Chapter 79

In the dark dawn, Vivian, who had woken up early, familiarized herself with the layout of Earl Moore’s mansion and the positions of the escort knights that Rayden had given her a few days ago. She had looked at it so many times that she could recall it with her eyes closed, but she still couldn’t put the paper down. She must have read it five more times when the morning sun began to stream through the thick curtains. The morning of the decisive day had arrived.

It was Rayden who came to find Vivian, who had finished all her preparations.

“Good morning, Young Lady.”

Rayden’s usual expression seemed to ease her tension a little.

“Aitor left early at dawn, I heard.”

“Yes. He’s always been a worrywart. He’s extremely on edge. Come, let’s get going.”

With Rayden’s escort, she boarded the carriage. Today, Rayden also joined her in the carriage instead of riding a horse.

“The Crown Prince and the other knights should all be in position by now.”

“Already?”

Rayden, who was laughing heartily enough to show his throat, tilted his head to the side at Vivian’s words.

“Everyone is on edge about this matter. Of course, capturing that wizard, Tristan or whatever, would deal a huge blow to Marquis Cloak’s family, but more importantly, because you’re involved, Vivian.”

Vivian unconsciously lowered her head at Rayden’s words.

“Don’t make that face. If it weren’t for you, Lady Vivian, we wouldn’t know when we could catch Tristan.”

“But if we fail because of me…”

“Of course, even if we don’t catch Tristan, we can still bring down Marquis Cloak’s family, but if we don’t catch Tristan, someone like Marquis Cloak could emerge.”

Gaining a bit of confidence from Rayden’s words, Vivian strengthened her resolve as Earl Moore’s mansion came into view. It was a decision she made despite the worries and concerns of those she cherished. She wanted to do well and finish safely.

“We’ve arrived.”

At the coachman’s words, Rayden flung open the carriage door and stepped out.

“You may disembark.”

At Rayden’s words, Vivian nodded with a determined expression and got off the carriage.

“I’m sorry.”

Vivian was faced with a scene she hadn’t expected at all. She rubbed her eyes, which were getting sore, upon seeing Jennifer Moore and her mother, Angelica Moore, bowing their heads.

“We just received the message ourselves. It was so embarrassing… We knew it was late, but we were about to send a letter to Duke Dinever’s house in a hurry…”

Countess Angelica Moore’s voice trembled.

Not only was it a problem to have wasted the time of Vivian, who would become the Crown Princess in two months, but the Water Roses they were supposed to purchase today were gifts for the Empress.

Holding on to her fading consciousness, the Countess spoke to Vivian.

“Please, come inside and have a cup of tea.”

“No, I will take my leave.”

If Vivian entered Earl Moore’s mansion, many people who were lying in wait would have to wait longer. She had to hurry back and report the failure, so she swallowed her anger and turned to get back into the carriage.

“Wa-wait! Just come inside for a moment…”

Jennifer Moore grabbed Vivian’s arm.

“Let go, please.”

Rayden stepped in front of Jennifer. The tall knight, over 190 cm, blocked her path, causing Jennifer to recoil in fear.

“It’s not that…”

“Let’s talk later. It’s best to leave for today.”

Vivian boarded the carriage with a stiff face. As Rayden got in as well, the carriage quickly departed.

“What should we do? Do you think they might have caught on?”

“Who knows. We should meet with the others who are in position. They likely realized something was wrong when they saw the carriage with you and me.”

Rayden’s prediction was correct.

At the meeting place they had arranged to retreat to quickly if there was a problem, Louis, Aitor, and Zero were waiting.

The oblivious Zero wagged his tail wildly as Vivian’s carriage approached. Before Vivian’s feet even touched the ground, Zero was the first to rush out and start bouncing around her.

Aitor called Zero as he watched him bounce around Vivian before her feet even touched the ground.

“Doesn’t he need to be retrained?”

Ignoring Aitor’s words, Zero rubbed against Vivian to get her affection, and Louis said, 

“Sometimes the calling doesn’t work.”

“Sometimes?”

Aitor snapped his fingers with an awkward smile, and Zero flinched, drooped his tail, and approached Aitor to sit beside him.

“What happened?”

After Zero’s commotion subsided, Louis asked Rayden.

“We’re not sure either. As soon as we got off the carriage, the Countess and her daughter came out and bowed their heads in apology. It seems they only received word today that Tristan wouldn’t be able to keep his promise.”

At Rayden’s report, Louis looked at Aitor. Aitor shook his head as if he didn’t understand either.

“I’ll try to contact another wizard in the capital for now.”

Aitor bowed and drew something on the ground. As he muttered something, light rose from the ground, and in an instant, it engulfed Aitor and Zero.

And just like that, Aitor and Zero vanished without a trace.

Louis approached Vivian, who was staring blankly at the spot where they had been.

“Did they say anything else?”

As Louis suddenly approached, Vivian was reminded of the incident from two days ago. She stepped back and shook her head, and Louis, who had been silently looking down at her, turned to the knights waiting nearby.

