Chapter 22
“Anna.”
“Why have you been like this since earlier?”
“You wouldn’t know how amazing what I did was.”
“?”
Anna gave me a look of mild exasperation, as if wondering what I was up to again.
Proudly, I pulled out a blank check with the royal seal. Anna had gone out to buy dinner earlier, so she had no idea that Loévi had visited.
“Look at this.”
“Whoa?”
“Loévi came to the shop earlier.”
“Miss… wasn’t Loévi supposed to be the daughter of a marquis?”
“Yes. Arienne said so. But isn’t it amazing? You just write a number on this, and it becomes money.”
As I admired the elegant beauty of the check, Anna asked me, noticing something off.
“But that check… it’s a royal check, isn’t it?”
“So? Maybe she bought it from the royal family. Want to try touching it? It’s on a whole different level from regular checks.”
“Miss, royal checks can’t be used by anyone who isn’t royalty.”
“…Huh? Then maybe she received it as a gift?”
“If someone who isn’t royal uses it, they’ll be thrown in jail. It’s considered an offense against the royal family. Maybe you just didn’t know.”
“…Then who is this Loévi?”
“I don’t know either.”
Anna, who did I just meet?
I recalled Loévi’s face—pink hair, a bright, innocent smile, waving at me. It radiated purity.
But she wasn’t a marquis’s daughter… she was royalty? Why would she hide that?
“So Loévi is royal, not noble?”
“Of course. She’s using a royal check.”
Anna emphasized this, pointing to the seal and saying, “See? The royal emblem is clear.”
“What am I supposed to do then?”
“Well… it doesn’t really matter, does it? You were deceived by Loévi, not the other way around.”
“Huh?”
Anna, you have a tendency to jab my conscience with inconvenient facts. Here I am pretending to be all lovey-dovey with the Duke of Valoran, selling things, and now I realize… I’ve basically committed a con.
I was truly in trouble.
Anna had been right. Not long after meeting Loévi, an invitation arrived from the royal family. It was the first royal invitation in Serna’s life.
“Miss… is this really a royal invitation?”
“It seems so.”
“Don’t go.”
Anna’s comment was interrupted by Orbi.
“Ah! Orbi, don’t just appear out of nowhere!”
“Just happy to see you after so long.”
Although Orbi had signed a (slave) contract with me, he said he held an important post in Quern and had to stay there regularly for work.
Even with Orbi gone, Serenade had no issues. Whenever he was away, the work he had prepared was immense. I had pushed him hard to handle the influx of orders, so these trips were understandable.
“Who sent the invitation?”
Orbi had been in Quern since the shop opened, so he had no way of knowing. Before I could answer, Anna spoke first.
“I met Loévi, the daughter of a marquis, starting at the Sorbeau dress shop…”
After hearing what happened at Sorbeau, Orbi furrowed his brow, trying to recall.
“Loévi… Loévi… Ah, Princess Loévi?”
“Princess Loévi?”
“Yes. The princess struggling after the death of Emperor Aether—Loévi Kallios.”
So the person who had first connected with me at Sorbeau and sent the invitation wasn’t a marquis’s daughter—it was Princess Loévi Kallios herself.
After understanding the significance of the royal check, it seemed almost unbelievable that she really was a princess. She may have disguised her identity, but I had lied to her…
“What happens if you con royalty?”
“You die.”
Orbi answered simply, even mimicking cutting his throat with his fingers.
I was the one who had committed fraud.
On top of that, I pretended to be close with the Duke of Valoran while selling goods. If that were discovered, he probably wouldn’t be gentle.
Clearly, declining this invitation politely seemed the safest way to extend my lifespan.
“Right. I won’t go.”
“Good choice, Miss Serna.”
“But Orbi, why are you saying not to go?”
“There will be too many men at the party.”
“Ha, again with the joke.” I had grown used to his teasing enough to brush it off. But I still needed to figure out a proper reason to refuse. Any excuse I came up with would likely be meaningless.
“Miss, are you really refusing? It’s a good opportunity! Even with many visitors at Serenade, you could meet other noble ladies and improve your social standing,” Anna pressed.
