Leaving behind the director, who bowed deeply, Andert walked slowly. As explained, the library looked much different from what he remembered. They said it had been renovated repeatedly, but it seemed like they had even changed the internal structure.

After passing the entrance to the public archives reading room, his steps turned right into the hallway. He had no particular destination in mind. He was planning to take a quick tour of the first floor and then return to the parliament building.

Despite its grand scale, the library was deserted. It was probably an aftereffect of the festival that was making the city so noisy. The newly enthroned king was generously spending money as if to make amends, so people would flock there for a few days.

His steps, which were gradually getting faster, stopped just after passing a space with tables and chairs gathered together.

He looked inside unintentionally and saw someone sitting there. Neat brown hair and a slender neck. It was a very familiar silhouette.

Chloe?!

Andert’s steps, which had been striding forward without hesitation, came to an abrupt halt as soon as he recognized the other person.

But Chloe is in the capital? I thought she was staying in Bergen.

Chloe had been on his mind all along. Andert, who had encountered her in a completely unexpected place, doubted his eyes for a moment.

The woman’s movements, her gaze fixed downward, were minimal. Chloe was writing something down on a file folder. Even in the midst of all this, her upright posture, befitting her neat attire, remained undisturbed.

Facing Chloe like that, he realized the reason why he kept thinking about his ex-wife.

I wanted to see Chloe. And I missed her.

As he accepted the fact that he hadn’t realized, a chain reaction swept over him uncontrollably. The questions that had been lingering in his mind, unanswered, began to find their rightful place.

Even the feeling that he hadn’t felt any particular excitement even though he had what he wanted so much.

“I’ve imagined it before. What if our first time had been different?”

Those were Chloe’s last words. It was a hypothesis he had buried because it was foolish to imagine something that hadn’t happened.

But what if… that first time had been now?

His deeply sunken eyes stared intently at Chloe, who was sorting through the documents as if in deep thought. It wasn’t difficult to find the answer to the question now. Even the reason why his heart rate, which had been beating steadily, was rising erratically.

Even under the dazzling sunlight pouring through the window, everything about Chloe was excessively vivid. Her slightly furrowed brows and lightly closed lip, seemingly lost in thought. From her neatly tied hair to her delicate fingers holding the pen…

Andert just stared without saying a word.

Soon, Chloe, who had finished her long note, closed the file folder and stood up. Her head, which had been facing the tip of her pen all along, finally turned in a different direction. It was as if she had only then noticed the presence of someone standing there.

Her eyes, meeting his gaze, wavered subtly, flustered. They were green eyes, like they contained the deep greenery of midsummer. But it was only for a moment. Chloe quickly regained her composure and bowed her head.

“It is an honor to see you, Duke Dietrich.”

Her polite greeting sent a noisy ripple through Andert’s heart. It was proof that the two were now completely strangers.

And he realized.

How Chloe must have felt when she first saw him at Count Declen’s and fell in love. The reason why she continued her one-sided love despite the lack of any real connection afterward.

It was a kind of emotion that he couldn’t control on his own. The trigger for realizing this unpredictable and inefficient emotion was very trivial. Just like now.

It was also the first time he had seen her since their divorce. Separate from reason, something crashed into Andert’s heart.

It was Chloe.

“You were in the capital.”

It was a silly answer, even to his own ears.  To think the first thing he would say to Chloe after their unexpected reunion was, ‘You were in the capital’ But he couldn’t think of anything appropriate to say.

“Yes. I have a new job and I plan to stay in the capital for the time being.”

Chloe was equally flustered by the unexpected encounter. She had thought that she might run into him once in a while since she was in the capital.

But to run into him at the library like this?

It was a coincidence of slim chances.  Chloe calmly folded the documents after greeting him.

She had bolted her heart shut after it had fluttered at the sight of him.  She was here because there was a person in charge that she had to meet. The reason she frequented the library was to discuss Tickelon’s work schedule.

The man she encountered after they had become complete strangers was familiar yet strange. From the beginning, Andert had been a man with an arrogance that disregarded others. On top of that, he now had the title of Duke.

Chloe turned her head away from him, as if he were in a different world than her own. There was no reason for the two of them to see each other anymore.

Then, as if he couldn’t just stand there, Andert strode towards her. He stopped only when they were close enough to look into each other’s eyes.

Did he have anything else to say?

His gaze seemed to be trying to say something. His brightly colored eyes were strangely fixed on her.

But that couldn’t be. Chloe dismissed the thought as ridiculous as soon as it came to mind. He was Andert, the man she had been watching from the sidelines for years.

At that moment, a strange voice flew between them.

“Excuse me, Miss Chloe?”

The person who spoke hesitantly from afar was the person in charge of the library construction.

He seemed to recognize the tall man standing in front of Chloe at a glance. The official, unable to approach them, stopped in his tracks with a surprised look on his face.

“Just a moment.”

Chloe checked the appointed time and hurriedly picked up her bag.

“Excuse me, but I have an appointment. I’ll be on my way. Goodbye.”

Chloe bowed her head slightly and headed straight for the official. It didn’t even take a minute for her neat figure to disappear down the end of the hallway.

It was before Andert could even say anything. But what reason did he have to hold her back?

Chloe and he were like that now. They were not to see each other without a specific reason.  He knew what divorce meant. But the reality of actually facing her was much more sobering.

The hallway with its lone, elongated shadow was quiet. In the silence that surrounded him, it seemed as if he was the only one who was confused.

***

It was an exceptionally sunny afternoon.

12 o’clock sharp. Andert checked his watch and entered the lobby on the top floor of the hotel. Before he could scan the sparsely filled room, the manager approached him.

“Welcome, Duke Dietrich. The Asbecks are already seated. I’ll show you to your table.”

It was Sunday, but the hotel restaurant, which had a limited clientele, was not crowded. Andert followed the manager without a word.

If he hadn’t made this appointment two weeks ago, he would have liked to just relax today. However, the person who had invited him to dinner to congratulate him on his succession was Count Asbeck. The very same Count who had built a close friendship with his father, Winston Dietrich.

Of course, he had no intention of building any real relationship with the Asbeck family. However, he lacked a good enough reason to flatly refuse the dinner invitation under the pretense of congratulations. Moreover, from a practical and efficient standpoint, there was no need to antagonize Count Asbeck.

But apart from such practical judgments, Andert’s mind continued to wander. It had been like this since their unbelievably coincidental reunion yesterday.

The library, Chloe writing something down, her voice firmly drawing the line by calling him ‘Duke,’ her back as she turned around without any lingering attachment after greeting him… It was all too vivid.

“Duke Dietrich has arrived.”

Andert stopped his train of thought at the manager’s voice as they reached the end of the hallway.

A private room.

This was an unexpected choice for someone who had suggested a light lunch. Andert stepped inside the door, which the white-sleeved manager had opened. 

“Ah, you’ve arrived.”

The gray-haired Count and his wife, who were the first to appear in his sight, were familiar to him. But next to them was an unfamiliar face. A young woman with dark brown hair and strikingly flamboyant attire.

It’s not like the Asbecks had a daughter.

Andert’s doubts ended there. The Count, who had risen from his seat, held out his hand with a hearty laugh.

“Haha, it’s been a while. How have you been?”

The Count, who had clasped his hand, looked the same as ever. He had always been a friendly and sociable person.