Chapter 4 – His and Her Affection (Which Was) (6)

Lucien, listening to the conversation between Chloe and Noel, quietly pulled up her hood and lowered her voice as much as possible.

“Well then, Miss, we will take our leave now. Let’s go, Master Martino.”

After bowing slightly to Mirabelle and Noel, she disappeared with Martino in the opposite direction of the alley.

Noel Wensley’s gaze lingered a little longer in that direction.

“Are they merchants you know?”

“Oh, yes. They say they’re from the Grand Duchy of Campo.”

“Ah, Campo…”

The Grand Duke of Campo, who appreciated Lucien’s ambition, had set up a trading company under a pseudonym and had that escort knight act as the head, so it wasn’t entirely untrue.

“Campo, Campo…”

Noel repeated the name in her mouth.

Seeing this, Chloe once again felt the discomfort she had when dealing with Lucien. She wondered if Crevelle, naturally associated with Campo, and her ambiguous relationship with the Young Duke were being imagined in Noel’s mind.

‘It could just be paranoia… Lately, Demi’s been acting suspiciously, so my thoughts keep drifting that way.’

Feeling a slight sense of self-reproach, Chloe tried to shake it off by making her voice lively.

“Are you out on an inspection, Sir?”

“Oh, I am.”

When Noel glanced at the two guards accompanying her, they took a step back. Confirming this, Noel lowered her voice significantly.

“Lately, there have been some strange vibes with the trading companies coming to the capital, so I’m out investigating. It’s not public yet, but there are no secrets in Gotiue from Lacroix. You’ll probably hear about it soon through Etienne.”

Noel Wensley quickly lifted the corners of her mouth, just like the first day they met. Trading companies. Chloe swiftly recalled the incident that had troubled all the officials in Gotiue around this time.

“Do any of those companies deal in pipe tobacco?”

“Huh? Why pipe tobacco…”

“Isn’t it? I thought you might have visited such a company because you smell like tobacco.”

“Oh, I’ve heard pipe tobacco has a strong smell. That’s not it. Lately, all the officials at the police department have been smoking more, so I guess it stuck to me too.”

Come to think of it, Etienne’s time leaving the palace had been gradually getting later since the festival week, when it seemed to be getting a bit less busy. ‘That incident’ must have been particularly taxing for the police department…

Recalling this, Chloe playfully remarked.

“Please tell my brother to cut down on smoking too. It’s hard to see him these days.”

Noel Wensley smiled. Her eyes curved gently, forming a graceful arc, resembling not the professional smile of a police officer but the genuine smile of Viscount Wensley’s daughter.

* * *

The first Water Day of May. It was the day of Madame Etoile’s salon, held once every two months.

Madame Etoile, who had been left alone when her husband, whom she had married for a century, passed away without reaching ten years, lived without remarrying, saying that married life didn’t seem to suit her.

Highly educated and deeply knowledgeable in the arts, she held a salon at her residence in a secluded part of Gotiue every two months. The gathering, where classics were read together or new artists were introduced, was both high-level and entertaining, making it very popular in the social world.

If it weren’t for the limited number of guests due to the size of her residence, perhaps every noble family’s carriage staying in Gotiue and its vicinity would have visited her mansion on salon days.

Chloe was one of the few people who could attend such a salon of Madame Etoile without an invitation.

“Madame!”

Chloe, having gotten off Lacroix’s small carriage with Di’s help, ran up to the middle-aged woman waiting in front of the mansion, Madame Etoile, and clasped her hands.

“How have you been? I should have visited even if it wasn’t for the salon.”

“It’s your today, isn’t it?”

“Hehe, there’s no one else here yet.”

Chloe took Madame Etoile’s arm and spoke in a childlike voice.

“I thought you’d come with the Prince of Scandar. I didn’t know you were acquainted.”

“He just asked for an invitation. We happened to meet, and he asked.”

“I wonder what wind blew him here? I could see him inwardly mocking the people of Gotiue, my goodness.”

“Madame.”

Chloe, holding her arm as if to say not to do that, spoke in an awkward voice.

She didn’t like hearing others speak ill of her husband, even if she was the one criticizing him. He wasn’t her husband yet.

Madame Etoile, interpreting it as Chloe’s charm, smiled brightly.

“Alright. Well, we’ll see later.”

“My mother couldn’t come today because she’s not feeling well, but she wishes you a successful conclusion to today’s salon.”

“Is it another migraine? Tell her I’ll visit next week, will you? I got something from a Western continent merchant.”

“Yes, our kitchen’s macarons are amazing these days, so look forward to it.”

“You’re of age, and you say things are amazing?”

Hehe, Chloe stuck out her tongue and laughed. As she felt with the Duchess of Crevelle and her nanny, Baroness Noisette, meeting adults who remembered her childhood was always a heartwarming experience.

Moreover, Madame Etoile was the one who shaped the way Chloe viewed and thought about the world.

