21. Superficial Lovers

Kisha momentarily dropped his jaw, then quickly closed it.

‘To think he’d say such things to me.’

Certainly, his employer had a tendency to throw around the word ‘love’ unnecessarily. After all, this was Daphne, who would treat shoes imported from the West like national treasures and whisper “I love you so much, my baby” to them every night.

Regardless, this was an employer’s love life that he absolutely did not want to know about. Kisha tried his best to interpret the meaning as shallowly as possible.

‘It must mean he grew up never hearing the words “I love you”. Being an illegitimate child and all.’

Kisha decided to listen selectively to the Grand Duke’s words, choosing only what he wanted to hear. Having achieved this mental victory, Kisha simultaneously felt a sudden urge to tease this Grand Duke. After smoothing down the hair at the nape of his neck, Kisha raised the corner of his mouth.

“Our Miss has so much love to give. I hear she even greets people with ‘I love you’. Moreover, objectively speaking, our Miss is quite beautiful. Perhaps that’s why her romantic relationships are… a bit complicated.”

Kisha said this while closely observing the man. The green eyes that had been lowered didn’t look up again. The tip of his crossed foot twitched slightly.

‘As I thought.’

The last premise Kisha had considered seemed the most plausible.

“Would you like to send a letter to Miss Denver? I can send it secretly for you.”

Kisha waved a piece of stationery. Celestian furrowed his brow. His face, gradually coloring with displeasure, was surprisingly tolerable. He could somewhat understand why his Miss was so fixated on this man’s angry face.

“I appreciate the offer, but I’ll have to decline.”

It was as if someone had placed him on the edge of a cliff and threatened to push him off if he didn’t say those words.

The last master of a barren island in the northwest, a place with the nickname of eternal winter. A place that had disappeared from maps, so that for the current generation, ‘Teriosa’ was spoken of as a legendary place where mermaids might live.

Kisha had sailed the seas with his parents until he entered the orphanage. That’s why he knew about this man and the place he owned.

He had wondered why the man didn’t run away, but his real purpose was unexpected.

‘He’s not interested in Miss Denver at all. Rather, he wants to receive attention from our Miss.’

Kisha shifted his gaze to look at the letter that had been cut off after ‘Dear Chine’. For some reason, he felt that this current romance wouldn’t last long.

‘No wonder I’ve been reluctant to pretend to know about it lately.’

He was the first to notice that the affection between his employer and the Grand Duke was somewhat mutual. And that this man’s affection was clearly different in nature from that of the Miss, who thought of him as nothing more than a trophy.

Moreover, as if that wasn’t enough, he had unnecessarily intervened in that love, hadn’t he?

After living with Daphne for several years, he must have picked up that damned curiosity of hers.

“Your Grace, what I just said was merely… Our Miss has a narrow circle of relationships, and she finds men bothersome…”

Kisha belatedly tried to salvage the situation and looked up.

“Wow, are you really a ghost? You’re scaring me. How can you do this?”

But the seat next to him was empty.

* * *

Widow Department Store was located in the center of 21st Avenue, adjacent to the capital’s train station. Perhaps because of this, it was crowded with an enormous flow of people. It was an outing where even Kisha and several security guards were stationed on the rooftop of the tallest building.

Usually when shopping, Daphne would only call a few necessary salons to her room, but when she personally visited the department store, she was responsible for the entire day’s sales.

Especially in turbulent times like these, shopping centers couldn’t help but welcome wealthy individuals like Daphne. The store owner had designated that only those with reservations could visit today. When word came that Daphne had arrived, he came out to the lobby to greet her, sticking close to her side and rubbing his hands together like a fly.

Daphne was dressed in a yellow tweed two-piece suit. Her hair was tied up in a bun, and her ears, neck, and hands were covered in aurora opals. Plus, she wore dark sunglasses to protect her swollen face from yesterday’s heavy drinking.

Celestian, who had come out from behind the curtain after having every inch of his body measured, plopped down next to Daphne. Their thighs touched. Daphne shifted her hips slightly to avoid contact with him. Then she looked out the window at the passing carriages.

“Why?”

Celestian tilted his head and asked.

“What?”

“Why are you moving away?”

“Because I don’t like you, Prince.”

After this curt response, Daphne buried her eyes in the catalog again. The indoor lighting was dim and she was wearing sunglasses, so the letters were hard to see, but Daphne went ahead and signed checks, indicating she would buy everything.

The shopping didn’t take long. It was just a matter of saying, “Please tailor everything from here to there to fit my size,” and it was done.

