Chapter 1.4

Upon entering the drawing room as guided, Claire saw Helion was already there.

“Miss Mansfield. What brings you here to see me?”

Soon after, with a gentle smile, he asked.

“As I mentioned before, I came to repay you for helping me.”

When she handed him the basket, Helion looked puzzled.

“They’re cookies. I made them myself. I heard you like Earl Grey cookies the most, so I baked a lot of them, especially for you.”

“Thank you.”

With a warm smile, Helion accepted the gift.

“You made these yourself? You’re very skilled. I’ll enjoy them.”

As he looked inside the box, his expression turned to surprise, then he looked back at Claire and gave a small smile.

She thought that since she had repaid him, perhaps she could get closer to him, but contrary to her expectations, he only received her thanks and didn’t invite her to have tea with him, eat cookies together, or even suggest she stay for a cup of tea.

“Well then, I’ll be going now. Thank you so much.”

“Yes. Please get home safely.”

Claire glanced at Helion several times, wondering if he might stop her, but he only smiled and said nothing other than wishing her well on her way. Suddenly, the smile she had thought so kind now felt cold.

So it was just her who had expectations. There was no mutual affection, just a polite smile, and she wondered what she had been thinking.

It felt like she was simply confirming her one-sided crush as she left.

Seeing Helion’s gentle smile as they danced together, she had foolishly hoped he might have feelings for her.

Because of that, Claire’s steps as she returned to the carriage were bitter.

There was someone watching her from afar.

Standing close to the window of the Radner mansion, the man’s face as he looked outside was stiff.

As the atmosphere around him grew colder, the space he stood in became so chilly it seemed to freeze everything nearby.

* * *

“Why are you back so soon? Did you deliver the cookies well?”

Earl Mansfield, who had been waiting for Claire, looked at her with eyes half full of expectation and half full of curiosity. He, too, hoped things would go well between Claire and Helion.

“I delivered them. But aside from saying thank you, he didn’t say anything else.”

“Did he say anything about the marriage proposal letter I sent?”

“…No.”

The more she answered her father’s questions, the more miserable she felt, and tears welled up in her eyes. Earl Mansfield’s expression also grew serious.

She hadn’t expected some romantic thing like love at first sight or that he’d helped her because he had feelings for her, but it was still quite a shock that he said nothing about the marriage proposal.

It would have been better if he had at least sent a letter of refusal… No, there are probably many families besides mine who sent letters, so it must be hard to reply to them all.

Claire tried to comfort herself by thinking in the way most favorable to her. That way, she would be less hurt.

“Wouldn’t it be better to let go now? From what I see, he’s not your destined match.”

After clearing his throat several times, the Earl carefully said to Claire. He seemed worried that his words might hurt her.

“That would be best, right?”

Regardless of her wounded heart, she needed to face reality.

It would be nice if everyone could end up with the man everyone liked, but realistically it was impossible, so Claire realized it was time to let go of her one-sided feelings.

She couldn’t go on living her whole life only looking at one person like a fool.

* * *

“What’s going on?”

Before she could even get over the pain of heartbreak, there was a change in Claire’s life. She had only gone to work as usual, but when she arrived at the office, there was a buzz and the atmosphere was unsettled.

“Oh, you’re here? There’s a commotion because the supervisor at the Ministry of Finance has changed.”

As she blinked and looked at them, her senior, Lady Lorella of the Alois Viscouncy, shrugged her shoulders and came over to explain the situation.

A sudden change of supervisor? The Treasurer? 

This was the first time there had been a change at her workplace since she had joined.

“Isn’t it unusual for someone to be replaced so suddenly?”

“Sometimes someone has to quit because their father passes away and they have to become the new head of the family, so it’s not the first time… But Treasurer Vikander is already the head of the Vikander Marquisate, so it’s strange that he suddenly quit.”

“There must have been some urgent reason. Then who’s coming as the next treasurer?”

Since the workload could change depending on the supervisor, Claire asked, hoping a good person would come.

“They say it’s the noble son of the Radner family. He’ll come by to greet us soon, so you know not to make mistakes, right?”

“What?”

Claire’s eyes grew round like a rabbit’s at the name she could hardly believe.

Could it be Helion Radner?

Just when she had decided to give up, another opportunity like this came… 

Could it be fate?

At the news that Helion was coming, her heart, which had been full of pain, started pounding as if she had forgotten all about her heartbreak.

“They say the Young Lord Radner is very capable, so maybe that’s why he was promoted.”

She wondered if she’d heard wrong, but after hearing the same name twice, she realized she hadn’t. The moment she heard it, her heart started racing.

“To be a treasurer at such a young age… Isn’t he the youngest ever? That’s really impressive.”

She was so excited that she could hardly tell what she was saying, and her voice was higher than usual.

“From the way you’re reacting, it seems you’re happy the Young Lord Radner is coming as treasurer, but you’ll change your mind soon. He’s rumored to be strict, so it might be tough. You’ll need to be prepared.”

Claire barely heard Lorella’s words, as they didn’t register in her ears. Whether he was strict or not didn’t matter. What mattered was that Helion was coming as her supervisor.

It was a great chance to get closer to him, so nothing else really mattered to Claire.

Was this a chance given by the heavens?

Despair had turned to hope, and until she met him, Claire let herself indulge in sweet imaginings.

Maybe they’d become close while working late together, or maybe she’d create a situation where only the two of them had to work overtime. She knew it was nearly impossible in reality, but for a moment, she let herself dream.

“There he comes.”

Claire’s daydreams ended the moment she heard Lorella’s voice. When Lorella signaled with her eyes, all the employees in the office lined up to greet the new supervisor.

“Welcome.”

Then, all together, they bowed 90 degrees and greeted loudly.

The sound of footsteps in dress shoes, striding from afar, grew closer, and the closer they got, the more Claire’s heart pounded wildly.

Finally. Finally.

With a trembling heart, she looked up to see his face—and in that moment, Claire’s smile disappeared.

Huh?

She was so surprised by the unexpected person who had come as supervisor that she couldn’t close her mouth.

For a moment, their eyes met, but she quickly lowered her gaze.

Ash-grey hair, a sturdy build… that was right, but the problem was, the new treasurer was not her crush, Helion, but his younger brother, Rexion.

She already knew that Helion had a younger brother and that he also worked in the Imperial Palace, but she hadn’t expected Rexion to become her supervisor, because she hadn’t thought the younger brother would be promoted before the older one.