“….”

The princess’s face immediately hardened.

‘So it wasn’t sent only to me?’

If they were sent to the imperial palace, the princess standing before her would have received them too.

Suddenly, an indescribable feeling of displeasure welled up.

“The princess is correct.”

“Ah. That’s a relief. I was worried I might have misspoken…”

“So, what does the princess intend to do?”

“Pardon?”

“With the flowers, I mean.”

“Oh! They weren’t sent to me. I-I’m not yet a member of the imperial family, after all.”

“…Is that so?”

Princess Diana’s face softened as if by magic.

If they were only sent to members of the imperial family, then she would be the only woman to receive his flowers.

“Ah, but all these flowers—”

“Vibrant and pretty, aren’t they? I’m decorating the entire room. Though there are almost too many.”

“Th-that’s not what I meant.”

“Is there something you wish to say?”

The princess, who had been hesitantly looking at the flowers for some time, smiled awkwardly.

“It’s nothing. I’m still not familiar with imperial culture… And it’s not like I’m certain.”

“About what?”

“Well…”

The princess openly furrowed her brow.

“How frustrating. If you start saying something, shouldn’t you finish it? Are you trying to mock me?”

“Absolutely not!”

“Then speak.”

“It’s just that, these flowers seem a bit… inappropriate as a gift between potential romantic interests!”

The princess’s hand, which had been fiddling with the yellow tulip crown, froze.

It seemed the princess’s words had struck a nerve.

But having already been scolded once, the princess couldn’t bring herself to stop.

“In our kingdom, these are all flowers with sad meanings… Of course, it might be different in the empire.”

“….”

“Oh, please don’t worry about it…!”

Suddenly, the princess signaled to her attendant.

Her face had hardened, as if covered with a thin layer of ice.

“I’m suddenly tired. I would like the princess to leave now.”

“…Oh.”

“We’ll meet another time.”

“Y-yes.”

The princess, who seemed to be almost dragged out, looked back several times.

She appeared to have something more she wanted to say.

But Princess Diana closed the door coldly.

The flowers filling the room somehow didn’t look as pretty as before.

“Throw them all away.”

“Pardon?”

“What are you waiting for?”

“I will follow your orders!”

The crown made of yellow tulips was carelessly tossed aside.

The beheaded flowers were scattered in all directions, rolling on the floor.

“….”

The princess, after staring at them, abruptly turned around and went outside.

She was too displeased to bear it. Very much so.

Chapter 5. Reception Error

Late Saturday morning.

Count Emilton’s carriage was heading toward a country house in the suburbs of the capital.

They were going to attend a social gathering held once every three months.

Nod.

“….”

Hans put down the book he was holding. He simply couldn’t concentrate.

All his attention was drawn to the pink head bobbing right in front of him.

‘…How nice to be so carefree.’

In the sunlight-filled carriage.

Audrey sat across from him, dozing like a sick chicken.

Following her irregular nodding, her downy hair danced softly.

The wispy strands of hair looked as soft as honey threads, making Hans’s heart flutter unnecessarily.

‘Maybe she’ll snap her neck and finally come to her senses?’

Such grumpy thoughts were of no use.

Because whenever Audrey was about to fall forward, his body would react before his mind could.

Bump.

The carriage shook once more.

Hans, who had instinctively leaned toward Audrey, froze in place.

Thud.

“…!”

The head that had been swaying before his eyes had now landed against the left side of his chest.

His hands, having lost their way, remained suspended in the air, unable to move.

A round forehead resting on his shoulder.

Warm breath spilling onto his chest.

For a moment, his mind went blank.

“Hey, hey.”

Hans, thoroughly flustered, tilted his head sideways.

The heat coloring his long neck rose all the way up to just below his clearly visible jawline.

He felt as if his pulse was pounding even in his nape.

“W-wake up.”

“….”

Someone might misunderstand if they saw this.

It looked as if Audrey had fallen into Hans’s arms.

“This is r-really…”

His blue eyes stubbornly stared only at the carriage ceiling.

He couldn’t heartlessly pull away.

If he did, the pink head would fall toward his thigh, leading to an even more awkward situation.

“I said w-wake up.”

But waiting silently was also torturous.

Even his usually calm heartbeat began to make a commotion, seemingly with deliberate intent.

Like a fish in water.

‘Please stop!’

Hans anxiously fidgeted with his chest area, afraid of causing any misunderstanding.

“Mmm.”

“….”

But it was of no use in front of the deeply sleeping Audrey.

In the end, all the agony and embarrassment were Hans’s burden alone.

