Chapter 1

Charlotte was sitting in a reception room as vast as a ballroom.

My nerves are so bad my stomach is turning……

Meeting people was still no easy thing for her. But she couldn’t very well go on sitting here, trembling like a leaf.

Nerves lead to mistakes, after all……

Maybe thinking about something else would help. Charlotte lifted her gaze to the ceiling. It was impossibly high. And that chandelier — just look at it. She couldn’t fathom how something so enormous managed to hang suspended up there. Was this truly a reception room? If so, what on earth would the ballroom be like? She couldn’t begin to imagine.

I thought as much when I first walked in……

This building suited a museum, a library — somewhere meant to hold large numbers of people — far more than a private residence.

Ah. Come to think of it, for the owner of this mansion, it’s a perfect fit.

Just then, Elena — who had been anxiously twisting the fabric of her skirt for some time now — spoke up.

“Charlotte, I’m so sorry.”

“It’s all right. Please, no more apologies.”

“But……”

Charlotte had come from Sandhem, and since arriving in Glasko — clear on the opposite end of the country — she hadn’t once been out. Not even a brief stroll, let alone any sightseeing. So today was, in fact, her long-awaited first outing; and of all reasons for it to happen, it had to be accompanying Elena to apologize for a mistake she had made. Small wonder Elena was eaten up with guilt.

“Elena. When I think of everything you’ve done for me, something like this is nothing at all. If anything, I’m just glad I can be of help.”

Charlotte’s blue eyes sparkled within the gentle curve of her smile. Elena gave a subdued little nod.

“Thank you, Charlotte. Truly — if I’d come alone, I’d have been standing at the front gate wringing my hands.”

Charlotte offered her a soft smile, then glanced toward the entrance of the reception room. Word of their arrival must have been sent in by now. So why hadn’t the master of this house appeared?

Raymond Bayen……

Charlotte turned the name over in her mind. She had never once seen his face, and yet she had heard a great deal about him.

A month ago, a remarkable businessman had appeared in Glasko seemingly out of nowhere. A massive hotel that had been under construction for several years, it turned out, belonged to him. With the hotel’s completion just around the corner — and given that he had long been pouring himself into work for years — he had decided to reward himself with an extended holiday in Glasko. He threw lavish parties at the drop of a hat. According to Elena, who had attended one, a fountain ran not with water but with wine from the pricey Principality of Domik, and rose petals — scarce for this time of year — rained down from above.

In the mere month since his arrival, the amount he had spent reportedly exceeded the annual income of most wealthy men. That alone said everything about the scale of his fortune. It also said something about the scale of his excess.

Spending that kind of money on parties, honestly.

And yet, for all that he threw such extravagant affairs, his temperament was apparently not particularly sociable.

So Elena had said. The guests’ attention never strayed far from Raymond, but he himself would spend a brief while alone, or with a small circle of confidants, before disappearing back inside.

Strange, really. Why would a man who hosted parties of that magnitude shy away from the people in them?

Ah. Could it be that the parties are simply a display of wealth?

Well, perhaps……

While Charlotte’s thoughts continued along these lines, two men were making their way down the corridor toward the reception room.

“Who’s come?” Raymond asked, without looking back.

“An Elena Spencer. Ah — I believe she mentioned a companion as well.” Derek gave a shrug. He had only heard the news secondhand from the butler and hadn’t seen the visitors himself.

Raymond’s steps came to a halt.

The Spencer family — they were distant relatives of that girl.

“What would she want here all of a sudden?”

“Apparently she broke a piece of porcelain you’d ordered.”

Had I ordered porcelain? He’d been spending money without pause since arriving at this mansion, and nothing came to mind immediately.

“As it happens, the president of Dace Trading came by before Miss Spencer’s visit.” Derek relayed to Raymond what he had heard from the Dace president.

“What a business.”

“Indeed.”

“Was the porcelain paid for in full?”

“Yes. The full hundred gold was paid upfront at the time of the order.”

“A mere hundred gold……”

Raymond’s brow furrowed. To think he was being put to the trouble of receiving guests over such a trifling sum. Derek stifled a quiet laugh.

Trifling to you, perhaps.

Who could ever have guessed it — that this man, who threw his money around so freely, was the wealthiest in the entire Empire; a man who could stand shoulder to shoulder with the royal family in terms of fortune, and, if bloodlines were traced by lineage, surpass even them in nobility.

If not for that will……

By now, Raymond would ordinarily have been buried in work as usual.

Dreadful workaholic that he is.

Truth be told, Raymond would have liked nothing more than to send Elena away through the butler. But he could not treat a relative of that girl with such carelessness, and so he had only one course of action left to him: see her quickly, tell her all was forgiven, and send her on her way in good conscience.

