“It’s your first time wearing tennis clothes.”

The tone was full of irritation.

“…… Yes.”

Mi-cheom lowered her gaze as she answered.

“Have you ever played a match?”

She didn’t like tennis, horseback riding, or even boating.

Being active under the sun was the quickest way to ruin one’s skin.

“…… No, Your Highness.”

Anblyn frowned.

What more was there to talk about with such a person?

Anblyn mercilessly ordered the woman to be sent away.

Mi-cheom’s pleas for another chance disappeared as soon as the door closed, but Anblyn’s head throbbed.

Was there really such a lack of talent in Brit?

“Look again.”

Anblyn instructed her secretary Cecil to search for a new designer as she walked behind the partition.

This was the third time.

The elderly designer famous for tennis wear was too old-fashioned, while the inexperienced designer focused too much on superficial style.

By this point, she was beginning to regret hastily firing Madam Lauren.

The design proposal Madam Lauren had presented remained vivid in her mind.

She had thought it was fresh and truly befitting of Madam Lauren.

She had really wanted to wear it for this competition.

Teeth marks were clearly visible on the red lips she had bitten hard.

Thinking of the necklace incident made her feel indignant, but as a consequence, Eve Lauren Boutique had taken a big hit.

All stores in Litten’s downtown department stores had withdrawn, and even the grand flagship store on Buchanan Street was said to be temporarily closed.

That should be enough.

“I’ve changed my mind, Cecil.”

Anblyn said to her secretary after changing clothes.

“Call that woman back.”

“Do you mean Miss Mi-cheom?”

Cecil asked, unable to grasp the princess’s intentions.

“No. Madam Lauren.”

“……”

Her expression showed she had made a firm decision after all her deliberation.

[This is the timeline separator]

The long afternoon sunlight cast shadows on the table, following the lace curtain’s pattern.

After Anne quietly set down the teacup and withdrew, the two remained silent for a while.

Not knowing that the person Edgar said he would send was Madam Lauren,

Olivia was unsure how to handle the current situation.

She couldn’t trust Madam Lauren, who disregarded her client’s wishes. So sending her back was the right thing to do. If only it weren’t for Edgar.

“I’m sorry, Miss Blanchet.”

Madam Lauren, who finally spoke up, apologized.

Olivia stared blankly at Madam Lauren.

“Sincerely.”

Sunlight pooled in the teacup that no longer steamed.

The gaze that had been fixed on Olivia fell there. Then, when her eyes lifted again, they were filled with confidence.

“Please give me a chance to make up for my mistake, Miss Blanchet.”

‘I’m not sure if she’ll accept, but that’s my condition for the acquisition.’

That’s what Edgar had said when she visited him with the business plan.

So she had to make Olivia choose her no matter what.

If Olivia wanted, she could even kneel down.

She never thought she’d have to lower her pride that she hadn’t bent even before the haughty princess, but it didn’t matter.

“Why should I do that?”

Madam Lauren’s eyes trembled slightly at the cynical voice. She felt deceived by the seemingly weak appearance.

The eyes she thought were like a clear lake seemed like a deep, distant sea.

“Please leave now.”

Olivia said firmly.

It was a situation that had nothing to do with her. Whether Lancelot acquired Lauren, or Lauren acquired Lancelot.

She still didn’t feel like forgiving Madam Lauren who had used her, and she didn’t want to work with such a person again.

This won’t be easy.

A bead of sweat rolled down Madam Lauren’s spine.

“You don’t have to accept my apology. I’m not asking for mercy. I wouldn’t easily forgive myself either, Miss Blanchet.”

Madam Lauren straightened her back and met Olivia’s gaze.

“But shouldn’t you at least give me a minimal chance?”

Olivia was dumbfounded. She had never encountered such a brazen apology before.

“I don’t want to work with someone I can’t trust.”

Olivia’s attitude was unyielding. Madam Lauren couldn’t back down.

There was a cliff behind her, and if she lost Lancelot, she would have no place to stand in Brit.

Still in the prime of her life, to become the owner of a rural tailor shop.

“If it’s hard to trust me, then fine. Don’t trust me. Instead.”

The middle-aged eyes filled with fatigue were determined. Madam Lauren twisted the hem of her skirt as she spoke.

“Use me.”

“……”

“Use me, Miss Blanchet.”

The faint wrinkles around Madam Lauren’s eyes trembled slightly.

“There is no designer in this country who surpasses me.”

“You disappointed me with that outstanding skill of yours.”

Madam Lauren was struck at her core. Her red-painted lips were tightly pressed.

Even the most eloquent person would be at a loss for words in this situation.

But she had to survive. She slowly raised her head after averting her gaze.

