Chapter  4 – His and Her Affection (Which Was) (7)

‘Among those wrapped in any splendid dress, only the Madame shines.’

‘Yes, yes, it’s fine.’

Thinking that Bjorn’s smile somehow seemed stiff, Chloe decided to find comfort in it. What matters is not what meets the eye; eventually, at the end of this time, her husband will give his heart to her.

“Thank you all for visiting the salon today.”

When most of the guests had arrived, Madame Etoile’s voice echoed through the reception room, which had been remodeled into a single hall for the salon on the first floor of the mansion. The voices of people enjoying light finger foods and sparkling wine, and the sounds of instruments played by Ridote’s music students performing a quartet, ceased, and all attention focused on her.

With her elegantly styled dark brown hair topped with a small navy blue hat and wearing a two-piece dress of the same color, she looked more like an academy teacher than a noblewoman.

Chloe liked this side of Madame Etoile. As Madame Fraise, she was a wonderful adult, but Chloe always admired her for doing what she wanted and dressing as she pleased under the name of Madame Etoile.

‘After living in that remote mountain area for a few years, wouldn’t you want to run away, even if you had to assassinate your husband?’

Not that she actually killed Viscount Fraise.

The words Madame Etoile jokingly said to Chloe on the last day of their nearly ten-year relationship as teacher and student had never once left Chloe’s mind.

There were more times she denied than affirmed those words, but whenever she felt that she hadn’t had a proper conversation all day, when the competent maids’ boundaries felt disappointing, or when she saw the young ladies of Scandar clinging to her husband at palace banquets as if they didn’t see her, those words would inevitably come to mind.

In such times, her husband would astutely visit her quarters, spend a long night together, and present her with fist-sized jewels and silk mixed with gold threads.

‘I can procure a deadly poison from the Western continent, so draw a carrot on your letter, she said. What kind of strict security does my letter need…’

Recalling her witty words from before, Chloe was stifling a laugh as she turned her gaze to the audience.

While everyone was looking at Madame Etoile as if entranced by her words, Bjorn, who had wiped away his characteristic gentle smile, was looking at her, though she didn’t know since when. Lost in thought, his expression seemed rather serious.

When Chloe awkwardly smiled at the meeting of their eyes, Bjorn drew a graceful curve with his lips.

Seeing that, Chloe thought. Perhaps there would be no need to draw a carrot, perhaps.

“Have you been well?”

Bjorn approached Chloe, who was sipping sparkling wine by the window. As if waiting for her side to be vacant.

Since she was sitting there, recalling the time he approached her first, it was something Chloe had been waiting for.

“Yes, have you been well, Prince?”

Offering him a brief greeting, Chloe steadied her heart.

‘This man is not my husband. He looks similar, and his voice is similar, but…’

With his long hair neatly tied and dressed in the Empire’s gentleman’s attire, he looked unmistakably like any other nobleman of the Empire. Although his bright blond hair, rare in the Empire, and the Scandar-patterned twilly scarf tied instead of a tie indicated he wasn’t entirely from the Empire.

“Thanks to your help, I gained valuable time.”

“Not at all. Madame Etoile was pleased to see your interest, Prince.”

Madame Etoile was just as displeased with Bjorn’s interest then and now, but his popularity was such that she couldn’t ignore his request to attend.

“As I heard, she is knowledgeable and a witty conversationalist.”

“Of course. Did you like Marcus’s paintings?”

She knew he wouldn’t be pleased with this question, but she couldn’t help but ask. She had asked the same back then.

“Yes, well… It’s interesting to see that the current trend in the art world is symbolism. Those iconographic patterns.”

A lie. Chloe knew he would later insist, ‘Aren’t paintings supposed to be beautiful to look at?’

The beautiful landscapes and depictions of everyday warmth that filled the gallery of Shevik Palace. His choices in art, lacking any particular perspective, were usually like that. So the art dealers frequenting the court didn’t deal in the iconographic paintings trending in the Empire.

‘Yet he came, after all… to see me?’

Chloe brought the wine glass to her lips to hide the blush creeping up her face. Oh, the glass is already empty.

“It was quite a surprise meeting you at Allegio that day.”

‘Ah, again!’

The conversation diverged from her memory once more.

“Yes, me too.”

Chloe offered a bright smile.

It had been the same when they met at the Imperial Academy library last time, but no matter how hard she tried to build her relationship with him as she remembered, unexpected things kept happening because her actions had changed.

‘Perhaps seeing each other more often and getting closer isn’t a bad thing…’

Chloe raised her voice cheerfully.

“Thanks to you, Prince, I also got to know the famous Marquis Allegio.”

“His mysticism is quite intense. But I didn’t expect there to be no exchange with Lacroix. Isn’t Lacroix practically Gotiue?”

