045. Whose are you?
It was exactly two more days before Kaitlyn Meyer's message arrived at Luen's castle in Deluis.
The message was simple: to pretend that everything they had planned never happened and to keep it a secret.
“Hmm... It looks like the plan was completely exposed?”
Luen pouted her lips in displeasure.
After thinking about it for a moment, she ordered the butler to return the seating arrangement in the dining room to its original state.
If there had been no hitch, Emilia Bern and Nathan Malvin would have been sitting next to each other the whole time. The reporters should also be removed from the invitation list, and the interview should, of course, be canceled.
There was something even more annoying.
“...Should I give it back?”
Luen looked down at the ring on her finger and then roughly pulled it off. It was a shame, but there was nothing she could do. If the world-famous Kaitlyn looked at Meyer, she could do something like this, then something serious had happened.
She wrote back to Kaitlyn Meyer immediately, saying that she would keep quiet forever as she had asked, and that she would of course return the ring.
On the afternoon of the ball in Luen, the family of the Red Brick House could not hide their excitement. It was because of Emilia, who had just appeared in a dress.
The plain and simple silk dress showed off her well-proportioned figure, and her hair was neatly tied up, as elegant as a swan.
“Sister... Really...”
Mitch and Beppy were dumbfounded and couldn't speak. Charlotte looked sad that she couldn't see her sister, but she also had a pleased expression on her face, as if she could see through everything with her supernatural powers.
After a while, a carriage arrived.
The door opened, and Hardius Meyer finally appeared. Everyone's eyes were filled with surprise once again.
'Damn that guy, he's so damn handsome.'
Even though he was internally sneering, Mitch's mood became strange.
‘So my sister was engaged to that guy...’
“Good morning, Mrs. Bern. I sincerely apologize for greeting you so late.”
Kalia was speechless. She had never imagined that a child of a noble family, let alone a common noble, would greet her so politely.
“I’m sorry... Master... I should be sorry. I’ve never greeted you before, and I didn’t even attend your engagement ceremony. And yet.. Beppy, the carriage, Brave... You have shown such grace to people like us...”
“I’m sorry to say that.”
Hardius turned straight to Charlotte.
“How have you been?”
“Yes, as you said, I am studying Braille hard.”
It was finally his turn to say hello to Mitch. Emilia, who had been watching quietly, swallowed dry saliva.
“You’re crazy. I’ve heard a lot from my sister.”
“...Hello. About what happened last time... I’m sorry...”
He spat out the apology he had practiced, but his tone was curt and arrogant, and he didn't even uncross his arms.
But Hardius, with his characteristic calmness, lightly ignored the hostility that Michie was exuding.
“I decided not to hold you responsible for the past. So forget about it, too.”
The precise and elegant pronunciation grated on Mitch's nerves. Why had he imagined a pot-bellied, vulgar nobleman who smoked cigarettes?
He couldn't take his eyes off that man who seemed so perfect that he didn't even belong in this world.
“Let’s go.”
Emilia, who had been watching the two with a nervous heart, grabbed Hardius' arm as if to grab him. Hardius bowed politely once more and got into the carriage with Emilia.
“...I’m not crazy. If he seemed rude to you earlier, I’ll apologize on his behalf.”
“How many times do I have to tell you? I don’t blame your brother.”
Hardius answered without taking his eyes off the window.
“Mitch Bern just wanted to protect his sister. From the likes of me.”
Emilia was speechless, and Hardius didn't open his mouth any further. The two avoided eye contact as if they had made a promise. Hardius sat with his legs crossed and his gaze fixed outside the window, while Emilia sat upright with her eyes downcast.
The carriage ran diligently and left the center of Erndorf.
Deluis, where the ball was held, was a coastal area on the outskirts of Nowak.
The journey was not easy because they had to run on unpaved roads. Plus, the dress and hair tied up were very uncomfortable.
At one point, Emilia was tossing and turning without realizing it. Hardius, who had been watching her quietly, handed her a cushion.
"...Thank you."
Emilia leaned back on the cushion, and Hardius spread out a newspaper.
After running a little further, they arrived at a wide plain with endless wheat fields.
The coachman picked up the pace again. The wind swept across the green fields, bringing a refreshing whoosh. The regular rhythm of the thump, thump, thump also felt good in her chest.
Emilia opened the window wide and gave herself over to the refreshing feeling that nature gave her. Without realizing it, her eyes softened, and the corners of her mouth curled up.
Hardius watched her silently.
Suddenly, there was a loud thud, and the carriage shook violently. Her back, leaning against the cushion, slipped, and her knees brushed against his.
