****

For a while he thought it was an illusion. Perhaps it was a joke played by the dazzling spring sun. However, even after enough time to get used to the baptism of light, nothing changed.

Bastian slowly lowered his eyes and looked at the unfamiliar woman.

The stake he won that night.

She must have been the woman who had been sold for her father’s gambling debts. It was impossible, but Bastian no longer questioned his judgment.

“Is there a problem, by any chance?”

The manager, who had been paying attention, asked a cautious question.

Instead of answering, Bastian raised his gaze and looked over the terrace railing. The beautiful garden with flower beds in geometric patterns and marble fountains was definitely that of the Reinfeld Hotel.

A table was placed overlooking the landscape. The walls with their vine-like plaster decorations and the shadows of shrub flower pots hanging above them. And a silver-haired manager with a distinctive mustache.

Bastian’s eyes turned again to the woman, grazing the evidence that informed him of the fact that he could not have been mistaken about the appointed place. The woman’s eyes, round and large, were much clearer and more vividly blue-green than he remembered.

The beggar Duke.

Bastian’s eyes narrowed when he remembered the nickname of the idiot who gambled on his daughter.

What if all the bluffs the man was making were true?

Such a hypothetical finally gave him a clue to understand this perplexing situation. Incredible as it was, there could be no other answer.

“Hi…Captain?”

As the silence grew longer, the manager’s eyes began to shake.

“No.”

Bastian straightened his body as he gave a concise answer. Only then did the manager, who was relieved, fulfill his duty by quietly resigning.

The fantasy music flowing in the hotel lounge was now reaching its climax.

Odette held her breath, seized with the same hopeless fear as that night. Exploding heartbeats blended in between the dazzling piano melodies. Meanwhile, a smile crossed the corner of the man’s mouth as he was looking at Odette. The shadow of the officer’s hat hid half of his face, but Odette could clearly see the bitter ridicule.

“It’s Bastian Klauswitz.”

At the moment when Odette was swallowed up by a feeling of humiliation that seemed to turn her head white, the man slowly took off his hat.

“I see this is not our first time meeting, Lady Odette.”

The neatly combed platinum hair and blue eyes scratched Odette’s field of vision like a violent beam.

***

After a short break, the performer returned. The piano playing resumed, diluting the silence between the two.

Bastian turned his nonchalant gaze from the garden fountain to the woman. Her blank face, still looking down at the end of the table, was as pale as that night.

He won the emperor’s niece from a real duke.

A dry laugh flowed again as he reaffirmed this fact, which was not at all real.

An insignificant fallen nobleman.

That level of superficial information was all Bastian knew about the Duke of Dissen. He could have done a detailed investigation if he wanted to, but he didn’t feel the need to. It was just a name that would pass meaninglessly anyway.

Should he have been more careful?

Bastian ruminated on his mistakes while drinking moderately chilled tea. But even if he knew in advance, he wouldn’t have been able to disobey the emperor. The emperor knew that well, so he could have pushed forward with this ridiculous marriage proposal.

“Did you know everything from the start?”

Eventually, Odette raised her head and asked a calm question. Clearing all her confused emotions, the woman’s face was as cold as that night. 

“No, Lady Odette.”

Bastian shook his head slowly and set the teacup he was holding onto the table. The sound made by the action with intentional force resonated loudly and clearly.

“Unfortunately, my imagination is not strong enough to think that the father who sold his daughter in a back alley gambling house is a real Duke, and the stakes won there are the Emperor’s niece. I am very surprised to see you again like this as well.”

Bastian raised the corners of his lips slightly in polite manners.

Although perplexed, Odette soon regained her composure. The eyes looking at him were even somewhat cold. Even though she lived a life of rock bottom, she was still a woman who didn’t seem to have abandoned her proud class consciousness.

Come to think of it, the woman was like that that night.

Where praying and pleading did not clear the air, she rather majestically admonished him. After knowing the history of her noble lineage, he seemed to be able to understand the woman’s bravery. The empty pride of the powerless. It was a virtue that Bastian despised.

Are you kidding me?

The clearer the memory of that night, the more perplexing this marriage proposal became.

Bastian stared at the woman with a look of deep disillusionment. The price of winning by risking his life was the daughter of a beggar duke. Things were going badly for him, but he didn’t want to consume his emotions any more than was necessary.

The emperor, who knew he had no chance of winning but had a wide range of goals, had to be somewhere else anyway.

Until the faint steam rising from the teacup disappeared, Bastian just stared at the woman. In the meantime, one song ended and the next song started. It was a beautiful, boring, worthless melody, like the woman in front of him.

“Please turn me down.”

Odette, who had finished her thoughts, opened her mouth with difficulty.

“Captain, please tell His Majesty that you do not like me.”

Looking at Bastian, who still had no answer, Odette made another polite request. She knew it the moment their eyes met for the first time. Bastian Clausitz despised her and had no intention of accepting this marriage proposal.

For an unexpected miracle.

The feeble hope that the Countess of Trier talked about did not exist from the beginning. When she realized that, a feeling of unbearable shame and humiliation overcame her.

