She let out a sigh of relief and hurried to prepare to go shopping. She didn’t see it then. Lecia retrieving the button from the trash can again……

“Shall we go out then?”

“Huh? Oh, yes……!”

Lecia let out an awkward laugh. With her mind full of worries about the Enchester family’s future, she didn’t notice Lecia’s suspicious behavior.

‘There’s not much money left…… It might really run out within this week. Should I take on some side work and do sewing or something.’

She covered her face with a large hat and left the mansion with Lecia. She and Lecia went to the market themselves for daily meals. For Marina, a noble family’s young lady, going shopping with her only maid was something young ladies from ordinary noble families couldn’t even dream of.

‘They say it’s like covering your eyes and pretending not to see. What good does a big hat do when the clothes are like this.’

The baron couple still recommended she wear a large hat when going out to maintain dignity, saying she was the only daughter of a family with a title. Similar clothing to a commoner maid, and a large hat that only young noble ladies wore. She sighed at the ridiculous outfit.

‘Even selling this hat would probably provide some capital……’

While worrying about household finances in front of the vegetable shop, fingering her shabby coin purse, she suddenly closed her eyes tight at a gust of wind.

“Oh no!”

While hesitating whether to sell it or not, the large hat flew away helplessly in the spiteful wind.

‘Nothing goes right!’

She urgently reached out to catch the hat that had soared much higher than her height. But the hat was moving beyond reach. Just as she felt regret watching the hat fluttering in the air—

“Huh?”

Someone caught the hat. She reflexively turned around at the heat she felt near her ear.

‘Who is it. Really?’

“Lady? Haven’t we met somewhere before?”

Perhaps because she had been wearing the hat pulled down, the sunlight felt strong. She looked at the man standing in front of her without being able to open her eyes properly.

“Huh? Do you know me?”

She raised her hand to block the sunlight. And she brought her face closer to the man to see clearly.

Black hair with reddish eyes. An elegant aura that could be felt even with just a brief glance. Tall height and broad shoulders. A handsome man who was clearly attractive at first sight was holding her hat and looking down at her.

‘Why is Felix…… here……?!’

Upon confirming his face, she froze in place.

‘This is terrible!’

She quickly covered her face upon confirming that the man behind her was Felix. Unfortunately, she was holding a shopping basket, so leeks…… that is, extra-large green onions began roughly poking her face. But she didn’t care.

‘No, he couldn’t have seen my face. He has to not have……!!’

The terrace at the ball that day was dark because the sun had set. Felix definitely couldn’t have seen her face properly. Besides, he wouldn’t have had the leisure for that while struggling in pain.

‘Oh, but…… my hat!’

Belatedly recalling her hat, she looked up through the green onions. Her hat was hanging on Felix’s fingertips stretched toward the sky.

“Lady, we’ve met before, haven’t we?”

Felix asked leisurely while examining the hat.

‘We’ve never met, so could you just give me my hat, protagonist?! Taking other people’s things is theft!’

“I don’t know who you are, but please give me my hat.”

“To think you’ve forgotten me…… How disappointing.”

She grabbed Felix’s sleeve and shook his hand left and right while gritting her teeth.

“Um, ah, Miss……?”

While she was stuck facing him unable to advance or retreat, Lecia was staring at her with wide eyes from a little distance away. She was blushing slightly and smiling.

‘No, no! It’s not like that! It’s not some steamy romance!’

She sent desperate denying looks to her, but it seemed too late.

⁕⁕⁕

“Dear. I picked up a newspaper. This should be fine for the second floor corridor window……”

“Will that work?”

“If we spread it out as much as possible, it should be fine.”

Baron Enchester handed the newspaper to his wife.

— Rustle

The baron’s wife, pale from hunger and cold, unfolded a page of the newspaper cover. The newspaper the baron had brought was a comprehensive magazine that carried social gossip and was quite popular among women. The eyes of Baroness Enchester, who had casually looked at the newspaper, slowly widened.

“No, this dress is……?!”

“Hmm?”

At his wife’s fuss, the baron approached and peered at the gossip magazine.

[ Did the second prince fall in love at the Founding Day commemoration banquet?! ]

[ What is the identity of the woman the second prince fell for at first sight? ]

[ The lady has the second prince’s button……! ]

[ The lady’s beauty not hidden by her antique dress! ]

The baron couple made bewildered faces as they slowly read through the following article.