Emilia, who was startled, tried to get up in a hurry. However, her ankle sprained, and she fell forward instead.
It was a man's hand that caught her staggering body.
The next moment, she felt something very strange near her ankle. The hand that was tickling her was also a man's.
Emilia watched him carefully take off her old shoes without even making a sound.
“We still have a long way to go before we arrive.”
As he said that, Hardius handed the shoes he had taken off to Emilia. His indifferent gaze fell on her ankles, shaking under the hem of her skirt.
Emilia pulled her feet up onto the chair and covered them neatly with her skirt. She hugged the cushion like a shield and closed her eyes. She had no choice but to close them.
How much time has passed?
With a rustling sound, a cool breeze blew in again. The familiar scent of the sea tickled the tip of her nose. Emilia's eyes opened wide again.
A spectacle like she had never seen before unfolded outside the window.
"Oh my god!"
Emilia couldn't help but exclaim.
Below the steep cliffs, the vast sea stretched out endlessly.
The white covering on the sharp rocks is clearly not snow, but hundreds of water birds.
“Hey... did you see that?!”
Emilia, who couldn't control her excitement, forgot the awkward atmosphere just before and shouted at Hardius. He also looked at Emilia with relaxed eyes for the first time in a while.
“It’s an albatross. It’s the longest-flying bird in the world.”
“Oh my god... Those are all birds...!”
Her blue eyes were filled with ecstasy.
The carriage raced along the edge of the cliff, towards a beautiful castle, with the blue waves rolling by its side.
In the magnificent scenery, beautiful trees in the distance began to come into view. The carriage suddenly stopped in the middle of the road.
Emilia's face was filled with doubt. Instead of answering, Hardius took out his watch and showed it to her.
“It’s too early.”
But the clock hands are exactly 30 minutes past the appointed time.
“The main characters should arrive last. That’s manners.”
Emilia picked it up and laughed.
“It’s not the main characters, but the protagonist. The Countess is waiting for the successor to the Meyer family, not his fiancée.”
“The moment you appear with me, you are also the main character.”
It was an arrogant answer, but it wasn't wrong.
“To be honest... I actually wanted that. I wanted to stand in front of people as your fiancée for once. Don’t get me wrong. I just wanted to show you how much I hate that fact.”
The faint smile on Hardius's lips slowly disappeared.
“Why does everyone think I’m going to be abandoned? Why do they think I’m desperate to become a Duchess?”
One corner of Emilia's mouth twisted upward.
“I am the one who wants to throw it away.”
With a thud, hundreds of birds took flight at once along with a huge wave.
Hardius, with calm eyes again, followed the trajectory of the flock of albatrosses flying away from the waves.
“Do you know? The young master is preventing us from even doing that right now. The moment we show up together, the game is over. In the end, I will be the one who is abandoned.”
“Are you upset?”
“Yes, a lot.”
“Then you throw it away first.”
Emilia's eyes widened.
Hardius stared out the window as if ignoring her. The birds that had flown high in the sky were once again descending, one by one, onto the sharp rocky island where the waves were crashing.
“Throw it away first?”
“Yes, show it to people. Show them how you throw it away really cruelly.”
“Are you serious?”
Hardius laughed lightly and then suddenly put his hand into his jacket pocket.
“Before that,”
The man's voice, locked tightly, echoed thickly in the cramped space, and Emilia turned her head away from the window. There was an unfamiliar object in his hand.
A small velvet box.
Click, the box opened, and the contents inside were revealed.
It's a ring. It's set with a dazzling jewel.
Emilia stared down at the cold, shining metal for a long time.
“What on earth does this... mean?”
“Show them. In front of people. Who are you?”
Emilia had to remain still for a long time to control her throbbing pulse.
When her helplessly trembling eyes turned back to Hardius, he was incredibly cold.
“Do you remember? The last banquet.”
As he spoke, the carriage started again. With a jolt, her body was pushed. Emilia frantically held onto the handlebars, but answered, “Yes, I remember.”
“You didn’t even have a partner that day.”
Yes, she was completely alone. It was unpleasant because it seemed to warn her that she would be abandoned.
She tried to run away like crazy, but she got caught by that guy. That's how it all started.
“I was the one who made you do that. I couldn’t stand having someone guarding you. Kyle Hogan, Millionaire Laurent, Erger Wisher.”
What does that mean? She squinted her eyes, realized what he meant, and felt her heart sink.
Perhaps they were the men who had been chosen as partners to replace Hardius in the past. He remembered all of those vague names that she couldn't even remember.
“There’s no reason to allow Nathan Malvin.”
