Lucent, wearing a white linen jacket and a sky-blue shirt, did not look like the man she had known before.
Especially compared to when Aeplin had gone to the bank to meet him, it was enough to make her laugh.
Lucent had always appeared in a perfect suit, like a knight clad in armor.
He had been so severely businesslike and rational, without a trace of ease, that it was intimidating—but the Lucent before her now overflowed with the leisure of someone who knew how to enjoy himself.
Aeplin adjusted his attire and whispered.
“Lucent, Johannes Branner is an executive of the Regal Club. This is a very good opportunity for you to make an impression.”
“As if I would not know.”
Aeplin earnestly hoped Lucent would get along well with the upper class as well.
It was not a wish born of vanity—it was because Lucent was more than worthy of being a member of the Regal Club.
There was something rather unfair about being excluded on the basis of status alone.
Just as he had placed first in the Croisen Imperial University exam but been disadvantaged because of his father.
So Aeplin’s desire to help Lucent was great.
“The Regal Club……”
Lucent murmured in a low tone.
A gentlemen’s club that did not accept just anyone, no matter how much money one had.
It was a private organization of people whose names alone were recognizable—not only the political and financial circles of Croisen, but also artists, philosophers, businessmen, and the like.
Their common trait was that most were of royal or noble origin.
It was an influential private organization that Lucent had long wanted to join, even if he had to grease palms with money.
But suddenly, the heart that had burned with ambition for advancement had gone cold.
‘What on earth is the reason?’
Lucent himself did not understand his contradictory psychology.
This time, emotion had preceded reason.
The feeling that such advancement was now all futile was very great.
Rather, he even doubted Aeplin’s intention.
“Aeplin, is this wifely support? Or is it a desire to make a husband who fits your station?”
It was nothing if not a self-contradictory question.
Since the very reason he had entered a contract marriage with Aeplin was his vanity to polish his own exterior……
“Was it not what you wanted?”
“……I did want it. I did. That is right.”
Lucent felt emptiness at Aeplin’s answer.
Who was he shifting responsibility to now?
He felt utterly pathetic.
“I am sorry. I think I have burdened you too much. Still, since we have been invited, let us consider it attending out of courtesy.”
Aeplin had not anticipated the burden Lucent might feel.
They had clearly come to Haven for a honeymoon and rest, so a sudden party invitation must have felt like an extension of work.
“Do you know?”
“What?”
“You are truly splendid. Enough that you do not fall behind anyone.”
“……?!”
At Aeplin’s appearance, praising him plainly with a smile as bright as moonlight, all of Lucent’s thoughts briefly stopped.
Soon his quiet heart pounded noisily, and his surroundings grew blurry, until only the smiling Aeplin stood out clearly.
Soon warmth spread through his body, and moonlight seemed to rain down on Aeplin’s head like a shower.
“Let us go now.”
At Aeplin’s urging, Lucent shook off his thoughts.
The two rode the prepared car toward Johannes Branner’s villa.
After driving about thirty minutes along the coastal road, Branner’s villa, which they reached, had a quiet elegance.
The invited guests seemed to have already arrived, for attendants in front of the villa were busy parking the cars in neat order.
Lucent had many connections with journalists as well, but it was his first time meeting the owner of the Lount Times, the empire’s leading newspaper, privately.
* * *
Serge returned to the imperial palace and received treatment from the palace physicians.
Fortunately, the wound on his Achilles tendon from the dog bite was not severe, and the diagnosis was that he would be able to walk after about a month of treatment.
But Serge’s mother, Empress Charlotte, looked at her son and let out a deep sigh.
“Serge, do not engage in external activities for the time being. Public opinion about you is not good.”
“In any case, with my leg like this, I will have to stay only in the palace, Mother.”
“That aside……”
Empress Charlotte spoke with a stiff face, looking at her son.
She looked troubled, unsure what to deal with first, since he had caused several incidents at once.
“That opera singer named Marita.”
