The spring rain that had been falling for a while disappeared, and the sky of Bereut was now cloudless with only the sun occupying its place.

“Hmm-hmm~.”

Thanks to this, the whole world was so bright that even each water droplet hanging on flower petals could be seen clearly.

In contrast, the room where the humming sound came from was darkness itself due to thick curtains.

“The prince is waiting, so I must hurry!”

The wind entered through the open window, making the curtains sway slightly, and sunlight seeped through the gaps of the fluttering curtains.

“Prince, prince~.”

The small sunlight couldn’t illuminate the space brightly.

But it clearly shone on the owner of this room, Amber de Rozley, with her deep pink hair that seemed infused with carnations and her strikingly blue eyes.

“Amber’s prince on a white horse!”

Amber’s humming, which had been heard from the darkness for quite some time, immediately ended when the creaking sound of an opening door echoed.

“Amber missed the prince so, so much!”

Her lively voice became excited, as if the person she had been waiting for had arrived.

“Did the prince miss Amber?”

Amber kept asking questions, but there was no answer from the other side. Nevertheless, Amber endlessly continued her questions.

“Amber is happy today too thanks to the prince!”

Though it was one-sided, this space where only Amber and her prince existed was in full bloom with smiles.

“Ah, Miss! Miss Amber!!”

Until the firmly closed door opened wide with a noisy sound.

“……!”

The moment the door opened wide, light began to enter the room.

The light spread instantly, turning the dark room into a bright space in an instant.

Strangely, in that place filled with sunlight, there was no prince for Amber, only Amber herself stood there.

Instead, several portraits of the same man surrounded her.

“Prince…… Were you surprised?”

Plump red lips blooming on snow-white skin.

Silver hair more enchanting than the soft moon coloring the night sky.

Dark eyebrows harmonizing with those sorrowful purple eyes that seemed to contain amethyst itself.

The protagonist of the numerous portraits covering Amber’s room was none other than Aaron de Monston.

“It’s okay. Amber will take care of it.”

Amber sent a smile toward the portrait, then turned her head toward the maid.

“You, did you forget that Amber told you not to enter the room when she’s spending time with the prince?”

Unlike her gaze toward Aaron’s portrait, her gaze toward the maid was dripping with coldness. Her suddenly lowered voice traveled through the eardrum, freezing the maid’s entire body.

“I-I’m sorry.”

When Amber’s sharp gaze pierced mercilessly, the maid immediately knelt on the cold marble floor and bowed her head.

The pain came from hitting the floor hard, but the maid could do nothing except tremble.

“Are you stupid? Why do you do things you should be sorry for?”

“Th-that’s because it was very urgent……”

“Nothing is urgent enough to disturb Amber’s time with the prince.”

The clicking sound of shoes echoed eerily slow. The sound gradually grew louder and disappeared in front of the kneeling maid.

“But you’ve been with Amber for a long time, so I’ll listen to your last words.”

Because I’m a kind-hearted master.

Amber said, lifting the maid’s head with the toe of her shoe.

“D-Duke Aaron……”

The blue eyes that came straight at her with no escape were terror itself. The maid swallowed hard to drive away her fear.

“What? Could it be that the prince is looking for Amber now?!”

When Aaron’s name was mentioned from the maid’s mouth, a smile instantly spread across Amber’s face.

“If that’s the case, you should have said so earlier!”

Amber’s pouting voice was even generous.

“Th-that’s not it……”

“Huh? That’s not it?”

“D-Duke Aaron is rumored to be having a secret romance……”

When the maid’s words ended, a thud followed by clattering noises enveloped the entire room.

“M-Miss, are you alright!”

The kneeling maid quickly stood up and approached Amber, who had fallen over with the table.

“Who.”

“Pardon……?”

“Who is the other person!”

Amber’s scream, which seemed to tear eardrums, filled the Rozley mansion.

“La…… Lady Eileen of the Ceres ducal family……”

Though her voice didn’t come out properly due to the overwhelming fear, the maid did her best to speak.

“Go and bring her here right now.”

“What? But how can I bring the daughter of the Ceres ducal family……”

Once again, with a clatter, glass fragments scattered here and there on the wall.

“Did you forget Dad’s order that everything Amber says must be obeyed?”

“I-I’m sorry. I’ll go and bring her right away.”

Red liquid flowed from the maid’s cheek due to the passing glass, but the fear made her forget even that pain. The maid rushed out, leaving only the words that she would return soon.

“How dare…… How dare you steal Amber’s prince?”

Amber’s anger, left alone with only Aaron’s portraits after the maid had gone, grew even larger.

“Eileen. Amber won’t let you get away with this. Amber will make you pay the price for coveting what belongs to her, for taking what belongs to Amber.”