“Our Marina did it!”

Soon joy began to fill their faces.

⁕⁕⁕

Lecia looked back and forth between the two people with her mouth agape.

‘Miss, is he the owner of that button? The male lead of the steamy romance?’

‘No! No! I said no!’

Lecia eventually made a circle with one hand and pointed to his sleeve while opening and closing her mouth. Reading her lip movements, she looked at her through the green onions and vigorously shook her head left and right, but Lecia’s lips were curving up to the sky.

“Don’t you remember me? If you wish, I can help you remember.”

“I, I’ve never seen you before, so how could I re, remember?”

Felix, who was persistently sticking close behind her, spoke as if whispering. Startled by the breath that rushed into her ear, she thrust the shopping basket with green onions toward Felix. And she gritted her teeth and said.

“Excuse me? Could you return my hat first? I have a sun allergy!”

“Pfft…… understood.”

Whether he found her continued feigning ignorance amusing, Felix burst into low laughter and held out the hat.

‘Right, hurry up and give it to me.’

She reached out to get her hat back.

— Whoosh

‘Hey, stop playing around!’

When she reached for the hat, he raised it toward the sky again. He toyed with her several times, acting as if he might give it or not, then watched her intense gaze with a blank expression before calmly handing it over.

‘Right, you should have done this from the start.’

“Hmph!”

She snorted and pulled the hat down over her head.

‘Why is someone who’s a second prince even in a marketplace like this!’

Looking at his outfit, it seemed he had disguised himself as a child from a moderately low-ranking noble family. But the noble bearing emanating from him couldn’t be hidden. Indeed, the imperial family was the imperial family.

Lecia, who had approached her side, looked at Felix’s outfit with wide eyes and asked.

“Miss, could this person be……?”

‘Huh? Lecia? Wait, you can’t act like you know him!’

Lecia’s sparkling eyes slowly went back and forth between her and Felix. She covered her face with her hat and used all her facial muscles to send signals to Lecia.

‘Pre. tend. not. to. know!’

“Miss, it’s not that cold today…… Isn’t the hat stuffy?”

“Ah. Are you a maid of the Enchester family? I just spoke out of gladness to meet the young lady I encountered at the recent ball. Though the young lady doesn’t seem to remember me……”

“Oh my, there’s no way you wouldn’t remember…… right?”

But unfortunately, she seemed to have misunderstood her signal. It was a communication error, damn it.

Lecia, who answered nonchalantly, turned toward her. However, she had frozen at Felix’s words and couldn’t say anything.

‘Wait, he’s already finished investigating my background……?’

He had said ‘Enchester family’ precisely to her and Lecia. Her mind became complicated.

‘How on earth did he figure out that I’m from the Enchester family?’

No, that’s not important now. She quickly handed the shopping basket to her to separate Lecia and Felix.

“Lecia! Hold this for a moment! This gentleman seems to have some misunderstanding, so I think I need to have a very brief conversation with him!”

“Oh, yes! Of course I should carry the shopping basket……”

Lecia, who had ended up with her hands full of luggage, stepped backward, and she took advantage of the gap to lead Felix to the opposite side.

“Follow me!”

“Ah, how flustering. Where are you dragging me now?”

She grabbed his sleeve and strode forward. Felix followed behind her and spoke. His voice was completely unperturbed and calm. He even went one step further.

“Ho, now you seem to remember who I am?”

“No! Not at all!”

She answered irritably while pressing down her hat with one hand. Then Felix suddenly grabbed her wrist. And wasn’t he leading her into a secluded alley between the lined shops?!

“Kyah, wha, what!”

In the blink of an eye, she was trapped between the wall and Felix’s arm.

“Whew…… Now stop lying, won’t you?”

‘See, he shows his true colors as soon as we enter a secluded place!’

She tried to avoid his gaze. She had pulled her hat down tight, so if he hadn’t seen her face properly at the last ball! If she somehow made excuses……!

“Even like this, will you keep pretending not to know?”

“I really don’t know…… kyaa!”

Was he annoyed that she kept making excuses? Felix grabbed both her wrists that were holding the hat with his large hands.