they?
Perion muttered, and Ernarn replied.
“Of course I am worried about the children. But if that were all, I wouldn’t need to go this far.”
“Is it because of Black?”
“You already know the answer.”
Perion sighed.
“Marquis, we need to erase that existence from our minds.”
Ernarn waited until the servant finished setting the tea before replying.
“Your Highness should do so. But not me. I need to understand everything to prevent problems.”
Perion nodded in acknowledgment and leaned back in his chair.
“Do you really think something has gone wrong? It could just be circumstances.”
“If it were a day or two, perhaps. But it’s already been a week. They report their survival once a month. If something had come up, they would have found another way.”
If something happened to the viscountess, why hasn’t the nanny contacted you? Could something have happened to her as well?
“I told her not to contact me unless it was truly urgent. If my connection to Henrik Bernal is discovered, it wouldn’t be good.”
Ernarn rubbed his face tiredly.
So I need to confirm whether something has happened to the nanny, or if things are still manageable and that’s why she hasn’t reached out.
“What about the movements of the Bernal family?”
“There are no visible changes.”
“So you couldn’t investigate directly.”
“Yes.”
“You’re being cautious.”
“There’s no need to draw suspicion with unnecessary movement.”
Perion smiled faintly.
“Then I suppose I’ll have to look into it myself.”
Ernarn immediately cut him off.
“Do nothing.”
“How insolent!”
