After leaving Charlotte’s room, Cedric clutched his trembling chest and ran his hand over his face.

If he had been just a little later, he might have lost her forever. That old man, Otis or Ortiz or whatever, had been rambling on unnecessarily, and he had stayed out of courtesy.

‘I should have cut the conversation short and left earlier.’

No, he should have refused the conversation from the beginning and followed the boss. If he had, she wouldn’t have consumed a strange drink, lost consciousness, and been trapped there.

When Charlotte was in danger, he lost his usual composure, became excited, and broke the chain with his bare hands. He wasn’t sure where such strength came from. He noticed his torn skin only belatedly. Looking at his ruined hands, he could only laugh.

After being obsessed with money and success for so long, was he now obsessed with a woman?

And cleverly, he had fallen for a very wealthy woman. Selfish and ambitious as he was, he had come to the capital and only much later targeted Charlotte. If he could seduce her, that enormous fortune would be his.

But when did these feelings become genuine?

When his emotions were fake, it was easy to approach her. Feelings are strange things. Now that he was sincere about her, he felt sorry. Would someone like him, who had nothing, really be suitable for Charlotte?

Son of a criminal, a bastard who deserves to die.

These were the labels he lived with in his hometown. Coming to the capital didn’t change his fundamental nature.

‘Someone better should be by the boss’s side.’

Whenever inappropriate desires arose, Cedric mechanically repeated this phrase to himself, swallowing it down. Until a man appeared who was as respectable and wealthy as the boss, not much older, and handsome. Yes, he would only stay by her side to keep the flies away until then.

Of course, he knew that Marquis Michael Paine, who met all these conditions, showed interest in Charlotte.

But wasn’t he the former fiancé of Laura, who was called a villainess?

He was a man with many flaws. Despite his wealth and looks that matched the boss’s ideal type, Michael was excluded for now.

Moreover, Michael had a younger sister he might have to keep by his side for life. The fact that his deceased fiancée was Charlotte’s close friend was also a significant flaw.

‘He’s not suitable for the innocent boss who has never properly experienced love.’

Although Charlotte would be upset if she knew his thoughts. In truth, while she had excellent business acumen, she was much more innocent in matters of love than one might expect. That’s why she easily trusted those she considered her own people.

He rested his chin on his hand, deep in thought.

Come to think of it, who placed that strange drink in the president’s office? Had any employee witnessed a stranger entering the office?

‘First, I need to secure evidence.’

When the insurance company begins its investigation, she might be suspected of staging the incident.

Having completed his thoughts, Cedric urged the coachman to return to Liv Department Store.

After all the commotion had passed and everyone had gone home, Liv Department Store was dim. The mannequins placed throughout the corridors felt eerily as if they might come alive at any moment.

All windows near the fire site were left open to allow the smell to dissipate. The blackened, burnt walls that hadn’t been cleaned up yet looked terrible. For the sake of unsuspecting visitors tomorrow, it seemed they would need to cover this area with bright fabric. He climbed to the upper floor, relying on the light coming through the windows. Perhaps lighting a candle in the office would help him see something.

With this thought, as he was about to reach the fourth floor, he spotted someone kicking and turning the firmly closed doorknob of the president’s office.

“Who’s there!”

The startled black shadow quickly ran toward the opposite staircase. The person was wearing a hat pulled low, making it difficult to discern their features.

‘A woman?’

Though the figure appeared small, that alone wasn’t enough to be certain. It could also be a short man. The only way to know for sure would be to catch the intruder.

He chased after them. In terms of speed, Cedric’s running ability seemed superior. However, objects stacked in poorly lit areas posed a problem. He collided with something and tumbled, and during that time, the intruder disappeared from his sight.

“Damn it.”

In frustration, he struck the floor with his hand, causing the barely healing wound to bleed again. His hand indeed needed treatment. But treatment would come after assessing the situation.

Cedric quickly got up and ran outside the department store. He looked around but saw no particularly suspicious individuals. Returning to the department store with a sense of futility, he trudged up the stairs and opened the locked door of the president’s office. When he lit the lamp, fortunately, the problematic drink was still in the glass.

“The smell seems fine.”

He needed to take it to a doctor before the evidence was damaged. He had to find out what kind of drug had been used.

This was Cedric’s effort to protect Charlotte and his own way of expressing love.

For the past three years, he shadowed Charlotte. He took care of everything from behind, doing his best to help her soar freely. He knew well how irresponsibly light a confession of love through mere words could be.

