So, perhaps sharing with him would lighten my heart a bit.

“Laura pretended to be my father’s illegitimate child to Countess Roland. She stole my father’s necklace from our house to do so. All this time, I thought Laura was my friend. Now that she’s dead, I’m not sure anymore. Am I too foolish?”

“The fault lies with the person who used you. The victim is not to blame. So don’t blame yourself.”

“It feels good to hear you say that.”

The Earl Grey tea with milk momentarily melted my tense heart. After getting some sugar, my thoughts became clearer. My friend was a villainess, just as people said. And her sending me these letters after her death was clearly intended to torment me.

“She’s really mean. If I had known earlier, I would have gone to Laura and slapped her face at least once. But now I can’t do anything. She used me, then turned away first, and even after death, she sends letters to torment me meticulously. It’s really the worst.”

“Should I go to her grave and spit on it? Just say the word. I’ll secretly visit at night and pour excrement on it.”

His words made me laugh momentarily. It was reassuring to feel that no matter what happened, Cedric would always be on my side.

“It’s fine. Instead, if letters come in the future, just burn them. I don’t think I need to read them anymore.”

Looking outside, the rain had stopped. On days like this, I feel like I need to have lunch outside for a change of mood to breathe freely.

“I’m going to have lunch at the Paine family mansion. I should keep my promise. While I’m there, I’ll also deliver the revised contract.”

“Shall I go with you?”

“No. Cedric, you eat at the cafeteria. Or go out and have a meal with one of the handsome, I mean, high-performing sales staff.”

I’m a person who struggles to express my emotions in front of others.

I like this man—Cedric. But I can’t openly express my feelings. It’s just a fleeting emotion. I naturally developed feelings for him while leaning on him like a friend during Laura’s absence.

I won’t confess out of fear of rejection. Besides, I can’t let go of such a capable employee at this crucial time when the department store is about to expand.

‘It’s actually fortunate. That you like men.’

Thanks to that, I think I can give up quickly.

As I was walking out of the department store to the carriage stop, someone approached me.

“I’m looking for a child who looks like this. Please take a look.”

Taking the paper she handed me, I saw a crudely drawn black and white portrait with writing below it.

[Name: Monica Bloom

Age: 22

Characteristics: Brown hair with green eyes, came to the capital two months ago looking for work.]

The middle-aged woman looked at me with anxious eyes and asked.

“Have you ever seen our Monica?”

“No.”

“If you ever meet someone similar to Monica later, please contact me. I’ve written the address where I’m currently staying below.”

The address written on the paper was a shabby building behind the department store. I heard the owner was renting rooms at very cheap rates until construction began, as it was scheduled to be demolished soon. When construction starts, this woman looking for her daughter will lose her place to stay.

“I understand.”

Reassured by my answer, the woman soon distributed papers to other people as well, repeatedly begging them to find her daughter.

I grabbed an employee working at an outdoor stall and asked.

“How long has that woman been handing out these papers here?”

“She’s been doing that since dawn today.”

The employee who answered quickly bowed his head to me in apology.

“I’m sorry, Boss. Her situation seemed so pitiful that I left her alone, but should I chase her away now?”

“No, no. It looks like she hasn’t even eaten lunch while doing this. Take her to our cafeteria and let her eat for free. Tell the cafeteria that I’ll cover her meal costs from now on.”

I got into the carriage without waiting for the employee’s response.

Passing by the woman searching for her daughter, the carriage soon showed Michael’s hotel through the window. Hotels and department stores inevitably exist in a symbiotic relationship. People who come up from the provinces stay at hotels and enjoy shopping at my department store before returning home.

So it was beneficial for me to maintain a long-term business partnership with Michael. Though the deceased Laura would hate it.

“Wake me when we arrive.”

After instructing the coachman, I leaned my head against the cushion. I wouldn’t be able to sleep long, but I felt I needed to rest a little. Perhaps the alcohol hadn’t fully worn off, as sleep overwhelmed me.

‘What, am I dreaming again?’

Laura grabbed my collar while shedding tears of blood and shouted.

“I told you to stay away from my man!”

Can’t breathe.

Pulled by the force of my dead friend, I was thrown onto the stairs connecting the third and fourth floors. The emergency exit door closed immediately, and no matter how much I turned the doorknob, it wouldn’t open as if it were broken.

“La, Laura. Open the door!”

My hands hurt from pounding on the door. But the door wouldn’t open, and soon a burning smell along with musty smoke covered my vision. The deceased Laura had trapped me here and set fire.

This must be a dream. It’s not reality.

