Chapter 38

Herietta and Edwin exchanged meaningful glances. They could guess what kind of “little commotion” the man was talking about.

“That… Is the disturbance in the ballroom very serious?”

Herietta asked quietly. The man shook his head.

“It is not. It seems that one of the noble people there was very excited, so we were worried that sparks could come flying out if they stayed in the same place longer. Then, I’ll get going.”

When the man had finished speaking, he bowed to them once more and left the place. Thud, thud, thud They heard his footsteps moving away.

‘He’s a noble.’

Herietta remembered the disgusting man she had met at the ballroom. Contrary to his low-quality behavior, his status itself seemed quite high. Besides, his self-esteem seemed so high that it seemed to be boundless. Will he really let go of Edwin and her, who have shamed him in front of so many people?

Herietta thought about it and quickly looked around. It was because it seemed as if soldiers would appear and arrest the two of them at any moment.

“Edwin. We’d better go before it’s too late.”

Herietta looked worried and whispered secretly. The memory of what had just happened between the two of them had long since been completely erased in the face of anxiety.

Edwin, who remained silent and did not utter a word, let out a small sigh while looking somewhat dissatisfied. But he soon nodded and agreed to her will.

* * *

It wasn’t until their carriage escaped the gates of Richconell’s villa that Herietta was able to breathe a sigh of relief. It was a night full of talk and troubles. However, Edwin’s identity was never revealed, and the first purpose of making him visit the villa seemed to have been accomplished to some extent.

The villa on Richconell Street, which was gradually getting smaller as they moved away, was shining brightly even in the middle of the night. Suddenly, Herietta remembered once again the stupid man she had met at the ballroom by the name of Shawn. Then, she felt dirty enough to frown.

‘It’s okay. It’s not like we’ll see each other again anyway.’

Herietta shook her head lightly, trying to shake off the unpleasant memories of him.

But after a fortnight, she realized that her thoughts were completely wrong.

* * *

The Jenner family was a Count family with a history of one hundred and fifty years. In Brimdel, four hundred years after the founding of the country, the history of one hundred and fifty years was neither very long nor very short; it was a very ambiguous time.

The title of count was also the same. The title of count, considered the third highest in a society of aristocratic classes divided into six major divisions with the exception of knighthood, was regarded as neither very high nor very low among them.

Therefore, Lilian had been living as if she and her family were to some extent average in the social world.

The history of the family is fine. The size of wealth and fame is okay. Even her reputation in society was pretty decent.

There wasn’t a single thing that stood out, but there wasn’t a single thing missing either. Nevertheless, Lilian was satisfied with her life. She was also born as a daughter of a Viscount, though she was only one step forward, and she rose to status as a Countess.

So she reckoned her situation was much better than her sister Rose, who had married a man of the same Viscount class who she had never seen or heard of before.

Then one day, she received a letter from Rose, whom she had not been in touch with for a long time. Worried about the future of her daughter, who is approaching her coming-of-age ceremony, she tells Lilian, who lives in Lavant, a town that is much bigger than Philioche, to help her daughter get her foot into the social circle.

Lilian had lost her husband early anyway, and she had no children, so her life was about to get a little boring. Lilian readily accepted Rose’s request, and shortly thereafter her niece, Herietta Mackenzie, arrived at the Jenner’s mansion.

Lilian’s first impression of Herietta was that she didn’t look very much like her sister Rose. Rose was the most beautiful among Lilian’s siblings. But unfortunately, her niece didn’t seem to have fully inherited Rose’s beauty.

But that didn’t mean she was ugly. She was quite attractive because her facial features were dense and her body shape was also slim. Even if she wasn’t exactly a rough diamond, her niece was more similar to a gem of some value if it was polished.

From that day on, Lilian’s goal was clear. Her goal was to tie Herietta to the son of a decent family to help her live a decent life just like hers. That was it.

And Lilian went out of her way to achieve her goal. If there was a family with children who had reached the age of marriage, she would unconditionally check first, and if the partner were in the same class as Herietta, she made it possible for the two of them to meet.

Although Herietta reacted bitterly to all of this, Lilian only dismissed it as her niece being too young. Lilian firmly believed that if she is successful, then the day will come when Herietta will thank her from the bottom of her heart.

‘What kind of lightning bolt struck this time?’

Lilian thought as she walked to and fro in front of the parlor. After a long time, a young son of a nobleman came to the Jenner’s mansion to meet Herietta. But Lilian wasn’t happy about it.

‘I tried to make connections with the children of decent families, but that didn’t mean I was planning on reaching out to such high-profile personalities as this!’

Lilian glanced at the tightly closed door. Beyond that door, in the parlor, she couldn’t imagine what was going on. Suddenly, the old saying that excessive greed will destroy the family came to mind. Besides, the man who visited this place today was none other than…

Lilian let out a deep sigh. Not too long ago, she was invited to the Marquisate of Richconell’s ball. It was all just incomprehensible.

‘Herietta. What the hell are you doing outside without me knowing?’

Lilian threw a question in her mind towards her young niece. She had a look of concern on her face.

* * *

“How did you know?”

Herietta looked at the man sitting across from her with cold eyes. Shawn seemed very comfortable with the fact that he had rushed into someone’s house in broad daylight while stating his dazzling identity as the heir of the Duchy of Rowani.

“What are you talking about?” He asked, casually stirring the teacup with a teaspoon.

“I’m asking why you’re here. I remember we didn’t even introduce ourselves that night.”

“Ah. Those are things that you can easily figure out with a little bit of help. Besides that, I know quite a bit about you. Well? If you don’t believe me, shall I list them?”

If left alone, it seemed as if he was really going to try to list them one by one. Herietta stopped him with an annoyed expression.

“I don’t understand. You wouldn’t just come here to casually drink tea with me, would you? ”

“Why not?”

“Don’t you remember what you were about to do to me a few days ago?”

No matter how bad their personality was, male nobles would not typically raise their hands on women. Even more so in a ballroom where there are many watching eyes.

Shawn smirked, noticing what Herietta was trying to say.

“At that time, you were doing something deserving of that. Also, I was a little drunk too.”

Herietta was speechless at his brazen reply. She didn’t even expect him to say a polite apology, but she didn’t expect him to blame her either. It was so absurd that she couldn’t even think of what to say to counteract.

“How dare you be so rude to me? It’s very painful to hear.”

Herietta was open to reveal a deep hostility towards Shawn. If she could, she would have left this place right now or she would have ripped his hair out.

Then, as if something was so funny, he giggled and laughed.

“It’s hard to pretend to be sassy when you are only the daughter of a Viscount. Hey, do you know how big the class gap is between you and me? Even if we are of the same aristocracy, don’t you know that not all are the same? But why do I have to respect you, who is just a country peasant? Normally, I wouldn’t have even talked to someone like you.”

Shawn flattered himself openly about how proud he was of his background. Herrietta looked around nervously. Anyone who saw him would have mistaken him as the prince of this country.

“If you’re such a great person, can’t you turn your attention away from such a lowly thing as me?”

“I can’t. Because you have what I want.”

Shawn took a sip of his tea and said naturally.

“What do you want?”

Herietta narrowed her brow at the meaningful words.

“What… ?”

“Don’t pretend. Because I already know everything.”

Shawn leaned forward and set the half-empty teacup on the table. His eyes, which had only smirked before, became quite sharp.

“Where is he?”

“Who?”

“The bastard who strangled me at the banquet that day.”

Shawn pointed to his neck and gritted his teeth.

“You know who I’m talking about. Where is he?”