Chapter 21
The last person to appear on the stage was none other than Serna. At her appearance, the square, which had been noisy with cheers and shouts, fell into complete silence.
Her soft beige hair tied in a ponytail, the black dress flowing along her slender body, and the diamond necklace shining around her neck, as if the finishing touch on her look.
With every step she took, Hayden, who had been watching quietly from the far corner of the square, held his breath.
And he wasn’t the only one. Everyone in the hall must have thought the same.
“Beautiful.”
To say Serna was beautiful barely captured it.
Her fair skin gleamed under the lights. Her large, beautiful green eyes trembled slightly with tension, yet her tightly closed lips conveyed determination.
Even the dress, simple in design, gave the illusion of beauty. Her thin frame radiated a presence that dominated the crowd.
“Goddess…”
Hayden glanced at the man beside him who had muttered under his breath. Seeing the man’s gaze fixed on Serna, mouth agape, Hayden couldn’t help but think, Should I just kill him?
That thought, however, earned the man a sharp smack on the back from the woman with him. Even without Hayden, that man might have met his end at his partner’s hands.
Hayden didn’t disagree with the man’s remark; Serna truly had the power to enchant anyone at first sight. She looked like a goddess.
Her stage presence surpassed anyone who had appeared in the show so far. Even the sound of her heels clicking on the stage carried clearly across the square, and the audience remained silent, captivated.
When she stopped at the end of the stage and swept her gaze lightly across the square, Hayden felt his mind go blank.
He forgot even to breathe, his eyes fixed solely on Serna.
“Serna.”
Exhaling the breath he had been holding, his heart throbbed painfully, unbearably hot.
His eyes lost their blue, turning a deep crimson.
And finally,
it was an imprint.
He squeezed his eyes shut, trying desperately to suppress it. Trying to erase the feelings for Serna. Love, because she had said, was painful.
Hayden, standing there on the stage, breathing heavily as he merely looked at Serna sparkling under the lights, sensed Spen approaching nearby. He closed his eyes again, concealing the imprint.
“Are you all right?”
Spen’s voice was as blunt as his master’s. He had noticed the imprint the moment he had seen Hayden obsessively watching Serna from the start. It was evident to him that this imprint was a predetermined future.
“Yes.”
Hayden answered as casually as he could. Spen let out a small sigh.
“I know you’re not fine.”
“Just watch her.”
Hayden’s blunt reply came as Spen worried.
“Tanias hasn’t shown any particular activity.”
“And Blacktan?”
“I’m keeping an eye on them.”
“Good.”
Interesting creatures, indeed.
Hayden’s crimson eyes returned to blue. The storm of emotions subsided, leaving a cold, calculating reason.
“Continue to watch. Report anything unusual.”
“Yes, sir.”
From afar, someone was watching Hayden and Spen’s conversation.
Roevi. She had been invited by Arienne to watch the stage up close. Upon spotting Hayden, she moved to a position behind him.
“Hmm.”
“Is something wrong?”
The guard beside Roevi reacted immediately to her soft voice.
“No, nothing.”
Smiling innocently like a little rabbit, Roevi said,
“I think something interesting is about to happen.”
The show was a total success. The concept of a “fashion show” had officially appeared in the Ether Empire—because of this event.
Sorbeuil had already been a well-known atelier within the Empire, but Serenade, just a few days after opening, enjoyed popularity that even the success of the Blue Pearl ring could not rival.
Especially:
“Miss Troid! I want to buy that teardrop diamond!”
“Where can I find the necklace from the finale?”
“The baroness said it must be this necklace, no other will do!”
People lined up daily, sometimes dozens at a time, to buy the teardrop diamond necklace used in the finale. Orbi was nearly exhausted from balancing work for Quiln and Serenade.
The “Blue Pearl ring” followed immediately by the “Sorbeuil x Serenade Show” brought me immense fame and fortune. And one more thing:
The Goddess of the Empire.
A ridiculous nickname I could hardly believe.
“Goddess.”
Anna, as usual, teased me by calling me that multiple times a day.
Because I had been the one who appeared in the finale, the nickname had replaced the old ones: “Bankrupt Young Lady” or “Skull Young Lady.”
Hearing the nickname, I felt my face flush with embarrassment. The “Goddess of the Empire”? Who came up with that? It was cringeworthy enough to make my hands and feet feel detached.
“Anna, stop calling me that.”
“But everyone calls you that! Goddess!”
“Can I throw up?”
Anna burst into a loud laugh at my words.
