Chapter 4.5

The blond man, seemingly startled himself, looked down at her with wide eyes. His deep blue eyes resembled the color of the ocean.  

“Oh dear, I’m so sorry. Are you okay?”  

Elena’s first thought was how to deal with the loss of her precious ice cream.  

Her second thought was about how rare it was to see such golden hair, even in the capital, and now here she was encountering it in Castia.  

In the Empire, honey-blond hair was uncommon. Not all members of the Imperial Family were born with it, and the Imperial Family itself was small in number.  

Bianca also had golden hair, but it was hard to consider the Botter family as part of the Imperial Family anymore.  

If one traced the Botter family’s lineage back several generations, there was a record of a cousin of the Emperor marrying into the family. But that was the only instance, and it had been so long ago that the bloodline had faded significantly.  

Bianca’s golden hair was, therefore, an exceptionally rare case.  

“Are you hurt?”  

As Elena stood there blankly staring at the fallen ice cream, the man she had bumped into asked again.  

“…I’m fine.”  

As long as you buy me a new ice cream. 

She suppressed the words that nearly escaped her lips.  

It wasn’t entirely the man’s fault; she hadn’t been paying attention to where she was going either.  

“Pfft.”  

At that moment, a laugh escaped the man’s lips.  

‘He laughed? I told him I was fine with tears in my eyes, and now he finds it funny?’  

Elena glared at the man with narrowed eyes. He quickly covered his raised lips with his hand and said, 

“Ah, my apologies. It’s just… your expression didn’t look fine at all, so I couldn’t help myself. Since you couldn’t enjoy your ice cream because of me, let me buy you another one.”  

‘What? Turns out he’s a nice person.’  

Elena’s opinion of the man shifted instantly upon hearing his offer to replace the ice cream.  

“Pfft.”  

“Why do you keep laughing?”  

His repeated laughter caused her face to involuntarily scrunch up.  

“No, I’m sorry. It’s just… your expressions change so quickly—it’s amusing.”  

Laughter still lingered on his lips. Just as Elena’s annoyance was about to peak, the man continued speaking.  

“Where is this sold? Let’s go there right away.”  

“You really don’t have to, but… since it’ll ease your conscience, I’ll accept it gratefully.”  

Fearing he might change his mind, Elena quickly agreed. The man let out a hearty laugh.  

‘Was I too obvious? I even threw in some polite words…’  

“Shall we go, then?”  

The man smiled softly and began escorting her, clearing a path through the crowd.  

Although the shop was only a few steps ahead, a long line had already formed due to the throng of people who had gathered.  

“It seems we’ll have to wait a bit. Is this a popular place?”  

“I’m not sure. I dropped mine before I could even taste it.”  

Since it was her first time here, Elena had no way of knowing whether this was a famous shop or if people had simply gathered because of the heat.  

“You must be new to Aden. So am I. I’m just waiting for a ship here.”  

“Yes, it’s my first time as well.”  

“Perhaps we’ll be on the same ship. Where are you headed? I’m going to Anes Island.”  

“Oh, I’m going to Anes Island too.”  

Feeling a sudden sense of camaraderie, Elena was about to ask what time his ship was departing when a staff member from the shop approached to take their order.  

“We’re taking orders in advance. What would you like?”  

“A triple cone with chocolate, caramel… and vanilla.”  

Remembering Adelina’s triple-layered ice cream, Elena hesitated briefly before sneaking a glance at the man and adding an extra layer.  

However, the man’s previously cheerful face suddenly stiffened as she placed her order.  

“On second thought, just take out the vanilla and make it a double cone…”  

Realizing she had been caught, Elena hurriedly tried to revise her order, but before she could finish her sentence, the man interrupted her.  

“This is unfortunate. Something urgent has come up, and I need to leave immediately. I’ll buy you ice cream next time for sure.”  

“What? What do you mean…?”  

While Elena stood there, flustered by the sudden situation, the man slowly started retreating, step by step, until he was already far away.  

“I promise. We’ll see each other again soon.”  