“I do beg your pardon for keeping you waiting, Miss Spencer.”

Raymond said this as he came striding in at a brisk pace.

Yet even as the man they had been waiting for finally appeared, Charlotte felt no relief — only a fresh wave of nerves. Was it the stiffness in his voice? Raymond’s mood looked anything but pleasant.

Though perhaps it’s just the way he speaks……

Charlotte swallowed and craned her neck to get a look at his face — just as Elena leapt hurriedly to her feet and stepped squarely into her line of sight.

“M-Mr. Bayen. You see, I — “

Raymond, now close enough to the two of them, let out a long breath.

“Let’s sit down and talk.”

“Y-yes……”

Elena sat back down, subdued. Only then did Raymond notice Charlotte, half-hidden behind her. All he could properly make out was the top of her head.

Right, she mentioned a companion.

What sort of apology required showing up in a pack? Did she think someone was going to eat her?

Brow furrowed, Raymond moved to take the seat across from them. And at last, Charlotte was able to see the famous face for herself.

……I’d heard he was handsome, but not like this.

Black was supposed to be the darkest thing in the world — so how was it that his black hair shone like the summer sun in full blaze? The lashes fringing his downcast lids were impossibly dark and lush. His skin was flawless and smooth, his nose sharp and yet undeniably masculine, and his lips — slightly crooked as though displeased with the whole situation — carried the soft, subtle sheen of silk.

Raymond settled into his seat and looked up.

“I’ve been told the general — “

He didn’t finish the sentence. His gaze had met Charlotte’s, and it stopped him cold. His green eyes went wide — stunned, it seemed — and in them, Charlotte’s reflection looked back at him.

Why is he looking at me like that?

Charlotte was utterly bewildered. Was there something on her face? Had Raymond looked away for even a moment, she might have quietly wiped her cheek — but his eyes simply refused to leave her.

Just then, Elena, her throat parched, reached for her teacup with a trembling hand and fumbled it.

“Elena! Are you all right?”

“I — I’m glad to say the cup isn’t broken!”

Elena held up the intact cup with a bright smile.

Raymond let out a slow breath.

“You weren’t hurt?”

“No, the tea had gone quite cold, so……”

Raymond rang the bell for a maid.

“You ought to go and freshen up first.”

“Ah. But……”

Elena glanced over at Charlotte — clearly worried about leaving her alone. Charlotte spoke to reassure her.

“Don’t worry about me.”

“But Charlotte——”

At that, Raymond’s eyes and mouth both parted. His gleaming green gaze fixed intently on Charlotte, who had taken Elena’s hand in hers — but Charlotte, with all her attention on Elena, didn’t notice.

“I’ll be perfectly fine, so take your time.”

“I’ll be back as quickly as I can.”

Elena murmured in a small voice and followed the maid who had come to assist her.

Before long, the reception room — so vast that sounds echoed within it — held only the two of them.

Charlotte had told Elena she was fine, but in truth her heart felt ready to leap straight out of her chest. What was she supposed to say? Should she start with an apology?

Gathering her courage, Charlotte met Raymond’s eyes again. But he was staring at her with his brow drawn into a deep, bewildered frown — as though he were looking at something that made no sense. His expression was even more severe than before, and utterly undisguised. Charlotte had no choice but to look away again.

What on earth is the matter with him.

Had she done something wrong? No matter how she turned it over in her mind, she couldn’t think of a single thing. What could she possibly have done wrong when they had only just met?

This must simply be how he always looks……

Even as she told herself this, she found herself unconsciously searching for the fault within herself. Perhaps, perhaps——

“……Charlotte.”

He said her name. His voice was far lower than when they had first exchanged greetings, and edged with something unmistakably firm. Her blue eyes, which had been drifting helplessly through the air, snapped to him in surprise.

“Yes.”

“Charlotte Prairie.”

He spoke her name again — as though seeking confirmation.

“Yes, Mr. Bayen……”

Charlotte answered on reflex, and only realized a beat too late. How does he know my family name?

Raymond, for his part, was floored. The moment he had first seen Charlotte’s face, a certain young girl had come to mind at once.

And yet he had refused to believe it. He had wanted to think this was simply someone who happened to share that warm brown hair and those eyes the color of a deep blue sea.

But the plump, lovely cheeks had hollowed out. Exhaustion was written plainly across her face. He had hoped it wasn’t her.

And yet it really was.

Why is she so thin.

Was it because of that incident? Had that brought her to this?

That damned wedding……

Rage surged through Raymond. His jaw clenched tight.