“Technically, he just grabbed my shoulders and shook me, but… he apologized, so it’s fine now. He really did seem sincere about it.”
“…You truly are generous, Lady. If it were me, I wouldn’t have been able to forgive so easily.”
“It’s not that I forgave him. I’m just not going to keep bringing it up anymore. If he hadn’t apologized or faced any consequences, I would still be criticizing him now.”
Achilles had forced himself to apologize back then, and later, after their reunion, he sincerely did it again.
Letticia wasn’t entirely satisfied in her heart, but at least he had faced social consequences for his actions—being publicly criticized and having his reputation plummet in high society.
That’s why Letticia disliked Alexander even more.
At the hearing, he had subtly encouraged the witnesses who attacked her, and though he’d criticized Camilla for failing to raise her daughter properly, he himself had never faced any real punishment.
“Then let’s invite them both. Lady Hailey and Lady Maynard—would you mind informing them, Lady Sharon?”
“That sounds good… ah.”
At the mention of Lady Hailey, Letticia remembered something she had nearly forgotten—something she absolutely had to do to preserve her friendship with Dayna.
“Lady Eskis, I have a favor to ask… would you be willing to help me?”
“A favor? From me, Lady Sharon?”
Seraphina looked puzzled by the unexpected request, and Letticia lowered her voice, gesturing for secrecy.
“You remember how I mentioned that I was seeing someone, right?”
“Yes, though you never said who it was.”
“Well, I’ll tell you now—but could you pretend like you’re hearing it for the first time today? As if I never mentioned it before?”
Letticia was in a pinch. She hadn’t told the other person’s name, but she had confessed to Seraphina that she was dating someone—something she now needed to hide.
So she was desperate to make it seem like Seraphina was only learning about it just now.
Seraphina, bewildered and unsure what was going on, changed expression after hearing Letticia’s explanation.
Her face hardened into a stern look.
“How could you forget to tell your friend something that important? This person has always been so supportive of you—and yet you told me before her?”
“I… I guess I was just overwhelmed and it slipped my mind…”
“Then you shouldn’t have told me either! Surely, you understand—it’s not just about nobility, it’s about basic human decency. A friend offers you trust and kindness, and you didn’t return it. How hurt must Lady Hailey have felt to hear it from someone else instead of you?”
Letticia felt like she was about to lose her mind with the flood of words directed at her. Her graceful tone and elegant gestures remained unchanged, but everything she said was basically scolding and lectures about how you shouldn’t treat a friend like that.
‘Ugh, I don’t even listen to my older brothers’ nagging, and here I am, sitting through hers…’
Having lived most of her life as the youngest, she had naturally mastered the art of letting things go in one ear and out the other. Still, enduring a long lecture was an annoying ordeal.
But this time, Letticia admitted she was in the wrong. If she talked back, it would only prolong the nagging. So she kept a well-mannered expression and nodded along, pretending to listen earnestly to Seraphina’s scolding.
Fortunately, Seraphina seemed to believe Letticia had understood, so she soon stopped lecturing. She even promised to treat the whole romance thing as if she’d just heard about it today, out of consideration for Dayna’s feelings.
At times like this, Seraphina really seemed like a good person. Which made it all the more unfortunate that she insisted on marrying Matthias—as if she were willingly walking into her own grave.
***
The day after Letticia and Patrick talked about going public her relationship with Ezkhiel, Patrick convened a general meeting of the entire Sharon Jewelry company.
They reviewed current inventory levels, the design team’s progress, the marketing team’s strategies, and external consulting feedback. After a long round of discussions, the final decision was to announce Letticia’s relationship as soon as possible.
The design team shed tears of joy, relieved that they could work on designs with more freedom. The marketing team immediately launched into meetings to brainstorm new image concepts. And the external relations department began discussing with Letticia how and where the announcement would be made.
Many social events were proposed and discarded before they finally decided to go with the classic ‘public stroll’ method to reveal Letticia and Ezkhiel’s relationship.
