CHAPTER 40:
Éclairean (2)
“!”
Beside a white table covered with luxurious fabrics, a deep red dress floated like a translucent veil over a mannequin.
It resembled burning firewood—without any distinct patterns, yet it drew attention all the more for it.
A pitch-black belt, like a ribbon of midnight aurora, was cinched at the waist to accentuate the silhouette.
The red and black tones blended so perfectly, it immediately reminded Gabriel of a man.
‘Dietrich!’
The dress resembled Dietrich—the man she had once encountered by chance in the capital’s streets.
Gabriel tore her gaze from the dress and turned toward the boutique owner, who was gracefully entertaining Hariel’s conversation.
“How much is this dress?” Gabriel asked.
The boutique owner hurried over to her with a flustered expression.
“That one is custom-made for a regular customer visiting today. It’s not for sale.”
“…”
Gabriel couldn’t bring herself to give up on the dress that had caught her eye.
“I don’t care if it’s custom. I want this dress.”
“Young Lady, it’s not for sale. The customer will be arriving soon.”
“Then how about this—I’ll buy the boutique instead?”
Gabriel held out a blank check.
“Write whatever amount you want.”
The boutique owner bit her lip in distress.
“I-I can’t. I’ve dedicated my whole life to this boutique—I can’t just give it away…”
“Then just sell me the dress. If your regular customer asks, just say there was an issue with production and the dress will take longer than expected.”
The boutique owner looked as if she might lose her mind.
She was expecting one of her most important—and most demanding—regular customers, and now this noblewoman shows up with a blank check, demanding the dress.
“You don’t have to sell me the boutique. Just give me the dress. No matter how much it is, I’ll pay.”
“I-I can’t! If the regular customer finds out, it’ll be over for me. Please leave.”
“Why not? Who is this customer that you’re so afraid of?”
Ding—
The bell chimed just as the blank check slipped from the boutique owner’s trembling hand.
A tall noblewoman, wearing a snow-white bonnet, stepped inside with graceful poise.
As she removed her bonnet, wavy pink hair tumbled down her back, revealing a delicate face framed by porcelain skin and fine features.
Beneath long, fluttering lashes, icy blue eyes locked onto Gabriel with cool disdain.
The boutique owner, visibly anxious, rushed to her.
“Lady Reyna, my lady!”
Reyna?
Gabriel’s eyes widened at the name.
Lady Reyna Grederick—the only sister of Ileon.
The same woman who had once boldly confessed her feelings to Dietrich in the Imperial Palace, only to be coldly rejected.
“Reyna Grederick?” Gabriel muttered aloud in disbelief.
Reyna walked up and slapped Gabriel hard across the face.
Smack!
A sharp sound echoed through the boutique.
“Gabriel!” Hariel shouted, rushing forward to shield her.
Gabriel clutched her cheek with trembling hands.
“Has Éclairean lost its standards? Letting in riffraff like this? How dare you speak a high noble’s name so carelessly?”
Reyna’s voice dripped with mockery.
“I’m sorry, my lady. I misspoke,” Gabriel quickly bowed and apologized.
But Reyna didn’t acknowledge the apology. She merely tilted her chin with contempt.
“If you’re truly sorry, then get on your knees and beg.”
Both Hariel and Gabriel turned pale.
Reyna curled her lips in a sneer.
“What? Can’t do even that? Should I report you to the guards for insolence?”
“My daughter made a terrible mistake. Please, Lady Reyna, I beg you for forgiveness,” Hariel said, kneeling and bowing deeply in Gabriel’s place.
Gabriel gritted her teeth silently.
To think a woman born lucky enough to be a princess would treat others like dogs.
Her pride was shattered.
Apparently pleased by Hariel’s groveling, Reyna turned to the boutique owner.
“Isn’t it a rule to serve only scheduled clients? Why are you deviating from that now and testing my patience?”
“They came in uninvited, my lady…”
“Hmph.”
Reyna let out a cold sigh.
Her blue eyes slowly drifted and landed on the red dress.
“This is the one?”
“Yes.”
“Hmmm.”
Reyna touched the red veil-like fabric hanging on the mannequin.
She smiled, seemingly satisfied with the texture between her fingers.
“Since I like the dress, I’ll overlook it this time. But if this happens again, I won’t let it slide.”
“It won’t, my lady. I promise,” the boutique owner said, rubbing her hands to appease her.
She carefully placed the dress in a luxurious box and handed it to Reyna.