“We’re all in the same boat.”

A phrase Lacroix would recite like a mantra whenever any noble praised them.

It was strange to hear him speak favorably of her family. In Chloe’s memories with him, he was always the pinnacle of Scandar. Maybe he often had such conversations while in Gotiue…

“Still, isn’t it a family that shoulders a bit more responsibility?”

“Marquis Allegio seems to have interests in somewhat different… areas, doesn’t he?”

“He tends to focus only on matters related to his business profits.”

When Bjorn, rubbing his chin as if intrigued by Chloe’s evasive words, called a passing servant and picked up two glasses of wine from his tray. Holding Chloe’s hand, he naturally took her empty glass and handed her a new one.

‘I was always surprised by his sudden approach, yes. Even when he kissed my hand… He was always so relaxed with everyone, so I thought it meant nothing then.’

Chloe’s face flushed without anyone knowing.

If Demetrian’s composure stemmed from having no reason to take a particular interest in anything, Bjorn’s composure came from knowing he was someone who could attract anyone’s favor.

Chloe couldn’t precisely grasp the difference, but she vaguely sensed it from his action of swapping her glass without asking. An action that might be considered rude to some.

He must have given her a new glass because he wanted to continue the conversation. Remembering that their conversation had ended with some formal greetings, Chloe racked her brain to come up with new topics.

‘Talking about Scandar might be the easiest…’

Even if he was flustered by the mention of Almo Garden, no one would dislike someone interested in their country. Chloe quickly retrieved her recent interest.

“Do you know of any places that specifically deal in Scandar furs? I heard the fur colors of Scandar’s wild animals are different.”

Chloe made up her words as if mentioning something she read in a book, just like when she covered up mentioning Almo Garden. And hearing that story, Bjorn…

“…You always amaze me, Lady.”

After staring at Chloe’s face in surprise for a while, he finally smiled, his eyes crinkling. It was the smile she always saw, but somehow it was brighter.

‘Oops.’

Though the reaction wasn’t bad, Chloe realized she inadvertently showed she knew too much about Scandar and gently bit her tongue.

Scandar, nestled in the northeastern corner of the continent with the Gomber Mountains and the unfrozen sea, wasn’t widely known. Even though it was a vassal state of the Imperial Federation. Although Scandar and Campo shared a border, Campo was the largest territory in the Empire and had a poor relationship since the kingdom days, so there was no exchange, and it was unthinkable for Gotiue, further away, to know anything about Scandar.

Given Scandar’s environment, it seemed strange for a mere noble lady, not even studying at the Imperial Academy, to know so much about it…

‘Since he doesn’t seem displeased, maybe it’s okay? He even seems pleased…’

Since her intention was to capture his interest, she couldn’t help but worry if it seemed strange. Besides, everything she knew about Scandar was something she wouldn’t have known if not for the future that was to come.

“My mother is very interested in other cultures. Being from Lazure… she was curious about Scandar furs too.”

Except for the part about it happening a few years later. Mixing truth with a bit of falsehood, Chloe hoped that not even the slightest seed of doubt would grow in Bjorn’s mind.

Observing his face, his lips curved in a different way than usual. As far as Chloe could guess, it was a smile mixed with sincerity.

“You mean the specialties of my homeland.”

“Yes, she heard somewhere that the fur colors of martens and foxes are different… If she had come today, she would have asked directly, but she couldn’t make it because she’s unwell. She asked me to inquire on her behalf.”

Making up a story full of lies except for her mother being unwell, Chloe felt her mouth dry and moistened her lips with the wine glass Bjorn handed her.

‘It should be fine… right?’

Checking once more for any hint of displeasure, Chloe realized she had never seen him show displeasure in front of her.

‘Even during the Gotiue days and in Shevik, he was always so kind.’

Contrary to Chloe’s worries, Bjorn, still wearing an intrigued smile, responded with a hint of laughter.

“Well, I understand there’s no official trading company due to the difference in trends with the Empire.”

“Is that so…”

Should I heed Lucien’s advice after all? 

She felt uneasy about constantly receiving Lucien’s help in her ambitious endeavor. It felt like she was doing something wrong, even though she wasn’t. It felt like a stubborn determination was brewing.

‘I wanted to build a friendship with His Highness and gather new information.’

Sigh, she hadn’t expected much, but she felt a bit disappointed with the lack of results.

Hiding her feelings, she looked at Bjorn, whose face still showed interest. As if he was looking forward to what Chloe would say next.

Chloe knew that face well. Even later, Bjorn wasn’t one to go on and on about his stories. It was always Chloe who initiated the conversation.

‘Still, it’s fortunate that this story seems interesting to His Highness.’

As his gaze kindly lingered on her face, she pondered what topic to bring up next.

“What interesting conversation are you two having?”