It was customary for debuting nobles in high society to take morning walks in the grand park at the city center. Since one couldn’t attend social events 24/7, this tradition existed to help people find a match even during breaks.
But the morning walk was considered an extension of courtship. You could walk with someone of the opposite sex in the afternoon, but if you did so in the morning—even if a chaperone was present—it was a clear declaration of being in a romantic relationship.
“Letty, do you want to head toward the lakeside or the flower garden?”
“There are more people near the flowers, so let’s go that way.”
Arm in arm with Ezkhiel, Letticia strolled leisurely through the path of the grand park, which was bustling with people.
Since this was the day they would go public as a couple, neither Lenard nor Kenneth came along. Only the guards followed behind them.
As people passing by caught sight of them, some stopped in surprise while others began whispering among themselves. Letticia glanced at Ezkhiel and asked softly.
“Ez, are you okay? If you’re uncomfortable with the attention, we can head toward the lakeside instead.”
She was concerned because her partner didn’t particularly enjoy being the center of attention. But Ezkhiel just smiled and shook his head. Since he had gone through something similar before, he wasn’t as nervous this time.
“I’m fine. Besides, it’s something that has to be done. I want to do it right.”
Hearing Letticia explain the long-term plan made Ezkhiel feel reassured, and he supported going public with their relationship.
Since people often warmed up to him after repeated encounters rather than being impressed at first sight, this method felt more within his comfort zone. Most of all, he liked that he didn’t have to do anything flashy just to attract attention.
However, he had to mentally prepare for one thing—being featured in society gossip columns.
“This time, we should walk like we’re going to be on the front page of every single gossip magazine—including Lucinella.”
“Lucinella… I’ve never even made a main article there before.”
“Even being ‘main’ isn’t that big of a deal. Just enough to make you want to burn the whole place down.”
Letticia’s calm tone masked the harshness of her words, and Ezkhiel could somewhat imagine the kind of hardship she must have gone through.
Letticia could have a sharp tongue, but she wasn’t the type to say things like that lightly. He figured Lucinella must’ve caused her some trouble with a previous article.
“But… what about your parents? The Baron and Baroness—won’t they cause a scene again?”
Letticia whispered, and Ezkhiel’s face stiffened. The image of his father flinging some random gossip paper to the floor flashed through his mind.
Feeling Ezkhiel suddenly stop in his tracks, Letticia halted beside him. Her vibrant pink eyes were filled with concern, snapping him back to the moment. Ezkhiel smiled to ease her worry.
“…Even if they do cause a fuss, they won’t come looking for you. My father usually just gives orders to my mother or scolds me instead. And as for my mother, I’ll try to handle her as best as I can.”
Even as he said that, Ezkhiel knew the household staff could only do so much to restrain his mother.
He wished he could send some of his knights to protect Letticia, but they weren’t his personal guards—they were employed by the Imperial Household. The most he could do was order them to throw his own parents out if they ever visited.
Just thinking about that made the heavy gloom return. Work had lessened lately, so life should’ve felt more manageable. But just when he thought he had severed those toxic ties, they came crawling back, suffocating him again. Sleep had been elusive for days.
‘Still… I will protect Letty no matter what.’
He couldn’t drag the woman he loved into his own pain. His parents were an unbreakable tie, but Letticia was not. He could—and should—make sure she never had to cross paths with them again.
It would take effort on many fronts, but simply being with Letticia like this made it all feel worth it.
And now, going public with their relationship—it almost felt like happiness was finally within reach.
But, of course, the heavens didn’t seem to want to grant Ezkhiel only happiness.
“It’s been a while, Lady Sharon. I don’t believe we’ve met since the art exhibition.”
“…….”
Under the sunlight, orange-gold hair gleamed brilliantly. Ezkhiel bit his lip.
Standing before him was Lucian Jarvis—the one man he never wanted to see again, second only to his parents.
As always, his eyes were filled with the same look—the one that said he was going to take Letticia away from Ezkhiel.
begone!