Chapter 101
“Every night, a woman with pink hair has been coming and going from the prince’s palace.”
Alferen’s mood soured at the sordid rumor he had overheard from a palace official.
When he looked into it, the rumor proved true: a woman with pink hair was indeed visiting the prince’s palace.
More precisely, a courtesan wearing a pink wig.
The rumor had originated in the palace itself.
Cesare made no attempt to deny the absurd gossip, even though he knew it was spreading.
On the contrary, he went so far as to dress the courtesan in clothes resembling Rodellia’s.
To anyone watching, it was a malicious act clearly intended to fuel the rumors.
“How dare he…”
A chilling aura slowly filled the study.
During his engagement to Nanael, Alferen had crossed paths with Cesare a few times.
Back then, Cesare had complained that he found the emperor’s deliberate stoking of succession rivalry tiresome and insisted he had no interest in the position of crown prince.
It had been laughable. He claimed disinterest in the throne yet tried to build connections by flaunting his ties to the Ainluk family.
At the time, Alferen had no intention of getting involved in the imperial family’s power struggles.
Lately, however, the way Cesare looked at him had grown noticeably sharp.
It was as though he were hiding a blade behind his smile, subtly treating Alferen as an enemy.
Once Alferen realized the reason was Rodellia, he could no longer stand by.
The moment he learned of the rumors, he began inquiring about the courtesan frequenting the prince’s palace.
When he tracked down her whereabouts, he was dumbfounded.
Cesare had installed her in a villa that resembled a palace and was having her trained to mimic Rodellia’s gestures and voice.
“No wonder such rumors are circulating.”
Her performance was so convincing that anyone unfamiliar with Rodellia might mistake her for Lady Peris herself.
This was nothing less than an outright trap designed to ruin Rodellia’s reputation.
Alferen was contemplating 101 ways to torture the scoundrels responsible when—
Knock, knock.
A light, cheerful rap at the door dissolved the murderous intent in an instant.
He knew who it was from the sound alone.
A moment later, Rodellia peeked her head around the door.
“Are you busy?”
“No. I was just about to leave for the day.”
Alferen rose from his desk, concealing the towering pile of documents.
The mere sight of Rodellia’s face lifted his darkened spirits in a flash.
He instinctively hid his bloodthirsty plans.
Delly should only ever see beautiful things.
He would handle all the ugly, dirty work himself.
For once, Adrian had managed to secure tickets to an exhibition by the painter I adore.
“I’ve felt bad lately that I haven’t spent much time with our Delly.”
He says that, but he’s been completely smitten with Summer.
It was obvious he was expressing gratitude for the last time—when I subtly let slip that Summer had been receiving threatening letters.
Something about Adrian had changed since meeting her.
My once-immature brother suddenly seemed to have grown up overnight.
They say love changes a person.
Apparently even my idiot brother was no exception.
Thanks to today’s date invitation, some of my lingering resentment melted away.
Come to think of it, I’d been neglecting him too, caught up in my own romance with Alferen.
As we admired the artworks, I casually brought it up.
“Oh, right—did Summer join our Magia?”
“Yeah, I heard. You recommended her, didn’t you?”
“What? You already know?”
It hasn’t even been a week since she joined.
When I narrowed my eyes playfully, Adrian looked away.
“We ran into each other by chance yesterday.”
“Hmm?”
The way he emphasized “by chance” made it clear he had gone looking for her.
When I stared at him pointedly, he fidgeted with his reddening earlobes.
“Don’t look at me like that.”
Seeing him uncharacteristically bashful only made me want to tease him more.
I poked him in the side and pretended innocence.
“If things go well, let me know. I’ll pay you back exactly as much as you gave me.”
“Ahem! Hem!”
At my thinly veiled threat, Adrian cleared his throat dramatically.
The memory of everything he’d put me through when I started dating was clearly flashing before his eyes like a panorama.
“Actually, Summer seems to be getting a little suspicious.”
A few days earlier, I had received a letter from her.
Unlike when she had firmly believed the Tall Gentleman was Adrian, this one carried a strong sense that she was trying to verify things.
Of course—Adrian wasn’t the Tall Gentleman. The longer they talked, the more inconsistencies would surface.
“Maybe it’s time I revealed who I really am.”
I glanced at Adrian, who was focused on a painting, and remarked offhandedly.
“Summer said you’d been sponsoring her for a long time.”
“Ah, that…”
His expression turned serious the moment sponsorship was mentioned.
Then he answered plainly.
“It wasn’t me.”
“It wasn’t? Then why haven’t you told Summer?”
Normally Adrian would have cleared it up immediately.
I tilted my head, puzzled that he was pretending not to know despite knowing the truth.
He replied curtly.
“Because I’m jealous.”
“Huh?”
“The person who’s been sponsoring her—it seems like a man. And not just any man.”
His eyes, fixed on the artwork, were sharper than usual.
“He had the nerve to impersonate me.”
Wha—?
I blinked at the absurd misunderstanding.
From Adrian’s perspective, it made sense.
I had deliberately used a Peris family perfume I rarely wore and even imitated his handwriting.
“I couldn’t see anything he gained from the impersonation, so I was thinking about how to deal with him. Since he’s hiding his identity, he’s probably just some fellow who thinks money will buy leniency.”
I clutched my chest at the sudden verbal attack.
“Deal with…”
W-well, it’s true that money was all I had back then, but isn’t that a bit harsh?!
I swallowed the urge to protest and was about to speak when Adrian continued.
“I’m grateful he sponsored Miss Summer for so long, but impersonating the Peris family is a serious crime.”
No, listen—it is impersonation, but it wasn’t intentional, and strictly speaking I’m a Peris too so it’s only half impersonation…
I wondered if I should come clean now, but Adrian’s face looked terrifyingly grim.
I had taken what I thought was a safe route to provide the funds, so he shouldn’t have figured it out immediately.
Even now, he clearly had no idea the impersonator was me.
“Well, thanks to him I’ve gotten closer to Miss Summer. I plan to tell her it wasn’t me when the time is right. So, Delly, pretend you don’t know anything, okay?”
As if the stern moment had never happened, Adrian winked lightly.
Caught in that chilling shift, I found myself nodding vigorously.
Just then—
“Oh my, hello there.”
A woman I didn’t recognize greeted me familiarly.
“Who are you?”
“Ah, this is the first time seeing my face, isn’t it? We had such fun at the last masquerade. I was the host.”
She smiled broadly and handed me a card.
The moment I read the text, I knew exactly what gathering it was and crumpled my expression.
“I’ve never been to anything like that.”
The social gathering card she offered was for a notoriously debauched party where men and women mingled behind masks.
Everyone knew one another’s identities yet maintained anonymity with the masks, and affairs were especially rampant.
Thinking I was playing innocent, the woman hid her mouth behind her fan.
“Ah, your family doesn’t know, I suppose? You look quite different at night. If it weren’t for that pink hair, I might not have recognized you.”
Her eyes regarded me as some naïve novice. There was a thorn in the noblewoman’s words, as if she was certain it had been me that night.
Then Adrian spoke.
“Now I see—it’s Lady Gardner.”
“Oh my, you know me?”
“Your husband sings your praises so often his lips must be worn thin.”
“Oh goodness, he does go on.”
Lady Gardner blushed and acted coy, but Adrian continued smoothly.
“Come to think of it, I hear you’ve been taking dance lessons lately.”
“Yes, that’s right. I even performed recently with my team.”
“Indeed. Thanks to your husband, I was able to attend that performance. The instructor was quite young and handsome—left quite an impression.”
At the mention of the instructor, Lady Gardner’s expression turned uncomfortable.