“I’ll take the Young Lady back and return to the palace. Leave only the minimum personnel here and have the rest withdraw.”

The knights, who had bowed their heads with precision, began to disperse quickly.

“Let’s go.”

Louis approached the carriage and opened the door. He nodded as if telling Vivian, who was standing still, to get in.

Vivian hesitantly moved her feet toward the carriage. Before Louis could extend his hand to escort her, Vivian grabbed her dress to climb into the carriage.

Was it the dress that was the problem? Or was it because she always received an escort when getting into a carriage?

As she lifted her foot to step onto the higher-than-expected platform, Vivian stepped on the hem of her dress, which had been meticulously designed to flaunt wealth.

“Ah!”

Vivian hoped the sound that came out of her mouth wasn’t her own. She thought it would have been fine if it had only been that.

Feeling her body tilt, Vivian didn’t want to believe what was about to happen to her. It was a sight she didn’t want to show, at least not today.

But no matter how much she struggled, she couldn’t regain her balance, and as she felt her body lift off the ground, Vivian tightly closed her eyes.

“Are you okay?”

Instead of the impact of hitting the ground, she heard a voice. Louis, who had caught Vivian by the waist to prevent her from falling, asked.

“I’m fine!”

Vivian quickly distanced herself from him after answering loudly. Then she lifted her skirt high to avoid stepping on it again and quickly got into the carriage.

Louis let out a hollow laugh as he watched the hem of Vivian’s ornate dress disappear through the carriage door.

Once inside the carriage, Vivian sat pressed against the wall. Louis deliberately took a seat directly opposite her, right in the middle.

As the door closed and the carriage began to move, Vivian, who had been staring outside, was startled.

“What about Rayden? Rayden hasn’t gotten in yet.”

At Vivian’s panicked voice, Louis casually raised his arm to point outside. Seeing Rayden riding a horse and guarding the carriage, Vivian felt dejected.

Since Rayden had come with her instead of riding a horse, she had thought it was fortunate if he was there if Louis was riding with her in the carriage.

“Why do you look like that? Do you dislike being with me that much?”

Vivian rapidly blinked at Louis’s question and turned her head abruptly.

I will not love you.

She had declared it confidently just a few days ago. But meeting him now, she couldn’t just smile and greet him warmly.

She realized belatedly that she had sought relationship advice and guidance from a friend who, like her, had no dating experience, but it was already too late to turn back.

A man like that, regretting?

Surely it was just a spur-of-the-moment thing that day.

Louis was dressed in plain clothes for the stakeout. Yet, his appearance was undiminished, and his dignified and leisurely expression made Vivian groan inwardly.

Moreover, today’s operation had failed absurdly, and she had barely slept the night before.

Vivian pressed her throbbing temples with her hand and let out a sigh. After closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, it seemed the headache subsided.

As she slowly opened her eyelids, she found Louis with a fierce expression.

She wondered if she had ever seen such a look before. It was a face she was seeing for the first time.

With a grim expression, Louis crossed his arms as if trying to suppress his anger and closed his eyes. Then, suddenly, he opened his eyes wide and flung the carriage window open.

The cold wind rushed in and slapped Louis’s face. His glossy hair became as disheveled as Vivian’s complicated emotions.

Even with the cold wind, the awkward atmosphere did not dissipate. Vivian pretended to look out the window while observing Louis’s reflection in the glass.

As she secretly watched Louis’s seemingly angry face, she became curious about why he was so upset.

She wanted to ask, but she couldn’t bring herself to speak.

In the end, without exchanging a single word, they arrived at the mansion, enduring the cold wind in silence.

“I will be going now.”

Even though the carriage had stopped, Louis showed no sign of opening his eyes. To get off the carriage, she had to pass by Louis. But because of Louis’s long legs, Vivian, unable to exit, struggled to find her voice.

At Vivian’s voice, Louis leisurely rose to his feet. As his large body stood up, his already overwhelming presence approached Vivian.

Louis slowly opened the door and stepped out, extending his hand to escort Vivian.

Unable to reject his escort this time either, Vivian held the tips of his fingers and descended the carriage steps one by one.

“If you hear any news, please let me know as well.”

“Sure.”

Was it because of the cold wind? The angry expression Louis had worn was gone, replaced by his usual inscrutable, languid look.

Could it be that he was upset because today’s plan didn’t go as intended?

“If there’s anything I can find out on my side, I’ll look into it. I’ll contact Earl Moore’s house…”

“No. We will not execute that plan again.”

Before Vivian could finish her sentence, Louis spoke firmly.

“They might have realized something and decided not to show up at the meeting place. Given that they canceled the appointment so suddenly on the day, it’s highly likely. Even if they contact us again, we won’t carry out this operation again.”

“But!”

“It’s best not to be stubborn about this. Soon, Vivian, you will become the Crown Princess of this country. It’s not always good for a Crown Princess to lead in reckless danger.”

“Stubborn, you say?”

Louis took a step toward Vivian. As he approached, Vivian’s neck tilted further upward.