Patrick approached the emperor sitting in a mobile chair to return to his quarters, asking about tomorrow’s schedule and the Tane return schedule. The emperor just chewed with his eyes wide open, mumbling something.

“I’m glad His Majesty is interested. We plan to visit the Kaosan site tomorrow.”

“His Majesty doesn’t seem to be feeling well.”

“Your Highness Patrick, are you feeling much healthier? Let’s return to Tane now.”

“The air in Karsik was clean. So I plan to stay a bit longer.”

“I suppose you have a reason to stay here?”

“Yes, there’s a clear reason to stay longer. By the way.”

Patrick leaned close enough for the empress’s red hair to touch his mouth and whispered in her ear.

“You should reduce the use of poison on His Majesty.”

“W-What… How impudent.”

“You should know. What will happen to the empress’s position if His Majesty passes away now? Well then, have a good night.”

Patrick knew. That the emperor was barely hanging on with Pamila’s poison, it wasn’t a matter of reducing or increasing.

The poison on the empress’s skirt was eroding the imperial family of Tane. The way to eradicate corruption and fraud was to cut it out by the roots as quickly as possible.

He was certain that investigating the border city of Luken with the Lasbur merchant base and the garnet mine in the Kingdom of Torun would clearly reveal the source of corruption. He needed to secure time to visit both places.

‘Your Majesty, please hold on until then.’

Patrick saw off the emperor and crossed the Helios Hall to the terrace. Four young men who had already occupied seats on the terrace greeted Patrick.

They were classmates from Tane Academy and sons of Karsik nobles. Patrick lit a cigar and turned to lean against the railing.

His gaze naturally went to the woman sitting straight ahead inside the hall. It was Carolina, with her black hair neatly falling below her shoulders and wearing a white flower crown.

Without anyone initiating, their gazes intertwined from a distance.

She was talking to Isabella sitting next to her, covering her mouth with an open fan, but she lowered the fan and raised her chin to look at Patrick blatantly.

Patrick wondered to himself.

‘Is it a coincidence?’

He didn’t move his gaze, only moving his elbow to take a puff of the cigar and exhale smoke. Carolina was still looking at him with a steady gaze.

Patrick turned his body abruptly.

“Your Highness. It was really fantastic earlier. Not only was the identical appearance surprising, but I’ll never forget the sight of you two waltzing.”

“Your Highness Patrick. But how did you waltz with Princess Carolina?”

“Princess Carolina is famous for being haughty.”

“Her nickname is the Black Curtain of the Empire.”

“Black Curtain. Is it because of her hair?”

Patrick smiled, recalling the nickname ‘crow’.

“It’s not that. She’s rejected all dance requests since her debutante. No one even asks anymore. So she just stands leaning against the wall…”

“When was her debutante? It seems like it’s been five years already.”

“That’s a somewhat sad story.”

*

Carolina confirmed that Patrick had seen off the Tane emperor and gone out to the terrace. A place directly visible from where she was sitting. He exhaled cigar smoke and turned his body, leaning against the railing. He looked straight at her.

‘Is it a coincidence?’

She thought his gaze had trapped her. She didn’t avoid his eyes.

‘The waltz we danced was quite good. If he asks again, should I accept or not?’

He narrowed his eyes slightly and smiled faintly as if seducing her.

‘How boring.’

As she was about to avoid his gaze with a bored expression, he turned his head away first. That provoked her.

‘Ah, he passes.’

She stood up abruptly and went out to the terrace.

“Oh, oh. Your Highness.”

“Princess Carolina is coming this way.”

Patrick pretended not to hear their commotion and rested his crossed arms on the railing, lifting his head to look up at the sky. Stars were scattered across the clean, black night sky without a single cloud.

“Your Highness Patrick.”

A clear voice like clinking glass. It was Princess Carolina’s voice. Patrick slowly turned around with an expressionless face.

“I have something to say to Your Highness.”

He had expected her to be bold, but wasn’t this going too far?

“Go ahead.”

Carolina frowned her white forehead.

She turned to look at the young men standing with their mouths open. Innocent kids who pulled out cigars and rushed to the smoking room at the end of the terrace, turning their curiosity into a fuss. A few would probably peek through the door crack of the smoking room.

She recalled the debutante incident.

Carolina Eint Carl Berk. As the 2nd princess of the Karsik Empire, her nickname was ‘The Black Curtain of the Empire’.

Before her debutante at seventeen, she had been ‘The Flower of the Empire’, but the change to the nickname ‘Black Curtain’ was entirely due to her prickly attitude towards men after her debutante.

Even before her debutante, she wasn’t a bright and lovable girl. She didn’t hide her sharp and prickly side, and while there wasn’t much she liked, there were things she wouldn’t do even with a knife to her throat.

The day after her debut at the Helios Hall in the Karsik Palace, she attended Duke Leak’s party.

Her dance card was filled before the first waltz even began.