After the crowd of customers subsided, leaving only three extra employees I had hired, I finally collapsed on the sofa.
Ding-dong.
The cheerful sound of the door opening rang. Sales hours were ending, so who could it be?
“Miss Troid!”
Roevi, her pink hair bouncing in all directions, ran into the shop. I jumped up in surprise and awkwardly greeted her.
“Lady Roevi!”
“How have you been? I saw the show with Arienne! Goddess Troid! Congratulations on your success!”
“Haha, thank you, but you flatter me.”
“You were truly beautiful. In the Empire, Miss Troid is the most beautiful!”
That “goddess” again. I thought to myself, Has every goddess frozen to death?
I forced a strained smile, my lips twitching as Roevi exclaimed in delight, hopping around the shop, her pink hair bouncing wildly.
“By the way, may I ask why you came here today?”
“Oh, right! It’s my birthday! I came to choose a present!”
Ah, a customer. Despite being exhausted from the day, the fact that a high-ranking marquise’s daughter came to visit made all the difference.
Roevi bounced around, marveling at the sparkling jewelry.
“The designs are beautiful, and the gems seem top quality. Really lovely.”
She seemed very interested in the gemstones, naming each type as she went. Watching her, I felt a mix of pride and emotion swelling inside me.
“Oh? This one…”
Roevi paused in front of a pair of drop earrings made from orange sapphires. She looked at me with a fascinated expression.
“Miss Troid, where do you get your gemstones?”
“Huh? Why all of a sudden…?”
With a strange smile, she stepped closer with every step, forcing me to retreat. Her small, rabbit-like face was unexpectedly intimidating.
“The lands in the Empire with orange sapphires…”
“?”
“Only the Valoran Duchy under Hayden.”
Her amber eyes, cute until now, sharpened like a predator spotting prey. While the gems indeed came from Duke Valoran, her interest made the situation thrilling.
Roevi eventually cornered me against the shop wall. When my back hit the wall, her small hand rested against the side beside my face. The scene was strange, to say the least.
“Miss Troid, what’s your relationship with Hayden?”
Her expression was sharp, like a street gang demanding answers, and I instinctively looked away. That made her gaze even more persistent.
“I’ve never heard of Hayden doing anything with anyone else.”
“Really?”
“Dating is out of the question, and he has no friends. Society? For Hayden, that’s more useless than eating or napping.”
I responded foolishly, making little sense. I couldn’t understand why Roevi was so relentless.
Calling Duke Valoran “Hayden,” Roevi seemed closer to him than I was.
“You can tell me,” she insisted.
Tell her what? Duke Valoran and I had nothing to tell anyone about, yet here she was.
“Miss Troid, in fact, with Hayden…”
“With Hayden…?”
“Could it be…?”
“Could it be…?”
“You’re in love with him, right?!”
“?”
“Right?”
Before I could answer, she reverted to her rabbit-like persona, her pink hair flying wildly as she dashed around the shop in the white dress with lace.
“Miss Troid, I’m not involved with Duke Hayden. Absolutely not.”
“You’ve already been found out! Hahaha!”
Indeed. She had no interest in hearing my words. She insisted that what she thought was correct and clasped my hand tightly, sparkling with excitement.
“To think such a beautiful lady would become Hayden’s bride—that’s a real birthday gift!”
“So, Lady Roevi, please—listen to me…”
“Come to my birthday party with Hayden! I’ll send you an invitation!”
“Please, just—stop for a moment…”
“Oh, I almost forgot!”
Excited, she pulled a small sheet of paper and handed it to me.
A familiar golden emblem bordered the paper. It was a royal emblem I had seen on trade ship permits—a blank royal check.
“For my birthday present, I’ll take the orange sapphire earrings and that diamond necklace!”
At the end of her gesture was the teardrop diamond necklace I had poured my heart into for the finale, the piece that had caused such a sensation.
Before I could wonder about Lady Roevi’s true intentions, she had already made a bold purchase. As a capitalist at heart, I accepted the blank check and tucked it into my small pouch.
“I’ll wrap it right away, Lady Roevi. Could you wait a moment?”
“Since I’ll be Hayden’s bride, you can just call me Roevi. And I’ll call you Serna. Is that okay?”
“Well… okay. Let’s do that, Roevi.”
I apologized silently to Duke Valoran. I had no intention of using his name this way—I just wanted to make money. I would make sure he never found out.
As Roevi left the shop, waving cheerfully, she promised to send me the invitation with a bright smile, and I still hadn’t denied being involved with Duke Valoran.
I wondered, Am I really okay like this?
