The capital, Lount, was in early spring, but southern Haven’s weather was sweltering.
The villa’s servants had been busily moving since morning to decorate the beach owned by Lucent.
The exceptionally clear weather felt like a gift from the gods, and the blue sea and the white sand shimmering as if scattered with jewels were fine and soft.
The servants carefully set up a white awning, a dining table covered with a pure white tablecloth, and tableware upon it.
The person directing them was not the butler, but the secretary Leon.
“Move that rattan chair over here. Have the fruit basket placed on the small table between the chairs.”
“Yes.”
He had placed the finest champagne prepared in an ice bucket, and he gave meticulous instructions even about the direction of the linen cushions.
Because he had to prepare everything thoroughly so that Lucent and Aeplin’s privacy would be guaranteed while they could still enjoy their time, there was a great deal to attend to.
“Have several towels placed in a rattan basket. And……. What else was there.”
Just in case, he had also prepared an inner tube in the back.
Then, as if a forgotten item suddenly came to mind, he shouted urgently.
“Where is the telescope?”
When Lucent came to Haven, he always liked to observe the small island across the way through a telescope.
It was said that it was the dwelling place of seagulls and that there were strange fruits that had not been harvested.
Perhaps he intended to show that sight to Aeplin as well.
Leon knew that the master and his wife would soon appear, so he spurred on the final inspection.
Meanwhile, Aeplin and Laurel had hit a snag.
In particular, Aeplin looked at her reflection in the full-length mirror in her swimsuit and asked with a troubled face.
“Laurel, is this the right thing to do? Is it not a sin?”
The swimsuit, as expected, was extremely revealing.
They say a married couple sees even more of each other, but this was another matter entirely.
At least in bed, the bedroom lighting was dim, so she could hide what expression she was making.
But this was like walking around in broad daylight wearing nothing but undergarments.
“My lady, why are you being so old-fashioned? That is clearly a swimsuit.”
Laurel had already become a thoroughly modern woman.
Having leafed through magazines all night, she boasted her knowledge, saying that in other countries swimsuits had already become common among women, beyond a mere trend.
“Your figure is so beautiful, my lady. The president will fall head over heels for you too.”
The swimsuit, clinging precisely to the curves of her body, roughly covered only the chest, stomach, and hips, and fully exposed the rest of her bare skin.
In particular, Aeplin’s legs were long and slender, so pleasant to look at.
Also, perhaps because she had never once exposed her bare skin to sunlight her whole life, light seemed to radiate from her white flesh.
“The swimsuit is one problem, but this cap is truly, truly absurd.”
The swimming cap, worn so that not a single strand of hair could escape, made her look like an apple with a flower on it.
It was said that the strings on both sides had to be tied at the tip of the chin so the cap would not come off, but the shape, revealing only the face in a rounded way, was, how should I say, rather comical.
Laurel, looking at her mistress, could not bring herself to laugh out loud, so she rolled her lips inward.
“My freckles are so clearly visible. If I put a pacifier in my mouth here, I would be completely……! Shall we go without the cap?”
“That would be disrespecting the president’s sincerity.”
In truth, Laurel found Aeplin in the swimming cap far too cute.
Though such an expression was not appropriate for her mistress, the cap on her unusually youthful face made her cheeks stand out, and it brought to mind a poster attached to a general store.
It was almost identical to a cold medicine advertisement poster with a picture of a child with red cheeks.
“Is that so?”
“They say rubber is attached to this cap so your hair will not get too wet even when you go into the water.”
“Really?”
“Now, let me put the bathrobe on you.”
Even as she briskly dressed her in the robe, Laurel had to breathe heavily and hold back the laughter threatening to burst from her mouth.
Aeplin looked a little longer at her reflection in the mirror, then soon made up her mind differently.
Was Lucent not a man serious in all things?
The fact that he had sent a swimsuit was proof that he was that far ahead of the trends.
‘He must assume I naturally enjoy swimming.’
Since she had put it on, she should not act old-fashioned.
