Madam Mastis began brushing Hailey’s hair. Using long pins as supports, she raised Hailey’s hair high, like that of a noblewoman.

Behind her, Jessie was busy selecting a dress.

“Should we go with this one, Madam?”

“It’s too plain. Today is Miss Hailey’s first time being invited to a banquet, so something more splendid would be better.”

“Yes, Madam Mastis.”

Hailey shrugged, suppressing a rising sigh. It felt uncomfortable, like wearing clothes that didn’t fit, but it was something she had to endure as the duke’s fiancée.

“Marty, isn’t the hair too high? It might reach the ceiling at this rate.”

“What are you saying, Miss Hailey? Don’t you know that the height of a woman’s hair reflects her status? Remember that you are the duke’s fiancée.”

“Prospective fiancée, actually.”

She whispered with a gloomy expression, but Madam Mastis pretended not to hear and continued her task.

Moments later, someone else stood in the mirror. Her hair was coiled high and adorned with flowers, her dress was a vibrant orange, and jewelry sparkled all over her body.

Hailey was no longer a wild filly.

“Wow, you look beautiful, Miss Hailey.”

Hailey let Jessie’s compliment go in one ear and out the other as she headed downstairs. After all, Jessie would always take her side.

The duke’s carriage was waiting for her. Madam Mastis, as if she couldn’t dare keep the duke waiting, kept urging her.

“Hurry up, Miss Hailey.”

“I’m going, I’m going, Marty.”

Anna opened the front door, and Madam Mastis stepped out first. Hearing her greet the duke, Hailey also walked out to the porch.

Jessie followed behind, holding onto Hailey’s dress.

“If we’re late, don’t mind—”

The duke, in the middle of speaking to Mastis, turned his head casually. His gaze landed on Hailey as she stepped out of the mansion. Their eyes met, and she forced an awkward smile.

“Good afternoon, Your Grace.”

But he said nothing. His gaze slowly moved—from her eyes, to her neck, to her chest, and down to her legs.

No teasing remark about how she looked like someone else. No compliment about her beauty.

Hailey, who had forced a slight smile, suddenly felt awkward under his piercing stare. Her eyes dropped to the floor.

She forced herself to walk toward him as if nothing was wrong. Tayton approached belatedly and extended his hand—the one not holding the cane.

“……”

Hailey stared blankly at that hand. Suddenly, she remembered the hand Tayton had once extended toward Princess Irene.

A hand withdrawn without grace. A hand that had eventually moved her to action.

Tayton didn’t rush Hailey, who was just standing there. He didn’t speak harshly or scold her.

Eventually, Hailey took his hand. The duke escorted her to the carriage with flawless manners, and Hailey was deeply tense from the unbearably awkward atmosphere.

It finally felt real—that she had become his fiancée. Holding the hand she’d never held, receiving the escort she’d never received.

She slowly climbed into the carriage. The duke took the seat opposite her. When he tapped the wall of the carriage with his cane, the wheels began to roll.

In the confined space, their restless gazes tangled with each other.

“……”

“……”

Hailey unconsciously clenched her dress tightly. His silver eyes, fixed on her, were as fierce as a beast’s. As she nervously swallowed dryly,

Tayton slowly turned his head and looked out the window. Only then did Hailey feel like she could breathe again. A silent sigh of relief escaped between her teeth.

Even so, an inexplicable tension continued to linger between them. A fragile, icy tension, as if they were walking on thin ice—something she had never been conscious of before.

“Miss Hailey Salmon.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

Startled by his sudden address, Hailey straightened her back and replied. Tayton kept his gaze fixed outside the window, moving only his lips.

“Never forget, no matter the time or place, that you are my fiancée.”

“……”

Hailey hesitated to respond, not understanding the underlying meaning of his words. The duke, frowning faintly, added in a low voice,

“At the very least, when others are watching, you must play the role of the heroine in the scandal of the century. Do you understand what I mean, Miss Hailey Salmon?”

“……Yes, Your Grace.”

The heroine in the scandal of the century.

Hailey gazed absentmindedly at the passing scenery, lost in thought. The carriage was passing through a row of cypress trees.

How exactly was she supposed to do that?