“My life is in your hands. You can use me as you wish. I’ll do anything you want. So.”

Her voice was hoarse with desperation.

“Please, accept me, Miss Blanchet.”

Madam Lauren knelt down.

The slanting sunlight dyed the entire reception room golden. A quiet silence flowed, and time passed slowly over it.

“Today, you.”

Olivia finally broke the silence.

“Have incurred a great debt to me, Madam Lauren.”

The light scattered by the emerald ring on Madam Lauren’s hand trembled faintly.

“You’ll have to repay that debt. Without fail.”

Olivia’s blue eyes were calm as she sat with perfect posture. Her elegant face looked directly at Madam Lauren.

“…Thank you.”

Madam Lauren raised her stiff head.

Her pride, which she had never bent even before a princess of a country, was easily broken before Olivia Blanchet.

“I won’t disappoint you.”

It was a sincere promise, at least as long as she was working with Edgar.

[This is the timeline separator]

Sudden silence fell over the toilette room, which had been filled with the refreshing sound of the grand fountain’s water and bright laughter.

Anblyn raised her trembling hand. The maids who had been tending to her hair stopped their movements and stepped back.

Anblyn, who had been staring at the mirror, slowly turned her head.

“…What did you just say?”

She had clearly heard, but she couldn’t believe it.

“Madam Lauren refused, Your Highness.”

Cecil bowed his head apologetically.

“Refused?”

Anblyn’s eyes flickered with anger at the completely unexpected situation.

How dare a mere tailor.

It was as humiliating as being compared to an illegitimate child.

“What reason… did she give?”

“……”

Cecil’s lips wouldn’t part, fearing that the already disturbed princess might be greatly distressed.

As he merely moved his lips, Anblyn coldly rebuked.

“Cecil. Tell me.”

“…She, she says Marquis Lancelot has acquired her business, Your Highness.”

Anblyn frowned at the sudden mention of that name.

“Edgar?”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Blue veins stood out on the back of her hand as she gripped the armrest of the chair. She tried to calm her increasingly rapid breathing.

‘It was you who spoke of parting.’

Edgar’s cold and indifferent words stabbed her heart like a dagger.

‘We’re over.’

When she first visited him after returning from her divorce, crying and apologizing, he had coldly told the sobbing Anblyn.

“That’s… not a reason for her not to come to me.”

Because Edgar wouldn’t have stopped her. He wasn’t the type of person to be cruel yet despicable.

At least, she hadn’t done anything to deserve such treatment from him.

If Madam Lauren had personally refused due to hurt pride from the previous incident, she would have been willing to graciously show mercy.

“Tell me, Cecil.”

The secretary, who had hesitated for a moment, reported.

“That is… she says she’s agreed to work for Olivia Blanchet.”

“……”

Anblyn’s face turned pale as if ice water had been poured over her, and her jaw trembled.

“Surely… not on Edgar’s orders?”

“According to Madam Lauren, that’s the case, Your Highness.”

Anblyn’s reddened eyes grew even redder. She shuddered with a sense of betrayal.

How could this be. How could you do this to me…

The wind blew in through the wide-open window.

Following the wind carrying hot air, Anblyn approached the terrace.

The flower-covered garden looked terribly like a blood-red world today.

“I need to see Ed. Prepare for it.”

Anblyn finally parted her lips with difficulty after a long while.

She was holding back tears that seemed about to fall at any moment.

[This is the timeline separator]

Edgar gazed at the sunset over Litten city with languid eyes.

With the opening day of the Dumblin Championship approaching, he had more work to handle than usual, so an unscheduled visitor was unwelcome.

Especially if that visitor was the princess.

“How… how could you do this to me?”

Anblyn bit her lip, whimpering.

His gaze, calm to the point of coldness, was unbearable.

He was her first love.

The memories of their passionate times were still painfully etched in her heart, as vivid as if they had happened yesterday.

She resented the man who seemed utterly unaffected.

“It’s too much. Really, too much. You.”

Seeing the face of the beautiful man who had once slept in her arms, the tears that had been welling up fell helplessly.

Edgar looked at the woman with dispassionate eyes.

Here we go again.

A weary sigh escaped him.

“How… could you even take my designer away?”

The quiet tears soon turned into sobs. They showed no signs of stopping easily.

Edgar closed his eyes tightly. How on earth could he make this woman understand? He was starting to get irritated.

“Why are you going this far? Is the rumor about a thief in the hotel true? Are you being blackmailed by that woman?”

Edgar couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

Anblyn was so surprised that she blinked her long eyelashes, wet with tears.

“Look, Princess.”

His voice was so low that Anblyn stopped her sobbing.

His grey-blue eyes, dark enough to be murky, narrowed as if facing something terrible.