12

‘Why am I only looking for Mars’s flaws? I shouldn’t do that!’  

Elsia scolded herself.  

Her heart, which wasn’t drawn to him, kept turning into a desire to criticize him.  

Elsia tried to regain her composure by sipping her tea.  

But the silence between them persisted, and Elsia’s mind wandered again.  

Outwardly, she maintained her smile and kept glancing at Mars.  

No matter how she thought about it, something felt off.  

Mars’s gaze toward her seemed different, and she felt as if she’d seen that look somewhere before. But surely that couldn’t be true.  

“Is there something special you want to say to me?”  

Mars asked Elsia, perhaps because she was staring at him too intently.  

“Is it just my imagination, or has the way you look at me changed?”  

After some hesitation, Elsia finally gathered the courage to ask Mars.  

Mars looked surprised by the unusual question, but soon smiled and answered.  

“Of course not.”  

That same smile. Suddenly, Elsia felt a chill from his smile, and goosebumps ran over her skin.  

“Marie!”  

As soon as Mars left, Elsia called for Marie.  

She wanted to quickly erase the strange sense of rejection she’d felt toward Mars. She wanted to cover it with another emotion, so she coaxed Marie to go out with her.  

“Miss Elsia, you’ve changed lately. You never used to go to crowded places, but now you’re going to dessert shops and even talking about going to Fortuna Square….”  

Marie looked at Elsia with suspicion.  

Elsia couldn’t meet Marie’s gaze directly. She kept telling herself it wasn’t for any secret reason.  

She just wanted some fresh air because she felt stifled—nothing more, she insisted.  

The carriage carrying Elsia and Marie stopped a little off the center of the square.  

Carriages were lined up there, a place for nobles to wait while visiting the square.  

“Miss Elsia, we’ve arrived. Please get out.”  

Marie got off first and extended her hand to Elsia.  

“It’s too hot—I can’t walk. Could you go buy some dessert and something to drink?”  

“You’re the one who wanted to come to the square, but now you won’t even go out?”  

“Yeah. Now that I think about walking, I just don’t feel up to it.”  

Marie stared at her in disbelief, surprised by Elsia’s uncharacteristic behavior.  

“Should we tour the square by carriage then?”  

“No… I’ll just wait here. Please bring me dessert and a sweet drink.”  

“What? If you’re going to do that, you could’ve just stayed at the mansion. I’d have bought it for you.”  

Marie kept looking at Elsia with bewildered eyes, then narrowed her gaze.  

She was suspicious of Elsia’s strange behavior.  

“Are you… dating? Is there someone you’re waiting for? Or is that just my wild guess?”  

There was only one place where nobles could wait with their carriages on this street.  

So if you stayed here all day, you’d see every noble who visited the square—an ideal spot for that.  

“W-who would I be waiting for?”  

Elsia denied it, but Marie kept watching her closely.  

Feeling uncomfortable under Marie’s scrutiny, Elsia forced a smile and started fanning herself.  

“It’s just the heat. I didn’t expect it to be this hot. If I’d known, I wouldn’t have come out either. Right?”  

Elsia tried to brush it off, watching Marie’s reaction.  

“You seem to be getting weaker lately. I’ll hurry and buy it for you. Just wait here for a moment. I’ll be back soon.”  

Marie still looked suspicious, but decided to pretend not to notice.  

“Alright, no need to rush. Take your time.”  

After chatting with the coachman, Marie said goodbye to Elsia and walked toward the crowded main street.  

Once Marie was out of sight, Elsia got out of the carriage.  

“If you wait standing, it’ll be tiring. Please sit inside the carriage.”  

The coachman tried to stop her, but Elsia declined. Marie would be back soon anyway.  

Elsia told the coachman to stay in his seat, then wandered around, glancing here and there.  

She was subconsciously hoping she might bump into him.  

In fact, Fortuna Square was near Adrian’s villa.  

She wasn’t waiting for him after he hadn’t contacted her since that day. But she couldn’t help feeling a bit of regret.  

Elsia had no intention of seeking Adrian out directly. She had resolved never to meet him again.  

‘But if we met by chance….’  

That wouldn’t be so bad. She wasn’t going to see him on purpose, so it wouldn’t break her resolve.  

It wouldn’t be her will, just a coincidence.  

They’d met by chance at the dessert shop before, and if they were destined, maybe she’d run into him again near his villa.  

As time passed, Elsia’s small hope turned to disappointment. The idea of meeting Adrian by chance was just a fantasy.  