But my breath was choked, and short coughs irritated my throat.

“Help me. Please help me……”

At this rate, the department store will burn down completely. Although it’s a space I was planning to remove during the expansion construction anyway, I didn’t expect to disappear along with it. Please, someone, save me.

The spicy smoke seemed to claw at my eyes. While suffering with tears flowing, someone shook my body.

“Boss, Boss. We’ve arrived.”

“Gasp!”

I exhaled the breath I’d been holding and opened my eyes. The coachman was looking down at me.

“Are you alright? Seeing you sleep so deeply in that short time, you must be very tired.”

Was it a dream?

It was too vivid to ignore. This felt similar to when I saw the future of the department store in my dream. My forehead was covered in sweat, and the hair on my arms stood on end.

‘I had a prophetic dream.’

The scene was too intense to consider this just an ordinary dream. On the day my father passed away, I also saw that vivid scene in my dream as if I were there.

“Fi, fire is going to break out. I need to go back to the department store!”

I grabbed the coachman’s sleeve and demanded to go back.

“What?”

The coachman, understandably, just made a bewildered expression.

“I said let’s go back right now!”

“Uh…… well. I’ve already entered the Paine mansion grounds. I’m sorry, Boss.”

Only then did I properly come to my senses and look around to see the Paine family’s butler and maids already waiting for me outside the carriage.

The butler, pretending not to have seen what just happened, addressed me.

“Are you here to see Gabrielle?”

I answered in a disgruntled state.

“……Yes. I thought we might have lunch together.”

I wonder how strange I must have looked to that butler. With a burning face, I had to get out of the carriage and pretend nothing was wrong.

‘Why did the deceased Laura appear in my prophetic dream?’

My heart was still pounding too much to dismiss it as a mere dream. I need to tell the staff to place plenty of water buckets near the emergency stairs for the time being. I was certain that a fire would break out there someday.

I cleared my throat and instructed the coachman.

“Go back to the department store right away and find Cedric. Tell him there’s going to be a fire in the emergency staircase connecting the third and fourth floors.”

“What?”

The coachman looked at me as if I were crazy, but I had to say what needed to be said.

“Tell him I said so, and he’ll understand. So go quickly.”

“Should I come back here after delivering that message?”

“No. I’ll find my own way back, even if I have to catch a passing hired carriage, so don’t worry. Just make sure you deliver what I said to Cedric.”

Cedric is someone who knows well about my prophetic dreams. So I was confident he would believe me no matter what strange things I said.

Following the guidance of the Paine family servants, I went straight up to Gabrielle’s room. I’d been told I didn’t need to come on rainy days, but the rain had stopped in the afternoon, so it should be fine. Besides, I wanted to apologize to her. I didn’t know she hated the nickname ‘Gabi’ so much that she would have a fit at my words yesterday. Perhaps that nickname was only allowed for the real Laura.

“Miss Gabrielle, a guest has arrived.”

Gabrielle was kneeling on the floor, focused on something. She was dipping a pen in ink and drawing. She didn’t even turn her head toward me.

“Hello, Gabrielle? I’m here.”

I smiled awkwardly and quickly added.

“Wow. Did you draw all these? Your drawing skills are amazing.”

Several drawings were messily placed on the red carpet. After some hesitation, I sat down on the floor and picked up one of her drawings.

‘She really has a talent for art.’

Did they hire a separate teacher for her? It was just a sketch of a doll drawn with black ink. But it looked so skillful that I thought a professional had drawn it. I turned my head to look around the room, which I hadn’t examined closely yesterday. On the windowsill, and on the bed and desk, there were many pretty porcelain dolls.

A doll is cute and dainty when there’s just one. Moreover, porcelain dolls are quite expensive items for ordinary people, so they’re often used as decorations. But having so many dolls gathered in a room somehow gives an eerie feeling. It felt as if the eyes of all the dolls were fixed on me, the unfamiliar intruder.

“Oh?”

Still holding Gabrielle’s drawing, I approached the window. One of the four dolls placed on the windowsill was drawn in this picture.

“Gabrielle. Did you use this porcelain doll as a model for your drawing? How did you draw it so identically? That’s amazing!”

Is my praise finally having an effect? Gabrielle, who had been looking down at the floor while playing with her pen, raised her head.

“The drawing comes first.”

“Huh?”

When I didn’t properly understand her words, Gabrielle frowned.

“Drawing first, then clothes!”

She pounded her chest with her fist, seemingly frustrated.

‘What does that even mean?’

Seeing that I didn’t understand, the maid who had been watching us near the door hurriedly explained to me.