* * *

“Aaron hurt me first……”

Time passed and she was freed from the high fever, but strangely, thoughts of Aaron didn’t leave her side. Eileen sighed deeply and buried her head on the desk.

“I don’t care! Aaron or whatever will ruin himself alone!”

To soothe her heart, she tried drawing lines here and there with a black pen on white paper, but her confused feelings didn’t subside.

“Yes. This is actually good.”

Eileen, who had been staring at the blackened paper, tore it up and put down the pen with a thud.

“Miss! May I come in?”

While organizing her thoughts for quite some time, Mary’s voice reached her ears.

“Yes, Mary. Come in!”

Eileen quickly gathered the torn paper and answered in a bright voice.

“Miss!”

When the closed door opened, Mary entered the room, struggling with a large box.

“Mary, what’s this?”

“Lady Cordelia sent it!”

“Really?”

Eileen tilted her head and carefully opened the box.

“……Chocolate?”

White chocolate with a sweet aroma, whiskey-filled bonbons.

The box was full of things Eileen liked.

“Delicious.”

When she took out and ate a piece of white chocolate from the box, sweetness spread throughout her mouth. She felt like Aaron’s face, which had been bothering her since morning, was gradually fading away.

“Mary, are you busy right now?”

She asked, placing a chocolate filled with nuts in Mary’s hand.

“No, I’m not busy! But why do you ask?”

“Then let’s go to the shopping district now!”

“The shopping district?”

Mary tilted her head at her unexpected words.

“When you receive a gift, you should give something in return!”

When Eileen answered with a bright smile, Mary nodded with a short laugh.

“We’ll have a lot to buy, so let’s take Daniel along as a porter! If we tell him we’ll buy him cake, he’ll come!”

While we’re there, let’s buy this and that too!

Eileen hummed a tune and opened the closed door wide.

And simultaneously discovered a stranger standing in front of the door and let out a shrill scream.

“Ah…… You startled me! Who, who are you?”

Deep blue hair, contrasting with light gray eyes.

A large man who seemed to be over 190cm tall was standing in front of her room.

When she met his seemingly indifferent eyes, Eileen’s body gradually stiffened.

“Wh-who are you…… standing in front of my room……?”

She tried hard to calm her pupils that were shaking uncontrollably.

But the tension that had come upon her didn’t easily disappear. Thus, for a few seconds, silence flowed between Eileen and the strange man.

“Who am I……”

The large man was the first to break the silence. His voice, immersed in moisture, seemed like it would burst into tears at any moment.

“Miss Eileen…… I’m really hurt.”

When the large man uttered words mixed with complaint, Eileen’s stiff mouth began to twitch.

Eventually, laughter flowed from her mouth as if she could no longer hold it back.

“Sorry, Neville. I was just playing a prank!”

By now, the silence and fearful atmosphere that had flowed between the two had disappeared like bubbles, and Eileen’s cheerful laughter took its place.

“Miss……”

Neville, who often became the target of Eileen’s pranks, pouted his lips and glared at her with narrowed eyes today as well.

“Miss, Sir Neville will cry again. And shouldn’t you stop falling for these pranks by now, Sir Neville?”

Mary sighed deeply and took out a handkerchief from her pocket to hand to him.

“I’m sorry, Neville. I won’t play such pranks anymore.”

Eileen, who had been laughing so hard she could barely breathe, wiped the tears from her eyes.

“By the way, Sir Neville. Do you have business with Miss?”

When the laughter that had filled the space subsided and calm returned, Mary tilted her head and asked him.

“Ah…… Somehow I felt like Miss would need a porter.”

Neville answered while rubbing his eyes with the handkerchief. His voice was still trembling, but a warm smile appeared on his face.

“That’s right! How did you know?”

“I saw you carrying a large box, so I somehow felt that way.”

“You’re smart, aren’t you?”

Eileen’s touch, poking his side, was full of mischief.

“Miss, today’s training that the captain plans to do is really hard. Couldn’t you use me as a porter instead of Sir Daniel, just for today?”

Neville lowered his head to meet Eileen’s eyes. His eyes, red from just having cried, looked even more sorrowful.

“Okay, fine. I’ll go out with you today since I played a prank on you.”

“Thank you, Miss!”

When Eileen gave her permission, Neville’s drooping mouth corners gradually curled upward.

Could he be that happy?

Eileen looked at Neville with a contented smile.

“Then, I’ll change my clothes and tell Harvey, so get ready and come to the lobby.”

“Yes, Miss!”

Neville gave Eileen a slight bow before heading to his room. With each step he took, his humming never stopped.

“Miss, let’s go get ready too.”

Eileen, who had been standing still enjoying Neville’s clumsy humming, left with Mary.

“……”

When Eileen disappeared from sight and he was left alone, the smile that had spread across Neville’s face vanished in an instant. A coldness took over, making it hard to believe he was the same person who had shed tears just moments ago.