Chapter 6
Among the many thoughts Yulia had while thinking about Kayente, at least one of them was correct. That Kayente might have been watching her even before he appeared in front of her.
From the very beginning, the fact that Kayente returned to the Rischan Empire earlier than planned and showed up at a ball he had no interest in attending was all because of Yulia. Because he had heard that Yulia was urgently looking for a husband.
So hopelessly kind…
He hadn’t even had a chance to unpack when he found Yulia at the ball, and her face clearly screamed, I don’t want to get married. Yet she smiled and took the hands of the men asking her to dance, letting them lead her. She had no other choice. There was no other way to save her family.
Running a business wasn’t just about working hard. More than anything, it required information. Even the most trivial rumor could become the seed for a new market.
Among the things he’d heard was that the Emperor of the Rischan Empire liked music… and amid those whispers, word of Yulia’s cello skills had made its way to him. People said that if she could just catch the Emperor’s attention, she’d shine—and that she was on the verge of such an opportunity.
She could have ignored her family and chosen a path of survival for herself, and no one would have blamed her. But Yulia chose this path.
Light brown hair and dazzling golden eyes. A dainty nose and firmly closed lips gave off a sense of boldness. Yulia, who seemed to have grown up just as she had been in childhood, was more recognizable by her actions than her appearance. She still seemed like the Yulia who loved others more than herself, just as she had been every day when they were young.
Not that it meant she should throw herself away like that… Yet, Yulia disappeared behind a secluded greenhouse, led by the hand of a man. Did Kayente follow because he was worried? Not exactly.
—“What do you think you’re doing!”
As he expected. Yulia pushed the man away in disgust, just as he knew she would. She hadn’t planned to throw herself at anyone—she simply hadn’t expected that to happen. Since childhood, Yulia had been someone who never suspected others’ intentions.
Seeing her push the man away with an angry expression made Kayente wonder whether he should laugh in satisfaction that he was right, or cry in frustration. The fact that she had grown into such a dignified woman yet hadn’t changed her pure-hearted nature brought him both subtle relief and unbearable anger.
“This isn’t exactly the time for pleasantries, milady.”
Regardless of the situation, he hated seeing Yulia in the hands of another man. Fearing that she might fall for some man’s threats just to protect her family, he had stepped in—only for Yulia to look at him with wide, surprised eyes, and to his dismay, smile brightly.
“Brother Kai! You’re back?”
She didn’t even realize why he had appeared before her.
“This room gets good light and it’s tucked deep into the third floor. I think it would be perfect as your office, Count,” said Henry, leading Kayente through a building he intended to use for business.
As he opened the door to the largest room in the corner of the third floor, Kayente shook off the thoughts that had been lingering in his mind.
Useless. Thinking about Yulia was a waste of time.
The marriage with Yulia was already underway, and growing the business was the more important task now.
The textile business he had started in the Duchy of Esakudia had grown to the point where there was no room left to expand. People from other continents came to buy it, but Kayente had no intention of stopping there. His ultimate goal was to build an unshakable fortress under the name “Clue”—a name no one could challenge.
“The furniture here can stay.”
“Right? I thought these were quite high-quality, so it’s best to leave them,” Henry replied.
Kayente slowly looked around the room. Dark silk wallpaper with weight and dignity, matched with even darker, stately furniture placed perfectly. A fireplace on the right, already cleaned and gleaming. Bookshelves on the left, just the right size for holding all the necessary documents.
“A sofa for guests, and it’d be perfect.”
“Agreed.”
“Shall we go ahead with the lease?”
Kayente nodded silently in agreement and walked toward the window behind the desk, gazing down at the bustling fountain street below.
Almost instinctively, he looked for Yulia, wondering if she might be somewhere nearby, crying. But she was nowhere to be seen.
Even if she hadn’t changed, she had grown.
“Alright then.”
He laughed quietly at himself for thinking he didn’t need to think about her, only to think about her again. The vivid past kept confusing him with the present—not only for Yulia, but for him too.
“I’ll go fetch the building’s owner right away. Oh, one more thing…”
Henry, moving swiftly with his usual efficiency, suddenly stopped and turned back.
“The bank contacted us, asking to confirm if recent check usage was legitimate. It seems checks have been coming in from places like women’s dress boutiques and jewelry stores—places we never dealt with before. I told them it’s probably due to the wedding preparations.”
“I see.”
So it wasn’t just a ring—she was shopping for wedding dresses too.
Even though it was a marriage she probably never wanted, she was doing everything so diligently… Perhaps because, as long as she could protect her family’s everyday life, she would do anything, even marriage.
So hopelessly kind…
Doing something she hated for the sake of her family, and doing it with effort at that. Even though she could’ve used the checkbook for herself, she hadn’t used a cent personally. That was so very like Yulia.
“Hmm? Did you say something, sir?”
“Henry.”
“Yes, Count?”
“Once the cotton farm contract is done, book an appointment at the boutique. And also…”
Even wearing a tattered dress, she didn’t shrink back.
“Bring Yulia here. I won’t let the woman who’s going to be my wife walk around in clothes like that.”
That thought filled him with a strange fury. He had been broken countless times, yet Yulia never had to be.
For three days in a row, it rained, as if to announce spring’s arrival.
On the first day, the streets turned to mud, and Yulia, stuck indoors, had no choice but to delay her wedding preparations and stay at the mansion. With nothing else to do, she threw herself into cello practice, and all the recent events began to feel like a lie.
Ah, if only the marriage, the brother, and everything else had just been a dream.
“Mother, when’s Sister’s wedding date?”
“Well… They haven’t said anything yet. Yulia, did they mention anything to you?”
Shattering her reverie were the Baroness and Ian, who continued to ignore Yulia’s emotional state. They had always been this way. Even when she was forced to abandon her dreams and rush into marriage right when her dreams were within reach, they hadn’t considered how she might feel.
The Baroness, in particular, seemed almost happy that Yulia had finally given up her “useless” dreams and agreed to get married.
Like most noblewomen, she had lived a life sheltered by her father before marriage and then by her husband after. To her, Yulia’s talk of a different kind of life and her delayed debut must have seemed unstable and dangerous.
Now, with the rain cleared and the sun shining, Yulia sat at a small table in the corner of the garden with those two.
“Still no word from them?”
“Oh my, look at you. Your—”
