“Scissors?”

Sabine’s innocent eyes widened.

She looked back and forth between the dress and me before asking again.

“Miss, don’t you like the dress? I can alter it for you.”

Though young, Sabine was clever and quick-witted.

Seeing me ask for scissors, she probably thought I wanted to alter it myself.

“No, that’s not it.”

“Scissors are dangerous, Miss.”

I understand everyone worries about me excessively, but I’m not a three-year-old child.

“It’s fine, bring them to me.”

Still, Sabine brought her thumb to her mouth with a deeply concerned face.

“But…”

“I’m absolutely not planning anything dangerous.”

“Then what do you need scissors for?”

Ha, if I told her that, Sabine would never bring the scissors.

“I promise. Okay?”

“……”

“Sabine, quietly go get the scissors and bring them to me. Understand?”

Worried this might reach Father’s ears and complicate matters, I deliberately lowered my voice.

“You know what I mean, right?”

She swallowed dryly before asking.

“You want me to bring them without the master knowing?”

“Exactly.”

Moments later, Sabine returned with scissors in hand, her face completely frozen.

Even as she handed them to me, her anxious expression revealed her discomfort with this ominous errand.

“You can go now.”

Despite her mission being complete, she still lingered by the door.

“It’s almost time for your tea. The master asked for preparations to be made a bit earlier today.”

Looking at poor Sabine, I demonstrated a few snips with the scissors.

“Sabine.”

“Yes, Miss.”

“I swear I won’t do anything dangerous. And I’ll say I got these scissors myself.”

“……”

“Understand?”

Only then did Sabine’s tightly set lips relax.

“Yes, Miss. I did bring them to you, but please promise once more that you won’t do anything dangerous.”

“Of course. Now, please tell Father I’ll be down shortly.”

Sweet Sabine left the door slightly ajar as she went out, likely due to excessive concern for me.

Truly thorough, as befits a Chadmon household servant.

I considered getting up to close the door, but my body itched with desire to deal with the dress before me.

The door wasn’t completely open anyway, so I could close it later.

“Well then, shall we begin?”

Emperor, you bastard, how dare you send me a gift?

The scissors felt quite heavy.

After rolling up my sleeves once, I began mercilessly cutting the dress to pieces.

Snip, snip.

‘If you’re going to sit there with such a pathetic face, you’d better not leave the Empress’s chambers.’

The beautiful satin dress became useless scraps of fabric after just a few cuts.

Though it was merely a piece of clothing, a strange elation rose within me, as if I were slashing the Emperor right before my eyes.

I was just sitting and cutting, but my pulse quickened as if I’d been running.

My breathing became labored, just like when I faced that bastard on the balcony recently.

‘This is a place my beloved used to love.’

How repulsive.

How could he say such things without batting an eye?

That place was my sanctuary, the only place I loved.

Yet he dared to speak of “beloved” regarding my space.

Ugh, the more I think about it, the more infuriating it becomes!

What was his real purpose in sending something like this anyway?

That look he gave me at the ball seemed suspicious.

Did he find Leonora Chadmon’s appearance quite appealing?

Is he trying to win my favor with this?

“Ha, truly. What a lecher.”

But I’m sorry to say, I have absolutely no interest in getting along with you!

Right now, I’m tearing the Emperor’s heart to shreds.

If I packed these pieces back in the box and returned them, what expression would the Emperor make?

If I’m curious, maybe I should try it.

“I’ll cut it to pieces and send it back!”

Though I said this, I didn’t actually have the courage to return it.

That would cause too much trouble for Father and my brother.

“Should I cut it up and burn it?”

Just as the snipping sounds grew more intense:

“…Ahem.”

Hearing someone at the doorway, I looked up to see a very unfamiliar man.

With scissors in one hand and shredded fabric in the other, I immediately stopped.

“Who are you?”

It was a face I’d never seen before.

Of course, the Chadmon residence often received visitors.

From travelers passing through the area to numerous guests with personal or official business.

Their presence wasn’t important to me.

But if someone entered my room, I needed to know who they were.

“Leonora Chadmon?”

“……”

The reason I couldn’t answer immediately—

Embarrassingly, his face was too exquisite and beautiful.

Actually, “speechless” would be a more accurate description.

I had never seen hair as subtly elegant and brown as this man’s.

Not even during my time as Empress when I met countless people.

Moreover, his eyes, deep as an abyss, were so transparent they made me want to spill even my past.

“……”

While I was speechless, the gentleman before me seemed to quickly scan my face and the scissors in my right hand.

Only then did I realize how bizarre I must look to him, and hastily put down the scissors.

Of course, nothing could be done about the fabric scraps covering the table.

“Yes, I am Leonora Chadmon, but who are you to enter my room without permission?”

The man didn’t relax his expression at my response.

His gaze held various emotions, making it enigmatic.

It seemed more complex than simply looking at a madwoman.

The sight of a lady cutting a dress to pieces must have appeared quite grotesque.

Then, the man slowly began to speak.

“Many people are waiting for the guest of honor for tea time, so I came to escort you.”

“Ah.”

Looking again, I noticed he wasn’t actually inside the room but standing outside the doorway.

Perfectly positioned on the threshold, staring directly at where I sat.

“So who are you exactly?”

I wanted to ask once more but decided to just stand up.

Continuing to make a fuss would only make me look stranger.

As I stood, the pleasant-looking handsome man quietly turned his body.

Annoyed that a strange man had caught me in such a state, I began walking ahead with a somewhat flushed face.

Perhaps because he wasn’t just ordinary but extremely, incredibly, very handsome.

‘Why are our hallways so long?’

I hoped he wouldn’t speak to me, but:

“My lady.”

“……”

Just as I was thinking how nice it would be if this mansion were small enough to descend in one breath, the man walking behind called out to me.

Without stopping, I whispered:

“You’ll pretend you didn’t see what happened earlier, won’t you?”

When I blurted this out, the man burst into laughter.

“What you mean by ‘earlier’?”

How sly of him to ask that!

“Please pretend you didn’t see me altering the dress.”

I felt somewhat embarrassed calling it “altering,” but what choice did I have?

I couldn’t exactly explain that some garbage man sent me a dress as a gift and I was slashing it to pieces because I was so angry.

“I just wanted to try out my new scissors, you know… I thought it would be simple, but well…”

I rambled on, feeling unnecessarily uncomfortable.

Wait, why should I even explain myself?

“Of course. But next time…”

“……”

“I think it would be better to leave alterations to professionals.”

His voice was gentle, but I pressed my lips together and blushed.

“Yes, I’ll keep that in mind.”

As I finished speaking, the man smiled, stretching his lips to the side.

What’s this? I get that he’s handsome, but why does he keep smirking like that?

Then he looked at me again and was about to speak.

He knew my name, but I didn’t know his situation.

Besides, I didn’t want to discuss scissors or alterations anymore.

“Since everyone is waiting, shouldn’t we continue our conversation after we go downstairs?”

I still hadn’t completely recovered from my embarrassment.

I didn’t want to stand in the hallway talking with this handsome man.

Perhaps my mind would calm down if I could sit and drink tea.

Despite my somewhat sensitive tone, the man smiled gently and nodded once.