‘…This dense girl.’

Look at that defenseless face.

Is it appropriate to fall asleep so comfortably in someone else’s family carriage?

And at a distance where their knees touch?

“Haah…”

Hans tilted his head back and sighed in resignation.

Then, after calming himself, he carefully leaned forward to return Audrey to her original position.

He didn’t forget to place his hand behind her head to prevent her from hitting the wall.

“….”

Her deeply sleeping face somehow seemed vexing to him.

‘So oblivious to others’ feelings.’

Screech.

Hans roughly opened the carriage window. This helped calm his troubled mind a bit.

But still, every bit of his attention remained focused on Audrey, despite her being out of his view.

As always.

***

Count Dosten’s country house was surrounded by a birch forest.

Following the dense forest path for quite some time, one would come upon a wide plain.

And in the middle of it stood “Glory House,” a three-story stone mansion.

Leah Dosten welcomed her guests with a pleased face.

“Audrey, it’s been so long!”

“Leah!”

“Oh? Young Master Emilton came with you as well.”

“…It’s been a while. My brother seems unable to attend today due to work.”

“I see. The gentlemen are gathered in the card room. Audrey, come with me to the salon!”

“Yes.”

The social club, composed of unmarried men and women from count families, spent time together until dinner whenever they met.

Due to strict gender separation, men and women only gathered together for dinner.

However, conversations that took place in their respective spaces before dinner could never be disclosed.

This was due to the rule of absolute confidentiality.

Breaking that rule was tantamount to social suicide.

“Audrey, today’s gathering will be extremely interesting.”

“Really? Why?”

“I’ve prepared a very special drink!”

Leah whispered with a meaningful expression.

“You know, across the sea, they say people drink tea with whiskey in it!”

“What? D-drinking alcohol during the day…”

“Shh! What does it matter? The gentlemen over there do it too.”

“….”

“Let’s enjoy some women-only time!”

Audrey opened the door to the second-floor salon with an uneasy face.

A strong smell of whiskey rushed in along with the rich aroma of black tea.

“Everyone, Audrey’s here!”

“Audrey!”

“We’ve been waiting so long!”

“Come sit over here quickly!”

Was it her imagination that everyone seemed excited?

Audrey tried hard not to get intoxicated by the whiskey scent.

She had a different real purpose for attending the gathering.

‘You said you have a social club meeting this weekend, right? This is an opportunity!’

‘An opportunity?’

‘There’s nothing better than social gatherings for learning about all kinds of romantic scandals.’

‘Why would I need to-‘

‘Didn’t you say you wanted to get dumped?’

‘…Yes, I did.’

‘Then go and learn a thing or two.’

‘…?’

‘There will be scandalous situations waiting that your mind couldn’t even imagine.’

Audrey couldn’t understand Charlotte’s words.

What exactly was she supposed to learn, and how was she supposed to use it?

Besides, romantic scandals weren’t usually Audrey’s area of interest.

She found herself resenting her friend’s face, which had smiled meaningfully while saying she would understand once she got there.

“Audrey, try this. It’s tea with Montvert whiskey.”

“Ah! Thank y-“

“That damned Montvert!”

“…!”

Flinch.

Her maple leaf-like hand trembled slightly.

It was because of the sudden bolt of anger that struck.

Seira, sitting right next to her, emptied her whiskey glass in one gulp with a fierce expression.

“Men from Montvert should be branded somewhere the moment they get married. Don’t you think?”

“…Seira, you know Audrey is uncomfortable with such talk. Let’s discuss this later.”

“Oh, no! I’m fine!”

Audrey quickly put down her teacup, which she hadn’t even sipped from.

Then she became fully alert.

‘I’ve never seen Seira this angry before.’

Could this be… the beginning of the “scandalous situation” she had only heard about?

She couldn’t help but keep glancing at Seira, who was unusually bitter.

“Everyone knows that Montvert men are more famous for their infidelity than their whiskey, don’t they?”

“There have certainly been many victims.”

“Poor Lady Shelbier! I heard she hasn’t left her room for months.”

“What?”

“Because of that ‘wonderful’ Montvert man!”

Bang!

The glass was put down roughly.

Audrey looked up, startled. Lady Shelbier of the viscounty was someone she knew through mutual acquaintances.

‘Didn’t she say she was getting married?’

Last winter.

The last news she had heard was that she was getting married to a man she had been seeing for a short time.

But why had there been no news from winter through spring and into summer…?

Could something have happened during that time?

“Ha! After chasing her so persistently to marry him, it turns out he already had a wife and four children!”