“What brings you here?”

“I heard the subjugation team returned while I was away from home, and it was true. Are you hurt anywhere?”

Olivia, who approached me with an elegant gait, asked with her eyes half-closed.

“No.”

“That’s a relief. I just stopped by on my way back from visiting my family and having an audience with Her Majesty the Empress. I didn’t expect to meet you here. I thought you had no interest in jewelry at all…”

“I just had a quick errand…”

Just as I was about to make up an excuse, the owner’s voice was heard.

“Customer, I’ve picked out some brooches that would suit the gentleman.”

Olivia’s eyes widened in surprise at the loud voice that echoed throughout the store and turned towards me.

The owner sure has a good set of lungs.

“My goodness, what could that mean? Surely it’s not meant for you, Rose?”

“It is meant for me, but it’s not what you’re thinking, Mother…”

“I thought you said you had no intention of marrying, but you have a man you’re seeing?”

I was about to snap back that it wasn’t like that, but I took a deep breath instead.

Stay calm. If I get upset here, it’ll look even stranger.

It was only natural for Olivia to jump to such conclusions. After all, she was the one trying to marry me off as soon as possible to get me out of the marquis’ residence.

Just as I had composed myself and was about to speak…

“What’s the matter, senior?”

Ian, who had approached silently, skillfully blocked my way. Even when I tried to gently push him aside, he didn’t budge.

What’s he doing? Does he not remember that Olivia is my stepmother?

“This is Klein, my junior from the knight order. This is my mother.”

“Pleased to meet you. I’m Klein.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Olivia Winters.”

“I received some help from this friend, so we came together.”

Olivia’s gaze shifted back to Ian as she smiled slightly, raising the corners of her mouth.

“Oh, I see. Your name was…”

“Klein, ma’am.”

Olivia nodded slightly as if she understood, covering her mouth with the fan she was holding. It was obvious what she was thinking.

“Then I’ll have to come by another time.”

“There’s no need for that. We were about to leave anyway…”

“Oh my, do you think I’m so tactless? Enjoy your time together and come home later, Rose.”

“Mother, it’s not what you think…”

I couldn’t even finish saying it wasn’t that kind of relationship. I just stared at the empty space where Olivia had been standing and let out a short, bitter laugh.

She left in such high spirits, she probably wouldn’t have believed me even if I had said anything.

“Senior.”

“Yes?”

“I inadvertently heard that woman’s inner thoughts.”

A low exclamation escaped between my teeth. Come to think of it, Ian had said he could hear people’s inner thoughts.

But what did he just say? That woman?

“What did she say?”

“That… You should just think of that woman as someone whose outside and inside are different.”

Ian’s eyes, fixed on the entrance Olivia had left through, were unusually sharp.

“I told you before, she’s my stepmother. I’ve known for a while that she doesn’t like me, so it’s nothing new.”

“Still, that woman…”

Ian’s lips moved, but he ended up biting his lower lip hard.

Is it something he can’t even say out loud?

Meeting his eyes full of concern, I tried to force a smile.

“I’ll be careful, okay?”

“That’s not enough. You should be wary in everything.”

“Alright, let’s go pick out that brooch.”

“Customers, please come and choose.”

The owner brought a total of five brooches. Each brooch was in a box, and the colors were all different: blue, green, yellow, red, and purple.

“But earlier you said you picked out brooches that would suit this friend…”

Isn’t this just bringing out all the good products?

“The customer’s taste is more important, isn’t it? Everything here is top quality, so you just need to choose according to your preference.”

“Now that you mention it, that’s true. Which one do you like? I like this one…”

“I like this one…”

Ian’s fingertip pointed to a transparently shining green brooch, while I pointed to a blue brooch reminiscent of the sea.

“You like that one? I think this one would suit you better.”

“No, I like this one.”

“Really?”

The owner, looking back and forth between Ian and me, smiled and said,

“Then the lady can take this blue brooch, and the gentleman can take the green one.”

“Ah, I don’t need one.”

Rosebelia had never been interested in adornments, so her jewelry box was overflowing with unused accessories.

