Chapter 56
“Louis? What is he doing here…?”
Amidst the bustling crowd, Louis’s head stood out. He frowned as he looked at the fountain, then turned his head upon hearing a familiar voice calling him.
“Vivian?”
Vivian squeezed through the crowd and moved toward Louis.
“How did you end up here… Did you come with Her Majesty the Empress?”
Vivian asked in a low voice, looking around cautiously.
“Ah… so that’s what happened.”
Louis pressed his temples with one hand. Since they were close, his sigh fell over the top of Vivian’s head.
“Let’s get out of this ridiculous place first.”
Louis quickly turned around as if eager to leave.
“Wait a minute.”
Vivian tugged on Louis’s arm. He looked down at the blue-gloved hand holding him.
“Just a moment.”
When Louis stopped, Vivian hurriedly rummaged through her small bag. After a while, she pulled out a coin and smiled brightly.
“I thought I didn’t have any, but luckily I found one.”
Vivian clasped the coin with both hands and closed her eyes tightly. Then she threw the coin towards the fountain with all her might.
However, the coin didn’t fly far and landed right in front of her.
“You really don’t seem to have much athletic ability.”
Vivian squinted her eyes at Louis’s comment as she stared at the coin that had fallen right in front of her.
“What does tossing a coin have to do with athletic ability?”
“Let’s just move.”
Louis took Vivian’s hand and led her away. With his large build, people began to make way as he walked.
They easily escaped, unlike the struggle it took to reach the fountain. Louis entered a small teahouse with a sign inside a narrow alley, slightly away from the fountain.
It was a quiet teahouse, likely because it was in an alley. The elderly owner took their order, and only the distant sound of people outside drifted in.
“Where is Her Majesty the Empress?”
Could she be coming here?
Vivian asked, stretching her neck towards the entrance.
“She won’t be coming.”
“What? But Her Majesty sent me a letter saying she had something to show me…”
Vivian handed the letter she received from Elton to Louis. Looking at the letter, Louis sighed deeply once more. Then he rested his chin on his hand, propped up by the armrest of his chair.
“You were deceived.”
Louis handed Vivian an identical letter from his pocket.
[In front of the Gods’ Anguish, at 3 PM.]
“My mother came and gave me this letter, saying it was important and that I should go.”
Vivian placed her letter and the one Louis gave her side by side, comparing them. The handwriting was identical. It was clearly written by the same person.
“She said not to ask what it was about, that I’d find out if I went. I didn’t expect to see you here, Vivian.”
Louis chuckled, seemingly baffled.
“Why would Her Majesty the Empress do something like this?”
At Vivian’s question, Louis raised an eyebrow and then lowered it.
“Well, why indeed.”
As soon as Louis finished speaking, the café owner approached with tea. They paused their conversation as the owner placed the tea in front of them.
Two teacups adorned with flowers each held a different type of tea.
Louis lifted his teacup, seemingly satisfied with the taste, and smiled.
“Did Her Majesty say anything? Anything she wanted to convey to me…?”
“Not at all.”
Vivian began to rack her brain, trying to understand why Her Majesty the Empress would do such a thing.
“By the way, what wish did you make earlier?”
“Wish?”
“You tossed a coin into the fountain.”
“Oh, that… I wished for the health and happiness of the people around me.”
“Am I included among those people around you?”
“Well, of course…”
“Thank you.”
Louis chuckled and lifted his teacup again.
The fact that they were sitting across from each other at a small table in a little café they had entered by chance, not a famous teahouse in the capital, suddenly dawned on Vivian.
Is this a date?
Vivian curled her toes tightly.
“Have you been here before?”
“No. Ahem! Ahem! No.”
Vivian was startled by her cracked voice and the strange sound that emerged at such a moment.
She quickly picked up her teacup to moisten her throat.
“Then I should ask you out on a date.”
At Louis’s words, Vivian almost spat out her tea.
“A d-date?”
“Today seems like a day for that.”
Louis smiled charmingly at Vivian. That smile made Vivian curl her tingling toes once more.
* * *
A date.
How does one do that?
No matter how hard Vivian thought, she couldn’t figure it out. Despite trying to recall the romance novels she had read, she couldn’t concentrate because of Louis, who was walking beside her, shielding her from the crowd.
“Is there anywhere you want to go?”
Vivian shook her head at Louis’s question. She shook it so vigorously that a few strands of hair Tia had carefully tied in the morning came loose.
“Hmm. Where would be good?”
After a moment of thought, Louis began walking with Vivian to somewhere.
“Where are we going?”
Vivian asked as she followed Louis, who pulled her aside to avoid some children running from the opposite direction without looking.
“If we walk for about 10 minutes this way, we’ll come to a quiet street. It’s a place nobles often use for shopping. There are many shops selling luxury goods and magic stone products.”
Once the children were far enough away, Louis continued walking.
“Considering what you’re wearing today, other places might be unsuitable.”
