“Has Lady Sharon not arrived yet?”
When he asked the staff in charge of the room, the staff replied in a calm voice.
“The lady is currently talking with another guest, so she will be here soon.”
At the mention of another guest, Ezkhiel looked towards the door in confusion. It was impolite to talk to someone else when you had an appointment.
Moreover, he had made the reservation through Lenard by letter. Making a guest wait like this was not fitting for the top reputation that Sharon Jewelry boasted.
Was there an unavoidable situation? Instead of imagining alone, Ezkhiel chose to ask the staff directly.
“Is there a problem with the other guest?”
“…A small issue has arisen, and the lady is handling it now. It will be resolved soon, so please wait a little longer.”
The staff answered kindly with a smile.
After waiting for a few more minutes, the reception room door opened, and Letticia entered.
She wore an A-line dress with an impressive chiffon skirt, just like at the imperial ball.
Upon seeing Ezkhiel, she immediately bowed her head with an apologetic expression and apologized.
“I’m really sorry, Sir Bright! I was the one who suggested making the appointment, yet I couldn’t keep the time.”
Ezkhiel was taken aback by her teary face and reassured her that it was fine. Although the delay was unpleasant, it was understandable since she was dealing with a problem.
“It’s alright. The staff mentioned that there was an issue. Has it been resolved?”
“Ah, it happens occasionally. It wasn’t a big problem, but unfortunately, both my uncle and brother were away today.”
Letticia sighed and sat on the sofa. As her escort stood by, Ezkhiel felt a bit intimidated. Despite having done nothing wrong, he often felt uneasy around knights.
“By the way, it’s the first time seeing you since the imperial ball. How have you been?”
Only then did Ezkhiel realize that he hadn’t greeted her yet.
“Yes, of course… How have you been, my lady?”
“I’ve been well, busy as usual. More importantly, I heard from my brother that he made a needless request to you and you still attended the ball despite being busy.”
“Ah…”
Ezkhiel lowered his head slightly, feeling a bit embarrassed.
Letticia’s words were half true. It was true that he attended the ball while being busy, but it wasn’t solely because of Lenard’s request.
“I just remembered that my sister is debuting at the imperial ball. I hope no strange men approach her. If you happen to attend, could you keep an eye on her?”
Before he got busy, he had a conversation with Lenard after a long time, and the topic of the imperial ball came up.
This led to the story of Lenard’s sister, and Ezkhiel naturally recalled the girl he had met only once five years ago.
‘She was a very lively and outspoken young lady.’
He had tried to guide her when she said she got lost while looking for her brother in the boys’ dormitory, and he recognizing her as his acquaintance’s sister by the color of her hair.
At that time, although him and Lenard weren’t close enough to be called friends, they shared a bond from working through a tough group project together.
Knowing that Lenard’s sister got lost, he thought it wouldn’t be difficult to help her find her way.
However, he didn’t expect Ralph Barthset, who saw him as a thorn in his side, to pick a fight with them, nor did he expect the girl to taunt Barthset and then grab his hand and run away.
‘To think she openly told Ralph Barthset that she didn’t like him.’
Lenard also harshly criticized group members who didn’t participate in projects, and his sister was no different.
Despite the unexpected confrontation, Ezkhiel didn’t dislike her. Her boldness in saying what he couldn’t imagine saying was refreshing, and her running away after sticking out her tongue was cute.
“There’s a nasty rumor spreading about my sister at the academy. Despite just enrolling, people are saying she’s already trying to seduce men, among other disgusting things.”
“Who spread such rumors?”
“Ralph Barthset. That’s why I need your help. We need to report everything he has done to the crown prince. Not just what he did to my sister, but to all his victims.”
Upon hearing Lenard’s request, Ezkhiel handed over the evidence of corruption he had gathered from other students without hesitation.
He judged that it was better to give it to Lenard, the heir of the Sharon Count family with connections to the empress, rather than waiting for the rarely attending crown prince. The decisive reason was that Letticia was being harmed.
Considering that Barthset targeted her because of him, Ezkhiel felt responsible.
Fortunately, the issue was resolved, and the girl’s honor was restored.
Since then, Ezkhiel had been busy with various matters, and the girl had been in the dormitory, so despite becoming friends with her brother, they hadn’t met again.