The sudden marriage proposal was frightening, but on the other hand, she felt a cautious anticipation. This was the reason why, even after receiving such a reply, she could not give up her last unfulfilled wish.

It felt like that man who was called a hero was the light of salvation shining through her hopeless life.

“I’m sorry, but I have no intention to do that. Lady Odette.”

After a while, Bastian opened his mouth and calmly conveyed his intention of refusal.

While Odette, who was taken aback by the completely unexpected answer, hesitated, she sat upright. Decorations symbolizing positions and majors shone brilliantly on the pure white uniform were intimidating.

“Do you know what the rumors of the Dissen are in the public eye?”

Bastian asked an unexpected question in a low-pitched voice.

“…I don’t know.”

Odette finally spoke after moving her hard lips several times.

“Then, knowing that, why do you think I came here for?”

The man nodded briefly and asked another question, like a child’s riddle. It was never an appropriate way to talk to a lady.

“It would be nice if you could stop talking in riddles, Captain.”

Odette pointed out the man’s rudeness in a roundabout way. Checking the watch on his wrist, Bastian nodded coolly and raised his gaze.

“It means that I am doing my best to be loyal to the Emperor.”

“I don’t suppose you mean to accept this marriage proposal?”

“I’m sorry, but that doesn’t seem to be an option.”

Bastian expressed regret with a vague smile. Odette could feel her cheeks burning, but she did not avert her gaze and endured the moment of humiliation.

“I think it’s a play that will end when Princess Isabelle gets married.” (Bastian)

“I do not wish to take part in deceiving the imperial family.” (Odette)

“I think you’re misunderstanding something, but that’s probably what the Emperor wants.”

Bastian mocked the woman in an extremely polite tone.

A shield to protect the princess.

She was not so foolish as to be unaware of the fact that that was the role given to her. Nevertheless, the reason she came here must be because that lady also had a purpose. She pretended to be virtuous again on such a subject. It was a pitiful maneuver.

“As you can see, I am a soldier, and the emperor is the military governor of the empire. When he commands, I obey, Lady Odette.”

“Don’t you think about the rumors that will spread and the reputation that will be damaged in the meantime?”

“It does not matter. I’m not a gentleman anyway.”

A faint sneer appeared on the corners of Bastian’s mouth.

He intended to crawl if he wanted to, and howl if he wanted to bark.

Bastian would do anything to protect what was his. It is a season in which he enjoys the beautiful gifts bestowed by the emperor. It was also a deal with no reason to refuse.

“If you don’t like me so much that you don’t want to see me again, I recommend Lady Odette go see the emperor yourself. I think the emperor would respect the opinion of his niece whom he cherishes enough to choose a groom himself rather than a mere naval officer, don’t you think?”

Even at the moment when he spat out words that trampled on her heart, Bastian was still being plausibly polite.

She felt her eyee burning, but Odette did not avoid the man’s gaze. A long ray of sunlight stretched under the awning and lay like a hatch between the two people who were still looking at each other.

“If you’re not going to do that, then I guess we’ve come to a decision.”

After tidying up his clothes, Bastian ended the meeting by picking up the officer’s hat that had been left at the end of the table.

“One moment, please!”

Odette, who had been watching Bastian stand up, exclaimed urgently. She knew that there were many eyes watching, but it didn’t matter that much anymore.

Odette approached Bastian with an envelope taken out of her handbag.

Recognizing the meaning of politely presenting it, Bastian let out a sincere laugh for the first time since the tea time began. 

“Don’t tell me you’re going to pay for the tea?”

“Yes. I don’t want to drink tea paid by the captain.”

The blush that started on her cheeks had spread to the nape of her neck and earlobes before she knew it, but Odette still maintained her upright attitude.

A wind blew from the hotel’s garden between the two of them.

Bastian slowly lowered his eyes and looked at Odette. The fresh scent of spring flowers blended with the soft scent of the woman blocking his way. It was a languid and quiet afternoon, as if you could hear the sound of the swaying petals.

“Save your money.”

Bastian let out a low sigh and put on his hat.

“It wouldn’t be a bad idea to add to the duke’s gambling fund. So that I won’t see the young lady there again.”

“What is that…”

“You were lucky to be sold to me that day, but there is no guarantee that you will have such luck next time.”

Bastian rebuked Odette as if he were dealing with an immature child. Contrary to that soft voice, the eyes hidden in the shadow of the officer’s cap gave off a cold light that gave her goosebumps.

His aura overwhelmed Odette for an instant.

She knew she had to say something, but she didn’t have the confidence to say it properly. All Odette could do was endure Bastian’s gaze looking down at her from an overwhelming advantage.

She never wanted to see this man again.

At the moment when that earnest wish had turned into tears, he smiled slowly.

“I look forward to seeing you again in a place that suits you, a lady of noble lineage.”

Contrary to his vulgar words and actions, Bastian left an elegant greeting and turned around. Odette, who stood with her stubbornly straight posture, raised her watery eyes and looked at his back.

The man never looked back until he passed through the long aisle and out of the lounge’s entrance.