At times like this, she couldn’t deny that he had been her lover.

To him, their relationship was still ongoing.

“By the way, the new lead in Hebaron is getting rave reviews. A newly cast actor, very popular. I’ll have Chris reserve special seats for the next Hebaron performance. They’ve put a lot of effort into the lighting this time, so it should be more interesting.”

Karl spoke casually about future plans, but Lumiere didn’t know how to respond.

The opera Hebaron was about overcoming the harsh trials of winter and reclaiming spring.

So it was usually scheduled for winter performances.

Would she be with him this winter?

Or…

‘No. Why am I thinking like this? Let’s think about it after regaining my memory.’

Lumiere quickly shook her head and stood up.

“…Let’s go. I’m full.”

Karl, who had been watching her intently, also stood up without protest.

As Karl and Lumiere stood up from their seats on the second-floor terrace, Chris and Gustav, who had been waiting at a nearby table, also stood up.

‘It looks like those two had a good time too.’

Chris, meticulously wiping his mouth, had a rare gentle expression.

Gustav, who kept glancing at the leftover desserts on the table, seemed equally reluctant to leave.

It was cute to see the faint blush on the faces of those two men, who were like a shield and spear, from just one dessert.

As Lumiere smiled and started to descend the stairs, she noticed a few loose threads on the hem of her skirt.

Embarrassed, she asked Karl for a moment.

“Would you like to go down first? I want to stop by the powder room for a bit.”

“The stairs are dangerous, so I’ll wait here.”

“No, no. Please wait on the first floor. Please.”

She didn’t want him waiting for her at the powder room, as it didn’t feel right in many ways.

Besides, she wasn’t a child who couldn’t navigate the stairs on her own, so she didn’t want to keep him waiting in a public place just for an escort.

At Lumiere’s firm request, Karl reluctantly went down to the first floor.

After confirming he had gone down, Lumiere headed to the powder room.

Whoever owned the dessert shop was very meticulous and detailed in arranging it.

The powder room was spacious and comfortable, with several large mirrors.

Lumiere tidied the hem of her skirt and thoroughly washed her hands before coming out.

As she descended the stairs, she suddenly realized there were many male customers in the shop.

‘More men like sweets than I thought?’

She had assumed desserts were mainly favored by women, but it seemed she had been prejudiced.

Was it the price of her distraction?

She couldn’t avoid the man who pushed past her and hurriedly ran out of the shop.

“Ah!”

She let out a short scream, but the man who ran out didn’t apologize and instead ran to his companions, laughing and chatting loudly.

The problem was that Lumiere, who was staggering, collided with an attendant serving food.

“Oh! I-I’m sorry!”

The cream on the plate slipped and fell onto Lumiere’s dress.

The startled attendant quickly tried to clean her dress.

Since it was wiped immediately, the stain wasn’t too noticeable.

But it wasn’t completely clean either.

“What happened?”

Karl, who had been waiting outside the shop, hurried over to her.

“Oh, it’s nothing. I’m fine, so please go back.”

Lumiere quickly sent the attendant, who was on the verge of tears, away.

She didn’t want to make a fuss over such a small incident.

“I almost tripped. It’s not their fault.”

Lumiere, holding Karl’s arm, gently led him outside.

“I know it wasn’t the attendant’s fault, Lumiere.”

Karl, pretending to give in, let her lead him outside.

His carriage was already waiting on the main road, but Karl didn’t seem eager to get in.

His gaze followed the man and his companions who had pushed past Lumiere.

His eyes were cold as he watched them.

He muttered something under his breath and reached inside his frock coat.

“P-President.”

Chris, watching this, rushed over in alarm and blocked his way.

“There are too many eyes here. I’ll handle it.”

Karl raised an eyebrow and looked at Chris incredulously.

“What are you thinking, Chris? Do you think I’m some kind of madman?”

Fortunately, what Karl pulled out from his coat was a neatly folded white handkerchief.

Karl, holding the handkerchief, knelt on one knee in front of Lumiere.

He meticulously wiped the remaining cream from her dress.

A flustered Lumiere quickly grabbed his shoulder.

“You, you don’t have to do this.”

After seeing that most of the dirt was gone, Karl folded the crumpled handkerchief and put it back into his coat.

Then he took Lumiere’s hand, which was holding onto his shoulder, and gently kissed the back of it.

The whole process was so natural and solemn that Lumiere was at a loss for words.

“……”

The same was true for those around them who were watching.

Chris and Gustav, forgetting that they shouldn’t be staring at their master, looked on in a daze.

She could feel the gazes of nearby passersby.

The faint excitement in the whispers of the women.

And the sound of a few elderly gentlemen clearing their throats as if they found the scene uncomfortable.

“You wouldn’t want to walk around in a pretty dress that’s stained, would you?”

But Karl stood up, smiling as if it was no big deal.

He brushed the dust off his knees and looked down at the watch on his wrist.

“Chris, is the last show today?”

“Yes? Oh, yes. It starts at 6:30 and ends at 8:30.”

“About an hour left.”

At his words, Lumiere looked at the opera house towering just one block away.

It was only a block away, so they could get there in about ten minutes on foot.

But an hour before the performance was the busiest time for the actors.

Lumiere, feeling anxious, linked arms with Karl and urged him.

“If you’re going, let’s go quickly. Actors are sensitive when they’re getting ready.”

Karl chuckled and asked back,

“Who do you think you’re going with?”

“Who do you think… Oh.”

…The owner of the theater.

Lumiere sighed in exasperation but stubbornly pulled his arm and said,

“So what? I’m not the owner of the theater, and I don’t want to be disliked or be a nuisance.”

She answered sulkily and walked briskly, dragging him along.

“Let’s hurry up, come on.”

Karl, who had tried to show off a bit, shrugged his shoulders and matched her pace.

Seeing that they had decided to walk, Chris sent the waiting carriage away and followed them.

* * *

“…What? She disappeared?”

“Yes, she suddenly quit and vanished three months ago, causing quite a stir. Thanks to that, the last was a complete disaster.”

Lumiere, who had been looking for Elina, was shocked to find that she couldn’t even find a trace of her in the theater.

Moreover, when she tried to ask the actors, no one would answer her.

‘Sorry, I have to go to rehearsal right now.’

‘It’s my turn for makeup.’

‘…Oh dear, I need to go to the powder room. Look at me.’

They all avoided her with such excuses.

At least the actresses gave some response; the male actors, if they made eye contact with her, would quickly leave as if they had seen something they shouldn’t.

Finally, she managed to get an answer from a stranger actress.

‘Elina Buick? She disappeared a few months ago. How could you not know that?’

…she said.

Lumiere’s eyes widened in shock.

Elina Buick, disappearing and abandoning her performance?

That couldn’t be.

At least, not the Elina Buick she knew.