***

“Oh my, it’s Duke Gunner and his fiancée—Miss Hailey Salmon.”

The moment she entered the banquet hall with her arm linked through Tayton’s, it felt as though time had stopped. No, it wasn’t just her imagination.

Hailey held her head high and looked straight ahead, fully aware of the stares directed at her. The whispered conversations of women hiding behind fans reached her ears with painful clarity.

“Did you read that article? Apparently, Duke Gunner is the real culprit behind the serial murders.”

“Ah, it’s horrifying. If I’d known he was coming, I wouldn’t have attended the banquet today. I’m scared we might make eye contact.”

“They say he drinks the blood of young women. The next victim will be his fiancée, Miss Hailey Salmon. Oh dear, poor girl.”

“Exactly. That’s why Princess Irene broke off the engagement, according to all the rumors. She must’ve realized Duke Gunner’s violent nature early on.”

“How terrible. The poor princess must’ve been so frightened.”

“Still, I suppose it was for the best. At least she escaped the clutches of Duke Gunner.”

“May the blessings of the gods be with her.”

Honestly, how could anyone gossip so loudly and not care who hears them?

Hailey glanced at them sideways and clicked her tongue inwardly. Then, she looked up at the duke standing beside her.

Wearing a black mask, he remained as unreadable as ever.

There was no way the words reaching her ears wouldn’t reach his, and yet his silver eyes remained as indifferent as always.

“Ah.”

Only then did Hailey realize that he must have faced this kind of situation countless times.

The whispers, the deliberately loud insults.

Wherever he went, he was the center of attention.

Naturally, it wasn’t good attention.

Hailey quietly stared at his back, standing a step ahead of her.

A solitary back that didn’t know loneliness.

Suddenly, Tayton, who had stopped walking, turned to look at her.

Meeting his gaze, Hailey calmly resumed walking as if nothing had happened.

She would never get used to this. There was no way to get used to it.

Words as sharp as daggers would always gouge at old wounds and bring the same pain as the first time.

Just then, an elderly gentleman with a dignified appearance approached them.

He was a man with white hair and a well-groomed white beard. Tayton and the man exchanged brief greetings.

“Lord Gunner, thank you for coming.”

“It’s Lord Eaton’s invitation. How could I refuse?”

“Hahaha. It’s truly an honor. Ah, and this must be… Miss Hailey Salmon. A pleasure to meet you.”

“Thank you for the invitation, Lord Eaton.”

“Not at all.”

At that moment, a middle-aged man dressed in obviously expensive clothes walked over to them.

His slicked-back hair gleamed under the lights, and his thick belly looked like it was wrapped in a blanket.

Because of it, he waddled like a penguin.

He held out a hand toward Tayton.

“It’s been a while, Lord Gunner. Have you been well?”

“Good to see you, Earl Blair.”

Tayton lightly curled the corner of his lips as he took the man’s hand.

It was a smile impossible to tell whether it was genuine or not.

Earl Blair.

Hailey found herself staring at him.

Short and stocky, with sagging cheeks and a face like a pug — he seemed to be the father of Inspector Albert Blair.

They really didn’t look alike.

The inspector must take after his mother.

Just how beautiful must the countess be?

She was thinking along those lines when—

“A pleasure to meet you for the first time, Miss Hailey Salmon.”

He turned his head toward Hailey.

His polite attitude was probably due to the fact that she was the duke’s fiancée.

However, despite his refined tone, his eyes quickly scanned her from head to toe.

It was an unpleasant gaze, as if appraising merchandise in a marketplace.

Hailey smoothed her brows that had creased on their own and met his gaze with elegance.

“When I heard of an engagement announced just a day after breaking off with Princess Britton, I thought it must be rushed. But you are indeed a great beauty. Now I understand why Lord Gunner was so impatient.”

“Hahaha.”

Lord Eaton and Earl Blair burst into laughter.

Hailey, like a new employee unsure of when to laugh at her boss’s unfunny joke, awkwardly lifted the corners of her mouth.

Earl Blair stopped laughing and turned his gaze back to Tayton.

“I hear the city development plan you proposed is about to pass the Parliament. Congratulations in advance.”