The two maids patted each other’s shoulders and squealed. It was an incredibly romantic story for young unmarried ladies.

Even if it wasn’t their own story.

* * *

Kyaaah!

The sound of maids chattering excitedly came from behind. Bushin, who was following Lucas, clicked his tongue with a displeased expression and spoke.

“I apologize, Master Lucas. I will reprimand them immediately. I don’t know why they’re making such a commotion……”

“It’s fine, Bushin. Just leave them be. More importantly, let’s quickly head to the reception room.”

Lucas hurried his steps, unaware that the reason for the maids’ squealing and bustling was because of him.

“Hmm…… Is that bouquet a gift for the madam?”

Bushin, walking in step with him, casually posed a question. Seeing a smile spread across the old butler’s lips, Lucas frowned and avoided answering.

However, that itself was as good as an affirmative answer. Actually, it was something that could be understood without asking.

“Ho ho, by the way, Master Lucas, it’s my first time seeing you return home with a bouquet.”

“……Well, I can’t give you a bouquet, can I?”

Lucas retorted after a beat to Bushin’s comment, which had a hint of amusement.

Although his expression revealed almost nothing, the butler who had served him for a long time could clearly see Lucas’s embarrassment.

“That’s true. Anyway, it’s wonderful to have the madam here. We get to see this side of Master Lucas, and the overall atmosphere in the mansion has brightened up.”

“……”

“The maids are all excited to finally serve a mistress, and they’re working so enthusiastically.”

As Bushin spoke joyfully, Lucas rubbed his mouth with his free hand that wasn’t holding the bouquet.

His gaze shifted to the bouquet in his hand. Lucas’s brow furrowed slightly as he looked at the orange roses.

‘Pink roses would have been better.’

Among the many flowers at the flower shop, it had been difficult to find pink flowers that resembled his wife’s hair color.

Particularly, among the various colors of roses, pink roses were notably absent.

⟨Do you have any pink roses?⟩

⟨No, pink roses are prone to pests and more difficult to grow than other varieties. And given that there aren’t many people who ask for them……⟩

The flower shop owner had been at a loss, as if he had committed a great sin, when answering Lucas’s question. There was no point in pressing the issue further since it wouldn’t make pink roses appear, so he had been about to turn away.

If not for the words the flower shop owner had mustered the courage to say, he would have left the rest of the task to his secretary. That had been his original plan anyway.

⟨Um, well…… then, President, how about these roses?⟩

The flower shop owner had tremblingly offered him orange roses.

⟨You’re getting them for your wife, right? If, if so, these roses would be more meaningful.⟩

‘Meaningful…… What meaning could flowers have.’

Lucas had looked at the orange rose bouquet quietly and then smirked. It was probably just a merchant’s tactic to sell more.

But thinking that giving orange roses, a color similar to pink, wouldn’t be bad either, he had readily ordered the bouquet.

Separately from what he would give to the guests, for his wife.

Somehow, he felt anticipation.

Wondering what expression she would make when he gave her this bouquet.

* * *

“Lucas……”

He entered the reception room, seeing Giselle whose eyes had widened upon seeing him.

The tea party seemed to be in full swing, as the reception room was filled with a sweet fragrance.

“My goodness, Lucas. I thought you weren’t coming……”

It was Giana who blocked Lucas’s path as he approached Giselle. He frowned at the woman who suddenly stood in his way.

His expression began to turn cold, but Giana, not noticing this, continued speaking with a bright smile.

“How did you find the time? Since you’re such a busy person, we were all prepared to be generous and understand if you didn’t come. Did your wife perhaps nag you to attend despite not being considerate of your circumstances?”

At Giana’s words, several women let out light laughs. It was because of her words that portrayed Giselle as a childish girl.

Lucas’s expression darkened further at those words. But Giana, seemingly encouraged by those who agreed with her, added with a smile.

“Or did you deliberately make time to attend because you knew I would be at today’s tea party……”

“I don’t even know where to begin with correcting you.”

Lucas interrupted Giana’s words and muttered as if to himself in a low voice. However, it was clear enough for everyone present to hear.

