“Hello.”

A greeting suddenly reached his ears, and he sensed someone leaning down slightly, trying to get a look at his face.

“From that day on the bridge—that’s you, right?”

The voice sounded familiar. Gillian, thinking it couldn’t be, lifted the brim of his hat and raised his head. Andrea stood in front of the park bench where he sat, holding a basket.

Instantly, Gillian’s eyes swept across the park. He checked for any other noticeable presence besides Andrea. But Andrea was alone, and no one else was visible in the vicinity.

While considering whether he should leave immediately, Gillian decided to act like nothing was wrong and looked up at Andrea.

“Unexpected.”

He couldn’t help but say this.

“I thought I’d never see you again.”

He never imagined Andrea would seek out the male side again.

“I felt like I owed you too much from that day, so I thought I should properly thank you.”

Andrea spoke so calmly that it was hard to believe she was the same person who had been drunk and causing a scene that night, then pointed to the spot next to Gillian.

“May I sit down?”

Gillian gestured for her to go ahead. He watched as Andrea, like a proper young lady from a good family, modestly arranged her skirt before sitting on the bench, then asked:

“How did you know I’d be here?”

“Since we met at Misolr Bridge in the evening, I figured you probably lived somewhere nearby. And people who live around here usually take walks in this park. So I’ve been coming by for a few days, just in case.”

He was surprised by her unexpectedly logical thinking and initiative.

The Andrea that Gillian knew tended to stay quiet at gatherings and rarely asked questions during lessons except when absolutely necessary. Because of this, he never got the impression that she was particularly bright or clever. In fact, he had previously wondered, ‘Is she really Theodore Ulrich’s daughter?’

But the Andrea he met outside seemed not only intelligent but also quirky and full of vitality.

“Have you had lunch? I’m not sure if it’ll suit your taste, but I brought some sandwiches.”

With that, Andrea opened the basket she had brought.

While she was looking down at her basket, Gillian spotted a man approaching from the distance. Realizing this was the person he had been waiting for, he gave him a look—telling him to go away. The man understood the signal and passed by them like any other pedestrian.

After that, Gillian looked at the food Andrea had packed and asked:

“Did you bring this every day?”

“No. I hadn’t seen you for several days, and I was worried I might not meet you today either, so I thought I’d have a picnic by myself if needed.”

Her smiling face was bright and cheerful.

Her appearance, way of speaking, actions, and thoughts all seemed like they belonged in a flower garden, just like usual. Gillian couldn’t help but say:

“What happened that day isn’t something you ‘owed me for.’ You were taken advantage of.”

“I was the one who made the unreasonable request first.”

Gillian let out a small snort.

“Being kind only leads to losses in this world.”

His father had given his uncle more land than he would normally give to a brother, cherishing him like a younger sibling. But that land became the foundation for his uncle to build power, and what came back was painful betrayal.

Andrea glanced at Gillian. Judging by his clothes, he didn’t seem connected to the upper class. Both when they first met and now, he wore simple shirts and pants, and a coat that was clean but looked well-worn.

However, his black hair tied back in a single strand gleamed like it was oiled, and his face—with skin whiter than most women’s and graceful features—had an absolutely stunning quality. 

Despite being a man, he had a mysteriously alluring aura. Yet he didn’t seem feminine, because his eyes were rough and rebellious.

She had never seen such a beautiful man before. He was just like the famously beautiful Lady Priscilla. Of course, since they resembled each other, that might be natural…

Under the sunlight, he really did look like Priscilla. A few nights ago, she had blamed herself for not being able to push him away because he seemed exactly like Priscilla transformed into a man, but now she understood her reaction even more.

Then Gillian pointed to a sandwich and asked:

“Can I eat this?”

Only then did Andrea return to reality.

“Of course. Please go ahead.”

Watching Gillian eat a sandwich made her curious, so she asked:

“May I ask what you do for work?”

“What do I look like I do?”

“Um, a college student…?”

He looked rather delinquent and seemed to wander around with nothing to do, like someone unemployed.

His appearance was like Lady Priscilla with only the gender changed, but he had an incomparably more delinquent feel.

Gillian shrugged.

“Close enough. What about you? An upper-class young lady past marriageable age?”

“Rotting away, basically.”

She spoke about her own painful situation so casually that Gillian couldn’t help but chuckle. Seeing his face, Andrea asked again:

“Are you from around here?”