Celestian held out his hand as if she should take it. When Daphne cocked her head, he nodded towards the people.

“If we don’t appear affectionate, they might find it strange.”

Like he said, the few customers were peering at them curiously. A wealthy person who keeps a ‘superficial lover’ who is a traitor and maintains social distance? If they weren’t careful, they might unnecessarily become the talk of gossipmongers.

Daphne didn’t take his hand. Instead, she grabbed his wrist and pulled it towards her, linking their arms. The arm trapped in her embrace was firm. Not only firm, but the feeling of his taut muscles was vividly perceptible through the tight shirt.

‘How strange…’

Unconsciously, Daphne kneaded it a couple of times. It was so thick that it seemed like two hands wouldn’t be enough to grasp it fully. Celestian looked down at her, wondering what this woman was doing, but Daphne was just staring at the jewelry showcase in front of them.

“Ms. Beaucater.”

After purchasing all the accessories, it was a pale-faced new department store clerk who stopped Daphne as she was heading back the way they came. Strangely, even though she was looking straight at him, his features weren’t clearly distinguishable.

“At the main entrance, well…”

The clerk’s voice trembled like a lamb’s bleat. Novices were extremely intimidated by wealthy individuals like Daphne. Daphne raised the corners of her mouth and willingly lent an ear.

It was roughly that members of the National Defense Group had received a tip that Celestian was here and were lined up outside. Daphne unnecessarily hugged Celestian’s arm tightly once and clicked her tongue.

“Could you tell the driver to come around to the back? The brown Ford.”

“Yes, I’ll relay that message!”

Since it would take some time for the driver to come around, Daphne decided to make a quick round of the jewelry store before walking out the back entrance.

The shopping time had been beneficial. Women hiding their mouths behind folding fans exclaimed in admiration at the sight of Celestian, and even the men, while pretending not to, kept glancing at Celestian with their jaws dropped.

After pulling the ribbon on the back of her hand to neatly remove her gloves, she tossed them into the car. The shopping bags brought by the clerks were also placed on the seats.

And suddenly, she noticed the driver’s seat was empty.

“Did he go to the bathroom?”

Daphne tilted her head. She sat on the back seat and watched Celestian walking towards her from afar.

He stood out even more among the people. He seemed to have grown even taller than when he used to frequent the banquet halls. His shoulders had broadened, and his face somehow seemed even smaller.

Celestian’s hair was tinged with a reddish hue in the setting sun over the square. At the same time, the center of her chest and upper stomach fluttered.

‘Why is my stomach… Oh, did I eat something bad?’

Daphne thumped her chest area.

Was there a way to escape that wretched love triangle without personally promoting it like this? She crossed her arms and tapped her fingers.

‘Engagement?’

But Daphne didn’t want to tie herself down to that madness again. Besides, her mother’s pressure to get married and urging to make him king would only intensify as time went on.

However, a part of her mind found the epithet ‘fiancée of a traitor’, full of dark dragon energy, somewhat appealing.

‘Like an interview with a journalist.’

After the babies playing by the makeshift fountain in the department store ran up to Celestian, calling him “Pwince, Pwince” and hugging him, he became incredibly happy.

While Daphne’s nerves were on edge thinking about herself and that man becoming the subject of gossip, she momentarily relaxed at the seemingly affectionate scene.

“Celestian.”

Daphne snapped her index finger and thumb to hurry the man walking slowly towards her. However, Celestian’s expression darkened at that call.

“Why do you call me like that?”

“I wanted to give you a firsthand experience of how well I know your name.”

“I can never understand your heart.”

Celestian chuckled.

“Oh? Are you curious about my heart? What a sensitive and benevolent prince you are.”

Daphne narrowed her eyes as she took off her large sunglasses.

At that moment, a commotion arose from the far side of the previously quiet square. Listening closely, it was the sound of people calling for His Majesty the King to execute the traitor.

Celestian stopped walking and looked in that direction. Daphne reflexively jumped out, grabbed Celestian’s wrist, and led him towards the car.

She sat him down in the open back seat and stood in front of him as if to hide him. Daphne glanced back.

“Are those the ones who said they would tear me limb from limb?”

Celestian lowered the ends of his eyebrows and laughed in disbelief.

There were only about a dozen of them. Their clothes were shabby. They must have been having a drink at a pub after work when they heard that the traitor had appeared and rushed out together.

“Celestian Teriosa, commit suicide for your honor!”

These terrifying words suddenly pierced their ears.

Men with flushed faces were glaring at them as if they might pounce at any moment.