“Mother, do you believe it is my child?”
“Whether it is your child or not, it is equally a disgrace. How are you supposed to find a good match like this?”
At her mother’s sharp rebuke, Serge belatedly had a curious thought.
His parents had cherished Aeplin more than anyone, and they were the very people who had first called her the empire’s golden apple.
Yet when Aeplin announced she would marry a hoodlum like Lucent Blackakson, far from stopping her, they had even given her the Grand Cathedral owned by the imperial family as the venue.
What on earth was the reason?
Could it be that they had been worried about what would happen if Count Hapen went bankrupt after investing in the New Continent, or was captured and killed by the rebels?
So Serge asked the Empress the reason.
“Sigh. Do you not read the newspapers at all? Revolutions are breaking out all over foreign lands, and imperial courts are collapsing. The imperial families of several countries have already disappeared. So we must prepare as well. We are searching for a powerful marriage alliance that can protect the imperial family.”
“If possible, I would like my wife to be pretty. At least as much as Aeplin, Mother.”
“Tsk, tsk, tsk—”
The Empress clicked her tongue and left the room.
But Serge ground his teeth and vowed revenge.
His mind was filled with thoughts of repaying the humiliation he had received from Blackakson.
“Max.”
Serge rang the bell noisily and summoned his secretary.
It did not take long for Max to appear.
“Find someone among the imperial officers who is skilled at shooting.”
“Pardon? Ah…….”
Now he had reached the point where he could know Serge’s inner thoughts just by looking at his eyes.
How furious he must be after what Blackakson had done to him.
“Should not such vermin of society be eliminated?”
“Please restrain yourself, Your Highness, if only for the sake of Lady Hapen.”
“This is all for Aeplin.”
“Pardon?”
Max tilted his head, then seemed to grasp his meaning, for his eyes widened.
Surely he did not mean to kill Blackakson and later take Aeplin as his mistress.
As expected, his master’s selfishness had no conscience and was consistently reckless.
The times had changed.
Unlike in the past, one could not execute a person by imperial authority even without a crime.
‘It will be fortunate if we are not the ones struck in return.’
* * *
The Branner couple were people full of refinement.
Not only did they warmly welcome Aeplin and Lucent, but they also showed a certain fondness for them.
Lucent, perhaps because he had often had business meetings, was not intimidated at all before strangers.
With his intellectual eloquence, he instead astonished the invited guests.
“I was curious about the gentleman chosen by Lady Aeplin, the empire’s golden apple, and he has not disappointed my expectations.”
Madam Branner openly praised Aeplin’s discernment.
“They say it was a love match—is that true?”
Another noblewoman asked Aeplin, as if confirming.
“Pardon……? Th—that is right. Because he was the one who willingly took my hand when I was struggling.”
At her answer, the ladies nodded and murmured.
Perhaps sympathizing with Crown Prince Serge’s betrayal, they looked at Aeplin pitifully.
Among them, there was even a lady who comforted her.
“In the end, it worked out well, did it not? Mr. Blackakson is more charming than the Crown Prince.”
In that moment, the ladies burst into cheerful laughter, and Aeplin, forced to laugh along, felt her face twitch.
“By the way, what are our gentlemen doing?”
The ladies were curious what their husbands were doing together, enjoying the party.
Lucent had been conversing with Johannes Branner for a while, then exchanged greetings with several gentlemen through his introduction.
In particular, it was surprising that he met the key figures of the Regal Club all at once.
Moreover, none of them rejected Lucent—they received him courteously.
Thanks to Aeplin, of course.
But any gathering is bound to have a variable.
A handsome man with red hair and golden eyes approached Lucent and spoke, and something happened.
He was, of course, a famous figure, so Lucent knew him well.
“So you are the one who stole my golden apple.”
A wariness wrapped in a welcoming smile was plainly felt.
“Lord Blanca de Adrid, it is an honor to meet you.”
Lucent greeted him courteously.