Madame Etoile’s parents were retainers of the Duke of Lazure, and so the girl Agnes, who would later become the Countess Palatine of Lacroix, and the girl Margot, who would later become Madame Etoile, naturally grew up as close friends. When Agnes moved to Gotiue, Margot came along and studied at Ridote, but they separated when they each married. However, when Margot’s husband, who gave her the surname Fraise, passed away, the Countess Palatine invited her to the Count Palatine’s residence in Gotiue.

As the tutor for Etienne and Chloe.

For the Countess Palatine, who missed the hot sun of Lazure and the sea filled with ancient tales, her friend was essential, and that friend happened to be highly educated, providing a reason to reside in Lacroix.

And when Etienne and Chloe each entered the Imperial Academy and Ridote, respectively, she became independent from the Count Palatine’s residence and began her activities in the Gotiue social world under her current name.

‘Are you perhaps going to Madame Etoile’s salon?’

‘Of course, naturally. Would the Prince need an invitation?’

‘If it’s not too much trouble, I’d like to ask for one.’

It wasn’t a new thing for social figures to try to curry favor with Lacroix to obtain the hard-to-get invitation to Madame Etoile’s salon. Madame Etoile could establish herself in the Gotiue social world without a husband to make her a ‘Madame So-and-So’ all thanks to Lacroix. From the early days of the salon, the Lacroix mother and daughter attended regularly to support her. However…

‘I didn’t know the Prince was interested in the salon.’

‘It’s quite famous. And I’ve heard there are interesting works coming out at this salon.’

Really, could it be that he genuinely asked for an invitation out of interest in the salon?

Chloe, who would later live with him, harbored reasonable doubts.

The artist to be introduced at this salon was Marcus, a symbolist who reinterpreted sacred and historical paintings in a modern way. But Scandar was the only country on the continent that didn’t accept the Erd religion, and the Empire’s historical paintings were a history of subjugation to Scandar. 

Would the Prince of Scandar look forward to that?

‘Moreover, he has little interest in contemporary paintings.’

Regardless of such questions, Chloe accepted it without much hesitation then and now. The ‘pretty prince’ Bjorn was one of the famous figures in the social world whose presence could make or break a social gathering.

In his boyhood, shortly after being taken as a hostage, he attended every place he was invited to, but as an adult, he barely showed his face at imperial events and rarely attended social gatherings. It was thanks to the skills and power he acquired during his ten years in Gotiue that he could sift through invitations.

Since his mature beauty as an adult had become hard to see, his value had endlessly risen, and as a result, in the Gotiue social world, the Prince of Scandar was always the top priority to invite to ensure a successful party. In reality, it rarely happened.

‘Will the Prince not come today either?’

‘The Prince? Not the Imperial Prince?’

When fifteen-year-old Chloe, who had just entered Ridote, attended a party, the seniors at Ridote would sigh and look for the ‘Prince.’

‘Haven’t you met him yet? The Prince of Scandar. He’s truly beautiful.’

‘Surely he stood out at the imperial banquets, but you don’t know yet?’

‘He used to attend parties often, but I haven’t seen him lately.’

‘I thought he might come to Marquis Luxor’s salon since there’s quite a lot to see.’

‘The Lady Luxor must be disappointed.’

‘I hear he occasionally visits the social club, but we can’t go there.’

‘Come to think of it, I heard he’s coming to Marquis Grace’s salon next month.’

‘Oh my! Then I must attend that one.’

Chloe, who wasn’t concerned about the rising beauty of any man other than Demetrian, first exchanged introductions with him at the end of that year at a charity auction held in the name of Lacroix,

‘Ah, the white one who was always present at the birthday celebrations.’

She realized that the pale young man who mingled with the high-ranking aristocratic children at the imperial banquets she attended with her parents was the very person her new lady friends referred to as the ‘Prince.’

Until then, the young men around her had all been strong-featured individuals like Demetrian and the two Imperial Princes, so his first impression was exotic in itself.

‘So you’re the Count Palatine’s young lady I’ve heard about. Nice to meet you.’

So she remembered staring blankly at him as he smiled prettily and lowered his eyes.

Thanks to his gentle smile and soft speech every time they met, Bjorn had become ‘the kind prince who smiles when we meet’ to Chloe by this time.

‘Then, I look forward to seeing you at the salon.’

‘Yes, see you then.’

Unlike before, Chloe attended the salon today with a determined heart. She intended to steer the conversation with Bjorn, who would visit this salon, as she remembered, to restore their relationship to what it was before. For the sake of her peaceful future life in Shevik.

Due to the rumor that the ‘pretty prince’ would attend, all the young ladies from families lucky enough to receive an invitation gathered, dressed as if attending an imperial banquet. Even those who usually found the level of Madame Etoile’s salon intimidating joined in.

If in the past she merely thought, ‘Oh, these young ladies are at it again,’ now Chloe…

‘No matter what, I should have dressed up a bit more.’

As for Chloe, she wore the impeccably neat dress she had worn ‘at that time,’ identical to her memory.

It was an outfit suited to her role as Madame Etoile’s self-appointed assistant, but seeing her future husband surrounded by young ladies dressed to the nines made her feel uncomfortable for no reason.