There is also a saying that even if one wears rags, if one is confident, others cannot treat one carelessly.
Then Laurel said something unexpected, making Aeplin even more nervous.
“The president will wear a swimsuit and come too, won’t he?”
In that moment, Aeplin’s mind felt as empty as if the wind were blowing through it.
She worried whether he might appear wearing the striped skintight suit she had seen in a magazine.
If, on top of herself, even Lucent were too far ahead of the trends, a greatly awkward situation would unfold.
She, who did not know the latest trends, might blush very countrified or burst out laughing and ruin the mood.
“My lady, it is time.”
“Yes. Let us go to the beach.”
……….
Lucent appeared on the beach in a white linen shirt and trousers.
Seeing the perfectly prepared beach, he was satisfied.
Now all that remained was to wait for Aeplin to come.
“If you need anything, please ring this bell.”
Leon said, pointing to a small bell placed on the table.
“Today is a perfect day for swimming.”
“Indeed it is.”
Lucent had loved swimming since childhood.
It was because only when riding a horse and swimming in the water was he free from every burden.
It was precisely to breathe freedom rather than constraint into the meaning of marriage that he had deliberately suggested swimming to Aeplin.
“I am not sure whether the madam can swim.”
“It does not matter if she cannot.”
Rather, he hoped she could not.
If she began her first swim with him, her husband, it would remain in her memory for life.
That was when it happened.
Far off, women walking along the white sand came into view.
Soon Lucent and Leon’s faces stiffened, and as if by agreement, they firmly shut their mouths.
“That thing bobbing over there—is it an apple?”
Leon broke the silence first.
Though he had not recognized Aeplin in the swimming cap, Lucent caught on at once.
But the sight of her walking along the white sand in a thick bathrobe was like…….
‘A penguin.’
The woman trudging laboriously over the sand.
As she drew closer, Lucent’s eyes widened.
Because his wife in the swimming cap was chillingly adorable and cute.
But Leon covered his mouth with his hand and eventually turned around.
“Leon, I should have told her she did not have to wear the cap.”
Even as Lucent spoke while looking at Aeplin, Leon could not properly answer because he was turned away laughing.
It was simply that she had bought it because it was a set with the swimsuit.
That ridiculous cap was meant to be worn when using the mansion’s pool, and at the beach, it was generally customary to wear a wide-brimmed hat.
But it seemed Aeplin did not know that.
Lucent watched, entranced, as Aeplin approached with an awkward smile.
The moment she finally arrived right before him, Lucent spoke in a low tone.
“Leon, have Laurel return as well.”
“Yes, understood.”
After the two had gone, Aeplin looked at Lucent with a confident face and said.
“I am so excited to swim after such a long time.”
“Ah, is that so.”
“Of course.”
Who would have thought an awkward expression, blinking large doll-like eyes, could be so cute?
Her two cheeks flushed red and the freckles on the bridge of her nose.
Even her plump lips, slightly gathered because of the cap…….
Her cuteness dealt a critical blow to Lucent.
On the other hand, Aeplin found Lucent, standing on the beach, very unfamiliar.
His hair naturally tousled, his firm chest visible through the gap in his shirt each time the wind blew, and his trousers that looked relaxed.
His perfect suit was splendid, but there was something thrilling about seeing him simply dressed.
In particular, his blond hair and blue eyes glittering in the sunlight were beautiful, like a male god who had walked out of the sea.
“Lucent, why are you looking at me with that expression…….”
Seeing Lucent gazing at her with a serious face devoid of any laughter, Aeplin sensed something had gone wrong.
“Aeplin, the cap seems like it will be rather hot.”
With rubber padded on the outside, her hair and scalp must be drenched in sweat by now.
“It is fine. This is the etiquette of swimming, after all.”
Aeplin pretended to be skilled at swimming, just as Laurel had advised.
That must be why Lucent had sent her the swimsuit as well.
“That is right. There is etiquette in swimming, too.”
Lucent smiled at Aeplin, baring his white teeth, then brought his hands to his waist as if to take off his trousers first, not his shirt.
