Chapter 3.4

Since her debut in society, countless letters had poured in addressed to her. Most were invitations, but there were also quite a few love letters from people she had never met. The letters, often pieced together with clumsy excerpts from famous romantic poetry in the Empire, were crude even to Andrea, who didn’t have much literary knowledge.  

Andrea read through the letters with a detached gaze, one by one. The lackluster love letters were shoved into the corner of the desk, while she picked up her pen to reply to the invitations. It was a tedious task, transferring the same rejection phrases she had written dozens of times onto crisp sheets of paper.  

When her hand began to ache, Andrea picked up the last letter on the tray.  

‘Hmm?’  

Unlike the other letters, which prominently displayed the family crests as if to boast, this one was encased in a plain white envelope. The only information it revealed was that Andrea Heathridge was the recipient. Tilting her head in curiosity, Andrea carefully pulled out the paper inside.  

「To my black rabbit,」  

The moment Andrea read the first line of the letter, she froze as if doused in icy water.  

Anyone else might have dismissed it as a poetic expression, just like the other letters, but Andrea immediately understood the implication.  

‘The black rabbit mask….’  

On the night sparks ignited between Andrea and Michael, she had worn a black rabbit-shaped mask.  

Other than a few maids who had helped her dress and the coachman, no one knew she had worn that mask. 

Was one of them playing a mischievous prank? 

Andrea hoped that was the case as she cautiously continued reading.  

「You must be terribly curious about who I am.  

Let’s meet tonight in the Marquis’s garden.  

Just like that night, in secret.」  

But the letter’s contents clearly hinted at the reckless act in the imperial palace. It was something neither the maids nor the coachman could have possibly guessed. That night’s events were a secret shared only between Andrea and Michael.  

‘But there’s no way His Highness knows who I am….’  

Surely not.  

Andrea’s vision turned stark white.  

***

“Hello.”  

No, it couldn’t be. It must be a misunderstanding.  

Even as she quietly slipped out of her room and headed for the garden, Andrea kept denying her suspicions. But the moment she saw the figure leaning lazily against a tree near the garden wall, her heart plummeted straight to her feet.  

“It’s been a while.”  

“……”  

“Ah, did we speak formally that night?”  

Though he was wrapped in the dull black cloak worn by attendants, she couldn’t mistake him. The radiant golden hair falling over his forehead, the eyes as green as summer foliage, the firm and sharp jawline—this was the face she had drawn in her mind countless times.  

“Your… Highness.”  

As Andrea barely whispered the words, Michael’s lips curved into a long smile.  

Andrea stared blankly at the man before her with a dazed expression. Her heart pounded so hard it felt like it would burst, and her knees, hidden beneath her skirt, trembled uncontrollably.  

The awkwardly long silence was broken by the sound of a bird flapping its wings in the distance. Startled back to her senses, Andrea struggled to part her trembling lips.  

“Wh-why have you come here personally…? My father is currently away in the estate.”  

“I know.”  

Unlike her, Michael was perfectly composed. There was even a faint trace of amusement in his voice.  

“Fortunately, my business isn’t with the Marquis but with you, My Lady.”  

“With… me?”  

“Yes. It seems we have unfinished business, but since you’ve cut off all contact, what choice did I have? I had to come to you.”  

At his meaningful words, Andrea’s heart sank. A chill ran down her spine, as though cold water had been poured on her, and she shivered slightly.  

‘Ah, he knows.’  

Andrea realized that Michael had uncovered everything and had come to confront her. However, she decided to feign ignorance for now.  

“What…?”  

“You know what.”  

But Michael didn’t seem inclined to let her off easily. With his arms crossed, he observed Andrea’s shifting expressions as though he were studying her. The more his gaze deepened, the lower Andrea’s head drooped.  

After a long pause, Andrea, now pale as a sheet, finally spoke with parched lips.  

“About… that night….”  

“Yes, that night?”  

“I truly… apologize.”  

At her trembling apology, Michael’s expression turned peculiar.  

“I didn’t come here to hear an apology.”  

Andrea’s eyes wavered at his words. After a moment of hesitation, she cautiously opened her mouth, carefully gauging his reaction.  

“About that night… I swear to take it to my grave and never let it leak….”  

“That’s not what I want either.”  

He hadn’t come for an apology, nor to demand my silence. Then what was his purpose?  

Andrea, flustered and unable to think, tried to deduce his intentions but failed to grasp them. Eventually, she gave up guessing and asked with a tearful expression.  

“Then… could you please tell me what it is that you want?”  

Michael let out a low chuckle.  

“Well, perhaps… a sense of responsibility?”  

“Responsibility?”  

It was an utterly unexpected answer. Michael smirked as he watched Andrea’s confused face.  

“Don’t you remember? We made a promise that night.”  

A promise?  

Did we even have a proper conversation that night? 

All she could recall was the frantic tangle of their tongues and bodies.  

‘Ah, I think he did say something… at the end.’  

As she desperately tried to recall, a hazy memory of him whispering something surfaced. But she couldn’t remember what it was.  

“I’m sorry, but I can’t quite remember. If you could tell me again, I’ll….”  

“You’ll keep it now?”  

Andrea nodded at Michael’s question. His eyes curved into a crescent shape.  

“All right, then.”  

Michael readily agreed.  

“I’ll repeat what I said that night. You just need to nod slowly, just like you did then.”  

“Yes.”  

“Are you ready to listen?”  

Andrea nodded again with a determined expression. Michael then leaned in, bringing his lips close to her ear.  

“I’ll let you off today, but next time, I won’t.”  

The whispered words tickled her ear, sending a shiver down her spine. Andrea’s pale cheeks twitched with tension as his warm breath grazed her skin.  

“I’ll strip you bare, down to the last thread.”  

Michael recited his promise from that night, slowly and explicitly, leaving nothing out. Andrea felt a tight knot form in her stomach. Unable to stop it, she felt a dampness spreading below. Her face flushed a deep red.  

“I’ll do everything to you that I’ve only imagined in my head. So….”  

At a distance where even the slightest reaction couldn’t be hidden, Michael whispered.  

“Let’s meet again. Definitely.”  

Their eyes met in the empty air. Andrea bit her lip as she saw her reflection in Michael’s gaze.  

“Th-that’s….”  

“Too much for you to handle?”  

Michael’s lips twisted slightly as he watched Andrea, who was flushed to the point of bursting. His expression carried a hint of mischievousness.  

“When you brazenly decided to steal a night with the Crown Prince, you should have been prepared for the consequences.”

“I’m sorry.”  

Andrea’s eyes glistened with tears at Michael’s warning. Frightened, she whimpered softly, causing Michael to hesitate and soften his tone slightly.  

“Not that I’m angry or anything….”

A warm breeze lightly tousled Andrea’s black hair as it passed by. Michael’s hand brushed a few strands of her hair back behind her ear. When his hot and firm fingertips lightly caressed her face, Andrea’s eyelashes quivered. Her entire body thudded as if it had become one large heart, and her mind turned hazy.  

Michael’s eyes curved as he observed Andrea’s reaction. Smiling faintly, he continued.  

“Don’t forget this time. And don’t disappear without a word.”  

“……”  

“Face it properly and think it through. Then decide.”  

Michael lightly tilted his head as he cupped Andrea’s flushed cheek.  

“Whether you want to take responsibility or run away.”