The man waved leisurely as he moved farther away, then turned and disappeared, running without a backward glance.  

‘Buy me one next time? See me again soon?’  

No, what nonsense was this?  

* * *  

“What a complete con artist!”  

Was his offer to buy me another ice cream just a trick to lower my guard?  

If he was going to do this, he shouldn’t have said anything in the first place. It’s not like I even demanded compensation. Why did he bother saying he’d buy me one, just to toy with me like this?  

Sure, I was at fault for secretly adding an extra layer, but if he’d just said something, I would’ve taken it off right away.  

And if he’s really part of the Imperial Family, he must have plenty of money. Yet he ran off just to save the cost of an ice cream? 

As Elena fumed to herself, a cool and weighty fragrance wafted over from beside her.  

Without even turning to look, she knew who it was—the Grand Duke.  

Somehow, in this crowd of people, he had managed to find her and was now standing right next to her.  

“Who was that man?”  

The Grand Duke gestured with his chin toward the man, who had now vanished into the distance, barely visible anymore.  

‘What should I say?’  

Calling him a con artist didn’t feel quite right. A liar? Or maybe…  

“He was just a strange man. I bumped into him earlier and dropped my ice cream. He said he’d buy me a new one, but then he suddenly ran off like that.”  

One of the Grand Duke’s eyebrows twitched upward, and a wrinkle formed between his brows.  

“Why? What’s wrong?”  

“It’s nothing.”  

But despite his words, the Grand Duke’s eyes remained fixed intently on the direction the man had disappeared.  

Sensing her curious gaze, he turned to look at her and shrugged nonchalantly, as if to say it was truly nothing.  

She thought he wouldn’t explain further, but surprisingly, he answered without hesitation.  

“I thought I recognized him, but I must’ve been mistaken.”  

‘If that man was part of the Imperial Family, it’s possible he really did know the Grand Duke.’  

For a moment, Elena debated whether to mention that the man’s hair was honey blonde. However, the Grand Duke’s expression didn’t seem particularly welcoming, so she chose to stay silent and instead brought up another question. 

“What were you discussing with the merchant who sold you that earring for so long?”  

“I wanted to find out more about the pearl. If it’s real, it’s worth investigating further. I asked him a few questions about it.”  

“What? Surely, you’re not planning to work even while on vacation, are you?”  

“Why wouldn’t I?”  

The Grand Duke replied with the utmost composure, as if wondering why Elena would even ask such a thing, despite her shocked expression.  

After all, what is a vacation if not a time to relax and rejuvenate both body and mind?  

“Anes Island isn’t even part of Castia’s territory.”  

“It’s not Castia’s territory, but it’s still part of the Empire.”  

‘Does he plan to shoulder the entire country’s worries all by himself?’  

Just as Elena was about to nag him to take this opportunity to rest, the Grand Duke asked her a question.  

“By the way, what’s this line for?”  

Standing naturally beside her, the Grand Duke looked curious as he gestured toward the line with a questioning expression.  

By the time Elena realized her mistake, it was already too late. The long line had shortened, and now it was their turn.  

“Chocolate, caramel, and vanilla triple-scoop cone! Your ice cream is ready!”  

“Uh, I think I changed it to a double scoop…”  

Or had I? 

Come to think of it, she’d completely forgotten to confirm because of the man who had suddenly run off.  

But the real issue wasn’t whether it was a double or triple scoop.  

“That’ll be 5,000 krangs.”  

The clerk held out the ice cream again, as if urging her to take it quickly.  

‘Believe me, I want to!’  

“Um… Grand Duke?”  

Elena turned to him with an awkward smile, her eyes darting nervously.  

“They said it’s 5,000 krangs.”  

The Grand Duke’s exasperated gaze landed squarely on her face, but since she didn’t have a single coin on her, all she could do was grin sheepishly.  

Just as Elena was about to head off with the ice cream the Grand Duke had paid for, intending to look for Dean and the others, someone called out to them.  

“Oh my, Grand Duke! Here you are!”  

‘Now, what is she doing here?’