Hadn’t his father always apologized with just words after beating his mother?

Rather than becoming such a lightweight man, Cedric chose to protect her without saying anything. If he didn’t reveal his desires, even his lowly origins wouldn’t be an issue. He could gaze at her freely anytime, and no one would criticize him for it.

Of course, some people had noticed his sinister desires. Two of them, in fact.

Countess Roland and the tailor Meryl, who acted as mother figures to Charlotte, were wary of him. Yet he didn’t even have the courage to desire the boss.

In his gray eyes reflected by the lamplight were intense obsession and love.

‘No, it’s a lie to say I don’t desire the boss.’

He was a physically healthy man, after all. He was confident that he could seduce the boss, who had no immunity to love, if he set his mind to it. But he hesitated because he didn’t want to manipulate her that way.

“Haah. You’re crazy, Cedric.”

If only Charlotte had been like those promiscuous noble ladies who used to desire him, then it might have been easier.

Cedric let out a long sigh and took out the crumpled gloves from his pocket and put them on. He picked up the glass and moved. Though it was nearly dawn, he needed to find a competent doctor as soon as possible.

* * *

When I thought I was dead, old memories surfaced.

Was my friend Laura really the villainess people claimed she was? Had I been the only one seeing Laura in a positive light all this time?

Nobles my age said Laura had been spreading malicious gossip about me.

And Countess Roland also eventually informed me about Laura’s lies.

So how do I feel now? Does my heart still believe she was a friend?

‘I’m not sure.’

Even now that I know Laura’s true nature, the time she cared for me when I was a mess doesn’t disappear. Those memories were truths I experienced firsthand and precious recollections.

Right, the letters!

I remembered the letters I had forgotten about. I told Cedric to burn them, but letters from the dead Laura must have continued to arrive.

My mouth fell open. I had ordered the destruction of letters containing my friend’s last words. I shouldn’t have done that. If I wanted to know the truth behind her death, I should have continued receiving and reading those letters.

Anxiously, I chewed on my fingernails.

“Cedric would have followed my orders without question. No, wait, knowing how I often change my mind, wouldn’t he have collected them somewhere?”

While I pondered, daylight broke. It seems this life won’t be spent in comfort. Lying in bed doing nothing made my body restless with all these thoughts swirling in my head.

Eventually, I went to work very early as usual. But someone had arrived at my department store before me and was waiting.

“Are you alright? I heard you nearly died yesterday.”

Has the rumor spread that far already?

I stared at Michael who had appeared suddenly.

“Who told you? Don’t tell me you’ve recruited one of my department store employees?”

Gabrielle had visited the factory yesterday and then returned home, so fortunately, she wouldn’t know about the fire. That means someone must have told Michael about what happened at our department store.

“My hotel is nearby. How could I not know about a fire in the vicinity?”

Could the flames really have been visible from there? It wasn’t that large of a fire.

Standing outside was cold. Perhaps because of yesterday’s incident, my body started trembling slightly.

“Let’s go inside and talk.”

We went up to the president’s office and I lit the brazier. I filled a kettle with water and personally brewed tea for Michael.

“It won’t taste good. I’m not very skilled at brewing tea.”

I’ve only ever drunk tea served by others, rarely brewing tea leaves with my own hands. Building such refinements suited me less than examining accounting ledgers and earning money.

Fortunately, Michael’s expression didn’t change after drinking the tea.

‘Oh, I must have brewed it well this time.’

I really can do anything. I shrugged and brought the teacup to my lips, only to grimace at the terrible taste. I must have used too many tea leaves.

As Michael raised his hand to drink more tea, I stopped him.

“You don’t need to keep drinking out of politeness. I’ll replace it with hot water.”

“No, it’s fine. More importantly, are you alright?”

Michael’s gaze traveled from my bruised hand to my shoulder, face, and down to my ankle.

“The bruises will heal quickly, I suppose.”

“Charlotte. Do you have many enemies?”

“I wouldn’t say I don’t. Just the merchants in this street probably hate me. Lately, all the customers have been flocking to Liv Department Store.”

Michael remained silent for a moment, seemingly lost in thought, then spoke again.

“I’ll send more security guards. They work at the hotel, so they’ll be capable.”

“For free?”

“Yes.”

“Then I’ll gratefully accept. I’ll consider it a favor from an investor.”