It was exactly two more days before Kaitlyn Meyer's message arrived at Luen's castle in Deluis.
The message was simple: to pretend that everything they had planned never happened and to keep it a secret.
“Hmm... It looks like the plan was completely exposed?”
Luen pouted her lips in displeasure.
After thinking about it for a moment, she ordered the butler to return the seating arrangement in the dining room to its original state.
If there had been no hitch, Emilia Bern and Nathan Malvin would have been sitting next to each other the whole time. The reporters should also be removed from the invitation list, and the interview should, of course, be canceled.
There was something even more annoying.
“...Should I give it back?”
Luen looked down at the ring on her finger and then roughly pulled it off. It was a shame, but there was nothing she could do. If the world-famous Kaitlyn looked at Meyer, she could do something like this, then something serious had happened.
She wrote back to Kaitlyn Meyer immediately, saying that she would keep quiet forever as she had asked, and that she would of course return the ring.
***
On the afternoon of the ball in Luen, the family of the Red Brick House could not hide their excitement. It was because of Emilia, who had just appeared in a dress.
The plain and simple silk dress showed off her well-proportioned figure, and her hair was neatly tied up, as elegant as a swan.
“Sister... Really...”
Mitch and Beppy were dumbfounded and couldn't speak. Charlotte looked sad that she couldn't see her sister, but she also had a pleased expression on her face, as if she could see through everything with her supernatural powers.
After a while, a carriage arrived.
The door opened, and Hardius Meyer finally appeared. Everyone's eyes were filled with surprise once again.
'Damn that guy, he's so damn handsome.'
Even though he was internally sneering, Mitch's mood became strange.
‘So my sister was engaged to that guy...’
“Good morning, Mrs. Bern. I sincerely apologize for greeting you so late.”
Kalia was speechless. She had never imagined that a child of a noble family, let alone a common noble, would greet her so politely.
“I’m sorry... Master... I should be sorry. I’ve never greeted you before, and I didn’t even attend your engagement ceremony. And yet.. Beppy, the carriage, Brave... You have shown such grace to people like us...”
“I’m sorry to say that.”
Hardius turned straight to Charlotte.
“How have you been?”
“Yes, as you said, I am studying Braille hard.”
It was finally his turn to say hello to Mitch. Emilia, who had been watching quietly, swallowed dry saliva.
“You’re crazy. I’ve heard a lot from my sister.”
“...Hello. About what happened last time... I’m sorry...”
He spat out the apology he had practiced, but his tone was curt and arrogant, and he didn't even uncross his arms.
But Hardius, with his characteristic calmness, lightly ignored the hostility that Michie was exuding.
“I decided not to hold you responsible for the past. So forget about it, too.”
The precise and elegant pronunciation grated on Mitch's nerves. Why had he imagined a pot-bellied, vulgar nobleman who smoked cigarettes?
He couldn't take his eyes off that man who seemed so perfect that he didn't even belong in this world.
“Let’s go.”
Emilia, who had been watching the two with a nervous heart, grabbed Hardius' arm as if to grab him. Hardius bowed politely once more and got into the carriage with Emilia.
“...I’m not crazy. If he seemed rude to you earlier, I’ll apologize on his behalf.”
“How many times do I have to tell you? I don’t blame your brother.”
Hardius answered without taking his eyes off the window.
“Mitch Bern just wanted to protect his sister. From the likes of me.”
Emilia was speechless, and Hardius didn't open his mouth any further. The two avoided eye contact as if they had made a promise. Hardius sat with his legs crossed and his gaze fixed outside the window, while Emilia sat upright with her eyes downcast.
The carriage ran diligently and left the center of Erndorf.
Deluis, where the ball was held, was a coastal area on the outskirts of Nowak.
The journey was not easy because they had to run on unpaved roads. Plus, the dress and hair tied up were very uncomfortable.
At one point, Emilia was tossing and turning without realizing it. Hardius, who had been watching her quietly, handed her a cushion.
"...Thank you."
Emilia leaned back on the cushion, and Hardius spread out a newspaper.
After running a little further, they arrived at a wide plain with endless wheat fields.
The coachman picked up the pace again. The wind swept across the green fields, bringing a refreshing whoosh. The regular rhythm of the thump, thump, thump also felt good in her chest.
Emilia opened the window wide and gave herself over to the refreshing feeling that nature gave her. Without realizing it, her eyes softened, and the corners of her mouth curled up.
Hardius watched her silently.
Suddenly, there was a loud thud, and the carriage shook violently. Her back, leaning against the cushion, slipped, and her knees brushed against his.