Vivian looked down at her clothes at Louis’s words. They weren’t flashy, but they looked expensive. They were clothes that screamed, “I’m from a wealthy family,” to anyone who saw them. Agreeing with Louis, Vivian followed him.
As Louis said, after walking for about 10 minutes, they arrived at a street with a much different atmosphere. The buildings were sophisticated, and the wide, well-maintained roads had many luxury carriages parked here and there.
“I want to go there.”
Vivian pointed to a shop selling furniture and decorations.
“It seems like it might help with preparing for the winter ball.”
Nodding at Vivian’s words, Louis led the way. As they entered the shop, it turned out to be quite spacious inside.
“Welcome.”
A young staff member approached Vivian and Louis with a smile.
“What are you looking for?”
When the staff asked, Louis looked at Vivian.
“I wanted to see decorations for a party.”
“I see. Please follow me.”
The staff gestured towards the inside of the shop and led the way. As they followed, Vivian was busy looking around the shop. Then she stumbled over a sofa leg and wobbled.
“Be careful.”
Thanks to Louis quickly grabbing her arm, a catastrophe was avoided.
“Oh my, what a considerate husband you have.”
Vivian blinked at the staff’s comment.
“It’s rare to see husbands accompanying their wives to look at party supplies these days.”
“Is that so?”
Vivian opened her mouth to correct the misunderstanding, but Louis’s response left her speechless.
“This way, please. From here to the shelves at the end are all items used for parties. We have many imported goods too. If you’re looking for larger items, you can go to the second floor.”
“Could we browse alone for a bit?”
“Of course. Call me anytime if you need anything.”
The staff smiled kindly one last time before leaving. Once the staff was far enough away, Vivian pulled at Louis’s sleeve, who was looking at the decorations with a nonchalant expression.
“Why did you lie?”
“Lie?”
“We’re not a married couple.”
“Oh, I thought you meant something else. Aren’t we going to be a couple anyway? We’ll be married by late spring next year, so why correct it?”
Vivian wanted to refute Louis’s words, but nothing came to mind.
Three days ago, on the day she entered the palace for winter ball preparations, the Empress had offered Vivian a short tea time after everything was done.
After asking how Vivian had been and if Ian was doing well, the Empress brought up marriage and asked for Vivian’s opinion on having the ceremony in late spring.
Although she avoided giving a clear answer to the sudden talk of marriage, the word “marriage” lingered in Vivian’s mind the entire way back.
“Is that something you want?”
Louis’s voice broke into Vivian’s thoughts. He was pointing at the item in Vivian’s hand.
Vivian looked down at the item she was unknowingly holding.
It was a snow globe. Inside the round glass, a man and a woman stood facing each other among a few trees.
“No, it’s not.”
Vivian quickly placed the snow globe back where it was. Because Vivian had shaken it, the small world inside began to snow glittering flakes.
Before the snow had even settled, Vivian turned away and walked to another part of the store.
After that, Vivian immersed herself in finding items and references that might help with the winter ball. Louis stood quietly by her side, simply observing.
Even after leaving the decoration shop, Vivian stopped by a bookstore to pick up some new books and visited a shop selling magic stone-related products to carefully examine items made from magic stones from the Dinever estate.
“Is this what a date is usually like?”
As they walked along a street now tinged with sunset, Louis asked.
“Why does it feel more like market research than a date?”
Louis’s comment made Vivian’s face flush. Combined with the sunset colors, her face appeared even redder.
“You told me to do what I wanted.”
“But we’ve been together for three hours, and all we’ve done is look at things related to the winter ball or the Dinever estate.”
Louis pulled out a small watch from his pocket to check the time.
“If there’s nothing else we must see, how about going for dinner?”
Has it gotten that late already?
Vivian only then noticed the sun beginning to set. Looking up at the sky, dyed with shades of red and purple, Vivian nodded.
They headed to a large restaurant not far away. It was a fancy place, and being dinner time, it was starting to fill with nobles dressed elegantly.
“Rayden Tolz.”
When Louis mentioned Rayden’s name, the staff bowed and led Vivian and Louis.
The entire three-story building was operated as a restaurant, and Vivian and Louis were headed to a fairly large room at the very top.
“Wow.”
After placing their order, Vivian turned her head towards the window and exclaimed. The large window in the room showcased the remnants of the sunset blending with the darkness brought on by the night.
“I heard this place is famous for its view. Rayden made quite a fuss about how difficult it was to reserve.”
“Rayden?”
“I guess he thought we seemed frustrated while escorting us. While you were away for a moment, he came over and nudged me.”
Vivian couldn’t hide her expression as she imagined Rayden’s face giving Louis advice. Smiling, Vivian opened her mouth while watching the darkness settle and the lights in the buildings come on one by one.
“I don’t know how to go on a date, but I enjoyed today.”
Vivian shifted her gaze from the window to look at Louis.
“Should I thank Her Majesty the Empress for this? Or you, Louis?”
At Vivian’s question, Louis tapped the table with his index finger.
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