Chapter 7
When she first came to Fritz, Sincere thought cars would be the scariest thing.
But unexpectedly, what made her feel the most uncomfortable was her awkward position.
Still, let’s stay strong. Tomorrow, I must find Erze.
More precisely, she needed to find someone who could help her find Erze.
Her only friend—
Wilhelm Grenmaier.
I heard many young people from Fritz would attend today’s gathering, so I wondered if he might be here…
Unfortunately, there were no familiar faces.
Everywhere she looked, there were only strangers who made her feel uneasy.
Afraid someone might ask her name, Sincere answered every conversation politely—but carefully and defensively.
At least… I don’t think I was rude.
I should thank Lady Vester for the invitation and leave now.
I can’t waste any more time.
Just as she turned to go—
She noticed a man walking toward her across the garden.
“Miss Visvaren, there you are. I’ve been looking for you.”
He was a handsome gentleman with brown hair.
The only problem was—
Sincere had never seen him before.
Seeing her guarded expression, he let out a small “ah,” then smiled and lightly kissed the back of her hand in greeting.
“My apologies, I should have introduced myself sooner. I am Vinter Rettman, of the Viscount Rettman family.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Rettman. But… what is it you need?”
Sincere, still flustered, asked directly.
She didn’t realize that her expression made her seem cold and proud to others.
“It’s nothing serious. I simply wanted to greet the star of today’s gathering. Seeing you up close, you’re even more beautiful.”
“Thank you for the compliment, but that sounds disrespectful to Lady Vester. How could I be the main figure?”
“Not at all. A host is a host, and the main figure is the main figure.”
Vinter smiled kindly and continued chatting casually.
Then he got to the point.
“Actually, I’ve been looking for a partner for a ship party in Clafton starting tomorrow night. It will last three days. I’ve been having trouble finding a suitable partner.”
At the mention of Clafton, Sincere’s eyes widened.
“Clafton?”
“Are you interested?”
Oh no.
She realized she had reacted too eagerly.
Clafton was a port city about 30 minutes from Fritz by car.
It had the largest harbor in the Bitenholtz Empire, and anyone involved in trade would eventually pass through it.
It was also a place Sincere had been thinking about.
I heard Louis Tanner has a townhouse in Clafton.
The Tanner family made their living exporting leather, so they owned a house there.
When Louis was seeing Erze, he had been staying in Clafton before briefly visiting Visvaren.
If Erze went to find Louis… then Clafton is the first place I should look.
But her grandmother kept holding her back, hoping for her marriage.
If she attended a ship party in Clafton—
maybe she could leave naturally without raising suspicion.
As she hesitated, her thoughts clearly showing on her face, Vinter gently smiled and held out his hand.
“If it’s alright with you, Miss Visvaren, would you give me the honor of attending the ship party together? I happen to need a partner, and you seem interested.”
After thinking it over, Sincere finally took his hand.
Like a lost child following a kind-looking adult.
A ship party in Clafton.
It was clearly dangerous—
But she couldn’t refuse.
“That gathering at Lady Vester’s must have been quite something. Look, everyone is talking about it.”
“You mean Miss Visvaren? A woman who caused such a stir right after arriving in Fritz… she’s quite something.”
Four hands of cards were thrown onto the table at a social club.
“See this? Straight flush. Pay up, everyone.”
The owner of the red straight flush laughed as he swept in all the chips.
Mikhail, with a cigarette in his mouth, casually grabbed a handful of his chips and tossed them over.
Some officers had already lost so much they looked dazed.
“Tobias must’ve been kissed by the goddess of luck today. I’ve never seen his cards this good.”
“Not sure about luck, but his dear sister almost slapped him. When he asked about Miss Visvaren, she got furious and told him never to mention her again.”
The quiet ripple caused by Sincere at Lady Vester’s gathering spread across all of Fritz in an instant.
From fiancés, from sisters, from gossip everywhere—
This was the story of “Miss Sincere Visvaren”:
A beautiful woman with blonde hair and pale violet eyes.
Cold and arrogant—perhaps taking after her strict grandmother.
A new face appearing before the season even began was perfect entertainment for the bored people of Fritz.
But for Mikhail—
who was still waiting for a reply to his marriage proposal—
this situation felt different.
It had already been over a week since he sent the proposal to Visvaren.
Normally, it took about two weeks, so he hadn’t been concerned.
But now, things were changing.
A woman named Sincere Visvaren suddenly arrived in Fritz—
and stirred up the entire city.
The officers beside Mikhail continued gossiping as they sorted cards and chips.
“People are already betting on which man Miss Visvaren will marry. The top candidate right now is Vinter Rettman. Apparently, they’re attending the Clafton ship party together.”
“A ship party? How old-fashioned. She may be cold, but it seems she has poor taste in men.”
A ship party on a large cruise ship could last anywhere from four days to a full week.
Since the event lasted so long, lodging and meals were provided.
Usually, it was meant for couples or lovers—
But not everyone used it that way.
Several officers threw chips onto the table.
“I bet that within three days, Miss Visvaren becomes Vinter Rettman’s woman.”
“Hey, someone has to bet the opposite, or there’s no wager. If everyone bets the same side, how can we gamble?”
As laughter filled the table—
A chair scraped loudly.
Mikhail stood up.
“Mikhail, where are you going? You still have plenty of chips left.”
“The ship party. Put all my remaining chips on the bet.”
“Oh? So you’re betting that Miss Visvaren will become Vinter Rettman’s woman?”
“Didn’t you just say that wouldn’t make a proper bet?”
Mikhail let out a quiet, mocking laugh and crushed his cigarette into the ashtray.
“I’ll take the opposite side.”
That Miss Visvaren—
would not become Vinter Rettman’s woman.
