My dearest sister, today is such a nerve-racking day…

A light-blue car sped down the winding coastal road.
On the left stretched a wide expanse of emerald sea, the horizon sharply defined.
On the right, tall palm trees leaned outward, their broad leaves rustling lightly in the clean breeze.

Mia Green rolled her window all the way down, savoring the crisp taste of the ocean air. Her soft hazelnut-colored hair billowed and spread like a curtain. The heart that had shriveled with nerves slowly unfurled, absorbing the beauty of the unfamiliar scenery.

“It’s beautiful. And so quiet.”

“The late Count, who suffered much during the war, wished for a place free from the city’s noise,” said the driver, his graying hair catching the sunlight as he steered with practiced ease. “Though it’s quite a way past the central station, you’ll find nowhere as peaceful as Braid Hills in the area.”

“I think I see what you mean. I’ve only ever lived in Hayley, so this kind of stillness feels a little unfamiliar.”

“You’ll grow fond of it—no doubt about that.”

“Well, I’ll need to pass the interview first.”

“I’d say you’ll make it.”

“Thank you.”

Mia offered a neat smile at the rearview mirror. Her youthful cheeks hollowed as dimples surfaced.

She claimed to be twenty, yet no one would have doubted her if she said eighteen. She had likely chosen a dark dress to give herself a composed and mature air, but in truth, she only looked endearingly like a mischievous girl trying to play at being an adult.

Above all, the new guest of Braid Hills was a striking beauty—like a single cat’s eye gem gleaming among a scattering of dull, ordinary beads.

The driver cleared his throat.
“We’ll be passing through the main gate shortly.”

The shimmering car picked up speed, leaving the quiet country road swiftly behind.

***

“So then, Miss Green. You graduated from Lancaster Girls’ School with top marks, did you?”

“I feel shy saying it myself, but yes, Countess. I never once lost first place in my class.”

Sina Midstern sat on a sofa embroidered with climbing roses as she skimmed through Mia’s diploma and letters of recommendation.

The room was comfortable yet restrained. Above the fireplace hung a portrait of the late Count Midstern—the only framed piece on the otherwise bare walls. There were no decorations beyond what furniture was necessary, not even a commonplace vase.

It seemed to reveal something of the Countess’s fastidious nature.

It seemed to reveal a glimpse of the Countess’s meticulous nature.

“I had you recommended, and also sent someone to the baron’s estate where you last worked to inquire about your reputation. I hope you don’t mind.”

“Not at all. It’s only natural. After all, you don’t know what kind of person I am yet, Countess.”

The Countess gave a small nod, drawing her chin inward in affirmation.

Last winter, Mia had spent three months working at the Rockfelt barony. She had originally intended to stay a full year, but the baron’s family relocated to the capital, which brought her employment there to an end.

“The baroness praised you endlessly. As you know, when it comes to live-in governesses, nothing troubles a mistress more than strained relations with the household staff. Yet it seems you got along smoothly with the other servants as well.”

“Ah, yes.”

“Most of all, she said you managed to open the heart of her daughter, who had just entered her rebellious years.”

That caught Mia by surprise. She had certainly raised the young lady’s grades considerably—something she had even specified in her application. But it seemed what impressed Countess Sina lay elsewhere.

Mia answered with humility.
“She treated me like an older sister. I could only be grateful for that.”

“Like an older sister…”

The Countess pressed her lips thoughtfully under her sharp gaze, and Mia quickly added—

“Of course, I never forgot the boundaries of my role as a teacher.”

“Good.”

Sina tapped her knee lightly with her index finger, lost in thought. Mia fell silent as well.

Through the open window drifted the small sounds of daily life in Braid Hills—the scent of grass, the chirping of birds, the freshness of the breeze. The sea wind she had faced on the coastal road seemed still to linger on her cheeks, and she absentmindedly brushed a hand against them.

The silence, swollen like a balloon, suddenly deflated when Countess Sina finally spoke.
“I’ll be entrusting Rio to you from now on, Miss Green.”

***

Mia inspected the room where she would be staying and signed the contract.

Originally, she had expected to be introduced to her student, but Countess Sina whispered something quietly to her secretary and changed her mind.

“Then, Miss Green, let’s meet next Monday. I’ll send a driver to Rockfelt Central Station, as I did today.”

The Countess added that Mia was welcome to look around the garden if she wished. It didn’t sound like mere formality, so Mia didn’t decline.