“I know, I know…” I thought to myself. The reason I couldn’t feel happy about this invitation was because I had tricked Princess Loévi. Anna didn’t know that.
Even though the invitation should have delighted me, it didn’t. If she were just the daughter of a marquis, I might have survived without trouble.
“Miss Serna Throid, it would make me immensely happy if you would attend Loévi’s birthday party. I truly hope you come,” the invitation read, yet I couldn’t feel joy.
“You see? It even says ‘come with Hayden. We have a gift for both of you.’”
“….”
“Who’s Hayden?”
“Miss, do you know who Hayden is?”
“I… I don’t? Who is that?”
Both seemed curious, and I began to sweat nervously, trying to dodge the question. If Anna learned that Hayden was the Duke of Valoran, she would be giddy about a potential match.
“Judging by the reaction, it’s a man.”
“If it’s a man, then you have Kellen, Orbi, and…”
“The Duke of Valoran.”
“Ha! Miss! So that’s how it is! I had a feeling the Duke’s gaze was unusual…”
“Orbi, please, stop Anna from talking,” I begged.
Anna, who was beginning to motor her mouth incessantly, was subdued by Orbi’s magic. Fortunately, he was a skilled mage.
Still, how could I refuse this invitation? Even if I declined, Princess Loévi would likely try to discover the truth if she didn’t see the Duke and me together.
“Miss Serna.”
“Hm?”
“There’s one more line at the bottom.”
I leaned closer as Orbi handed me the invitation. At the very bottom, in minuscule letters, it was almost impossible to read without straining.
“What does it say? Refuse… gift… not accept…?”
I squinted at the few words I could see. Orbi stepped in. As he traced the words with his finger, the letters magically floated into the air, enlarging and arranging themselves for easy reading.
The floating letters were cute, bouncing gently as if alive when touched.
“If you refuse, you might feel upset and not accept the birthday gift from my father. I hope we meet soon.”
Orbi read the enlarged letters aloud.
Is this… blackmail? I thought Princess Loévi was a sweet, timid lady, but she could be terrifying. She clearly knew I valued money. I realized there was no turning back. Better to beg for my life from the Duke than to risk losing the royal check. He would likely be more lenient than a princess whose trust I had betrayed.
“Miss Throid has sent a letter,” the butler said, handing it over.
Hayden’s steps seemed lighter as he climbed the stairs. The contrast between the harsh man who had torn apart Count Pyro’s affairs and this one, who couldn’t hide his joy at receiving a simple letter from me, was stark.
He didn’t even bother changing his blood-stained shirt, hastily opening the letter.
[If it’s not inconvenient, I would like to accompany the Duke to Princess Loévi’s birthday party. Awaiting your reply.]
Her handwriting was neat and precise, and imagining the tiny hand writing such clear letters felt strangely alluring.
A hand unaccustomed to hardships, eyes capturing summer light, hair smelling faintly of ylang-ylang.
A woman whose eyes sharpened when focused on work.
Hayden gripped the letter tightly.
“Come to think of it, Princess Loévi’s birthday is tomorrow. You’ve never attended the party, right?”
“No need to go.”
It was just another royal gathering where the emperor and family would nag him about marriage.
The Valoran family needed power for the Ether Empire to grow stronger. The royal obsession with the Valoran family would continue until he married.
“Then, will you attend this time?” Spen asked.
Hayden responded with quiet silence.
“His Highness will pressure you to marry. Is that alright?”
“I’ll ignore it.”
Spen, who had followed Hayden all his life, understood his master’s transformation. After losing his parents and isolating himself, Hayden had changed suddenly.
He had endured everything to avoid the pain of imprinting. Yet he eventually surrendered to the suffering imposed by it.
“My nagging may be tiresome, but I hope you answer me.”
“What?”
“The reason you’ve changed.”
“I haven’t changed.”
“I’m talking about how long you’ll keep lying. No one’s fooled.”
“I’m the one deceiving myself.”
To forget the imprinting, he wanted to believe his own lies.