After giving it to the maid behind her, Reyna casually asked the boutique owner:
“By the way, what family are those people from?”
“They said they’re from the Brillion family. You may have heard of them—Brillion’s Angel…”
“Hah.”
Reyna snorted and crushed the blank check on the floor beneath her heel.
“So they really are from some insignificant family.”
And with that, she left the boutique.
“Please leave. And don’t ever come back,” the owner said, coldly shooing Gabriel and Hariel out like flies.
Humiliated and robbed of the dress, Gabriel vowed she would never forget this disgrace.
* * *
Seliya changed into the satin dress Dietrich had given her.
It didn’t reveal her figure, and the neckline was high, covering even her collarbones. It suited her perfectly.
‘Strange. It’s also white, but this one makes me feel… respected as a person.’
Seliya glanced at the discarded white mermaid dress with disgust.
She hadn’t been surprised by the Crown Prince Jeremy’s grotesque face—she already knew his soul was even more twisted than his appearance.
She still remembered the sickening moment he had bit into her collarbone.
By contrast, when Dietrich had unexpectedly buried his head against her collarbone, it had felt entirely different.
‘He can erase scars with his power?’
Seliya was genuinely curious now.
What was Dietrich?
Would she ever fully understand the secrets he was hiding?
‘If he’s opening up to me, even a little… maybe I can reach him.’
She sighed. It wasn’t as if she could read his mind.
That fleeting, predator-like gaze of his was impossible to forget.
The man who looked at her like he might tear her apart—yet gently erased her scar instead.
‘He’s… strange.’
Dietrich was strange.
He said she was a nuisance, yet continued cleaning up her messes.
“I’ll depose the Crown Prince myself.”
And yet… when Dietrich spoke, it somehow felt like it would really happen.
“I just hope I didn’t make a mistake by joining hands with you,” Seliya whispered to herself.
Sunset light poured through the high arched windows, gently bathing Dietrich as he stood silently in the corridor.
He stood frozen, having overheard Seliya’s murmur from beyond the closed door.
Only when he saw armored knights surrounding his mansion did he begin to move.
His footsteps echoed softly through the empty hall.
He didn’t want to disappoint her.
“Tell me, then I’ll help you.”
Seliya had walked willingly into his home, knowing he would use her.
“Do you, too, wish for Avalon’s destruction?”
The calm, sincere voice that had asked him that question lingered.
Gone was the mask of foolishness and hidden motives. She had looked straight at him when she asked.
She had stolen his lips, his breath, even taken his saliva—and then pulled away like it meant nothing.
So, just as she had done to him, he claimed her lips in return.
He pressed her over and over as she gasped, trying to pull away.
She might’ve already guessed he had healing powers.
And even knowing that…
She didn’t recoil. Instead, she said that if he ever needed her powers, she would give them freely.
“That’s why I’m terminally ill now.”
Yet there had been no trace of self-pity on her face.
Her unwavering gaze, the faint bite mark on her collarbone—it all infuriated him.
Back then, when she had laughed so brightly in the blood-soaked emperor’s bedchamber, she had looked truly unburdened.
Perhaps… he should’ve killed her then.
If he hadn’t known her power was tied to the scent of hyacinths, he wouldn’t have let her into his home.
Because that power…
Dietrich shook his head, dismissing the thought.
For now, he had more immediate annoyances to remove.
“A mistress, huh.”
For Jeremy to send knights to search his home for a mere mistress—how pathetic.
After finally finding someone worthy of being his master, Dietrich wouldn’t let her be dragged away by that wretch.
He gripped his sword, which shimmered in the twilight.
As he stepped outside, the knights recoiled in surprise.
“What business do you have at my estate?” Dietrich asked coldly.
One of the knights swallowed nervously and responded.
“His Highness the Crown Prince has ordered us to retrieve Seliya Brillion. We were told she’s here at your estate.”
“She’s not.”
“…Pardon?”
“I said, she’s not here. Tell His Highness—there’s no one in my estate.”
The knights exchanged uneasy glances. One of them finally spoke.
“Duke Grederick claims he saw her heading toward your estate.”
Dietrich ran a hand through his tousled hair and smirked.
“Duke Grederick said that, did he?”
“Yes, sir.”
“So that’s why you came.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
Dietrich calmly scanned the faces of the flustered knights.
“And isn’t it strange to look for the Crown Prince’s mistress in my home?”
“…”
“You already checked and found nothing. So why search again?”
His logic left them speechless.
“Tell His Highness: his mistress is not in my home.”
