Chapter 26

At Blumen, Charlotte’s designated seat was at the end of a long table by the window overlooking the sea.  

She sat down and opened a book. The view of the Heringen Sea before her was stunning, the thriller novel on the table was heart-pounding, and the coffee Emmet had brought her was exquisitely fragrant—this was the ultimate indulgence for a day when she didn’t feel like working.  

Except for one thing: Erhen, who was sitting beside her, reading a book as well.  

As if it were the most natural thing in the world, he had taken the seat next to hers, which also offered a view of the beautiful sea, and opened a book filled with incomprehensible magical formulas. Occasionally, he would sip his coffee.  

It wasn’t unusual for customers to sit near Charlotte’s designated seat, so she should have thought nothing of it this time either. But for some reason, she couldn’t. 

Was this how it felt to be in a budding romance?

Uncertain and restless, Charlotte kept fidgeting.  

Unlike her chaotic state, Erhen remained calm, his gaze fixed on his book. He suddenly spoke.  

“Charlotte.”  

“Oh, right. How’s the investigation into the organization going? Ras said there’s speculation that it might be connected to Singred. Revolution! It’s such a grand word, isn’t it? Ras said so.”  

Instead of her usual responses like “Yes?” or “Why?”, Charlotte’s words tumbled out in a jumbled mess. Erhen turned to her with a bewildered expression.  

Charlotte closed her eyes in despair. She was mortified. Why was she acting like this? She couldn’t even comprehend what she had just blurted out. If there were a hole nearby, she would have gladly crawled into it.  

Why hadn’t she installed a trapdoor in their café? She was so overwhelmed with embarrassment that she almost felt like crying.  

After biting her lower lip and letting out a sigh, she opened her eyes and tried to organize her thoughts.  

“What I meant was, um, we’ve caught a lead, but I’m curious about what’s beyond that. My side hasn’t uncovered anything more.”  

“Our job was only to catch the lead. They’re currently imprisoned and under investigation.”  

Since the Earl’s estate banquet, where Dostern had been handed over, investigations had been ongoing at the Duke’s residence and the royal palace. Charlotte, along with Ras, had continued digging into the matter. However, the underground revolutionary organization mentioned briefly in the original story, Kopenbach, seemed to be buried so deeply underground that there wasn’t a single source of information about it.  

With Charlotte and Ras’s investigation at a standstill, they had no choice but to rely on the interrogation of the imprisoned lead. However, this wasn’t an official task assigned to Charlotte. The only remaining royal order she had was to oversee Erhen’s recovery.  

“Oh, that’s right. You’re currently recovering under my supervision.”  

Charlotte nodded as she stated this fact, and Erhen chuckled softly.  

“Supervision.”  

At his murmur, Charlotte quickly glanced at him.  

Supervision? Oh no, had I just bruised his sky-high pride again? 

His gaze would soon shift, and he would surely make a sharp remark. If they were still in their contract marriage, she’d already be bracing for his retaliation. Charlotte bit her lip in preparation.  

But Erhen spoke.  

“Interesting choice of words.”  

While his comment could be interpreted as sarcastic, his tone carried an inexplicable warmth.  

Startled, Charlotte looked at him. His relaxed expression seemed at ease as he looked back at her.  

“Keep supervising me.”  

He chuckled quietly.  

What was this? Was this some new signal to indicate that his pride had been hurt? But why was he smiling as he said it? Was he trying to make my heart race? Wait, was my heart actually racing? Yes, it must be the guilt-induced adrenaline of someone who knew they had made a mistake.  

Having reached this conclusion, Charlotte opened her mouth to apologize for her poor choice of words that might have offended the Duke.  

“Don’t worry! I’ll supervise you so thoroughly that you won’t be able to do anything without me keeping tabs on you.”  

Her voice was sharp and playful.  

Realizing there was no way to take back her words now, Charlotte swallowed her tears and turned her attention back to her book. Whatever the right answer might have been, Erhen didn’t say anything further.  

It was strange. Why did she keep saying things completely different from what she was thinking?  

Whenever Erhen was around, she felt like she wasn’t herself.  

***  

It snowed in Heringen.  

