Prologue – An Unexpected Identity

“Mr. Robert is the Duke of Guienne? That’s the funniest joke I’ve heard all year.”

Grandma Elodie, sitting in her wheelchair, burst into laughter. Yet, no one else in the room laughed along.

Enzo pounded his chest, feeling like he might go crazy. Unbelievable. The Duke of Guienne, who had stirred up Laurent by disappearing suddenly, had been eating meals in their house.

“How could nobody recognize the Duke of Guienne? Not a single person in this village!”

Madame Vinoche broke the silence.

“Did we behave rudely to him during the last meal?”

“Well, I did pack him some eggs… Do you think he found it offensive, as if I was looking down on him?”

Mr. Vinoche stammered, confessing that he had given Mr. Robert a basket of eggs as he left. He swore it wasn’t out of malice. Since Robert rarely ordered food deliveries, he thought maybe it was because he lacked money and wanted to help.

“Lacked money? The Duke of Guienne? Oh, please. That man is a millionaire.”

“That’s just it, we didn’t know…”

Mr. Vinoche, utterly bewildered, covered his face with his hands and bowed his head. Enzo, drained, leaned back in his chair. It was shocking. He couldn’t fathom why the Duke had accepted the eggs.

The Duke of Guienne was a famous figure in Laurent’s high society. Robert Leblanc de Guienne du Brabant. The Queen’s beloved grand-nephew. A young Duke. A genius in hotel business. The richest man in Brissen. Some called him a vulgar capitalist who abandoned noble honor, but that didn’t matter. In the end, the winner recorded in history a hundred years from now would be the Duke of Guienne.

Nobles criticized the Duke for diving into business so quickly, and the bourgeoisie regarded him as a dangerous rival with far more wealth. Still, he was both admired and envied by both sides. Society figures constantly sent salon invitations, always hoping the Duke would attend their banquets. Those rare invitations that others desperately tried to obtain were scattered around the Duke’s apartment. They were so common there that the doormen could probably use them as kindling.

Moreover, the Duke was a strong candidate for the husband of Princess Deborah, the Queen’s only granddaughter. Influential figures in Laurent considered a visit from the Duke as proof of royal ties and boasted about it.

‘So the Duke of Guienne had dinner at this house last week.’

The Duke accepted the invitation gladly, arrived on time with gifts, and even took home a basket of eggs smelling of chicken manure.

‘……Why?’

At this point, Enzo couldn’t just blame his family. It wasn’t their fault for not imagining their neighbor was the Duke. Who would have guessed the finest gentleman in Brissen was collecting eggs in the countryside?

“At least one good thing came out of this. Sasha won’t have to take the train to Laurent alone.”

Grandma Rollo was the first to regain her composure. She was the most rational among the Vinoche family, and as soon as she recovered from the shock, she considered how this extraordinary event might affect the family.

“He was the one you were closest to in Manolie, wasn’t he, Sasha? If you ask him to accompany you to Laurent, he’ll agree. If you’re lucky, he might even take you all the way to the royal palace.”

Upon hearing this, the Vinoche family simultaneously looked at Sasha. Sasha was speechless. Mr. Robert, the caretaker of the Hawthorn Mansion, whom everyone helped due to his lack of knowledge about country life, was indeed Sasha’s friend. ut would he still consider Sasha Vinoche a friend when he was the Duke of Guienne?

Above all, the family was unaware of one thing.

‘So who did I confess to and get rejected by?’

Sasha Vinoche had been rejected by that man just a few days ago. When she squeezed out her courage to confess her feelings, Mr. Robert had refused with an awkward expression, as if Sasha had put him in a difficult spot. Sasha had thought their time together was special for him too, but it was just her own misconception, and he had only acted politely.

<Don’t put me in a difficult position, Sasha. I’ve never thought of us as anything more.>

<I still thought you considered me special, maybe liked me a little. Was I mistaken? Was it really nothing?>

Sasha stammered, her face bright red. She couldn’t control her impulse, confessing without any preparation. Still, she hadn’t expected such a cold rejection. He didn’t answer. The sound of his annoyed sigh pierced her ears. It hurt. She felt ashamed and miserable for misunderstanding, but more than that, she felt a hollow emptiness in her chest.

In the silence, he ran his hand through his hair. Rising from the chair, he looked at her quietly. He seemed annoyed by the situation, maybe even disappointed.

<I’m sorry. I won’t do it again.>

Overwhelmed by shame, Sasha jumped up and ran out to the garden. Hiding under the bushes, she sobbed for a long time, and soon raindrops began to fall one by one. By the time she realized, she was already soaked to the bone and shivering. The man who found her strode over with his long legs. A heavy sigh fell over her head.

<I’ll take you home. Let’s go.>

Even at this moment, the man was relentlessly gentlemanly, offering to escort her home. He wasn’t kind because he liked Sasha. He was simply that sort of person. To everyone. Even to the girl he had just rejected, he would always offer kindness.

If Mr. Vinoche asked him to accompany Sasha to Laurent, he wouldn’t be able to refuse. He’d have no choice but to agree. And Sasha would have to ride the train to Laurent with the man she’d been desperately avoiding since that day.

‘This is a disaster.’

Her vision blurred. The thought of facing the man she’d been avoiding made her cheeks burn uncontrollably. The orange tree outside the window swayed. The late afternoon wind shook the tree fiercely, but did nothing to cool the heat in Sasha’s cheeks.