“Giana Dalton, no, Miss Dalton.”

He addressed Giana with a warning tone. Unlike the times when he had casually called her by name, he now added the formal title of ‘Miss’.

As Giana’s lips trembled upon realizing this change, Lucas spoke again.

“I would appreciate it if you maintained proper etiquette from now on. While we may have interacted informally in childhood due to our fathers’ acquaintance, that is no longer the case.”

“What do you mean…… Why is it no longer the case? We, we……”

Giana’s lips trembled again at his words as she tried to object. However, her words were immediately cut off by Lucas’s indifferent question.

“‘We’? What kind of relationship do you think exists between you and me, Miss?”

“……!”

“To be honest, we’re not even close enough to refer to as ‘we’. I don’t consider us to have shared that level of acquaintance…… Don’t you agree, Miss?”

Tears welled up in Giana’s eyes as she heard Lucas’s indifferent, no, ice-cold words.

Most men would soften at the sight of a beautiful woman on the verge of tears, but he continued in a cold tone.

“Also, do not insult my wife.”

“In-insult! Lucas, no, ……President. How have I insulted her?”

“I’m saying don’t make my wife a laughingstock, not even for a moment. I’ll let it slide this time because I don’t want to ruin my wife’s first tea party, but I won’t tolerate a situation like earlier again.”

Lucas lightly dismissed Giana, whose cheeks were trembling as she looked at him, and then surveyed the others with a cold gaze.

His gaze lingered particularly longer on the women who had laughed in agreement with Giana’s words earlier.

The faces of the women who received his gaze turned pale. Given that even most men couldn’t meet his gaze directly, the pressure the women felt must have been even greater.

He looked at the ashen-faced women quietly, then withdrew his gaze and spoke again with a sigh.

“And finally, why would I……”

Lucas started to speak but stopped himself with a hollow laugh, finding the thought ridiculous.

Whether Giana Dalton attended or not, what did that have to do with him?

From the beginning, the tea party was an event entirely organized by Giselle, and he had not interfered with it at all.

This meant he didn’t even know who had been invited to this gathering today.

Giana’s face turned bright red as she guessed what Lucas had been about to say before stopping. The other women also exchanged glances and then looked at Giana with contemptuous eyes.

Originally not a noble, Baron Dalton, who had been a commoner and had purchased his title by donating a large sum to the royal family, would not have been easily integrated into noble society under normal circumstances.

However, the reason the Dalton family had been able to proudly enter social circles contrary to such expectations was due to their ‘acquaintance’ with the ‘Taylor family’.

The richest family in the kingdom.

A family with more wealth than even the royal family.

No one could easily dismiss the daughter of the Dalton family, who was ‘known’ to have maintained a long friendship with the ‘Taylor family’ — not nobles but more influential than any noble family.

That’s why she had even reigned like a queen bee among young noble men and women.

But it turned out that it was all her ‘pretense’.

Everyone present had witnessed Lucas’s cold attitude toward Giana. By tomorrow, this story would likely spread throughout social circles.

Giana was also anticipating this.

‘I’ll never forgive you for this! How could he do this to me? It’s all because of that woman!’

Giana glared at Giselle with bloodshot eyes. The man who had just humiliated her was now approaching her.

With a bouquet.

……About to place an orange rose bouquet in her arms.

“I’m back, Giselle.”

Lucas addressed Giselle in such an affectionate voice that it was hard to believe he had just been so cold.

Giselle, who had been momentarily dazed by the sudden change in atmosphere after Lucas entered the reception room, finally came to her senses and spoke.

“Ah…… you came? I thought you wouldn’t be able to make it.”

Perhaps noticing her awkwardness at the man’s sudden formal speech, the corners of Lucas’s mouth visibly turned up slightly as he looked at her.

For a moment, she felt anxious, wondering if he was going to make one of his mischievous jokes like when they were alone, but then he extended the bouquet and spoke in an affectionate tone.

“How could that be? It’s not just any day, but the day of your first tea party. No matter how busy I am, I had to attend. And this is a gift for you.”

“This…… bouquet? A gift for me?”