“These days, it’s popular in the capital for couples to gift each other brooches. You give a brooch that represents your characteristics to your lover. Like a token.”

“We’re not…”

“Then I’ll give this as a gift.”

As I grabbed Ian’s sleeve, he slowly lowered his gaze to meet mine. I had been waiting for our eyes to meet, and I shook my head slightly at him.

It’s all just sales talk.

I tried to convey this message with my eyes, but Ian just blinked as if he couldn’t understand at all.

He’s not pretending not to hear my thoughts or pretending not to know on purpose, is he?

“I don’t need one. Just wrap the green brooch, please.”

“I’m sorry, but you can’t take it with you today, customer. It just came in yesterday, so we need to make the frame and do some more crafting.”

“Is that so? When will it be ready?”

“It won’t take too long.”

The owner closed the box containing the green brooch. As he started closing the boxes of the remaining brooches one by one, I unconsciously took one more look at the blue brooch.

“I’ll come back later to pick up the brooch.”

“You will? Where do we pay?”

“The friend at the counter over there will handle the payment. Meanwhile, could you come this way to choose the frame color?”

While I was paying the clerk, Ian chose the frame with the owner. They seemed to be talking about something for a while, but soon he walked over to me.

“How long did they say it would take?”

Ian, who suddenly stood in front of me, replied while opening the shop door.

“They said it would be ready in two days.”

“Fortunately, it’s not that long. Do you like the brooch?”

He tilted his head slightly and looked straight into my eyes.

“Yes. I like that it resembles the color of fresh greenery.”

Then, before he even finished speaking, he flashed a smile.

It was just a common eye contact. He just smiled lightly at me.

Was it because Ian’s eyes sparkled like the blue jewel I had seen earlier under the sunlight? For a moment, I felt breathless.

Just as I unconsciously fidgeted with my hand, a firm hand intertwined with mine.

“Shall we go eat now?”

I couldn’t even let out a short answer between my teeth. I barely managed to nod, trying hard to swallow my dry saliva.

*

“My lady, the master went to Miss Rosebelia’s room.”

“What did Herman go there for?”

“He asked if she was hurt anywhere.”

Olivia slowly furrowed her brow.

‘Why on earth is Herman concerned about Rosebelia?’

Margaret, observing Olivia’s somewhat hardened expression, carefully spoke up.

“For now, we should quickly find a marriage partner for Miss Rosebelia…”

“We’d better put that on hold for now.”

“Why so suddenly?”

Olivia pulled up the corners of her mouth. Herman’s attitude was a bit concerning, but hadn’t she witnessed a very interesting scene in the square?

‘Just in terms of looks, he was incomparably more handsome than David Collins, who was famous for his womanizing…’

But how could she think of meeting a commoner, no matter how handsome?

“I was thinking of arranging a marriage with a noble somehow, but it seems my generosity was too great.”

“Pardon? What do you mean?”

“We can postpone pushing for a political marriage for now.”

A knight of the White Knight Order was, after all, just an insignificant commoner. It might not be a bad idea to help those two get together.

How sad would Liliana, who passed away early, be if Rosebelia married a commoner?

What kind of expression would Herman make if he knew?

Just imagining Rosebelia marrying a commoner made her laugh uncontrollably, as if her lungs were filled with air.

‘A noble was too good for her status, and a commoner was just right.’

“What… what about the medicine?”

“Brother Dillon said he couldn’t give it to me, but Her Majesty the Empress seemed to want me to try it first.”

“So you’re really going to use the medicine?”

“Hmm, which way would be better? It’s a happy dilemma.”

Olivia’s lips curved upwards as she lightly tapped her chin with her fingertip. After pondering for a moment, she spoke again.

“Using the medicine might be a bit boring. It would be a waste of all the patience I’ve shown so far.”

“Then…”

If Rosebelia were to insist on marrying that commoner, it would be like jumping into a fire pit herself, and it might be quite enjoyable to just sit back and watch it happen.

“I’ll have to observe for a while. The situation seems like it could turn out quite interesting.”