She didn’t feel she absolutely had to see him, and even if she did, she planned to pretend not to know him. That was all.  

Elsia shook off her disappointment and decided to wait for Marie for real now. The line must have been long, since Marie was taking longer than expected.  

Her legs started to ache, so she considered waiting in the carriage, but then—

“Are you waiting for someone?”

A sweet voice tickled Elsia’s ear.  

She quickly looked toward the sound, and saw Adrian leaning against the neighboring carriage, arms crossed, watching her.  

She’d hoped she might run into him, but hadn’t expected it to actually happen, so Elsia was startled.  

The moment she saw his face, her heart began to race wildly.  

She tried not to show it, but seeing his sculpted face shining like a halo, she was glad.  

Elsia unconsciously tried to suppress the smile rising on her lips. She hoped he wouldn’t notice her feelings.  

“It’s been a while since that day.”  

Adrian slowly approached her and spoke.  

Elsia signaled to the coachman, hinting that he should step away since the conversation might be awkward. The coachman, looking troubled, stepped aside for a while.

“Did you forget our rule to pretend not to know each other in public?”

Once the coachman was out of sight, Elsia spoke calmly, wanting to stick to her original plan and pretend not to know him.  

But she couldn’t keep her face expressionless.  

His smiling eyes were unfair. She tried not to meet his gaze, but her eyes kept drifting to Adrian’s face, and her lips kept curling up.  

“We’ve already met outside, so what’s the point of the rule?”  

The word ‘outside’ made Elsia’s body react and tremble.  

Just seeing his face made the unpleasant feelings she’d had toward Mars melt away. It was strange.  

Her emotions had never fluctuated like this before, so Elsia felt unfamiliar with herself.  

But if she stayed with him, she felt she’d lose control.  

If her hand reached for him again, as it had before, it would be disastrous.  

She didn’t want Adrian to see her feelings for him, especially since he hadn’t tried to hold onto her after their night together.

“That’s true. It was nice to see you. Now, please go on your way.”

Elsia answered Adrian curtly on purpose.  

She’d achieved her goal of seeing his face, so she had no more business with him.  

If Marie saw this, she’d get an earful, so Elsia wanted Adrian to leave before Marie returned.

She thought he’d say goodbye and leave, but Adrian instead stepped closer to Elsia.  

Her heart pounded faster as he approached, but Elsia only watched him silently.  

As he drew near, he leaned down, and his breath touched Elsia’s ear.

“I missed you. I couldn’t forget how perfectly your body matched mine that night. Marie… don’t you feel the same?”

Adrian whispered softly, his gentle voice and breath tickling her ear.  

Remembering that night, Elsia’s body heated up instantly.  

But he hadn’t called her by her name.

‘Marie…’

Repeating the name Marie, Elsia felt a bitter taste. She realized that night should remain just a brief sweet dream.

“I don’t.”

She pushed Adrian away and firmly denied his words.

“Are you sure?”

Adrian, still smiling with his characteristic eyes, teased Elsia’s heart.  

Suppressing her rising emotions, Elsia nodded.

“If you ever think of me, come to the villa. I’ll leave the door open at night, waiting for you—whenever you might come.”

After saying goodbye, Adrian walked toward the bustling square. Elsia watched him until he disappeared from view.

When their conversation ended, the coachman, who’d been watching from afar, slowly approached Elsia.  

Elsia quickly handed him some coins she’d prepared in advance, then looked around.  

She saw Marie walking toward her in the distance, carrying dessert and drinks. Thankfully, she seemed not to have seen anything.

In the carriage on the way back to the mansion, Marie chattered away, but Elsia heard none of it.  

Her mind was full of thoughts of Adrian, whom she’d just met.  

He’d said nothing when she left his villa, but now, after meeting by chance, he tempted her with sweet words….

‘So unfair.’

She couldn’t understand why he’d shake her up again by meeting her like this.  

Adrian seemed unwilling to leave Elsia, who had resolved to forget their time together.

She only wanted to see his face. She had no intention of being swayed by him.

―I missed you.

But Adrian’s voice echoed in her ears, making her cover her smiling lips with her hand.  

Her body kept moving against her will.  

Was that really his true feeling? If so, why didn’t he try to hold onto her, or contact her at all?

‘I want to know how he feels.’

Elsia felt frustrated by Adrian’s mysterious attitude. She had always been the one to initiate things.  

She had approached first, proposed first.  

Yet he had tried to push her away several times, only to say he missed her….

Elsia’s heart was confused.