Emilia, who was startled, tried to get up in a hurry. However, her ankle sprained, and she fell forward instead.
It was a man's hand that caught her staggering body.
The next moment, she felt something very strange near her ankle. The hand that was tickling her was also a man's.
Emilia watched him carefully take off her old shoes without even making a sound.
“We still have a long way to go before we arrive.”
As he said that, Hardius handed the shoes he had taken off to Emilia. His indifferent gaze fell on her ankles, shaking under the hem of her skirt.
Emilia pulled her feet up onto the chair and covered them neatly with her skirt. She hugged the cushion like a shield and closed her eyes. She had no choice but to close them.
How much time has passed?
With a rustling sound, a cool breeze blew in again. The familiar scent of the sea tickled the tip of her nose. Emilia's eyes opened wide again.
A spectacle like she had never seen before unfolded outside the window.
"Oh my god!"
Emilia couldn't help but exclaim.
Below the steep cliffs, the vast sea stretched out endlessly.
The white covering on the sharp rocks is clearly not snow, but hundreds of water birds.
“Hey... did you see that?!”
Emilia, who couldn't control her excitement, forgot the awkward atmosphere just before and shouted at Hardius. He also looked at Emilia with relaxed eyes for the first time in a while.
“It’s an albatross. It’s the longest-flying bird in the world.”
“Oh my god... Those are all birds...!”
Her blue eyes were filled with ecstasy.
The carriage raced along the edge of the cliff, towards a beautiful castle, with the blue waves rolling by its side.
In the magnificent scenery, beautiful trees in the distance began to come into view. The carriage suddenly stopped in the middle of the road.
Emilia's face was filled with doubt. Instead of answering, Hardius took out his watch and showed it to her.
“It’s too early.”
But the clock hands are exactly 30 minutes past the appointed time.
“The main characters should arrive last. That’s manners.”
Emilia picked it up and laughed.
“It’s not the main characters, but the protagonist. The Countess is waiting for the successor to the Meyer family, not his fiancée.”
“The moment you appear with me, you are also the main character.”
It was an arrogant answer, but it wasn't wrong.
“To be honest... I actually wanted that. I wanted to stand in front of people as your fiancée for once. Don’t get me wrong. I just wanted to show you how much I hate that fact.”
The faint smile on Hardius's lips slowly disappeared.
“Why does everyone think I’m going to be abandoned? Why do they think I’m desperate to become a Duchess?”
One corner of Emilia's mouth twisted upward.
“I am the one who wants to throw it away.”
With a thud, hundreds of birds took flight at once along with a huge wave.
Hardius, with calm eyes again, followed the trajectory of the flock of albatrosses flying away from the waves.
“Do you know? The young master is preventing us from even doing that right now. The moment we show up together, the game is over. In the end, I will be the one who is abandoned.”
“Are you upset?”
“Yes, a lot.”
“Then you throw it away first.”
Emilia's eyes widened.
Hardius stared out the window as if ignoring her. The birds that had flown high in the sky were once again descending, one by one, onto the sharp rocky island where the waves were crashing.
“Throw it away first?”
“Yes, show it to people. Show them how you throw it away really cruelly.”
“Are you serious?”
Hardius laughed lightly and then suddenly put his hand into his jacket pocket.
“Before that,”
The man's voice, locked tightly, echoed thickly in the cramped space, and Emilia turned her head away from the window. There was an unfamiliar object in his hand.
A small velvet box.
Click, the box opened, and the contents inside were revealed.
It's a ring. It's set with a dazzling jewel.
Emilia stared down at the cold, shining metal for a long time.
“What on earth does this... mean?”
“Show them. In front of people. Who are you?”
Emilia had to remain still for a long time to control her throbbing pulse.
When her helplessly trembling eyes turned back to Hardius, he was incredibly cold.
“Do you remember? The last banquet.”
As he spoke, the carriage started again. With a jolt, her body was pushed. Emilia frantically held onto the handlebars, but answered, “Yes, I remember.”
“You didn’t even have a partner that day.”
Yes, she was completely alone. It was unpleasant because it seemed to warn her that she would be abandoned.
She tried to run away like crazy, but she got caught by that guy. That's how it all started.
“I was the one who made you do that. I couldn’t stand having someone guarding you. Kyle Hogan, Millionaire Laurent, Erger Wisher.”
What does that mean? She squinted her eyes, realized what he meant, and felt her heart sink.
Perhaps they were the men who had been chosen as partners to replace Hardius in the past. He remembered all of those vague names that she couldn't even remember.
“There’s no reason to allow Nathan Malvin.”
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