Though she maintained a cold and haughty expression, when she met a partner with good chemistry, she would immerse herself in the dance and smile brightly. That smile set the hearts of onlookers aflame.

After dinner, she danced the last waltz with Berlen, the eldest son of the Mainz ducal family. Berlen was a man full of confidence who had dated and broken up with several young ladies and had experience making them cry.

Berlen showed off his charm and lured Carolina to the terrace. He attempted skinship.

Carolina sensitively noticed and pushed him away fastidiously. In the process, an altercation broke out, and those who witnessed them turned it into a scandal.

After that, she became the famous black curtain of the ballroom. Some young ladies secretly hoped that 2nd Princess Carolina would rather make other excuses and not attend.

Carolina quite liked her nickname.

A flower that’s all about being pretty, beautiful, and fragrant, withering quickly when it falls – that suits Isabella.

Something unknown behind the curtain. When you pull back the black curtain, a blue sea might spread out, or a staircase leading to a mysterious world might begin, or a bleeding young deer might be hiding.

Not a fluttering lace curtain, but a heavy black curtain, she liked it. If possible, she wanted to live cleanly and peacefully behind the curtain for life.

But not only the crown prince of Heia, but also her mother the empress dowager and Harchen joined forces to try to lift her curtain. She thought to herself that she was drawing in Patrick for this purpose.

Patrick found this situation pathetic and boring.

He was irritated by the situation trying to create a comedy at a time when he was facing an important tragic event in his life.

“A normal lady would send her maid instead of coming to a dark terrace herself.”

“It’s because I’m not in the mood of a normal lady.”

Patrick had no interest in jokes without aesthetics or philosophy.

“Speak.”

“Please propose to me.”

“There was already a state marriage between two empires today.”

“A state marriage proposal came from the Kingdom of Heia.”

“I heard about that last time.”

“I’m not asking for affection from Your Highness. I won’t bother you. Let’s live separately after the state marriage.”

‘I suppose you have a reason to stay here?’

‘Yes, there’s a clear reason to stay here longer.’

Patrick recalled his conversation with the empress.

‘Is it a coincidence? Princess, I’ll give you one chance to change your mind.’

“I refuse your proposal.”

“Then, please stop my state marriage.”

Patrick looked at Carolina and smiled prettily.

“You’re asking me to stop the state marriage? Not asking for affection.”

Patrick casually looked around at the people glancing this way from the open smoking room and inside the Helios Hall.

“Yes.”

“Do you want a scandal?”

“Yes.”

“That’s what I want too.”

Patrick grabbed Carolina’s waist and turned her body to lean her against the railing. Carolina was conscious of the gazes of people looking out from inside the hall.

‘Is he going to kiss me?’

She made up her mind to overcome it with a haughty attitude as if a kiss was nothing special.

“Your Highness, people are watching.”

“I’ll actively participate in the princess’s play.”

He tilted his head and traced the outline of Carolina’s lips with his own.

“Didn’t you say we’ve already kissed? So let’s be more dramatic.”

Patrick overlapped his lips and ran his hand through her thick hair. Her soft hair was as mysterious as the black night.

‘No way… is that it?’

Surprised by the unexpectedly short and shallow kiss, she opened her eyes slightly, and seeing his transparent blue eyes, she unconsciously grabbed his white justaucorps.

‘I don’t dislike it, and I don’t feel like throwing up either.’

He overlapped his lips again without giving her a chance.

‘Ah. This should look convincing.’

She glanced towards the hall and decided to cling to him more deeply.

When she was about to feel his vest embroidered with silver thread by putting her hand inside his justaucorps, Patrick deftly grabbed her wrist while removing his lips.

He whispered in her ear.

“This is just the prologue. Now let’s go unfold Act 1.”

He naturally wrapped his arm around her waist from behind and entered the hall.

The people in the hall suddenly turned their heads, but couldn’t turn away their curiosity. Soon, gazes followed the two.

Carolina saw Crown Prince Ralph glaring at her with cold eyes.

Alesia, who was talking with Chris, the 2nd prince of Tane, opened her mouth while pushing up her glasses. Isabella’s lips, which always smiled gently, trembled and distorted.

Carolina felt triumphant.

Patrick came out of the Helios Hall and told a servant to prepare a carriage.

He looked around.

People still hanging on the railing looking this way, people sitting by the window looking outside, servants and maids around the hall entrance and stairs.

He smiled languidly and embraced her body from behind like someone revealing desire, and went to the carriage that a servant was opening.

He held her waist until Carolina entered the carriage, then spoke loudly enough for the servant to hear.

“To Arteum on Epi Street.”

‘Th-That place…’

Carolina was dumbfounded.

Arteum on Epi Street. A cream-colored stone building that was both grand and splendid.

The first floor had an art exhibition hall and an auction hall, a tea room, and a small party room, while the second and third floors were rooms for noble lovers to have secret meetings.

“Your Highness. That place is…”