Hearing about her after a long time sparked a small curiosity in his heart.
How had the girl grown up? Was she still as lively and bold as she was in her childhood?
Ezkhiel rarely had women leave a strong impression on him.
There were very few women in the public administration department, and the ladies from other noble families didn’t show much interest in him.
That was still the case even now that he was an adult. No, if anything, it had become more pronounced.
At social gatherings, the only ones who welcomed him were the parents hoping for his position as the crown prince’s chief aide, while the others often grew bored of Ezkhiel, who lacked conversational skills and was rather dull.
So, Ezkhiel was deeply conflicted about whether to resist this newly arisen curiosity.
In the end, using his friend’s casual request as an excuse, he followed Matthias to the imperial ball, briefly changing his clothes to attend.
When Ezkhiel arrived at the ball and found the owner of the pink hair who was said to be the star of the event and selected as the diamond of the night.
Please ask me for a dance!
When their eyes meet each other, her intense gaze seemed to convey that.
‘I ended up causing more trouble than help…’
At first, it was good that he had asked her to dance and saved her from the other men. However, it was unfortunate that the first time Ezkhiel had danced the waltz in practice was on the day of the imperial ball.
Of course, he made many mistakes, and instead of leading the waltz as a man should, he had to rely heavily on his partner, Letticia, to manage.
Despite this, Letticia remained cheerful throughout and even engaged in conversation with him, eventually even offering to help him with his shopping as a thank-you.
Not just with words but by actually setting a date and appearing at the appointed place.
Ezkhiel couldn’t help but think he was receiving a reward far beyond what he deserved.
***
While Ezkhiel awkwardly avoided eye contact with an embarrassed expression, Letticia was silently fuming at everything that had caused her delay while also observing Ezkhiel carefully.
‘That cursed troublesome customer! And to aunt and brother! Why did you have to be absent today, of all days!’
To clarify, Letticia was not late. In fact, she had arrived 15 minutes early since there was no traffic.
However, as she was about to wait in the room at the store, she was greeted by a loud voice coming from another room.
“Are you ignoring me right now?!”
With a sharp scream and the sound of something breaking, other customers showed signs of discomfort and displeasure.
Letticia quickly asked the staff to call Lenard, but the staff shook their heads in dismay.
“He’s out for a report this morning…”
“Report? Then who’s in charge now? What about Aunt?”
“The manager had to go to an urgent meeting regarding the southern branch. She won’t be back for another two hours…”
Letticia sighed at this explanation. It meant there was no one at the store capable of handling the troublesome customer.
Resolving to claim extra pay from the head office later, Letticia knocked on the door to calm the troublesome customer.
“Excuse me. Did our staff behave rudely?”
“Who the hell are you?!”
The customer’s shout from behind the door was shockingly rude, causing the staff beside Letticia to turn pale, but Letticia responded calmly.
“I’m Letticia Sharon from the external affairs department of Sharon Jewelry. I came to see if I could help since you seem dissatisfied.”
“L-Letticia Sharon? Lady Sharon?”
Upon hearing her name, the rude tone changed to a polite one.
Although the scene inside was unsightly, Letticia quickly put on a business smile and spoke gently.
“I’d like to hear the details. May we come in?”
“Y-Yes. Come in.”
Once permission was given, Letticia opened the door without hesitation.
The room was a mess.
Pearls and blue gems were scattered on the floor, necklace chains were broken, and a staff member had a scratch on their face.
Letticia instantly grasped the situation.
“We need to clean this up first. Please take these inside.”
“Yes.”
The staff accompanying Letticia quickly began to gather the scattered pearls and gems.
Meanwhile, Letticia managed to calm the troublesome customer, identified the reason for their outburst, and made them understand that it was unrealistic to create a custom-made necklace within three days.
“You will have to purchase the damaged necklace, and we will be charging for the injuries caused to our staff. It would be best to avoid involving the guards, don’t you think?”
With a half-threatening smile, Letticia concluded the situation and hurried to the room reserved under Ezkhiel’s name…
Unfortunately, she was already 15 minutes late for the appointment.
Ezkhiel thinks Letticia is cute asksksk ㅠㅠ