Gillian thought for a moment, then decided it would be better to have no common ground with Priscilla, who was supposedly from Selon, so he told the truth.

“I came from Kirak.”

“Really?”

Andrea brightened up.

“I know some Kirak…”

She was clearly trying to appeal that she could speak the language since she met someone from Kirak, but Gillian had no intention of making small talk and asked sarcastically:

“Are you trying to buy my silence or something?”

“Pardon?”

But Andrea looked puzzled, like she didn’t quite understand the question itself. A beat later, she realized he was talking about what happened a few days ago and tilted her head.

“No, not particularly.”

Wondering if she was bluffing, he asked probingly:

“What would you do if I went around spreading rumors?”

“It’s not like there’s any evidence.”

Her face, staring blankly, looked innocently blank like white paper, yet somehow seemed to have no gaps or weaknesses. Gillian let out a hollow laugh.

“Unexpectedly thorough.”

“If I were trying to buy your silence, is there something you’d want?”

“Well.”

There was only one thing Gillian wanted: to return home. But since Andrea couldn’t grant that, there wasn’t really anything he wanted.

“Money would be nice, I suppose.”

“How much…?”

Gillian draped his arm over the back of the bench and casually rested his chin on his hand.

“You name the price. Let me see your sincerity.”

“Um, a thousand lark?”

‘Huh.’

He was dumbfounded. According to her own words, she was willing to pay enough money to buy a decent carriage to some good-for-nothing who couldn’t even get anyone to take his rumors seriously.

Seeing Gillian’s incredulous expression, Andrea thought the opposite and quickly corrected herself:

“Too little? Then ten thousand lark.”

‘Different sense of money.’

His desire to tease her disappeared completely.

Even though he technically had trust assets, they were currently no different from nonexistent money to him, so Gillian had quite modest economic sensibilities. He already felt heavily indebted to Jerome just for extracting Lady Priscilla’s dignity maintenance fees, so when living as a man, he was practically half a city vagrant.

“I was just kidding. It was a mutual mistake anyway.”

At those words, Andrea fidgeted with her fingers for a moment, then said:

“Thank you, for that day. If it weren’t for you, I might have really jumped into the river.”

This was more surprising to him since he hadn’t thought her feelings for Priscilla were that serious. Moreover, the idea of wanting to throw away one’s life over mere heartbreak didn’t sound pleasant to someone who was clinging to his wretched life while even cross-dressing.

Gillian sighed.

“No one is worth throwing your life away for.”

“Actually…”

Andrea began carefully.

“You resemble someone I like.”

He hadn’t expected her to bring up himself—Lady Priscilla. So while he was looking at her in surprise, Andrea added:

“I’m sorry. I used you. You seemed exactly like that person had become a… appeared.”

He could sense her swallowing the part about “become a man.”

“I’m really awful, aren’t I?”

Suddenly Gillian moved closer, and Andrea, startled, seemed about to pull back, placing one hand behind her hip as she looked at him. Gillian lowered his eyes slightly.

“Why would you think I’d care about something like that?”

Anyway, what Andrea liked wasn’t Gillian but Lady Priscilla. And Gillian had no feelings for Andrea either. So it didn’t matter who she saw in him, even if it was another version of himself.

“Actually, it works out well. Then it’s good for both the sister-in-law and the brother-in-law.”

If Andrea felt that way, Gillian could enjoy himself without burden too. She was also getting something from him.

In fact, that night had been surprisingly exciting for Gillian after a long time, and he regretted not finishing. Rather than having someone confess to Priscilla with full intensity, he would welcome someone who treated him like a casual playmate.

(Naturally) because he resembled Priscilla so much, Andrea stared at him like she was entranced.

A face white and smooth like Eastern porcelain, cat-like eyes slightly upturned, lips with the perfect golden ratio thickness, black hair that seemed unkempt but still lustrous.

Even the sunlight happened to pour down, making Gillian seem to sparkle and shine.

The sunlight passing between them gradually narrowed.

At the last moment before contact, Andrea turned her head away.

“I’m sorry.”

While she might have been satisfied with the resemblance under the cover of night and alcohol, her reason seemed to function under sunlight. Gillian asked with genuine disappointment:

“Didn’t you say that person wouldn’t accept you?”

“I never thought they would accept me from the beginning. For various reasons…”

Since the other person was the same gender, she probably never thought they could become lovers.