She strolled through the garden alone. Rosebuds, each the size of a fist, clustered along their green stems. The lawn looked so soft that an impulse suddenly struck her—to slip off her shoes.

‘Just for a moment, it should be fine.’

She slipped off her heels and carried them in one hand, meandering along. Moist earth pressed through the thin fabric of her stockings.

‘So soft.’

It was just as she turned the corner and circled back toward the front lawn.

Hiiiing!

A massive black stallion, like some beast out of myth, charged forward, kicking up a cloud of pale dust. In the blink of an eye, the animal closed the distance.

“Ah.”

Mia stared blankly as the stallion stopped right in front of her, snorting. From her eye level, what filled her view first was the rider’s powerful thigh, clad in tight-fitting white breeches.

When she lifted her gaze, embarrassed, her eyes were caught instead by the striking line of his body—the slender waist that broadened sharply into chest and shoulders.

And then his eyes.

Beneath a fall of deep blond hair, a pair of blue eyes—like ink-diluted violet—speared straight through her, sharp as a harpoon.

“Ah, um…”

For the first time, Mia understood why people stammered in front of someone too handsome. The local youths who had clumsily courted her until now weren’t men at all, but little better than talking potatoes or sweet potatoes in comparison.

“Hello, I’m—”

“You’re new here?”

“Ah, yes. I’ll be working here starting next week, I—ah!”

The man, without warning, stripped off his black leather gloves with his teeth and tossed them at her.

“My room.”

“…Pardon?”

“You heard me.”

He swung down from the horse in a single, effortless leap and strode past Mia, heading straight toward the front entrance.

While she still hesitated, the coachman and the butler came rushing out.

“Oh, young master!”

Young master.

Mia caught the word clearly. The Midstern family had three sons. The student entrusted to her was the youngest, Rio, only thirteen this year.

‘So there’s quite an age gap between him and his brothers.’

The coachman led the horse away, soothing it, while the elderly butler hurried along, struggling to match the young master’s long strides.

“You might have sent word, sir. If we had known you’d arrive this early…”

“And what would you have done? Laid down a carpet of flowers? Forget it. I don’t care for fuss.”

“Still…”

Their voices trailed farther and farther away until Mia snapped back to her senses.

‘He must have mistaken me for a new maid.’
She wasn’t a maid at all—and her contract didn’t even begin until next week. That meant she had no obligation to deliver gloves to anyone’s room.

“Excuse me!”
She called out, and the man turned his head slowly. His predatory, raptor-like gaze carried such menace that it made her shrink back for no reason at all.

Mia clenched her teeth and held out the gloves.
“I’m sorry, but I think you’ve misunderstood. I…”
Her words trailed off.

His piercing stare lingered on her face for a long time, until he finally grimaced as though he’d seen something distasteful.
“You’re fired.”

“What?”
“Pardon?!”
Mia and the old butler flinched at once.

But the man, unfazed, continued in the same flat tone.
“Dismiss her. I’ll explain it to Mother myself—I’ll be seeing her anyway.”

“B-but, young master! This lady is the youngest master’s…”

“And why is that a reason?”

“Because I’m in a good mood.”

“……”
The man was struck speechless by such a simplistic answer.

Mia seized the moment.
“No matter if you’re the viscount’s son, you can’t just fire people on a whim.”

“Hah.”
He roughly shoved his disheveled bangs back, fixing his glare on the woman who refused to look away. His brass-colored eyes glittered like shards of gold. The hand clutching the gloves trembled ever so slightly.

“You’ve got her face. Did you take after your mother?”

“…?”

“Answer.”

“…I don’t think so. But what kind of ridiculous—”

“Then go whine to your father. Ask him why he made you like this.”

“M-m-master!”
An insult to the parents, just like that. The butler, utterly horrified, cried out in alarm.

But Oscar snatched the gloves from her as if stealing them, his lips curling in contempt.
“Bring in a pretty face like yours, and what kind of scandal are you looking to provoke?”

“…Excuse me?”

“Alfred. I was clear. Dismiss her.”

Oscar turned on his heel, shutting down any further exchange. Like a bullet slipping through a ring, he disappeared through the open doorway and up the stairs.

“…What a jerk.”
Mia muttered without thinking. How could someone speak only his piece and ignore everything else?

“Well, it’s not like I’ll ever have to deal with him again.”

She couldn’t have known then—
that she would soon be caught up with that man every bit as much as with the very student she had come to teach.