Over two days of heavy snowfall, the city—where snow rarely accumulated—was transformed into a pure white wonderland. As a result, Blumen had been bustling with customers since it opened in the morning. People flocked to enjoy warm coffee while gazing at the snow-covered winter sea. Of course, it was the café staff, not the owner, Charlotte, who were busy.  

By lunchtime, the staff finally had a moment to breathe and gathered in small groups.  

The hot topic among them was, of course, their boss, Charlotte, and the Duke of Rosenheim, who often accompanied her.  

Charlotte, who usually commuted with Lida or Ras, now had the Duke joining her once every few days. While the official reason was their business partnership, the sight of the two together was enough to spark rumors among the mostly unmarried staff of Blumen.  

Karin nudged Emmet, the barista, as he brewed coffee.  

“Don’t you think it’s obvious?”  

Emmet tilted the drip pot, pouring water over the ground coffee. The hot water seeped through the fine grounds, releasing a rich aroma. Drip. Drip. Coffee trickled into the filter below as Emmet responded.  

“It’s more than obvious. It’s crystal clear.”  

“Then why does the boss keep lying, saying there’s nothing between them?”  

“How would I know?”  

Emmet shrugged. Karin pressed him further.  

“Didn’t the Duke escort her to the Earl of Friesland’s banquet last time?”  

“And yet our boss insists there’s nothing going on.”  

“She says she’s just friends with Elias too. Do you know anything about that?”  

“Well, they really do seem like just friends. Last time, I nearly got fired for asking if they were secretly dating.”  

“Hmm. So there’s a chance with the Duke, then?”  

Emmet shrugged again, as if to say he didn’t know.  

“Don’t women understand other women best? What do you think?”  

“What are you talking about, Emmet! That’s such an outdated, sexist remark.”  

In other words, even Karin didn’t know what was in her boss’s heart. Emmet shook his head at her shameless reply.  

Meanwhile, the subject of their gossip, Charlotte, was sitting idly in the greenhouse, staring blankly outside.  

Hearing from Lida that customers had been lining up before the café even opened, Charlotte had decided to work from home, worried that her presence might disrupt the busy staff. Of course, “working from home” in this case simply meant sipping coffee in the greenhouse.  

She felt a twinge of regret and muttered to herself.  

“I’d like to see the snowy sea too.”  

A voice suddenly interrupted her.  

“Want to go see it?”  

“Ah! You scared me!”  

Startled by the sudden voice, Charlotte clutched her chest and turned her head.  

Erhen was sitting beside her, propping his chin on his hand and watching her. Feeling caught slacking off, Charlotte felt embarrassed.  

“When did you get here? And why do you always show up so quietly?”  

“Just now. And I wasn’t quiet—you just didn’t notice.”  

“I even opened the greenhouse door myself,” he added, picking up the coffee Charlotte had been drinking. It was still warm. After taking a sip, he looked at her pouting face and asked again.  

“Want to go see the snowy sea?”  

Charlotte, who had grown up in the snowless south, found Heringen’s snowy winter sea to be a rare sight.  

Her hesitation didn’t last long. Her eyes sparkled.  

“Let’s go.”  

The preparation was swift. Bundled in a thick coat, gloves, fur boots, and a bonnet, Charlotte headed to a deserted beach accompanied by Erhen and two servants.  

The snow-covered beach looked like a painting. The cobalt-blue sea shimmered with white glints against the thick blanket of snow on the shore. Waves rolled over rocks capped with white snow, crashing and dissolving into nothingness. Above it all, large snowflakes were falling steadily.  

Charlotte couldn’t help but exclaim in awe.  

“Wow. It’s so beautiful.”  

The absence of other people made the scenery even more enchanting. Watching her pure joy, Erhen’s lips curved into a small smile.  

“Let’s walk.”  

It was exactly what she wanted. Charlotte nodded without hesitation.  

Behind them, Lida, who had been following along, suddenly stomped on Ras’s foot with all her might. Ras winced and shot her a glare, but Lida mouthed her words silently, one syllable at a time.  

‘Back.’  

‘Off.’

Understanding her meaning immediately, Ras gave a slight nod. Their pace slowed significantly, leaving the snowy beach’s pristine white surface marked only by the footprints of Charlotte and Erhen.  

The perceptive servant had orchestrated a private moment for the two of them—a perfect setting for their “date.”