Book I: Chapter 2

Although she was naturally cheerful, it was hard to bear the loneliness. She endured each day, looking forward to the day she could return to her beloved hometown, Philioche.

‘There are only 15 days left. All you have to do is hold on for 15 days.’

Harrieta repeated this firmly in her mind. She leaned forward slightly against the railing. The touch of the cold marble permeated through the palm of her hand, and a cool but pleasant breeze caressed her hair.

She raised her head and looked up at the night sky. The night sky, densely packed with countless stars, looked like a dark navy scarf embedded with small bright diamonds.

‘Pretty.’

She admired the beautiful view of the cloudless night sky with all her heart.

‘The night sky in Philioche must also be very beautiful.’

Looking up at the night sky, Harrieta reached out her hand to one of the sparkling stars. Suddenly, she had a strange desire to hold that beautiful star, hanging high in the sky, in her hand for a moment.

But her desperate fingers couldn’t reach the stars and instead, just wandered in the air. An unknown longing spread in her heart.

* * *

‘How much time has passed??‘

Feeling that it was time to return home, Harrieta left the balcony and entered the ballroom. Even though it was quite late, there were still many nobles inside. Most of them looked intoxicated with alcohol and entertainment.

Harrieta exchanged some greetings with a few people she knew and then carefully wandered around looking for Lillian.

Unfortunately, the ball she attended today was of a larger scale and had the largest number of guests compared to all the social gatherings she had attended so far. It wasn’t really easy to find a petite Lillian among so many people.

‘Wouldn’t it be better to stand at the entrance and quietly wait for Lillian?’?As Harrieta was carefully contemplating, someone grabbed her elbow. Startled, she looked back.

“Harrieta! Where the hell have you been hiding? I’ve been looking for you all night.”

Lillian said while frowning at her. She had drank a little too much champagne, making her cheeks look like they were dyed red.

“Aunt. Actually, I was also looking for you..”

“Let’s talk about this later. Come here first. There’s someone I’d like to introduce to you.”

Lillian ruthlessly cut off Harrieta’s sentence. It was clear from the start that the other person didn’t put her words in her eyes.

Lillian grabbed her niece’s unsure hand and headed to a place where a generous looking middle-aged woman was standing with a short young man.

Lillian pushed a confused Harrieta forward. Before she could grasp the situation, Harrieta found herself standing before the two strangers.

“Harrieta, say hello. This is Baroness Welch. And this is Sir Derek Welch, the eldest son of Baron Welch.”

“Hello, nice to meet you. I’m Derek Welch.”

The man named Derek said hello and took a step closer to Harrieta. He looked about 25 years old. He had dark brown hair and slightly fierce-looking eyes. His only shortcoming was that he was short, except for that, he had a quite ordinary appearance.

“Hello, I’m Harrieta Mackenzie.”

Harrieta greeted politely, bending her knees slightly in a daze. Derek quickly, but secretly, stared at her appearance up and down.

“I heard you’re from Philioche. Don’t you feel uncomfortable living in Lavant?”

“My aunt takes care of me very well, so there has never been any room for any inconvenience.”

“That’s a relief. Lady Jenner said you’re a good singer.”

“I... I just sing whatever I want. It’s just a little hobby. My singing is not at the level to be bragged about.”

“Oh, then, are you saying that you didn’t learn it formally?”

Derek continued the conversation politely. However, his face showed signs of disappointment that could not be hidden.

‘Maybe it’s because I’m younger than he thought. Or is it because I didn’t meet his expectations?’

The fifteen year old Harrieta diligently answered all his questions, while suppressing the desire to immediately run away from the place.

Some questions and answers were exchanged in the name of formality. It was a kind of conversation where no-one would be disappointed if the conversation was cut off immediately. Had it not been for Baroness Welch and Lillian looking at them with eager looks, they would have long left this place.

Derek kept turning his eyes away while talking to her. It was clear that he also had long lost his interest in her.

Harrieta sighed. Even if it was rude, she couldn’t stand this situation anymore. She opened her mouth and decided to leave the place with a reasonable excuse.

“Well, Sir Welch. I’m sorry, but I’m very tired right now.”

“Huh?”

Looking over Harrieta’s shoulder, Derek let out a short exclamation. His eyes widened in surprise.

“That’s definitely the Redford family.....”

‘Redford?‘

Seeing Derek’s response, Harrieta naturally turned to see where his gaze was directed. And soon she noticed that the atmosphere inside the ballroom had changed.

Among the hushed chatters, there was a strange, heavy stillness looming around the noisy ballroom. The men rose from their seats in a hurry to straighten out their disheveled clothes, while the women, with their faces flushed, whispered in secret, covering their mouths with half-open fans.

‘Who the hell is this person to make them react like this?’

The atmosphere became solemn as if the king himself had appeared. Harrieta tilted her head. As if attracted by an invisible magnet, she unwittingly took a step slowly towards the place, where the people’s eyes were focused.

Many people were gathered together, all impatient to talk to the newcomer.

“Sir Edwin, thank you very much for coming. I only sent you an invitation just in case you decided to stop by, but I didn’t expect you to actually accept it.”

The young Count, the host of the ball tonight, said very humbly. He was a man famous for being arrogant and full of vanity. Seeing the young Count like this, for a moment she doubted whether it was actually the king who had really come.

The crowd that had been gathered around, parted to the sides. And in the midst of all this, she saw the protagonist who had caught everyone’s attention.

He was a tall, well-built man. The first thing that caught her eye was his brilliant blond hair, which seemed to be made of pure melted gold. It was so exquisite and unique that it could easily attract people’s attention even from a distance.

The next thing that caught her eye was the robes he was wearing. The clothes embroidered with gold thread on blue fabric looked very luxurious despite their relatively simple design. At a glance, she could tell it had gone through the hands of the most famous seamstress in the kingdom.

Listening attentively to someone’s words, he lowered his face slightly, and nodded his head. He then straightened his body and looked straight ahead. As a result, the face, which she could not see from afar, came into Harrieta’s sight, making her unknowingly stop breathing.

‘Is it okay to describe a man as beautiful?‘

Harrieta questioned herself seriously.

But other than that, she couldn’t think of a suitable word to express his appearance. A broad forehead and two serious looking eyes, with a straight nose bridge between them. Below it lay perfectly symmetrical red lips.

‘If there was something that the Creator had worked hard day and night, it must be this man.’?His?heavenly looks could enchant?people with just one look, making them talk only about him.

Harrieta stood still and stared at the man, who looked absolutely perfect.

‘I wonder if he has just turned 20.’ His calm eyes and solemn face made him look mature, but upon closer inspection he looked a little younger than she thought.

She could see his thin lips moving, saying something. But no matter how much she tried to listen to him, she couldn’t hear his voice well.

Suddenly, Harrieta wondered if his voice would also be as beautiful as his perfect appearance.

While the young Count was pleased with the unexpected appearance of a dignitary, he seemed eager to monopolize him right away. The Count whispered something into Edwin’s ear and stared fiercely at those around him with his sharp eyes.